Peeps use smartphones for different reasons. Some use smartphones for professional purposes, some love chatting, some are interested in randomly surfing the Internet, others are interested in photographic aspects, education, etc. The list is endless, but there are some that want a smartphone for gaming. These individuals aren’t concerned about the quality of selfies or camera resolution; they just want to game all day long, all night long.

They are mostly concerned with high-end graphics, big, razor-sharp displays, extensive battery life, CPU competency and all. Select manufacturers, aware of this, make smartphones fit for this purpose.

Out of the numerous smartphones around the world, we’ve curated the best ones for intense gaming. The good deal is that they not only permit addictive gaming action, they also meet the needs of every other regular smartphone user. Let’s get down on the act.

Razer Phone 2: A gaming prodigy

It’s unsurprising that the Razer Phone 2 is making it to this list, and even taking the number one slot. Razer Phone 2 is the second version of Razer’s entry into the mobile world. Primarily, Razer was and is successful in producing laptops specifically for gaming. That’s the reason its launch into the smartphone universe was a hit.

Released in October 2018, the phone looks and breathes like a gaming device. The components within and outside express the preceding sentence. Users have a stellar 120Hz display and Adreno 630 GPU to thank for excellent visuals. High refresh rate games like Pokémon Go, Mortal Kombat X, Arena of Glory and Marvel Future Fight (The word “Marvel” in this phrase tickles my fancy) can be best enjoyed on the smartphone.

And power concerns are nowhere to be found as the 4,000mAh battery guarantees over 10 hours of massive performance. With Quick Charge 4+ equipped, the battery needs only 15 minutes to get charged to 50%.

Key Specifications:

  • 5.72-inch IGZO IPS LCD, 1440 x 2560 pixels
  • 2.8GHz Snapdragon 845 Octa-core processor
  • 8GB RAM
  • 64GB storage, expandable – 512GB
  • Android 8.1 Oreo OS (Planned upgrade to Android 9.0 Pie)
  • Adreno 630 GPU
  • 12MP + 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash
  • 8MP selfie camera
  • Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
  • 4G VoLTE
  • 4,000mAh battery (non-removable)
  • Quick Charge 4+

Huawei Mate 20 Pro: An all-round powerhouse of a phone, that is unsurprisingly great at gaming

When the Huawei Mate 20 Pro arrived in October, what most of us saw was a tsunami-like flagship phone. Yes, that’s true but something we didn’t see lucidly is its gaming ingeniousness. As a top-tier smartphone, triple rear cameras (40MP + 20MP + 8MP Leica sensors) was the major highlight. Asides camera features, the introduction of the Huawei NM (Nano-Memory) cards & Reverse Wireless Charging also drew attention.

But the AMOLED display, Huawei Kirin 980 chipset and 6GB / 8GB RAM were powerful enough to melt the heart of gamers. Its 6.39-inch AMOLED screen ensures there’s enough estate for fighting on Tekken Mobile and PUBG. Better yet, the resolution of 1440 x 3120 pixels does justice to the crispness of the display. Given Kirin 980’s 7nm architecture, there’s faster CPU speed and performance. The tag-along with either 6GB or 8GB RAM makes its performance even sleeker.

  • 6.39-inch AMOLED, 1440 x 3120 pixels
  • 2.6GHz Kirin 980 (7 nm) Octa-core processor
  • 6GB / 8GB RAM
  • 128GB / 256GB storage, expandable – 256GB NM card
  • Android 9.0 Pie OS
  • Mali-G76 MP10
  • 40MP + 20MP + 8MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash
  • 24MP selfie camera
  • Fingerprint sensor (under display)
  • 4G VoLTE, Dual SIM Dual VOLTE
  • 4,200mAh battery (non-removable)
  • Qi wireless fast charging 15W
  • Reverse wireless charging

Apple iPhone XS Max: Classy for ego, premium for gaming

You must have seen this coming; an Apple smartphone being thrown in the mix. iPhone XS Max is a lot of things as long as ritziness is added to the equation. Talk about the contagious notch design, the Super Retina Display, iOS 12.1, the Bionic A12 chipset, etc. In the same vein, if you take off all the glitz and glamour, you’re left with a game-sick device.

There’s the 7nm Bionic chip that governs swift smartphone operations. Oh, the four-core Apple GPU that dictates graphics flow and the 120 Hz touch-sensing that complements it. Another thing that singles it out is the benefit of the App Store. Game developers love dishing out top quality games to Apple’s App Store first.

  • 6.5-inch Super AMOLED, 1242 x 2688 pixels
  • Apple A12 Bionic chipset (7 nm)
  • 4GB RAM
  • 64GB/128GB/256GB storage
  • iOS 12.1
  • Apple GPU
  • 12MP + 12MP rear camera with Quad-LED dual-tone LED flash
  • 7 MP selfie camera
  • Face ID
  • Non-removable Li-Ion 3174 mAh battery

Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Keep on scribbling, keep on gaming

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 isn’t only a badass regarding everyday phone usage; it also bags kick-ass gaming. Yes, the large 6.4-inches display serves the primary purpose of jotting notes well. Nonetheless, games such as Fornite, Vainglory and Soul Seeker are better enjoyed on this estate. In fact, the Battle Royale game, Fortnite has an exclusive Galaxy skin for Samsung Galaxy devices.

More so, depending on the variant, the phone’s heart is either Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 SoC, both of which operate on a 10nm process. To this end, acquiring a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 means you have a professional and gaming phone in one piece.

  • 6.4-inch Super AMOLED (1440 x 2960 pixels)
  • IP68 dust/waterproof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
  • 2.8GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 845 SoC / Exynos 9810 Octa
  • Adreno 630 GPU / Mali-G72 MP18 GPU
  • 12MP + 12MP rear camera
  • Fingerprint sensor (Rear-mounted)
  • 8-megapixels front camera, Dual video call
  • S-Pen
  • 6GB / 8GB RAM
  • Android 8.1 Oreo OS
  • 128GB/512GB, expandable to 512GB
  • 4,000mAh (Quick Charge)

ZTE Nubia Red Magic Mars

Chinese phone makers, ZTE -undoubtedly renowned- made this ZTE Nubia Red Magic Mars as an update to the ZTE Nubia Red Magic, its first gaming smartphone. Touch-sensitive sensors otherwise known as shoulder buttons grants users the game controller’s “L1, R1” feel when playing games. A vapour cooling system is embedded in the device to reduce abnormal extremes of high temperature.

  • 6-inch LTPS IPS LCD FHD+ (1080 x 2160 pixels)
  • 2.8GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 845 SoC
  • Adreno 630 GPU
  • 16MP rear camera
  • Fingerprint sensor (Rear-mounted)
  • 8-megapixels selfie camera
  • 6GB / 8GB / 10GB RAM
  • Android 9.0 Pie (Nubia Red Magic 6.1 OS)
  • 64GB / 128GB / 256GB
  • 3,800mAh (Fast battery charging 5V/3A 16W)