The best gaming phones completely revolutionize your app library. Offering up seriously powerful processors, plenty of RAM and high quality, high refresh rate displays, these devices can push your favorite thumb tappers far further. With the rise of Xbox Cloud gaming services, smaller screens are becoming even bigger business, which means there are plenty of gaming phones out there for the Play Store power-user to choose from.
That makes it difficult to work out exactly what you need from your smartphone, and how much you need to pay for a gaming-specific device. Thankfully, as gaming phones develop, we’re seeing prices on the biggest and best falling slightly down the scale. That means there’s now options for all budgets, and we’re rounding up our favorites right here.
Our team of experts is on hand to point out the best gaming phones currently gracing the market, not to mention the best prices. We’ve drawn on our own hands on experience with the latest and greatest releases to ensure you’re getting an overview of the whole space before making that critical decision. Of course, you’re not going to get the performance of a gaming laptop, or even the best gaming tablets, here – but for a pocket-sized thumb twitcher, these are the models we’d recommend.
Of course, we’re also expecting gaming phones to form a major part of this year’s Black Friday gaming deals, so it’s worth keeping your eyes peeled for any further discounts.
The quick list
The best gaming phone overall
Between its actually decent camera system and extreme power, the Black Shark 5 Pro is the best gaming phone on the market right now for most players.
2. Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
The best premium gaming phone
The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is certainly impressive with its slick design, vivid AMOLED display, and top spec internals. It’s pricey, but if you’re willing to spend on luxury it’s a top bet.
The best value gaming phone
You’re getting some of the best components in here, but paying a fraction of the price of other flagships. That’s because you’re dropping software finesse, but the raw power on offer is impressive.
The best budget gaming phone
If you don’t want to break the bank and just want a phone that will run your favorite games without a hitch, we’d recommend the Samsung Galaxy A50. It’s a solid budget-friendly, no-frills phone.
The best Apple gaming phone
Its boosted screen space and long lasting battery life make the iPhone 14 Plus the best Apple option for gamers right now.
6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
The best Samsung gaming phone
This is about as big a screen you’re going to get on a gaming phone and the Z Fold 3 manages to pull it off with some slick specs.
The best gaming phone overall
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Balancing the top spot for best gaming phone is tricky business. Yes, this device needs to be one of the most powerful models on the market, but it also needs to be within reach. The price to performance ratio of the Black Shark 5 Pro is excellent. It’s no cheap device by any means, but there’s little sense of inflated costs here. Plus, for a device to truly be considered the best gaming phone overall it needs to function just as well as an actual smartphone as it does a gaming machine. That’s where the camera of the Black Shark 5 Pro comes in.
From the outstanding performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip to the split storage system, Xiaomi has positioned the Black Shark 5 Pro as an all-in-one powerhouse.
Black Shark 5 Pro review
It’s rare to find a gaming phone offering such top-line specs and performance while still carrying a decent set of lenses in its corner. We were particularly impressed by the shots we were able to take here. Yes, you are making some smartphone sacrifices – the lack of wireless charging being the biggest here – however this is still an everyday device with the battery to back it up.
Load up some games, though, and you’ll really see the Black Shark 5 Pro shine. Everything is smooth and crisp on that gorgeous OLED display, and with physical pop up trigger buttons to keep all your movements precise and snappy as well. Few phones offer these physical clickers these days, opting for the more svelt touch-capacitive buttons along the top. However, we were particularly thankful for these small additions, making for a far more engaging experience overall.
Add to all that a design and feel that brings the Black Shark line more into the realm of the everyday smartphone market and you’ve got yourself a secret weapon in your pocket. This is a dream of a phone without topping the price charts.
Read more: Black Shark 5 Pro review
The best premium gaming phone
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The latest ROG phone certainly doesn’t rip up the rulebook. Sporting an almost identical design to the previous generation, the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is a familiar sight with the chunky form factor and bezels of a much older device. However, that slightly outdated feel belies an incredibly powerful device.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset runs this show, offering some incredible performance and the cooling to back it up. Without the dedicated AeroCooler system (sold separately), things can get a little heated when pushed to max, but we were never uncomfortable during standard everyday gaming. That’s not something we can say for the majority of gaming phones out there.
Pair that with a gorgeous screen (working particularly hard for you considering its resolution sits at just 2448 x 1080) and a beastly set of front firing speakers and the overall experience is unlike anything we’ve experienced before. Everything is crisp and snappy thanks to the AMOLED display running at 165Hz, meanwhile the touch sensitive triggers make sure you’re taking every shot with excellent precision.
