The best gaming phones completely revolutionize your app library. Offering up seriously powerful processors, plenty of RAM and high quality, high refresh rate displays, these devices can push your favorite thumb tappers far further. With the rise of Xbox Cloud gaming services, smaller screens are becoming even bigger business, which means there are plenty of gaming phones out there for the Play Store power-user to choose from.
That makes it difficult to work out exactly what you need from your smartphone, and how much you need to pay for a gaming-specific device. Thankfully, as gaming phones develop, we're seeing prices on the biggest and best falling slightly down the scale. That means there's now options for all budgets, and we're rounding up our favorites right here.
The quick list
With the best display in the business and plenty of power under the hood (as well as a range of extra cooling features), the ROG Phone 9 Pro is our top pick.
The RedMagic 11 Pro is actually jostling with the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro with its boosted battery life and more powerful processor. It's not quite up there in features, but it is much cheaper.
The Samsung Galaxy A16 will see you through all the latest popular thumb tappers without breaking the bank. You're not getting blitzing performance here, but lighter games run perfectly fine without the need for expensive extras.
Today's best gaming phone deals
I longed for a Nokia N-Gage in the 00s and have been comparing the latest and greatest gaming phones ever since. That all kicked up a notch when the Razer Phone launched in 2017, renewing my love for all things mobile. I've been testing major releases from Asus, RedMagic, OnePlus, Apple and more since then.
March 2 - The Samsung Galaxy S26 series has made it out of the notes app and into the world of pre-orders, which means the brand's latest Android juggernaut is only a couple of weeks away. While we wait, this page has been price checked and updated with new discounts and offers.
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January 19 - It's not good news I'm afraid. In the last few weeks, Asus has announced that it's taking a step back from the mobile market, essentially handing its number one slot over to RedMagic as soon as ROG Phone 9 Pro stock runs out. There are still a few handsets kicking around, so ROG is still at the top of the pile, but I'm keeping a close eye on the situation.
December 17 - After blowing the competition away with its market-leading benchmark scores, the RedMagic 11 Pro is now in second position on this guide. The latest release packs more of a punch than my top handset, but doesn't quite fill in the gaps in other areas. However, it's still the best value gaming phone on the market right now.
The best gaming phone overall
The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is the latest in the brand's industry-topping selection of mobile thumb tappers. Decked out with super-fast processing tech, plenty of storage, and bags of RAM (not to mention the 185Hz refresh rate display to keep it all looking slick), this is the gaming phone to beat in 2025.
✅ You want the fastest screen possible: At 185Hz it's going to be difficult to find a higher refresh-rate display on the market right now.
✅ You want a subtle design: LED array aside, this design is particularly toned-down, with a modest black form factor and very little in the way of RGB.
❌ You use a mobile controller: The off-center USB-C connection means finding a wraparound mobile controller that will fit could be a problem.
❌ You only play lighter games: If you're just interested in running the odd thumb tapper, you're not going to get the best value out of this investment.
Design: Flip that gorgeous AMOLED display over and you'll find a fairly understated design. It's a 6.78-inch device with a smooth finish (our review device came in a darker black colorway), and just a hint of red to suggest it's more than a mainstream flagship. That is, until you tinker in its AniMe Vision settings. This is where a small collection of LEDs spring to life, offering a similar back-panel display as the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro before it. That's not the only thing that's journeyed with the ROG Phone 9 Pro from its predecessor - unfortunately, the USB-C port to the bottom of the device is still off-center, which can make finding a mobile controller a little tricky.
Features: Still, it's what inside that really counts, and with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, up to 24GB RAM, and a 5,500mAh battery the ROG Phone 9 Pro offers plenty of horsepower to see you through intensive mobile games and streaming. You can now also play games direct on that AniMe screen on the back panel, which is a neat gimmick for this year's device. You're still getting the brand's Air Trigger controls, a touch capacitive set of bumper buttons that make games like Call of Duty Mobile infinitely easier to command.
The ROG Phone 9 Pro also ships with Armory Crate software, which has sipped from the same AI tea as pretty much every other new gaming device. AI is being used here to cancel unwanted audio from your chat, translate text, and automatically record key in-game moments as they happen. Aside from all that, you're still getting the core Asus experience, with Armory Crate acting as a hub for all your installed games, and offering different performance modes and overlays.
Performance: With all that at its disposal, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro confidently beat both the previous 8 Pro and RedMagic 9S Pro in benchmark testing. I would be surprised if it didn't considering the horsepower on offer, but you'll struggle to really get these components sweating with most common mobile experiences these days. The battery kept us going for around five and a half hours of intensive gaming - a considerable uptick compared to cheaper models.
