Phone gaming has been popular ever since people first fired up their Nokia 3310s and spent hours playing Snake, long before their iPhones became clogged with hours of Candy Crush Saga. While home consoles are still an essential part of any dedicated gamer’s collection, cellphones are quickly becoming capable of more than just providing a diversion while on the road.
That’s how potent today’s devices are. The unprecedented meteoric rise to fame of mobile versions of PC favorites like Fortnite and Call of Duty Mobile can be attributed to the convenience of playing these games anywhere and at any time. The greatest smartphones today have a lot of processing power, so it’s no surprise.
Even while the newest iPhones and Samsung Galaxys can handle even the most graphically intensive mobile games, the market is so popular that companies like Asus ROG, Red Magic, and Black Shark have released phones designed just for gaming. Due to the scarcity of such devices, we have included the occasional “regular” phone that provides an adequate gaming experience.
We’ve listed some of the top gaming smartphones below. Give some thought to which one offers the best combination of features and cost for the games you intend to play.
Best gaming phone 2022
Red Magic 7
The latest iteration of Nubia’s Red Magic series, the Red Magic 7, lives up to the brand’s reputation for producing excellent gaming displays.
A quick 6.8-inch OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate and a 720Hz touch sample rate is the phone’s beating heart. Even if the difference in performance is negligible in practice, it will still be the best there is, which will please gamers.
The flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 12/16/18GB of RAM, 128/256GB of storage, and an improved three-fan cooling system all work together to ensure uninterrupted gameplay over extended periods of time.
Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro
It’s arguable that the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro is the best smartphone for gamers, but you’ll have to shell out a pretty penny to get your hands on one.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor is the most powerful mobile microprocessor currently available, ensuring optimal performance.
The rest of the specs, including as the 165Hz AMOLED display, 6000mAh battery, and up to 18GB of RAM, are also excellent.
It comes with a variety of add-ons that you can purchase separately, and it has a special PMOLED screen on the back that shows you alerts, incoming calls, and the battery’s status.
Black Shark 5 Pro
The Black Shark 5 Pro may not be revolutionary, but it has everything a gamer could want: an ultra-smooth 144Hz refresh rate, top-tier performance, gaming-specific features like magnetic triggers and gesture-activated shortcuts, and more.
Although the battery size is less than competing models, the 120W charging still offers fast charging times, reaching 100% in under 30 minutes.
As opposed to its competitors touch-based triggers, the Black Shark 5 Pro’s magnetic triggers spring up from the phone’s body for a more traditional controller experience, making it a fantastic choice for on-the-go gaming without the need for extra peripherals.
Poco F4 GT
The Poco F4 GT is an effort to create a gaming phone that may also appeal to consumers who aren’t gamers.
The F4 GT comes with all the high-end features you’d expect, such as a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, 120Hz AMOLED display, and up to 12GB of RAM, as well as nearly insanely quick 120W charging. It even has magnetic shoulder buttons that spring up, just like the Black Shark 5 Pro.
iPhone 13 Pro Max
The 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max has the best screen of any iOS device for playing games. Apple’s 5nm A15 Bionic is among the most powerful chipsets available, and it can run through whatever you throw at it without a hitch (at least, according to our benchmarks).
The Super Retina XDR display found in the iPhone 13 Pro Max is a major reason why games look so good on the iPhone, be they free-to-play or the newest Apple Arcade exclusives.
It’s also one of the first iPhones to upgrade to a variable 120Hz refresh rate, providing the same silky-smooth refresh rate and enhanced response time that give Android competitors such an edge.