The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate sports some of the most capable components on the market right now, with a luxury finish and a well-recognized pedigree in the mobile gaming space.
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate review
The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate has even avoided software pitfalls that sometimes plague even the best gaming phones. The Armoury Crate software neatly pulls all your games together while also serving as a hub for performance settings, framerate limits, and screen recordings. It’s not unusual to find these features split across several different programs clogging up a gaming phone, so this sparsity is a welcome relief.
All of that makes the lofty price point all the more enticing, particularly if you’re happy to invest in a high-end device. However, there is one flaw that may well stop you in your tracks. The charging USB-C port to the bottom of the phone is off-centre. That means you won’t be able to use the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate with the majority of mobile controllers which often connect directly via this USB-C port. Bluetooth gamepads won’t be effected but if you’re looking to use something like the Razer Kishi V2, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Overall, though, this is a serious piece of kit with the serious price tag to match. If you want the best of the best, Asus is a good place to start, but there are some sacrifices you can make (and likely won’t notice) if you do want to keep the cost down.
Read more: Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate review
The best value gaming phone
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The Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro is an absolute beast of a gaming phone. You’re getting some incredibly powerful components in that Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, up to 18GB RAM, and 120Hz AMOLED display – which all converge to create a mobile gaming experience like no other.
The raw horsepower built into this monster is going to tear through anything you can throw at it.
RedMagic 7 Pro review
With a 960Hz multi-finger touch sampling rate keeping your on-screen movements clean and precise, and a set of shoulder buttons sitting atop the device itself, inputs felt snappy and comfortable. While these shoulder buttons are touch-based, rather than relying on the actuation of a physical clicker, they quickly merged into muscle memory. Add RedMagic’s own Red Core 1 chip to direct non-essential processing tasks away from the Snapdragon chipset, and the 20,000RPM fan keeping everything cool, and we found that not only is the 7 Pro incredibly powerful on paper, but it also manages to squeeze every last ounce of juice out of its components as well.
While we were frustrated with some of the menu navigations and everyday software bugs still present in our test device, the 7 Pro still managed to hold its own as a standard smartphone on top of its gaming prowess. Sure, the cameras won’t be competing with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy range or the iPhone 13 Pro, but with 120W fast-charging (outside of the US – 65W in North America and Canada) and a solid battery life there’s plenty going on here.
The Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro is the best gaming phone for those on the hunt for the most powerful device on the market.
Read more: Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro review
The best budget gaming phone
Picking up a cheaper gaming phone doesn’t mean limiting yourself to match-three puzzlers or go with an unknown brand. The Samsung Galaxy A50 costs a small fraction of its flashier siblings like the S20 or Note series, but this is still a great phone and a stone-cold bargain if you want to spend less, but get a phone that won’t let you down.
I was testing this for gaming against some very expensive phones and I almost had to have a word with it and explain how it needed to stop showing up the big boys. Call of Duty Mobile on high settings for graphics and frame rate. Why not? Sure, it wasn’t quite as smooth or detailed as your $1000/£1000 flagship phones, but at less than a third of the price, the A50 is way better than it should be.
As a day to day phone, the Samsung Galaxy A50 has a very good camera, with only the night pictures being prone to a loss of detail if there are too many artificial light sources. Amazingly for a phone at this price, it has a dual-SIM slot, making it handy if you have separate work/home SIMs or if you’re picking up a cheap data card when traveling abroad. There’s a newer Galaxy A51 out there now, which aside from an upgrade to 48MP/32MP (back/front) camera lenses, carries the same internal spec and display, so we’d stick with the A50 for the generally cheaper cost, but if you’re curious, here are the latest Galaxy A51 prices.
The best Apple gaming phone
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The iPhone has struggled to truly be recognised as one of the best gaming phones in its lifetime, but there’s no reason it can’t truly step into the space with Apple Arcade and its own gaming network in Game Center. Last year’s iPhone 13 Pro was the first real movement towards integrating that gaming focus into Apple’s smartphone hardware, with a 120Hz display, boosted processor, and enhanced battery. This year we’ve had our hands on the iPhone 14 Plus. While that refresh rate might be dropped down in this model, though, the big-screen treatment is well worth investing in if you’re sticking with Apple’s ecosystem.
The iPhone 14 Plus is Apple’s entry level flagship for those who want more than an entry level smartphone.
iPhone 14 Plus review
First up, we were impressed by just how good the iPhone 14 Plus feels in the hand. The larger model manages to keep to an 18% increase in weight over the stock iPhone 14 model, while boosting battery life by around 26% as observed in our testing. Even with that larger screen size, we were relieved to finally hand over from the particularly hefty iPhone 13 Pro.
