Introduction
If you’re a self-proclaimed gamer, and fancy gaming on the go whether you’re on the commute to work or sitting on the toilet, then it may well be worth having a look at the best gaming phone options on the market.
Gaming phones prioritise important areas for portable gaming, which include performance, battery life and a screen’s refresh rate. That does mean non-gaming features, such as the camera, aren’t given as much attention. But if you do want a more rounded phone, there are also versatile options such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max that aren’t labelled as gaming phones, but still excel at gaming.
So what are the best gaming phones you can buy right now? Our team of experts have tested countless phones that excel at gaming, and so we’ve whipped up this comprehensive list of the cream of the crop.
Every phone included has been put through a thorough testing process, which includes performance benchmarks, real-time gaming, battery drains and measuring how long it takes for a full recharge. Combined with our day-to-day use of the phone, we then award each phone a rating out of 5. Those that achieve at least a 4-star rating, and excel at gaming, are considered for this very best list.
If you’re after the best all-round phones that are excellent at a range of other skills besides just gaming, then you should check out our best phones guide. If you’re on a tighter budget, then take a glance at our best mid-range phones and best cheap phones articles for a selection of more affordable handsets.
Best gaming phones at a glance
How we test
Every phone we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, screen accuracy, battery life, performance and camera prowess.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real-world checks, such as how much battery it loses per hour streaming video. For gaming phones, we pay particular attention as to how well they run some of the most popular mobile titles.
We also make sure to use every phone we review as our primary handset for at least a week to ensure our review is as accurate as possible. You can see a more detailed breakdown of our testing methodology in our how we test phones guide.
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Best gaming phone
Pros
- Elite performance
- Mammoth battery life
- Loud and booming speakers
- AirTriggers improve gaming controls
Cons
- Very expensive
- Too similar to ROG Phone 7
Take price out of the equation, and there’s no doubt that the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is the very best gaming phone you can buy. Our benchmark tests prove that it boasts one of the fastest performances you can find on an Android phone thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and is jam-packed with lots of gaming-centric features.
The AirTriggers are our favourite feature, acting as virtual triggers so you can use the phone like a traditional gamepad rather than relying solely on touchscreen prods. The haptic feedback is superb, and it’s customisable so you can set any function you want – for Call of Duty Mobile, we assigned the triggers to crouching and shooting.
The Ultimate model of the ROG Phone 7 also has a rear screen panel, which can provide handy alerts for notifications, charging status and more. Asus has also installed a panel on the back that will automatically open up whenever it senses the phone overheating, allowing increased airflow to cool down the internal components.
Booming speakers, a huge AMOLED display and a mammoth battery also combine to make the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate the absolute best gaming phone on the market. The only major concern is the price, costing over £1000/$1000. That makes the standard Asus ROG Phone 7 a tempting alternative, but the Ultimate model remains an outstanding choice.
Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full Review: Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate review
![Nubia RedMagic 8 Pro](https://www.trustedreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2023/06/RedMagic-8-Pro-review-1-1024x576.jpg)
Nubia RedMagic 8 Pro
Best mid-range gaming phone
Pros
- Excellent gaming performance
- High-quality hardware and great design
- Affordable starting price
- Solid battery life
Cons
- Software has quite a few small bugs
- No water or dust resistance rating
- Flawed vent design allows for dust ingress
Not everyone is lucky enough to have fistfuls of cash to throw at a phone, especially if it’s a secondary phone that you’re just using to satisfy your gaming needs. That’s why a device like the Redmagic 8 Pro comes in handy. It costs a lot less than the flagships on this list, but don’t let that fool you: it still delivers blistering performance.
Despite its mid-range price tag, the RedMagic 8 Pro sports Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with either 12- or 16GB of RAM to play with, making it a true powerhouse for gaming that can compete with plenty of expensive Android flagships – though it does fall short of the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s lofty heights.
Still, performance is solid even during prolonged gameplay sessions thanks to active cooling vents on the rear. The problem is that, without any mesh on the vents, dust and debris can get sucked in. Coupled with the transparent back, that’s not ideal.
Elsewhere, the 6.8-inch AMOLED display is a very good canvas for gaming, offering a 120Hz refresh rate, a dizzying 960Hz touch sampling rate, and a 1080p resolution with an improved 1,300 nits max brightness compared to its predecessor – one of our biggest complaints about the display, in fact. The unmistakable gaming-centric semi-transparent design also incorporates two 520Hz touch buttons which give you a real competitive edge.
Unfortunately, however, Nubia’s user interface continues to be cluttered and clunky with translation mistakes to be found as well, which hardly makes for an enjoyable experience. But if you can look past this flaw (and the sub-par camera system), then you’ve got yourself a highly capable gaming phone.
Reviewer: Palash Volvoikar
Full Review: Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro review
![Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra](https://www.trustedreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2023/02/Samsung-Galaxy-S23-Ultra-review-5-1024x580.jpg)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Best Android flagship for gaming
Pros
- 200MP camera delivers in both well-lit and low-light conditions
- Top-notch performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
- All-day battery life
- Stunningly detailed 6.8in 120Hz display
Cons
- Very expensive
- Relatively slow 45W charging
- Difficult to use one-handed
While the previous two entries in this list are dedicated gaming phones, built expressly for that purpose and nothing else, this one is a flagship smartphone that boasts excellent gaming performance as just one of its many accomplishments. If you pick this device, you’ll be able to play the best games in style – but you’ll get more than that, too.
