The best gaming phone 2023

The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is pretty much what it sounds like: the ultimate gaming phone.

The latest generation of Asus gaming phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage as standard. The 6.78in AMOLED display packs a market-leading 165Hz refresh rate, and built-in vapour cooling is supplemented by an optional clip-on cooler with its own built-in subwoofer to amplify audio too.

What makes the Ultimate stand out from the regular ROG Phone 7 is the return of the small ‘ROG Vision’ display on the back for notifications and custom animations, plus the ‘AeroActive Portal’ cooling flap, which activates to improve airflow even further when the cooler is clipped on.

The Red Magic 8 Pro is an excellent affordable option if you want a dedicated gaming phone outfitted with the latest chipset on the market, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

You get all of that silicon’s power, paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage, for a price far below an Asus ROG Phone.

There are small downgrades to make, with no sign of flagship niceties like waterproofing or wireless charging. The use of an under-display selfie camera helps keep the 8 Pro compact and gives you a gorgeous full-screen experience, but again there’s a trade-off: your actual selfies won’t be all that great, with a soft, over-processed look to them.

The screen refresh rate is also capped at 120Hz, which is great, but below some other gaming options – including last year’s Red Magic 7, which you’ll also find on this list below. The flip side of that is a touch input rate of 960Hz – i.e. it can detect touches 960 times a second, the fastest of any phone out there.

This may lack the flash and polish of the Asus options, but for this price it’s hard to argue.

Though the Motorola Edge 40 Pro doesn’t look like much of a gaming phone, the flagship has a surprise or two up its sleeves.

It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of storage, making it an impressive device able to take on dedicated gaming phones. There’s also the 6.7in AMOLED display to consider, with a gaming-grade 165Hz refresh rate – pretty much the only non-gaming phone to go that fast.

Gaming prowess aside, it also boasts absurdly fast 125W charging that’ll get you a full charge in well under 30 mins, and a triple rear camera that’s better than any you’ll find on a gaming phone. Oh, and did we mention that the battery lasts for two full days of typical use?

So, while you might not get built-in triggers or cool gaming-focused software enhancements, you’ll certainly get all the benefits of a flagship smartphone, plus the power you need to play. 

Nubia’s Red Magic smartphones have a reputation as having some of the best gaming-focused displays around, and that’s just as true with the latest in the collection, the Red Magic 7.

At its heart is a fast 6.8in 165Hz OLED panel with an impressive 720Hz touch sample rate that beats practically every other smartphone on the market. Though you might not notice much of a difference in real-world performance, it’ll certainly satisfy the need for gamers to have the best of the best. 

That’s paired with the flagship specs including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, up to 18GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and an updated three-fan cooling system to keep things running smoothly during longer gaming sessions.

There’s also a plethora of gaming features including side-mounted touch-based shoulder triggers, advanced haptic feedback and the ability to control performance on a per-game basis, and it’s all presented in Red Magic’s ‘Game Space’ mode.

The only real disappointment is battery life: it’s smaller than that of its predecessor at a rather average 4500mAh, and combined with a 165Hz display it drains much more quickly. 

We haven’t yet reviewed the regular ROG Phone 7, but the 6 remains a great choice for most people.

It excels at the fundamentals, delivering stellar performance, a stunning display, and great battery life. With decent cameras, two USB-C ports, and even a headphone jack, there’s a lot to like here.

However, it’s not perfect, with a lack of wireless charging and poor software update commitment the most prominent problems. You’ll also need to connect a fan for long gaming sessions.

But none of these are dealbreakers for most people, and the ROG Phone 6 provides such a well-rounded experience elsewhere. If you’re serious about gaming on your phone but just want the best core experience, this is the phone to buy.

Read our full ROG Phone 6 review

This year, for the first time, the latest Samsung Galaxy flagships ship with Qualcomm Snapdragon silicon worldwide.

