The best gaming phones are more portable than a gaming laptop and almost as powerful as the best gaming console. A gaming phone has only one job - to help you win! Or you can just have fun playing games, whatever makes you happy.
A gaming phone needs more than top-notch specs. It should have software that optimizes its performance and cooling for every gaming need, whether you want to chug along for a long train ride, or tear through noobs with extreme prejudice. It should have special features, like side-button controls, that give you more options when you play.
We also love to share our gaming, so the best gaming phones need to have tools for streaming live over Twitch and other services, as well as capturing footage of our best moments.
We test all of the best gaming phones in depth, not just with benchmark software, but with real world play. We play online multiplayer games like Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG, massive role playing games like Genshin Impact, battle arena games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, casual strategy games like Marvel Snap, and we stream games from our Xbox One X gaming console.
The best premium gaming phone is the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, but you can find serious gaming performance for less money, or without the gamer aesthetic. The RedMagic 10 Pro offers the same power for less money, with amazing battery life. And of course there's always the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which offers the absolute top scores in benchmark tests.
The best gaming phones are dedicated gaming devices designed to help you enjoy your favorite mobile games in new ways. They offer the power of a handheld gaming console in a more convenient form factor than a gaming laptop, and support thousands of titles from triple-A blockbusters to indie games.
Moreso than any other smartphone niche, gaming phones are specialized for their intended purpose. Many of the gaming phones on this list have unique hardware features like shoulder buttons or light-up displays, and offer optimized software modes to help you get the most out of your play session. Some even have the ability to stream to Twitch built-in.
We've reviewed all of the phones on this list, so you know our advice is based on real-world expertise (just don't look at our K:D ratios). We test gaming phones on the best mobile games, such as Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and Marvel Snap.
At the top of this list, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro still reigns as the best premium gaming phone, with its extremely powerful specs and dedicated gaming hardware. RedMagic gets two mentions, first for the powerful RedMagic 10 Pro and then for the surprisingly affordable RedMagic 10 Air. For those after something a bit more subtle, the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra have got you covered.
Quick List
The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is the first Snapdragon 8 Elite phone we've reviewed and it's a powerful beast. Asus has further refined its formula for a look that is more professional than pro gamer, without sacrificing performance
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The RedMagic 10 Pro is the affordable gaming champ, with amazing benchmark scores and great real world performance, in addition to fantastic battery life.
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If you're gaming on iPhone, you want the best performance, the biggest display, and the most battery life, and that means the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the only iPhone you should consider for serious mobile gaming.
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The Galaxy S25 Ultra can do everything, and with its overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, of course it makes a great gaming pick, especially if you want to game with a pen.
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The RedMagic 10 Air costs just $549 / £439, and for some that'll be all they need to hear. The gaming phone market isn't known for budget-friendly models, so a phone like this with great specs and an appealing price tag has to get a mention.
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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 marks a huge step forwards in Samsung's pioneering folding phone series. With a bigger inner display and more high-performance hardware than ever before, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the best choice for mobile gaming on a folding screen.
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The best gaming phone 2025
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The best premium gaming
The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is a performance beast. It's the most powerful phone we've reviewed so far. It's got a subtle design for a gaming phone, amazing battery life, and tons of handy features.
Asus streamlined its gaming phone design last year, and the ROG Phone 9 Pro continues that trend. It's still a bit chunky, but the soft-touch glass back makes it comfortable to hold. Asus even added some cool features like wireless charging and IP68 water resistance, which you don't usually see in gaming phones.
For gamers, the larger 5,800mAh battery means you can game for hours on end, and the secondary USB-C port makes it easy to charge while you play.
The camera system is decent, but not amazing. It takes solid photos in most situations, but it can't quite keep up with the top-tier camera phones from Apple, Google, and Samsung. However, it does have a cool new gimbal system for super-stable shots.
The real star of the show is the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. This new chipset flies through games and benchmarks, and the improved cooling system keeps it running smoothly even during long gaming sessions. Plus, you get a choice between a gamer-focused UI or a more traditional Android look.
Overall, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is a fantastic phone for gamers and everyday users alike. It's expensive, but it delivers top-notch performance, a sleek design, and a ton of useful features. If you're looking for a phone that can do it all, the ROG Phone 9 Pro is definitely worth considering.
