Hit high scores with our favourite picks

If you want a proper gaming phone with all RGBs and high-end performance without the associated cost, then the £579/$649 RedMagic 9S Pro is our top recommendation. Unlike most phones on this list, RedMagic isn’t afraid to show off its gaming identity, with a motherboard pattern on the rear and customisable bright lighting. 

There are a number of excellent gaming features here that set this phone apart from Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy. Most notably, the RedMagic has integrated touch triggers, allowing you to use the rim of the phone as makeshift triggers rather than having to slap on a controller accessory. 

This is also one of the most powerful gaming phones ever tested with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version, going toe-to-toe with the excellent Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition despite its cheaper price. This means you’ll be able to play any mobile game with ease, with a huge battery ensuring you can keep gaming for hours. 

The RedMagic 9S Pro does come with compromises beyond gaming. There’s no support for wireless charging, and the camera pales in comparison to other phones at this price point. But if gaming on the go is your priority, and you want a flashy design to show off, then there’s no better choice.

Reviewer: Luke Baker
Full Review: RedMagic 9S Pro review

When it comes to performance power, there’s no better option than the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition. It has the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip that you’ll find in most new handsets, but Asus has paired this model with a whopping 24GB of RAM as well as bundling it with a cooler accessory to eke out every drop of performance. 

Like the RedMagic 9S Pro, this phone is brimming with gaming features such as the AirTriggers, key mapping and Macros. The software is excellent too, enabling you to make tweaks on the fly, even in the middle of an intense match. 

Asus has made a controversial decision to dial down the gaming design elements. This means there’s very little RGB lighting here, while the rear looks plain. The light-up AniMe Matrix feature is a great addition though, using a Mini LED panel to display the likes of notifications, battery status and the time.

Despite the inclusion of a new Telephoto lens for improved zoomed-in shots, the camera still can’t compete with efforts from Apple and Samsung. But if you’re happy to make that sacrifice in the name of gaming performance, then this is a great option.

Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full Review: Asus ROG Phone 8 Ultimate review

Editor’s Note: Apple has recently announced the iPhone 16 range, due for release later this month. We’ll be reviewing the new models very shortly, which could very well change our recommendation here.

Even though the iPhone 15 Pro Max isn’t designed specifically with mobile gaming in mind like some of the other handsets in this list, Apple has gone to great lengths to make the device an impressively powerful machine in this category.

What’s most jaw-dropping here is the raw power that the A17 Pro chip is able to achieve, allowing the 15 Pro Max to run triple-A games natively, without the need for any cloud software.

At the time of writing, titles like Resident Evil 4 Remake Death Stranding and Assassin’s Creed Mirage are all available to download via the App Store. Typically, this is the type of gaming experience that wouldn’t be possible without cloud services like Game Pass and GeForce Now, so if you want to enjoy these games offline on a long journey, then you’re best investing in the 15 Pro Max.

Of course, this isn’t to say that Apple’s latest flagship doesn’t boast the classic mobile gaming experience that we’re more familiar with, far from it. The phone can run hits like Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact with ease, and that’s before mentioning the value proposition that Apple Arcade brings to the table.

If you’re the type of person who spends a great deal of time playing mobile games then you’ll get tons of use out of the Apple Arcade library thanks to titles from big-name companies like Sega, Konami and Disney.

While the iPhone 15 Pro features the same gaming prowess, having the extra real estate of the 15 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch OLED display is a real treat, showing off games in their best light.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that, outside of gaming, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is one of the best handsets on the market. With terrific cameras, great software and tremendous battery life, there’s very little to leave you wanting here.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full Review: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Review

If you want a flagship smartphone that boasts excellent gaming performance as just one of its many accomplishments, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the smartphone to go for.

It can easily deliver some of the best performance around using the exclusive Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, with benchmarks not too far from what you’ll see from the ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition, while not skimping on the rest of the smartphone experience.

That means you get a truly high-end 6.82-inch Super AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate, LTPO tech, a maximum brightness of 2500nits and a pixel-packed QHD+ resolution. It’s arguably one of the best screens around, gaming phone or not, made even better by the inclusion of an S Pen for note-taking and doodling. There’s also a whopping 5000mAh cell that could go all day and then some in testing, making it an ideal option for long gameplay sessions.

You won’t get some purist gaming enhancements, such as shoulder trigger buttons, but you will get some advantages that other gaming phones may miss out on. That includes a guaranteed seven years of OS upgrades, a brilliant camera system with a suite of lenses that includes a primary 200MP sensor and, of course, all the benefits of the GenAI-powered Galaxy AI too.

If you’re looking for a top-end Android device that can handle games without breaking a sweat and much more to boot, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is an easy recommendation.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review

Most gaming phones cost upwards of £1000/$1000 outright, which may well feel excessive considering that’s even more expensive than a PS5 and Xbox Series X. The Poco X6 Pro is an outstanding solution to this problem, offering incredible performance and a slew of gaming features at a very reasonable price. 

Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8300-Ultra, it’s one of the fastest chips you can find at this price point. Our testing showed the phone is capable of running the likes of Genshin Impact at 60fps, ensuring a smooth performance while keeping temperatures reasonable. 

It also has a few gaming-focused features to improve the experience, including software that will automatically optimise performance for gaming workloads, and a 120Hz refresh rate to keep on-screen motion smooth on that lovely 6.67-inch AMOLED panel. 

Of course, bagging this phone at a cheaper price than the competition does come with compromises. The performance isn’t quite as good as the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition, while the ultrawide and macro cameras will likely disappoint photographers. There’s also a lot of bloatware and in-app adverts that cheapen the experience. Nevertheless, those flaws are easy to forgive when you’re getting such an excellent gaming experience at a budget-friendly price.

Reviewer: Luke Baker
Full Review: Poco X6 Pro review

If you want something totally different for your gaming experience, look no further than the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. The foldable nature of the book-style smartphone means you’ve got access to a large, high-res 7.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED display when you want to play games on a big screen while still folding down to a size resembling a standard smartphone.

It’s not just the sheer size of the foldable display that makes the Z Fold 5 the best foldable for gaming either; it’s also the most powerful you’ll find right now, sporting Qualcomm’s custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, just like the S24 Ultra. It’s more than capable of powering high-end AAA gaming experiences with high-level graphics and consistent gameplay even over longer periods of use, with a built-in vapour chamber for added cooling.

Elsewhere, a 4,400mAh battery should be enough to get you through even demanding gaming sessions, a triple rear camera setup offers more versatility than a regular gaming phone and it has a whopping seven years of battery life to look forward to.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review