Gaming phones used to be a niche product with crazy designs and bloated software, but that has gradually changed in recent years.
Even if you're not a hardcore mobile gamer, you'll probably appreciate gaming-capable smartphones because of their beefy specs, high refresh rate screens, and generally better speakers than your average mainstream flagship phone.
Speaking of mainstream, high-end mainstream phones are so powerful these days, we can't ignore them as viable gaming options either.
The mobile gaming market is so popular that there are dedicated gaming phones like the Asus ROG Phone 5, Red Magic 7, and Black Shark 4 Pro. Here are our recommendations for the best gaming phones.
The best gaming phones
1. Red Devils 7: Best overall
Nubia's Red Magic smartphones have a reputation for having the best gaming-centric screens, and the latest in the lineup, the Red Magic 7, does the same. At its heart is a fast 6.8-inch 165Hz OLED screen with an impressive 720Hz touch sampling rate that beats nearly every other smartphone on the market. While you probably won't notice much of a difference in real-world performance, it's sure to satisfy gamers' biggest needs.
That's paired with flagship specs including Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 12/16/18GB of RAM, 128/256GB of storage, and an updated triple-fan cooling system to keep things running smoothly during longer gaming sessions.
It also has a plethora of gaming features, including side-mounted shoulder triggers, advanced haptic feedback and the ability to control performance on a per-game basis, all presented in the Red Devils' "Play Space" mode.
The rear triple-camera setup remains the same as the Red Magic 6S, which itself is the same as the Red Magic 5S, but software improvements mean it's a little better this time around.
The only real disappointment is the battery life. It's smaller than its predecessor, with an average capacity of 4500mAh, and combined with a 165Hz display, it drains power faster.
2. Black Shark 5 Pro: Best mid-range gaming phone
Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Scored high on the Antutu 9 benchmark. It also makes the phone experience smoother with a 144Hz display. The gaming experience will also be elevated to another level. The Adreno 730 is one of the most powerful GPUs in a flagship phone, which makes the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro more powerful than other flagship smartphones.
In addition to hardware, there is also an exclusive "Black Shark Game Space" in the Black Shark gaming phone. You can set the game mode at will, such as selecting the extreme speed mode for higher performance, or setting the floating window to display the current frame rate, CPU frequency, mobile phone, etc. energy consumption.
In addition, the Black Shark 5 Pro is also equipped with 2 independent physical shoulder buttons, and you can directly exhale by pressing the side button. With the "Black Shark Game Space", various modes can be set for the shoulder buttons, such as custom click, double click, multiple clicks, one button double gun, etc. These functions can bring a more pleasant gaming experience in the actual game.
As a professional gaming phone, the solution provided by the Black Shark gaming phone 5 Pro is to use the industry's largest anti-gravity dual VC liquid cooling system, combined with graphene thermal conductive materials, its heat dissipation efficiency has reached the top level of passive heat dissipation. In other words, the Black Shark 5 Pro will be the most powerful new phone with the Snapdragon 8 (passive cooling). The Black Shark 5 Pro uses a 5320mm² super liquid-cooled VC pure copper soaking plate. The steam room is nearly twice the size of other flagship phones. The direct contact design of pure copper is used between the chip and the VC soaking plate. And with the graphene thermal conductive material with phase change properties, the new Snapdragon 8 processor can be easily suppressed.
So, the Black Shark 5 Pro has an amazing chipset and an amazing camera. So if you're looking for a great value flagship gaming smartphone, I highly recommend getting this one.
3. Asus ROG Phone 5: Best for accessories
The Asus ROG Phone 5 may not have mass appeal with its bulky gamer-esque design, but that doesn't matter.
Gaming is a priority here, and the Asus ROG Phone 5 takes performance up a notch with a 144Hz AMOLED screen, two 3,000mAh batteries, last year's high-end Snapdragon 888, and a dizzyingly high 16GB of RAM. It can handle just about any game available on Android right now, has plenty of power to make this phone future-proof for quite some time, and more importantly, all at a fraction of the cost of big-name flagships.
The haptic triggers built directly into the side of the ROG Phone 5 further enhance the gaming experience, and if you want to take it a step further, the official has a ton of accessories, including a Nintendo Switch-style Kunai 5 controller, a fan-powered AeroActive Cooler 5 cooling system, and more.