Read our full Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro review
The best gaming for most people
The RedMagic 10 Pro delivers outstanding gaming performance at a mid-range price. It packs the same Snapdragon 8 Elite processor as the much pricier Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, and it can handle any mobile game you throw at it with ease. Nubia also incorporated a built-in cooling fan, which helps maintain performance during long gaming sessions, giving it an edge over competitors that rely on external cooling.
Beyond raw power, the RedMagic 10 Pro is built for marathon gaming sessions. Its huge 7,050mAh battery offers incredible stamina, lasting us days with moderate use or a full day even with heavy gaming.
The display is a large 6.85-inch AMOLED with a 144Hz refresh rate. There's no notch, so gamers can see the entire screen. There are dedicated shoulder triggers that light up and can be mapped to game functions, giving a competitive advantage.
While it shines as a gaming device, the RedMagic 10 Pro is bulky and has a distinct "gamer" aesthetic, with RGB lighting and a semi-transparent back. This might not appeal to everyone. It also lacks water resistance, has only one USB-C port, and skips wireless charging.
The RedMagic 10 Pro prioritizes gaming performance and battery life above all else. It offers incredible value, making top-tier mobile gaming accessible at a lower price. However, that value comes with trade-offs in design, camera quality, and software updates.
Read our full RedMagic 10 Pro review
The best iPhone gaming
While Apple's MacOS computers may lag behind in gaming, the iPhone is an excellent game platform, and the best iPhone for gaming is easily the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It has the biggest, brightest display, the fastest performance, and the best design of any iPhone you can buy. If you can afford Apple's best, you'll be happier every time you play.
There are some things the iPhone simply does better when it comes to games. Many of the best controller accessories, like the Nomad Scuf and Sony Backbone, launched on the iPhone first. The iPhone also has access to Apple's exclusive Apple Arcade store, which gives you a heap of games for a monthly fee.
With its A18 Pro processor on board, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the most future-proof of all the iPhone models you can buy, whether you're playing detailed games like Death Stranding or waiting for the latest Apple Intelligence features coming to iOS 18. If you don't have a Pro phone, Apple says you may get left out of the AI party.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max offers great battery life, stunning photography, and that futuristic titanium build. It's expensive, but it's also the best iPhone for gaming, and one of the best gaming phones you can buy.
Read our full iPhone 16 Pro Max review
The best gaming and more
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra represents a significant step forward for Samsung's flagship line, merging a refined design with a powerful focus on AI. While it adopts a more unified aesthetic to match the rest of the S25 series, losing some of the distinct Note-like character, the phone is now lighter and thinner than before. It retains the integrated S Pen, a standout feature that continues to offer unique productivity and even gaming possibilities.
A major highlight for gamers is the expansive 6.9-inch AMOLED display, which got bigger because Samsung shrunk the bezels. This provides a larger viewing area without increasing the phone's overall size. While the resolution and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate are carried over from the previous generation, the visual experience remains top-notch, delivering vibrant colors and smooth motion. Samsung has included ProScaler technology. The ability to upscale any lower-resolution content is powered by silicon, and might come in handy if, say, you're playing an old game on the Quad HD+ screen.
Under the hood, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is powered by the custom Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite for Galaxy. This chipset delivers a significant performance boost, closing the gap with Apple's A-series chips and providing ample power for demanding mobile games. Furthermore, a 40% larger vapor chamber, combined with a new Thermal Interface Material, helps manage heat effectively, ensuring sustained performance during extended gaming sessions.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra's impressive battery life is another boon for gamers. The 5,000mAh battery, combined with the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, can comfortably deliver over 30 hours of mixed use, and it performed well both in our lab tests and in our real world play time. This means you can enjoy long gaming sessions without worrying about constantly needing to recharge.
In short, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a powerhouse device that excels in areas crucial for mobile gaming. The large, immersive display, top-tier processing power, excellent heat management, and exceptional battery life combine to make it a compelling option for Android gamers who also value the versatility of the S Pen and a premium all-around smartphone experience.
Read our review: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review
The best budget gaming
The RedMagic 10 Air earns its place in our list of the best gaming phones thanks to its unique blend of capable performance, specialist gaming features, and a surprisingly low price tag. At just $549 / £439 for the model with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That's closer to the price of a midrange handset like the iPhone 16e or Google Pixel 9a than a full-fledged gaming phone.