In terms of its gaming capabilities, you’ll find a truly excellent performer here that is among the speediest Android phones around with an exclusive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset. It’s also got an utterly brilliant 120Hz WQHD+ screen, arguably the best on any smartphone you can buy, and it makes games a joy to play.
You won’t get some purist gaming enhancements, such as shoulder trigger buttons, but you will get some advantages that other gaming phones may miss out on, including a guaranteed five years of software updates and a brilliant camera system with a suite of lenses that include a main 200MP sensor and impressive zooming capabilities that are head and shoulders above the others on the market.
If you’re looking for an Android device that can handle games with aplomb but offer so much more, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is an easy recommendation.
Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review
![iPhone 14 Pro Max](https://www.trustedreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2022/10/iphone14promax-10-1024x683.jpg)
iPhone 14 Pro Max
Best iPhone for gaming
Pros
- Stunning display
- Performance that should stay fast for a long time
- Reliable cameras in all conditions
- Long battery life
- Dynamic island is a great idea
Cons
- No big zoom camera improvements
- Uncomfy design without a case
In our tests, we found the A16 Bionic chipset at the heart of the iPhone 14 Pro Max to be a gaming beast, comfortably capable of playing any title we could throw at it with ease.
Pair this with the large, responsive 6.7-inch ProMotion display which ramps up to 120Hz and the fantastic collection of titles available via both the App Store and Apple Arcade, and you have a true gaming champion.
You do miss out on the more gaming-specific features other phones we’ve included on this list possess. There are, of course, no built-in triggers nor the ROG Phone’s RGB lightning. It’s also a little more finicky streaming games from Game Pass on iOS than it is on Android, but it is doable.
You’re also getting an excellent phone in other areas. The three rear cameras are great, the software top-tier and the screen quality the best we’ve reviewed.
Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max review
![Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5](https://www.trustedreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2023/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Z-Fold-5-review-3-1024x683.jpg)
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Best cheap phone for gaming
Pros
- Large 7.6-inch foldable display
- Most powerful foldable phone around
- Better app support than other book-style foldables
Cons
- Very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
- £100/$150 price increase
- Identical camera setup
If you want something totally different for your gaming experience, look no further than the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. The foldable nature of the book-style smartphone means you’ve got access to a large, high-res 7.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED display when you want to play games on a big screen while still folding down to a size resembling a standard smartphone.
It’s not just the sheer size of the foldable display that makes the Z Fold 5 the best foldable for gaming either; it also boasts Qualcomm’s custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, just like the S23 Ultra, making it the most powerful foldable on the market right now. It’s more than capable of powering high-end AAA gaming experiences with high-level graphics enabled with consistent gameplay even over longer periods of use.
Elsewhere, a 4,400mAh battery should be enough to get you through even demanding gaming sessions, a triple rear camera setup offers more versatility than a regular gaming phone and it has four OS upgrades and five years of security patches to look forward to.
Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review
![Poco X5 Pro](https://www.trustedreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2023/02/Poco-X5-Pro-review-1024x576.jpg)
Poco X5 Pro
Best cheap phone for gaming
Pros
- Fully-capable 6.7-inch OLED display
- Surprisingly well-equipped camera
- Decent performance
Cons
- Cheap rear design
- MIUI software is very cluttered
- Unfriendly amount of bloatware
If you can’t get enough of your mobile gaming but don’t have a large disposable income to spend on one of the all-singing all-dancing flagships that we’ve listed above, then don’t worry; you can still get a great gaming experience at a lower price.
For this purpose, we’d especially recommend the Poco X5 Pro 5G. Despite the sub-$400/£400 price, it boasts key gaming-focused features including a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and 900 nits of brightness, along with support for HDR10+ for times when you aren’t gaming. That’s backed by a whopping 5,000mAh battery that can compete with most flagships for battery life, and a 108MP main snapper does a decent job too.
Of course, performance standards aren’t on the same level as flagship models, but they should be good enough to see you through your gaming sessions without too many problems.
This great value handset is well worth a look if you want to game to your heart’s content but can’t splash out on some of the bank-breaking options that excel in this area.
Reviewer: Connor Jewiss
Full Review: Poco X5 Pro 5G review
We also considered…
FAQs
Overall, we’d pick the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate as the best gaming phone you can buy.
We’d recommend the iPhone 14 Pro Max if you love gaming but want to stick with an iPhone.
Best Gaming Phones: Specifications Comparison
UK RRP
USA RRP
EU RRP
CA RRP
AUD RRP
Manufacturer
Screen Size
Storage Capacity
Rear Camera
Front Camera
Video Recording
IP rating
Battery
Wireless charging
Fast Charging
Size (Dimensions)
Weight
ASIN
Operating System
Release Date
First Reviewed Date
Resolution
HDR
Refresh Rate
Ports
Chipset
RAM
Colours
Stated Power
Best Gaming Phones: Tests Comparison
Geekbench 5 single core
Geekbench 5 multi core
Geekbench 6 single core
Geekbench 6 multi core
Max brightness
1 hour video playback (Netflix, HDR)
30 minute gaming (intensive)
30 minute gaming (light)
1 hour music streaming (online)
1 hour music streaming (offline)
Time from 0-100% charge
Time from 0-50% charge
30-min recharge (included charger)
15-min recharge (included charger)
30-min recharge (no charger included)
15-min recharge (no charger included)
3D Mark – Wild Life
3D Mark – Wild Life Stress Test
GFXBench – Aztec Ruins
GFXBench – Car Chase