Read more: Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro review
The best value gaming phone
The RedMagic 11 Pro is the most powerful gaming phone I've tested so far, it just doesn't have the screen specs, camera, or gaming software features of the ROG Phone 9 Pro above. It does, however, yield higher benchmark scores for less cash, making it the best value handset I've seen this year.
✅ You want to use a mobile controller: A centered USB-C port makes for an easy physical connection to a wraparound gamepad.
✅ You don't want to break the bank: The RedMagic 11 Pro isn't the cheapest phone on the market but it does push its components incredibly well for a fair price.
✅ You don't want to worry about battery life: This is a sturdy battery that can see you through hours of gameplay and video without breaking a sweat.
❌ Refresh rate is everything: The RedMagic 11 Pro offers a lower refresh rate display compared to Asus.
Design: The RedMagic 11 Pro takes a step back into the gamerfied design that dropped out of fashion in the last couple of years. The device I tested came with a silver metal aesthetic, complete with a slightly corrugated effect on the main back panel. Perhaps the most noticeable element, though, is the giant blue circle in the center. This is a window into the cooling system itself, it's a little extra but certainly fun to watch. The handset itself measures in at 8.9mm thick, a little chunkier than you'll find elsewhere in mainstream releases.
Features: An expansive AMOLED panel running at 1216 x 2688 with a 144Hz refresh rate is certainly impressive, even if the ROG Phone 9 Pro above can run up to 165Hz. Not only that, but you're getting the brand's dedicated GameSpace software for a more console-like experience, and a 7,500mAh battery that lasted longer than I could feasibly test in one gameplay sitting. That also comes with wireless charging, a first for me in my gaming phone testing adventure.
Cameras are never a gaming phone's strong point, but the RedMagic 11 Pro performs decently with its 50MP Wide and 50MP Ultrawide lenses, with a less sophisticated 16MP under-display selfie camera.
Performance: With the latest and greatest Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 processor, the RedMagic 11 Pro blows the competition away in benchmarking. It clocked in a neat 8,000 Wild Life Extreme score, beating the RedMagic 10S Pro (7,051) and Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro (5,965), while also posting Solar Bay numbers that far exceeded previous releases.
Read more: RedMagic 11 Pro review
The best budget gaming phone
Picking up a cheaper gaming phone doesn't mean limiting yourself to match-three puzzlers or going with an unknown brand. The Samsung Galaxy A15 costs a small fraction of its flashier siblings like the S25 or Note series, but this is still a great phone and a stone-cold bargain if you want to spend less, but get a phone that won't let you down.
Sure, it wasn't quite as smooth or detailed as your $1000/£1000 flagship phones, but at less than a third of the price, the A15 is way better than it should be.
As a day to day phone, the Samsung Galaxy A15 has a very good camera, with only the night pictures being prone to a loss of detail if there are too many artificial light sources.
No, it's not going to take on some of the 3D Mark scores of more premium options on this list. If you're after a budget smartphone that can still keep your thumbs busy with a solid screen and enough juice, though, it's well worth investigating.
How we test gaming phones
Each handset that passes our pockets goes through a series of tests to see if it's worthy of being listed as one of the best gaming phones on the market. First and foremost, though, we live with these devices to see just how well their form factors, cameras, screens, and - crucially - battery lives hold up under every day use. That's why we adopt each model as our own throughout the testing period, putting each phone through its paces in both standard use and through heavy gaming sessions.
After that, we run each gaming phone through a series of titles to determine their performance as well as how much battery they consume. Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG, Magic The Gathering: Arena, and Fortnite (on Android) are our primary titles.
You can find out more about how we make our recommendations in our full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.
Also Tested
FAQ
Which phones are best for gaming?
In our testing, the best phone for gaming is currently the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro. However, if you're after value for money we'd recommend checking out the slightly solder RedMagic 9S Pro.
Are gaming phones worth it?
If you're invested in the wide and wonderful world of mobile gaming, sinking some cash into a device that can keep up with your pursuits will always be worth it. You'll enjoy a faster screen, more RAM and storage, a more powerful processor, and additional gaming features like fps caps and performance modes.
However, if you tinker with Apple Arcade every now and then or jump into the odd PUBG session, we'd recommend aiming for a phone that can support your mobile gameplay, but not at the sacrifice of other features. The best gaming phones often drop camera and high-end networking features, and can cost a pretty penny to boot, so it's worth working out whether you'll actually be using those additional gadgets before investing.
Now that you're kitted out, you'll find all the best iPhone games and the best Android games ranked. We're also rounding up all the best gaming earbuds available as well, and the best gaming handheld options if you crave something console-shaped.