That makes the S23+ a great choice for gaming, especially since it and the other S23 models in fact use a very slightly overclocked version of the 8 Gen 2 chip that gives it a slight boost in single-core performance compared to rivals. That makes this one of the fastest Android phones around, and as a top-tier flagship it also benefits from a great display, long-term software support, and fantastic cameras.

You might also like the regular S23, but the bigger display of the Plus model is more naturally suited to gaming. The S23 Ultra is bigger still, but much more expensive – and you’re mostly paying for enhanced camera features and S Pen stylus support, making the Plus the sweet spot for most gamers.

The main downside is the sluggish wired charging, which just means that if you burn through the battery in a long play session, it’ll take a little longer to top it back up.

he Black Shark 5 Pro might not redesign the wheel, but it ticks all the boxes for gamers: it has a buttery smooth 144Hz refresh rate, top-level performance, gaming-specific features like magnetic triggers and gesture-activated shortcuts plus much more.

The 120W charging, while unchanged, provides some of the snappiest charging times around achieving a full 100% charge in under 30 minutes, though the downside is a smaller battery than alternatives.

Unlike the touch-based triggers of some rivals, the Black Shark 5 Pro has magnetic triggers that pop up from the body of the phone for a more traditional controller experience, making for a great portable gaming experience without the need to carry additional accessories. 

Though not usually a focus for gaming phones, the Black Shark 5 Pro has an impressive 108Mp rear-facing camera that’s capable of taking decent snaps, though the decision to include autofocus capabilities to the macro lens and not the more popular 120-degree ultra-wide is an odd decision that leaves some ultrawide shots looking a little soft.

It is more expensive than the competing Red Magic 7 Pro, but the magnetic triggers, in particular, make the Black Shark 5 Pro a compelling gaming smartphone that negates the need for a controller in many games.

When it comes to gaming on iOS, the 6.7in iPhone 14 Pro Max is the one to beat. Apple’s A16 Bionic is one of the most powerful chipsets on the market right now and can handle just about anything you can throw at it without a hint of stutter or lag – and our benchmarks back that up too.

Importantly, the iPhone 14 Pro Max sports a gorgeous Super Retina XDR display that makes games look incredible on the iPhone, whether they’re free-to-play titles or the latest Apple Arcade exclusives.

It’s also one of the few iPhones to make the jump to a variable 120Hz refresh rate, offering the buttery-smooth refresh rate – and improved response time – that make Android rivals so strong. 

There’s also up to a whopping 1TB of storage available, so you can carry an entire library of mobile games in your pocket, and the battery life is among the best of any iPhone for longer play sessions. 

The catch? It’s on the expensive side, and you don’t even get a charger in the box. 

The Poco F4 GT is an attempt to build a gaming phone that could be just as appealing to non-gamers.

The F4 GT packs the hardcore hardware you’d expect: a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, 120Hz AMOLED display, and up to 12GB of RAM – not to mention almost absurdly fast 120W charging. It even includes pop-up magnetic shoulder buttons similar to those found in the Black Shark 5 Pro.

But the restrained design means this won’t scream ‘gamer’ to everyone who sees it, and the shoulder buttons double up with extra functions outside of games – a camera shutter button, for example.

The Red Magic 7S Pro is an unusual phone. It’s a small upgrade on the 7 Pro – chiefly to include the newer Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip – but it’s also not a clear upgrade on the regular Red Magic 7 in every respect, and in fact we’d recommend that phone or the more recent 8 Pro to most people.

The changes here are mostly in the display. The first is that the 7S Pro packs the same 960Hz touch input of the 8 Pro, but along with it the cap to 120Hz refresh rate. Similarly, it has that under-display selfie camera, which looks great but doesn’t always deliver results.

This packs plenty of power and delivers on battery life too, but with a hefty price tag consider carefully if you really need the upgrade from the Red Magic 7 – or if you’d be happy with the slightly cheaper Red Magic 7 Pro, which is essentially the same phone with the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.