Best gaming phones 2023 - buyer’s guide

Nobody does smartphone gaming quite like Asus. Many iterations into the ROG Phone line, that remains a fact.

ROG Phone 8 generation and the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro are the phones with the most mainstream appeal to come out of the ROG family as of yet. This is the most compact and pocketable ROG Phone ever, now with proper IP68 ingress protection. Yet, that has not come at the expense of the excellent display, which still has a 6.78-indi diagonal, excellent upgraded 2,500 nits max brightness, HDR capabilities and 165Hz refresh rate, now with LTPO tech for adaptive refresh rate adjustment. The camera setup has been massively upgraded with gimbal OIS on the main cam and a dedicated telephoto shooter, both adding to the overall versatility and mainstream appeal of the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro.

The new, more compact design does come with a few sacrifices, though. The stereo speaker setup has been downgraded compared to previous generations. And the battery capacity, which has experienced a reduction from 6,000 mAh down to 5,500 mAh. However, in practice, neither is a major downgrade, and Asus has also done its best to mitigate other issues of the new design, like the punch-hole selfie camera interrupting the display experience and the absence of a notification LED.

Overall, we understand and support the changes Asus has introduced with the ROG Phone 8 family. In more ways than one, this move from purely gamer-focused device to one with a more general appeal has been an ongoing process for a good few ROG Phone generations. If this is what it takes for more people to notice the excellent ROG Phone family, then it is more than warranted. Plus, at its heart, the ROG Phone 8/8 Pro is still a gaming beast with excellent hardware and arguably industry-leading software to ensure the best possible gaming experience out there. It's just that it comes in a more mainstream package this time around.

The Red Magic 9 Pro is a capable gaming smartphone with tons of useful gaming features, excellent design, and probably one of the best, if not the best, price/performance ratios currently on the market. Kudos to nubia for maintaining its competitive pricing..

It's not only an affordable Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 option, but it also offers outstanding battery life (even better than before), decently fast charging and a great set of stereo speakers.

However, it's hard to get over the fact that this is the first Red Magic phone to overheat under prolonged loads. We checked, and every single Red Magic phone we've tested kept its cool under prolonged loads. That used to be its shtick, and now it's gone. Also, the display is not as competitive in brightness and HDR capabilities, the software still needs better translation, and the high refresh rate gaming is still a hit-and-miss. However, at this price tag, and a few software updates down the line, it does deserve a shot.

The Motorola Edge 40 Pro doesn't market itself as a gaming phone. On the contrary, with its slick and toned-down exterior, it couldn't look further from it. However, it has a lot of the same makings and the potential to be a true gaming beast. Starting with the chipset, the Edge 40 Pro is rocking Qualcomm's best Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Then there's also the display. The Edge 40 Pro has a 165Hz OLED display, which is unheard of outside the gaming realm. The phone also does great with auto refresh rate handling, which is great for gaming.

The Edge 40 Pro also has excellent battery life and fast charging. Its only real shortcoming is the daylight camera performance, which falls a bit short. We guess that won't bother the gamer crowd too much, though.

Who would have thought that iPhones will become a regular recommendation in our gaming section of the buyer’s guide. And with the release of the new iPhone 15 series, it’s time to replace the older iPhone 14 Pro Max with the latest 15 Pro Max. But we are not doing it just for the higher performance, which the brand new Apple 17 Pro chipset provides.

Apple’s recent push in the gaming segment is showing some results as the company promises console-level gaming with its new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. We chose the Pro Max for this section, of course, due to its bigger display and longer battery life.

The new A17 Pro chip ensures exceptional gaming performance, which you can bring on a bigger external display using the USB-C 3.2 port and Apple promises to bring big AAA gaming titles to iOS - Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Assassin's Creed Mirage. This is actually a big step for the whole smartphone gaming segment.

In addition to the excellent performance, the 15 Pro Max offers great visual experience, full utilization of the 120Hz refresh rate, outstanding stereo speakers and long software support, ensuring support for future gaming titles.

Although not specifically marketed as a gaming phone, the Xiaomi 13T Pro has a good proposition value in this aspect, no matter if it was intentional or not. In addition to the powerful Dimensity 9200+ chipset, which outperforms even handsets with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in some benchmarks, the phone also sports a big, bright and fast 144Hz OLED panel, nice-sounding stereo speakers, dependable battery life, blazing-fast charging and a capable camera hardware.

But what’s power without control? Well, the 13T Pro surprised us with excellent sustained performance, even after long and extensive stress tests. These resulsts suggest that the device can handle long gaming sessions without resorting to heavy throttling and loss in performance. And besides, the Xiaomi 13T Pro is relatively cheap compared to most gaming-oriented or powerful flagship phones.