This is a question that pops up every now and then. We’ve seen many good smartphones for mobile gaming, but if you’re looking for the best phone to play games on, this list should help you out.
Powerful specs are required to run high-end graphics and demanding games. You can find everything from low-budget phones under $200 which will run basic 2D casual games only, to flagship devices that cost over $1000 and should be able to handle anything.
List of Top 8 mobiles
Huawei Honor Play:
The Chinese manufacturer Huawei makes several smartphones that fall into our “best smartphones for gaming” category. Huawei’s Honor Play is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin 970 octa-core chipset with an i7 co-processor, Mali-G72 MP12 GPU, and 4GB RAM. It has a 1080p IPS display covered with 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3750 mAh battery which easily lasts the whole day with heavy usage (and probably even more than that). The device also comes equipped with an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner that is embedded into the home button on the front side.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X
As you might already know, most smartphones sold in China are not compatible with US networks (which is why you can’t use them there), but Xiaomi phones actually come with several different LTE bands and work pretty well in the US. The Redmi NOTE 4X is powered by a Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset, Adreno 506 GPU, and 3GB of RAM. It might not be as powerful as some other smartphones on this list (or even slightly weaker than Honor Play), but it’s also one of the cheapest ones, costing only $185.
Asus Zenfone AR
We’re leaving China again and entering US territory now with ASUS’ high-end smartphone which was released in Summer 2017. The Zenfone AR is probably the most expensive device on our list, but it also has a lot going for itself: it comes with a 5.7″ WQHD Super AMOLED display covered with Gorilla Glass 4, Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro AB chipset, Adreno 530 GPU, and 8GB RAM. It also has a very capable 32/64/128 GB of internal storage as well as an expandable micro SD card slot (up to 2TB), 23MP primary camera, 3000 mAh battery, and Android 7.1 Nougat. Best of all, the Zenfone AR ships with Google’s Project Tango technology which allows you to experience Augmented Reality in games or apps which support this type of functionality.
Razer Phone
Another gaming-oriented smartphone on our list is Razer Phone (which was actually released in November 2017. This device is powered by Snapdragon 835 octa-core chipset, Adreno 540 GPU, and 8GB RAM. It has a 5.7″ Sharp IGZO IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate and runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box with Nova Launcher pre-installed (and no bloatware whatsoever). Razer Phone has Chroma LED effects on its back that can be customized to your liking, stereo front-firing speakers for higher bass tones when playing games or watching video content, 64GB of expandable storage.
ZTE Nubia Z17
This one is an international version of the Chinese ZTE Nubia Z17 which was released back in April 2020. It’s a pretty powerful flagship smartphone with Snapdragon 835 chipset, Adreno 540 GPU, and 6GB RAM. The Nubian Z17 is equipped with a 5.5″ FullHD AMOLED display covered with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4, 64/128 GB of internal storage, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging, USB Type-C port, and dual 12MP f/1.8 primary camera.
Nokia 8
If you don’t like Chinese smartphones (or those international variants) and prefer something that runs on pure Android, then you might want to take a look at HMD Global’s Nokia 8. It’s a solid, high-end Android smartphone with a Snapdragon 835 chipset , Adreno 540 GPU, and 4/6GB of RAM. Nokia 8 has 5.3″ IPS display covered with Gorilla Glass 5, either 64 or 128 GB of internal storage, 13MP dual cameras on its back (both f/2.0), USB Type-C port, Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging, and 3000 mAh battery.
Honor V9 Play
This one is a budget variant of Huawei Honor 8 (which was released back in 2016), but it does pack some interesting features, so let’s see what makes it so special: Honor V9 Play has 5.2″ IPS display covered with 2.5D gorilla glass, Kirin 655 chipset, Mali T830 MP2 GPU and 3GB RAM. What makes this device perfect for gaming are its dual 13MP f/2.0 cameras which can be used to capture amazing photos or some nice AR effects in games that support this technology (like Pokémon Go ). Honor V9 Play has a 3000 mAh battery, 32/64GB of internal storage, and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.
Conclusion:
So these are some of the best gaming smartphones that you can find on the market right now. I’m sure that there are even more powerful devices out there, but if you’re looking for something affordable – these should be perfect for all your mobile gaming needs.