Its camera is also decent, which is unusual for a gaming phone. The rest seems we can only complain about the size and weight, at 10.3mm thick and 238 grams, that doesn't seem to apply in the gaming world.
4. Red Magic 7 Pro: The most responsive screen
The Red Magic 7 Pro is an unusual phone, not least because it's not an upgrade from the regular Red Magic 7 in every way. In fact, we would recommend the regular model version to most people.
The changes to the Red Magic 7 Pro are mainly in the screen. The first is that the 7 Pro has the most responsive display of any phone and can record touch input at 960 Hz, which means it can detect 960 touches per second. That's really a game-changer, but it comes with a downside: the screen refresh rate is "only" 120Hz, down from the Red Magic 7's 165Hz.
Another change is the inclusion of an under-screen selfie camera. This helps keep the structure of the 7 Pro's screen intact and gives you a gorgeous full-screen experience, but there's also a trade-off: its actual selfies won't be as good, with a soft, over-processed look.
It has plenty of battery capacity and offers ideal battery life, but if you really need to upgrade from the Red Magic 7, then price is something you'll want to consider carefully.
5. Asus ROG Phone 5S Pro: Best Ultra Flagship
Performance is a top priority for a gaming phone, and while the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 888+ chip (once the most powerful chip ever), it's now been replaced by the 8 Gen 1.
Elsewhere, though, the specs are higher, with a 144Hz AMOLED screen, a 6000mAh battery and up to a market-leading 18GB of RAM.
It also features a unique PMOLED screen on the back of the phone to indicate incoming calls, notifications and charging status.
Its biggest problem is price; it's too expensive compared to the likes of the 2022 Red Magic 7 and Red Magic 7 Pro, which cost almost half the price but offer similar (if not improved) ) performance, along with improved specs and a faster display.
It's a great high-end gaming phone, but in 2022, there are plenty of gaming phones that have become "good and cheap."
6. Sony Xperia 1 IV
The Sony Xperia 1 IV isn't a dedicated gaming phone, but Sony has a huge gaming pedigree in consoles and handhelds. It's been in every Xperia model over the past few years. The Xperia 1 IV is no exception.
The phone features a gorgeous 6.5-inch 4K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate - a gamer's dream. It's a typical Sony-style 21:9 screen without any notches, cutouts, or other eye-catching things to get in the way of your gaming experience.
The Xperia 1 IV uses the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, plus 12GB or RAM, and the phone also comes with a microSD card slot, which is definitely a plus when it comes to gaming. Last but not least, in the face of Game Enhancer, Sony offers an excellent gaming software, a tool to adjust all settings including touch sample rate, display refresh rate, notifications, audio settings and more.
The only downside to this phone is its price. For the money you spend, you can buy a PS5 with an extra controller and a few games (if you can find it). But then again, the Xperia 1 IV is also a phone, a camera, and a computer.
7. Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is already impressive. The Legion Phone Duel 2 could challenge the ROG Phone 5 and even replace it as our favorite gaming phone of 2021, with a large 6.92-inch 144Hz AMOLED screen, a Snapdragon 888 processor, and up to 18GB of RAM.
Like the ROG 5, the Legion Phone Dual 2 has an AirTrigger-like touch-sensitive, mappable sensor that acts as a shoulder button, but it also has some extra party tricks. For example, its two 2,750 mAh batteries can be "Turbo" charged not only through a single USB Type-C port, but also through both of its ports simultaneously. This way, the phone can be fully charged at 90W in just 30 minutes.
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 also features a pop-up "facecam" for use when streaming games, two built-in cooling fans, and dual front-facing speakers.
Epilogue
These gaming phones above often have specialized hardware, sometimes even clip-on controllers, that help you play your games better. Internals are often boosted in RAM or the most powerful central processing unit or GPU to help the phone keep up with demand, while high refresh rate screens are common, allowing you to hit higher frame rates when gaming. Some phones even have liquid cooling.
Specs are important if you want to play the highest level of games on your phone, but it really depends on which games you want to run smoothly. If you're more into arcade or puzzle games, then you probably don't need to spend the money on a high-end gaming phone. Hope the above recommendations can help you in your choice.
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