5 Top Rated Android Smartphones For Gamers

As smartphone chips and performance get better and better, the market for phone gaming is growing too. Many decent Android phones can run the most popular gaming titles today. But you're here if you know merely running the games isn't enough; you need something to give you the best experience possible.

Some names like Samsung and Asus have dominated these Android smartphone gaming lists for years. You'll always find them on everyone's top Android phones for gaming lists. While these recurring names might be the most obvious choice, the others add some special features and advantages that are definitely worth considering, like lower price points and unique hardware features.

When choosing a phone for gaming, you should take a minute to think about what types of games you play the most and how you play them. For example, if you're into FPS games like "Call of Duty," you should prioritize refresh rates. However, if you like mobile online battle arenas like "League of Legends," you would want a large screen and something with a strong battery life. Nevertheless, any gaming phone you choose should have a powerful processor and GPU.

Take a look at this selection of the best-rated Android smartphones for gamers and choose one that works best for you.

The Asus ROG series is a premier lineup of gaming phones. Every generation has made a mark, and the ROG Phone 7 and its Ultimate edition aren't any different. It comes with the usual Asus features, such as ray-tracing (on supported games), AirTrigger, and Gyroscope Aiming.

Before we go into the specs, you should know that the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate share similar hardware. The ROG Phone 7 and Phone 7 Ultimate have Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips, 1080p AMOLED displays, and 165Hz refresh rates (which is the second-highest refresh rate available on smartphones). They also have 6000mAh batteries, which is pretty good considering the Snapdragon 8's efficiency. All of these are encapsulated in the gamer-style design ROG phones are known for. They also have pressure-sensitive shoulder bumps, removing the need for an external controller.

Off the bat, it's clear the ROG Phone 7 has what it takes to run Android games seamlessly and efficiently. What makes this even better is the Armoury Crate app you can use to adjust performance settings and launch video games.

Both the ROG Phone 7 and Phone 7 Ultimate come with an AeroActive 7 accessory. It's an attachable cooler for better thermal efficiency. This external cooler also has mappable buttons, a sub-woofer, a 3.5mm jack, and a USB-C port.

Starting at $799, the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro stands out in the gaming phone market because of its affordability. That's a steal price for a premium gaming phone that surpasses all the industry requirements.

The Black Shark 5 Pro has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip with 8-16 GB of RAM. Its storage starts at 128 GB and maxes at 512 GB. The display is a 6.67-inch OLED with 1080 x 2400 pixels and 144Hz refresh rate. Compared to other gaming phones, its design is tame; it doesn't have many exaggerated lines and lights. But it has magnetic haptic shoulder trigger buttons that can pop up and hide. While its 4650mAh battery isn't exactly the best out there, it makes up for it with 120W charging that can take the phone to 100% in just 15 minutes.

Black Shark 5 Pro uses Xiaomi's Joy UI 13, based on Android 12. One of the standout things about this UI is its game control center. You can swipe down while in a game to enable or disable performance features, map custom gestures, create macros, and so much more.

This Xiaomi gaming phone also has outstanding crisp and rich stereo audio. DXO Mark has ranked Black Shark 5 Pro as the number one smartphone for audio.

Samsung's number one flagship phone, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, wasn't exactly built with only gaming in mind. But in terms of performance and gaming experience, it delivers as well as, if not better, than most other phones engineered specifically for gamers.

It boasts Samsung's best chip yet, the custom-built Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, crafted to support peak performance for long periods, 8 or 12 GB of RAM, and up to 1 TB of storage. It also has a 1440 x 3088-pixel 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. All of these specs are supported by a battery we have tested that can last a day without needing to charge.

Apart from the hardware numbers, the S23 Ultra has some pro-gaming features you should know. One of the physical characteristics that earmark it from the S22 predecessor is its flatter sides, which gives it a better grip for playing games in landscape mode. Also, the S23 has a hidden feature that lets you direct power straight to the CPU instead of the battery while charging the phone. This helps reduce heat throttling and improve performance while keeping your phone plugged in.

However, the S23 Ultra is expensive and doesn't offer the same gaming-oriented hardware, cooling features, and dedicated gaming software that other phones on this list will offer.

OnePlus 11 5G wasn't built as a gaming phone, but it was built for gamers too. It features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, similar to the S23 Ultra, it has 8, 12, and 16 GB of RAM with storage options starting at 128 GB and ending at 512 GB.

The display is also quite similar to the S23 Ultra, with a 120Hz AMOLED screen. However, its display is 6.7 inches, and the resolution is 1440 x 3216 pixels, meaning it has a slightly smaller display but more pixels.

While the OnePlus 11 wasn't built just for gaming, OnePlus's OxygenOS 14 (based on Android 13) has a gaming board. It's essentially a gaming management overlay where you can check your game's FPS, change GPU settings, and manage a bunch of other nifty gaming settings and info. According to our tests, though, it could be a little difficult to access the game board while gaming because you have to swipe from the top corner edge.

Here's the kicker: the OnePlus 11 5G starts at $699. For a phone with these specs, it's pretty great. It's not a true gaming phone, but it certainly is more than a decent place to start if you want one.

If you thought the ZTE Nubia RedMagic 7S Pro was a brilliant phone, you should wait till you see the new and improved RedMagic 8 Pro. It has the Android flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 8, 12, and 16 GB RAM options paired with 128-512 GB storage options. It also

The RedMagic 8 Pro has a brilliant 6.8-inch AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate, and 1116 x 2480 pixels. But the phone's design is quite bulky compared to other phones in this range. This isn't surprising, however, because it has a built-in cooling fan. Since this is a gaming phone, it also sports the futuristic tech gaming look at the back, showing off customizable RGB lights and shoulder buttons.

This iteration of ZTE's gaming phone is backed by a 6000mAh non-removable battery. YouTuber Tech Spurt said he ran five hours of Genshin Impact while cranking the phone's fan and putting the phone in high-performance mode.

One of the cool features the RedMagic 8 Pro has is its gaming mode. You can toggle it on with a physical switch, and you'll find yourself in RedMagic's game launcher, where you can start games and manage game plug-ins.