Do You Actually Need a Gaming Phone in 2025?

The entreaty of a console similar the Nintendo Switch 2 oregon gaming handhelds similar the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go S, etc., is obvious: They supply a portable gaming level you tin bring anyplace truthful you tin bask games wherever and whenever you want. But you’re already carrying a telephone astir with you everyplace you go. What if it could cheque the aforesaid boxes that a gaming handheld does?

That’s the question that mightiness nonstop you down the gaming telephone rabbit hole. Depending connected what you’re aft from your gaming hardware, there’s a bully accidental a gaming telephone could beryllium a bully acceptable for you. But first, you’ll privation to recognize what makes a standout gaming telephone truthful antithetic from your emblematic smartphone, what limitations a gaming telephone volition inactive have, and however you program to usage it.

What Makes a Great Gaming Phone?

A gaming telephone is going to person each the aforesaid halfway elements arsenic an mundane phone, but it volition apt person souped-up versions and other hardware enhancements to assistance it execute amended astatine its halfway task: gaming.

On the iPhone broadside of the fence, the champion gaming telephone volition beauteous overmuch conscionable beryllium the latest Pro model, arsenic it volition see the astir potent system-on-chip and highest prime show of the options Apple makes.

On Android, it gets much complicated. Many flagship phones volition diagnostic the latest Qualcomm oregon MediaTek chipset, truthful it mightiness look similar they should each execute connected an adjacent footing. To immoderate extent, they tin execute rather adjacent to 1 another. In our telephone tests, we often find the aforesaid system-on-chip performing neck-and-neck to 1 different successful abbreviated tests. But successful longer, much demanding tests, we get to spot conscionable however the gaming phones’ enhancements assistance acceptable them apart.

Sustained performance

When we trial phones, we enactment them done long-lasting gaming and benchmarks that springiness them plentifulness of clip to spot their somesthesia ascent and their show tank. A telephone that tin tally a benchmark erstwhile astatine 30fps mightiness descend down to conscionable 15fps aft moving that benchmark 20 times. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra demonstrated this well; its show halved implicit the people of 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light accent test. By contrast, the RedMagic 10 Pro implemented progressive cooling, allowing it to tally the aforesaid benchmark and spot its show lone descend by 21% implicit the people of the trial (or adjacent clasp unchangeable astatine a somewhat lowered ceiling). That sustained show is important for longer gaming sessions. The past happening you privation from a gaming telephone is to commencement playing and ticker your crippled get slower and slower arsenic you go.

Heat absorption and ergonomics

It’s not conscionable the vigor of the chipset tanking show that matters. Where that vigor goes is besides important for a gaming phone. Unless you’re utilizing a telephone controller, you’re going to beryllium holding the telephone successful your hands portion you play. The vigor generated by the telephone tin effect successful hotspots and spell beyond simply uncomfortable to touch. Gaming phones thin to person enhanced cooling systems that purpose to forestall vigor buildup successful the archetypal spot located successful spots that support it distant from the areas of the telephone you’re apt to clasp portion gaming. The Asus ROG Phone 9 positions its chipset astatine the halfway of the phone, for example. A gaming telephone ought to person rounded corners arsenic good truthful that hard edges don’t stab into your palms.

A accelerated screen

60Hz is simply a happening of the past connected large phones. Gaming phones, adjacent connected the affordable extremity of the spectrum, astir invariably connection at least 120Hz refresh rates. That helps marque mundane usage consciousness smooth, but it’s particularly applicable to games for much item successful motion. That’s not the lone constituent of velocity that matters here, though. Gaming phones besides thin to person an elevated interaction sampling rate. This helps registry touches connected the show sooner, which whitethorn beryllium hard to observe successful signifier but tin marque a quality successful fast-paced games wherever each millisecond counts.

A large battery

A super-powered telephone with a monolithic show could beryllium fantastic to crippled on, but if it’s carrying a tiny 4,000mAh battery, it astir apt won’t beryllium each that utile for gaming successful general. Playing games sucks down a batch of foodstuff betwixt the surface being connected and chipset moving astatine precocious speeds. Combine that with the load of regular usage passim the day, and you could beryllium moving for a charger often if you effort to crippled connected a telephone with a tiny battery. Most bully gaming phones volition diagnostic a sizable artillery pack. For example, the RedMagic 10 Pro offers 1 of the biggest batteries we’ve seen successful a telephone that wasn’t outlandishly heavy with its 7,050mAh pack.

Additional features

Scoring precocious marks successful the areas supra tin acceptable up a telephone for occurrence portion gaming. But to spell supra and beyond, a gaming telephone should person a fewer other features tailored to heighten the gaming acquisition oregon supply adjacent much options portion playing. This tin see bonus bundle oregon hardware features, similar OnePlus’s HyperRendering instrumentality for upscaling and framework interpolation. Many gaming phones volition diagnostic dedicated enarthrosis buttons to springiness gamers much input methods. Support for pass-through powerfulness is besides a communal and utile instrumentality for gamers, arsenic it lets the system-on-chip gully powerfulness straight from a cablegram connection, skipping the artillery and the other vigor procreation that comes with it.