You might expect that the RedMagic 10 Air compromises on hardware to account for its lower price tag, but this is a phone with some serious power under the hood. For one thing, it's got the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which powered plenty of flagship phones released between 2023 and 2024 and is still a powerful contender. Paired with 12GB or 16GB of RAM (depending on configuration), and the RedMagic 10 Air has plenty of headroom for demanding graphics rendering and responsive gameplay.
The phone also comes with unique gaming features, like shoulder buttons that work particularly well in shooters like Call of Duty Mobile or in RPGs like Genshin Impact. It comes with a massive 6000mAh battery, giving you enough power for even the longest play sessions.
All of this shines on the phone's 6.8-inch display, and a dedicated button takes you to the Gaming Space UI, which makes it easy to optimize and organize your games. There are some let-downs, like the cluttered OS and middling cameras, but for gaming on the go it's hard to find a phone that hits such a great balance between power and price.
Read the full review: RedMagic 10 Air
The best gaming foldable
As well as being one of the best folding phones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is our pick for the best foldable gaming phone thanks to its 8-inch inner screen, improved 6.5-inch cover display, and class-leading internal hardware. Its square-ish inner screen might not be a natural choice for first-person shooters or scrolling games, but for RPGs, puzzle games, and strategy titles it's an absolute winner.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is packed with performance-centric silicon. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset is the most powerful Android chipset on the market, and with up to 16GB of RAM the Z Fold 7 has plenty of power for long gaming sessions. Its 4400mAh battery has enough charge for a decent amount of play time, and games look simply wonderful on its large inner screen.
For games where screen real estate is an advantage, like Clash of Clans, Ballatro, or Stardew Valley, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 simply offers more. It loses the S-Pen support from last year's Galaxy Z Fold 6, but makes up for it with a new thin and light design, making this mobile gaming powerhouse more portable than ever. Samsung DeX means the Galaxy Z Fold 7 also connects to external monitors, though game performance may vary.
Furthermore, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is also just a great phone overall: in true Samsung fashion it's loaded with settings, features, AI assistance, and productivity tools, making it a real jack-of-all-trades. It's a great choice for people who want the best of all worlds in one gaming-ready device.
Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Best gaming phone FAQ
What makes a phone a gaming phone?
Unlike a gaming PC, a gaming phone often does not have different hardware than a premium non-gaming phone, like a faster CPU or GPU. Gaming phones usually offer better cooling, which helps performance over a long period of gaming. Gaming phones also include specialized software that optimizes performance while playing games. Gaming phones also include screen recording software so you can share you best gaming moments on your favorite social platforms or gaming networks.
Do I need a gaming phone to play games?
Almost any good phone can play your favorite Android and Apple Arcade games. A gaming phone will let you change settings to improve graphics, sound, or gameplay response. Gaming phones are less prone to overheating if you play an intense game for a long period. Dedicated gaming phones also have virtual controller buttons on the side of the phone that mimic a game controller, but all phones can work with a standard Playstation, Xbox, or other Bluetooth gaming controller.
Do I need a controller for my gaming phone?
Gaming phones are especially good at helping you control your games, and dedicated gaming phones have software options, sensors, and even accessories that give you more control over your gaming, without an external controller. The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro comes with a cooling fan that also includes programmable buttons for gaming.
That said, pairing your phone with an Xbox, Playstation, or other Bluetooth gaming controller is a great experience, and you may not know what you're missing. Games often run more smoothly when you have a controller and don't need to rely on finger swipes for motion and action. You Android phone and iPhone will recognize a controller and offer default controls for most games when you pair over Bluetooth.
Is the iPhone a good gaming phone?
The iPhone is an exceptionally good gaming phone, and it may arguably be Apple's best gaming platform all around (since Apple TV games are really just iPhone games). The iPhone has amazing performance, no matter which iPhone you use, because Apple's processors have long outperformed every Android phone until only recently. Apple offers Apple Arcade, a subscription service with some exclusive games. There are also now emulator apps available on the Apple App Store, though you'll need to copy your own ROMs from your old cartridges to play.