This isn’t a top of the range phone, but the size of the screen makes for a particularly immersive experience. Combine that with excellent performance (though nothing that will concern the ultra-powerful Android models above) and a battery life that can potentially see you through a couple of days and this is the best iPhone for gaming yet.
Yes, you’re dropping some of the more polished features available further up the product range. There’s no Dynamic Island and the camera array is comprised of just two lenses. However, that camera system is supported by a larger sensor which means better low light shots and better colors to boot. It’s this reviewer’s favorite camera on this list.
You’ll likely get a better overall experience by climbing further up the iPhone ladder. However, if you’re not a content creator or Apple power-user, the larger screen of the iPhone 14 Plus makes it a go-to for mobile gaming.
Read more: iPhone 14 Plus review
The best Samsung gaming phone
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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 finally achieves what the foldable phone movement set out to achieve all those years ago. The latest iteration feels like the first to truly deliver on that promise of smartphone form factor and tablet functionality, with an impressive set of specs under the hood and some incredible UI improvements up top.
The horizontal folding action means you’re getting a full 7.6-inch display when fully open, which we found excellent for multi-tasking (especially paired with split view) and gaming alike. From browsing the web while checking emails to adding an extra window for on the fly Spotify controls, Samsung has moved beyond providing a larger phone screen here and more into the world of a tablet productivity machine.
The future of phones, today
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 review
When it comes to gaming, the impressive tech on display certainly doesn’t disappoint either. We never ran into any heating problems while running heavier titles like Call of Duty Mobile, and the 120Hz refresh rates on every screen meant we were really pushing those demanding apps for their fullest potential. We did, however, stumble across a slight issue with some more retro side-scrolling titles – losing a moment of control as we slid over the crease in the middle of the two screens. There was only one game that we tested that produced this, however.
We also got some great action out of those Dolby speakers. Aside from their obvious employment in streaming and music apps, they performed brilliantly in our gaming tests as well, carrying a full sound stage with plenty of detail.
Speaking of streaming, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 finally brings some innovations to its entertainment apps. While ‘Flex’ mode (fold the screen horizontally like a laptop for playback controls on the lower half of the panel) is yet to be implemented across some apps, Netflix ran beautifully while propped up in this way.
It’s certainly costly, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 takes foldable phones’ first real steps into the future, and it’s easily the best phone released this year.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 review
How we test gaming phones
Each handset that passes our pockets goes through a series of tests to see if it’s worthy of being listed as one of the best gaming phones on the market. First and foremost, though, we live with these devices to see just how well their form factors, cameras, screens, and – crucially – battery lives hold up under every day use. That’s why we adopt each model as our own throughout the testing period, putting each phone through its paces in both standard use and through heavy gaming sessions.
After that, we run each gaming phone through a series of titles to determine their performance as well as how much battery they consume. Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG, Magic The Gathering: Arena, and Fortnite (on Android) are our primary titles.
You can find out more about how we make our recommendations in our full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.
Which phones are best for gaming?
In our testing, the best phone for gaming is currently the Samsung Z Fold 3, thanks to that expandable screen and excellent feature set. However, the smartphone market is expanding once again, with flagship devices chipping away at Apple and Samsung’s shared monopoly in the last couple of years. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the gaming phone market. Between gaming-focused brands like Asus and Razer and more mainstream options like OnePlus and Sony, there’s always something new just around the corner.
Which gaming phone is cheapest?
The iPhone SE is the cheapest phone that we recommend for gaming, but if you’re looking for a games-focused model, your cheapest options are likely to come from Xiaomi.
Are gaming phones worth it?
If you’re invested in the wide and wonderful world of mobile gaming, sinking some cash into a device that can keep up with your pursuits will always be worth it. You’ll enjoy a faster screen, more RAM and storage, a more powerful processor, and additional gaming features like fps caps and performance modes.
However, if you tinker with Apple Arcade every now and then or jump into the odd PUBG session, we’d recommend aiming for a phone that can support your mobile gameplay, but not at the sacrifice of other features. The best gaming phones often drop camera and high-end networking features, and can cost a pretty penny to boot, so it’s worth working out whether you’ll actually be using those additional gadgets before investing.
Now that you’re kitted out, you’ll find all the best iPhone games and the best Android games ranked. We’re also rounding up all the best gaming earbuds available as well.