Gaming Phone Limitations

Getting a gaming telephone to service its halfway intent tends to travel with immoderate trade-offs. Some of those are due to the fact that the plan necessitates it, and others are simply due to the fact that a shaper tin lone enactment truthful overmuch into a telephone earlier its terms spirals retired of control.

Missing features

A fewer features of modern smartphones you’ve astir apt travel to expect aren’t ever contiguous connected gaming phones. Wireless charging mightiness beryllium absent. That other furniture of coiled ligament indispensable for wireless charging not lone takes up precious interior space, but tin get successful the mode of the phone’s quality to transportation vigor into the backmost of the chassis. To marque up for it, a batch of gaming phones volition astatine slightest enactment precise accelerated wired charging (like the RedMagic 10 Pro’s 100W charging). Water extortion can besides autumn abbreviated of competitors. A gaming telephone that uses progressive cooling won’t person the aforesaid sealed chassis that different devices do, truthful it’ll beryllium exposed to imaginable ingress of h2o and dust.

Cameras

The camera strategy connected galore smartphones tin beryllium 1 of its biggest selling points; instrumentality the triple-sensor arrays connected the iPhone 16 Pro oregon OnePlus 13, oregon adjacent the quad-sensor array connected the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, for instance. Meanwhile gaming phones thin to divert their efforts elsewhere. The Asus ROG Phone 9, contempt costing arsenic overmuch arsenic these competitors, offers a overmuch much meager camera strategy with 1 wide camera, 1 ultra-wide, and a throwaway macro lens. It’s a akin communicative for the RedMagic 10 Pro. Even if the magnitude of cameras tacked onto a gaming telephone is the aforesaid arsenic a mainstream phone, we’ve yet to spot 1 travel adjacent the prime of the mainstream competition.

Game selection

Even if a gaming telephone has gobs of powerfulness to tally games, it is inactive constricted to the enactment of games disposable connected its autochthonal operating strategy (more than likely, that’s Android). While determination are tons of games disposable connected mobile, you’ll inactive beryllium missing retired connected galore of the biggest games around. AAA games thin not to motorboat connected mobile platforms. There are means of playing PC and console games connected your telephone via unreality gaming and crippled streaming, but these trust astir wholly connected the prime of your wireless transportation and tin tally connected precise humble hardware – meaning, a gaming telephone provides small payment implicit immoderate different phone. The show of phones has leapt substantially recently, and I wouldn’t beryllium amazed if we started to spot much attraction fixed to mobile, but until then, the benefits of a almighty gaming telephone volition beryllium constricted to the enactment of games disposable straight connected the telephone itself.

Does a Gaming Phone Make Sense?

Ask yourself this bid of questions earlier buying a gaming phone. If you reply immoderate of them with a “no,” past you’ll astir apt beryllium capable to skip a gaming telephone and opt for a mean smartphone instead.

Do you similar to play games disposable connected Android and iOS?

If so, past a gaming telephone mightiness marque sense. If astir of the games you privation to play are connected PC oregon console, though, there’s small crushed to get a gaming phone, arsenic it won’t supply immoderate peculiar benefit. For PC games, a gaming handheld whitethorn marque much sense. For console games, you’ll apt beryllium looking astatine crippled streaming oregon unreality gaming.

Do you play games with aggravated graphics?

Realistic 3D graphics tin beryllium a dense assistance for gaming hardware, and that’s erstwhile the show of a gaming telephone mightiness travel successful handy. But galore mobile games aren’t terribly demanding. Games similar Among Us, Hearthstone, Stardew Valley, Subway Surfers, etc., don’t earnestly taxation caller smartphone CPUs and GPUs. If that’s your preferred gaming fare, past you tin astir apt get by perfectly good with a mean smartphone.

Do you similar to dial up graphics settings to the max and crippled for agelong stretches of time?

Even though they’re not made specifically for gaming, caller flagship phones similar the OnePlus 13 tin inactive execute wonderfully successful demanding games. It’s the other show and thermal absorption of gaming phones that helps them outperform their mainstream counterparts erstwhile it comes to going balls to the wall, sustaining show for extended periods, and maintaining acceptable temperatures portion doing so. But if you conscionable leap into a crippled present and determination for 5-10 minutes astatine a clip and don’t attraction astir cranking up graphics settings oregon the differences betwixt 30fps and 60fps, plentifulness of phones are up to the task.

If you answered yes for those past 3 questions, past a gaming telephone could beryllium a astute pick. You’ll get stronger performance, longer artillery life, and less vigor issues than you would from astir mundane smartphones. In immoderate different case, you’ll astir apt beryllium amended served by a modular smartphone, gaming handheld, unreality gaming, oregon immoderate operation of the three.

Which Gaming Phone Should You Buy?

IGN's wide apical prime for the champion gaming telephone close present is the RedMagic 10 Pro with its fantabulous show and a large display. Below are the remainder of our top-reviewed options for gaming successful 2025.

Mark Knapp is simply a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has implicit 10 years of acquisition successful the tech manufacture with bylines astatine PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark connected Twitter @Techn0Mark oregon BlueSky astatine @Techn0Mark.