GAMERS GATHER HERE

From budget bargains and mid-range marvels to fabulous flagships and foldable friends, contenders for the title of best gaming smartphone come in all shapes and sizes.

Mobile tech has come on in leaps and bounds recently, meaning you can play preposterously popular 3D titles like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile while on the move. Sorry, Doodle jump and Angry Birds – your time has passed. As you can imagine, a bang-up gaming phone needs a processor capable of pushing performance to the max, more RAM than a desktop computer, and a dazzling display. There’s also no shortage of accessories that can take your mobile gaming to the next level.


Even with that knowledge, separating the best from the rest in a market this crowded is no easy feat. That’s why we’ve taken the liberty of spotlighting some of the very best gaming phones we’ve encountered on our travels. Are you ready, player one?

What’s the best gaming smartphone?

Before we crack on with the full list, here’s a look at our three top choices:


Best overall gaming smartphone: Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro

Outstanding performance, an extensive accessory list and active cooling make Asus’ latest ROG handset the clear winner for gamers who don’t like to compromise. It’s big, with a distinctive design that won’t be to all tastes, and an average collection of cameras for the price – but for consistently smooth frame rates, it’s a superb buy.

Best iOS gaming smartphone: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple Arcade subscribers can do no better than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. It’s beyond powerful, with a stunning screen that’ll have any game looking its best, and a library of titles available through the App Store that gets close to full-on games consoles in a way no Android phone can match. It’s also just a brilliant all-round smartphone, even with that wince-inducing price.

Best affordable gaming smartphone: Poco F4 GT

You’ll have to look at slightly older handsets for the best blend of powerful hardware and affordable price. It’s something we think the Poco F4 GT does best right now: it’s a lot cheaper than our top pick, yet comes with pop-out triggers for physical inputs while gaming, and still has a top-tier Snapdragon CPU running the show.

*Google Pixel 7 Pro
*Xiaomi 12T Pro
*Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
*Infinix Zero 20Ultra