These 7 distinctive options have me hooked on gami...

Common flagship smartphones are wonderful for gaming, however specialised gaming telephones like the most recent Nubia RedMagic 10 Pro and Asus ROG Phone 9 go the additional mile to supply a top-tier expertise. They use the identical premium Snapdragon chips with as a lot energy as flagships like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 line , however add a number of enhancements to enhance gaming efficiency.

The best gaming phones are constructed otherwise as a result of they need to assist resource-hungry titles, whereas staying cool and sustaining excessive show refresh charges over prolonged durations. In addition they want adequate battery life for lengthy gaming classes and on a regular basis practicality. Let’s look at some distinctive options that make gaming telephones stand out and clarify why they’re essential to gamers.

1 Shoulder Triggers are extra helpful than you assume

Use your cellphone like a gamepad

Some gaming telephones set themselves other than common flagships by together with shoulder triggers to enhance usability. The triggers are normally positioned alongside the suitable facet of the cellphone’s body and grow to be accessible when the system is turned horizontally. You get various kinds of shoulder triggers relying on the model. Some telephones provide bodily buttons with a extra controller-like really feel, whereas others embrace discrete, low-profile, touch-sensitive triggers.

Both means, shoulder triggers present further configurable buttons that rework the cell gaming expertise. In taking pictures video games, they are often mapped to aiming and firing, liberating your thumbs for motion. In racing video games, they may also be configured for braking and acceleration. Some telephones allow you to divide every button into two, modify their sensitivity, or configure them for swiping as a substitute of urgent.

Associated

With its flagship Magic 7 Pro, Honor flirts with Android greatness

Honor’s newest flagship smartphone, the Magic 7 Professional, is an absolute powerhouse — it is software program is the one factor holding it again from true greatness.

2 Excessive refresh-rate shows make every little thing really feel snappy

Smoother graphics for the most effective expertise

Present flagship telephones, just like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro, have variable refresh charges of as much as 120Hz to make sure easy scrolling and graphics. The excessive body charges make the cellphone’s show really feel extra fluid and are nice for watching motion pictures and different each day duties. Nevertheless, demanding avid gamers choose one thing quicker to remove movement blur and acquire an edge in fast-paced aggressive titles.

The newest gaming telephones have greater refresh charges than most flagships. Nubia’s RedMagic 10 Professional goes up 144Hz, whereas the Asus ROG 9 Professional presents a implausible 185Hz for the smoothest visuals potential. That stated, the one technique to profit from these excessive refresh charges is to play suitable titles that assist them, like Minecraft, Alto’s Odyssey, and Useless Cells, to call just a few.

Associated

Has Samsung dropped the ball by pushing back One UI 7? Kind of, but I understand the delay

One UI 7 arrives months after Android 15’s launch. Is it truthful to customers, and was it a superb transfer for Samsung?

3 3.5mm audio stays a handy headphone possibility

Headphone jacks are nonetheless alive

Apple ditched the headphone jack again in 2016 with the iPhone 7, and different manufacturers rapidly adopted swimsuit (I am you Samsung). The choice appeared controversial then, however most customers moved on to Bluetooth, and few seemed again as a result of they have been happier with the wi-fi expertise.

Whereas Bluetooth is good for enjoying music or watching content material, it has some disadvantages for gaming. Bluetooth connections are liable to latency, making a noticeable delay between what’s taking place on display and the audio output out of your earbuds. Most present gaming telephones are full of the most recent tech, however retain the three.5mm port for lossless audio. Gamers can join their wired headphones for immediate communication with teammates or connect audio system to take pleasure in gunshots and explosions with very good readability.

0:56

Associated

The Galaxy S25 series is very similar to the S24 – unless you’re into AI

So far as smartphone updates go, Samsung’s Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Extremely are extremely incremental.

4 Superior cooling options hold your cellphone chilled

Maintaining issues operating easily

Most common telephones overheat or throttle efficiency in case you play demanding video games with intense graphics and excessive body charges for prolonged durations. Alternatively, gaming telephones can simply deal with the required processing energy with out points as a result of they’ve superior cooling mechanisms for thermal effectivity.

The cooling methods fluctuate relying on the cellphone, however many have a number of graphite sheets paired with vapor chambers on the within to assist dissipate warmth. Others, just like the RedMagic lineup, embrace further vents to absorb cool air and a built-in fan to expel heat air after it passes via the cellphone. Most gaming cellphone manufacturers additionally provide clip-on exterior cooling followers to handle the temperature as add-on equipment.

Associated

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has arrived, but there aren’t many changes

Samsung has formally revealed the Galaxy S25 Extremely, however there only some variations in comparison with final 12 months’s S24 Extremely.

5 Larger batteries imply you’ll be able to play for longer

Uninterrupted play for hours

Sustained gaming can suck the life out of your battery very quickly due to its excessive power necessities. Gaming telephones fight this downside by together with high-capacity batteries bigger than most flagships. This implies you’ll be able to take pleasure in your favourite titles and nonetheless use your cellphone for each day duties like looking and checking emails.

To place issues in perspective, the Galaxy S24 Extremely has a 4,855 mAh battery, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional presents 5,060 mAh. Alternatively, the ROG Telephone 9 Professional includes a bigger 5,800 mAh cell. Nubia’s RedMagic 10 Professional takes issues to a different stage with a 7,050 mAh battery that provides round two days of standby and 14 hours of gaming.

Associated

Google’s Pixel 9 Pro has one of the best smartphone cameras I’ve ever used

For those who’re an avid smartphone photographer, the Pixel 9 Professional is the system you want in your life.

6 Quick charging will get you again within the recreation faster

Get again in control very quickly

Giant-capacity batteries would not be sensible in the event that they took ages to cost after you have completed enjoying. That is why the most effective gaming telephones provide fast-charging capabilities, so you’ll be able to prime them up rapidly after they run out of juice.

Mainstream flagship telephones, like the most recent Galaxy S25 Extremely, provide 45W wired charging — this is not unhealthy, nevertheless it might be higher. The RedMagic 10s Professional blows it away with an included 80W charger and blistering 100W prime charging pace, which might prime up its huge battery in round half-hour. The Asus ROG Telephone 9 Professional presents a formidable 65-watt quick charging pace and gives extra practicality with a second USB-C port for charging the cellphone in panorama mode.

Associated

Uh-oh, someone’s Pixel 9 Pro camera bar fell off

The Pixel 9 Professional’s digital camera bar is again within the highlight once more after a person on Reddit reported it had indifferent.

7 Excessive reminiscence capability ensures a easy expertise

Extra RAM for demanding video games

Gaming telephones deal with the immense processing energy and graphics necessities of resource-hungry titles whereas operating different apps within the background. They do that with out freezing and supply easy efficiency underneath heavy hundreds as a result of they’ve extra RAM than most flagship telephones.

Google’s top-of-the-range Pixel 9 Professional XL is a high-performance cellphone with 16GB of RAM, whereas the Galaxy S25 Extremely tops out at 12GB. Alternatively, the usual Asus ROG Telephone 9 begins at 16GB, and the Professional Version goes as much as 24GB of RAM. The identical goes for the RedMagic 10 Professional, which begins at 12GB for the entry-level mannequin and consists of 16 and 24GB variants if you would like extra efficiency.

Associated

Is hybrid AI the smartphone wave of the future? Samsung and Apple think so

Perhaps a one-size-fits-all strategy is not the most effective for voice assistants.