Best gaming phones 2024

Gaming smartphones are a dying breed these days as the smartphone market has changed dramatically over the past decade. While there are a handful of companies still pursuing this niche segment, many have pivoted away or simply don't release new versions of gaming smartphones as regularly as they once did. The truth is, the best gaming phone is probably the one you have in your pocket right now.

Android games haven't evolved graphically as much compared to how powerful current smartphone hardware has gotten. This means even a decent budget mid-range phone should be able to run pretty much any game on the Play Store.

For those that demand the very best of mobile gaming will still seek out specialized phones built for one sole purpose only — gaming. We think the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is the best overall gaming phone, but if that doesn't strike your fancy or is out of your price range, there are plenty of other options worth considering.

Other than Asus, Samsung's flagships are amazing to game on. OnePlus phones are great for gaming too.

Here are some of the best Android phones for gamers.

Harish Jonnalagadda

Harish Jonnalagadda is Android Central's Senior Editor of Asia. In his current role, he oversees the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, networking products, and AV gear. He has been testing phones for over a decade, and has extensive experience in mobile hardware and the intricacies of the global semiconductor industry.

At a glance

Best overall

The ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro takes our top-spot for the best gaming phone money can buy. This won't be coming out in the U.S. till January 2025, but it is something worth wishlisting if you've been holding out for a next-gen phone. At the heart of it is the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC which offers a noticable boost in performance and efficiency over the 8 Gen 3 SoC. It posted strong benchmark numbers and was ready to handle pretty much any game we threw at it, without breaking a sweat.

ASUS has kept all the good stuff from the previous model intact like the 165Hz refresh rate, 3.5mm headphone jack, IP68 waterproofing, and 65W charging over USB PD. The ROG Phone 9 Pro has a larger battery this time, allowing you to game for longer on a single charge. ASUS has also upgraded the main 50MP sensor, which can capture better quality photos but it's still not on the same level as the best camera phones.

One area where we feel ASUS needs to do better is long-term software support. The ROG Phone 9 Pro will only get two Android OS upgrades till Android 17. The good news is that there's Android 15 out of the box, and ASUS has created a lean software skin with very little to no bloat.

Best runner up

ASUS has been leading the gaming smartphone space for the better part of a decade, and it doesn't seem like it has any plans on slowing down. The ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro is still the most powerful we've ever seen, and will be on sale alongside the ROG Phone 9 Pro.

Powering all of your games is some of the best silicon in the business, which is the mighty Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This chip has better processing speeds and improved efficiency than the previous generation. According to the tests conducted during our review, the ROG Phone 8 Pro absolutely toppled every other Android phone in terms of performance benchmarks, including its predecessor.

Beyond the chipset, the ROG Phone 8 Pro beats its competition in the hardware specs arena by most other gaming metrics. You get up to a whopping 24GB of RAM as well as up to 1TB of internal storage, which is absolutely top tier. You'll have no trouble fitting a bunch of games on your phone at once.

Let's also not forget the customizable ultrasonic triggers built into the shoulders of the phone, the loud stereo speakers that sound phenomenal, and the dual USB-C ports found on this amazing gaming phone from ASUS. Outfitted with such beastly gear, the ROG Phone 8 Pro handles high-res graphics or fast-paced shooters with absolute ease. If you're in the market for a dedicated smartphone and have cash to spare, this ASUS phone has our vote.

Best multipurpose

Samsung doesn't explicitly market the Galaxy S24 Ultra as a gaming smartphone, as it focuses more of its marketing machine on other features like the S Pen. But the brand wouldn't be wrong to throw in a comment or two about its gaming chops. With an IP68 water and dustproof rating, the S24 Ultra is robust for its large size. Pop the hood and you'll let out a long, impressed whistle of admiration.

The S24 Ultra excels at streaming games from Xbox Game Pass, working like a charm when pairing it with a compatible Bluetooth controller. The 120Hz refresh rate gives the screen the fluidity necessary to keep games looking smooth, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy inside is more than enough to handle today's latest mobile titles. The S24 Ultra even supports ray-tracing.

The 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen is hands down one the best on the market, providing plenty of screen real estate for gaming. The new anti-glare filter really impressed us in our review and will keep your games looking crisp even when playing outside in the sun. Battery life holds up well because the 120Hz refresh is dynamic so it doesn't kick in for everything you do on the device. Even at 100% brightness, we were able to get two days of use from a single charge in our review.

Best value

The Nubia RedMagic 9S Pro is an update to the RedMagic 9 Pro with a slightly faster SoC. To some, this sounds like a waste of time, but to a gamer, every extra frame counts. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version SoC in this phone is faster than that found in something like a OnePlus 12 with a higher clock speed on the main CPU core and the GPU. The RAM on the base model is also up to 12GB from 8GB on the old phone keeping the phone fast when you’re switching between multiple apps. Games should also look great on the 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel.

Software has become key to smartphone photography and the fact of the matter is that many people will prefer the consistently high-quality results from Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy to the RedMagic 9S Pro. Still, it has a 50MP main camera sensor plus a 50MP ultrawide and a 2MP depth camera that can turn in solid, but not impressive, results. Where this phone does impress, however, is in the inclusion of a massive 6,500mAh battery and ultra-fast 80W charging with the included adapter. A lot of people say they wouldn’t mind a slightly thicker phone with no camera bump in exchange for a bigger battery. Well, here it is.

As for carrier support, RedMagic lists compatibility with AT&T and T-Mobile, though a glance at the supported bands will tell you that 5G coverage could be a bit spottier than some other phones due to the lack of low-band support for band n71 used by T-Mobile. It’s also worth keeping in mind that RedMagic only plans a single Android OS update for this phone, so you may not see an update past Android 15.

Best budget

If you're looking for strong performance on a budget, the OnePlus 12R should be on your short list. This phone is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC we saw in 2023's flagships, and it still has plenty of power for all of the latest games. The 256GB model with 16GB of RAM is the one to get if you're using this for gaming.

While the 6.78-inch AMOLED panel supports 120Hz, games are limited to 60fps. Even so, this is a vibrant and responsive panel that's great for general multitasking as well as gaming. It ships with Android 14, so you've got support for the latest software features, with three OS updates planned, so you can keep using this phone for years without being out of date.

Available in black, blue, and a special edition Sunset Dune trim, this phone has a design that looks a lot like the OnePlus 12 with a slightly smaller cameras hump. The cameras underneath also get a cut, so if you really care about camera performance, get the flagship OnePlus 12. Still, the OnePlus 12R gets a large 5,500mAh battery and supports up to 80W charging in the U.S. with the included SuperVOOC charger.

Best large screen

If you're looking for the ultimate immersive gaming experience, you need to find the largest and best smartphone display. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a powerful phone with a hefty 12GB of RAM and a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy under the hood. This version of the popular flagship SoC runs are a slightly higher 3.39GHz on the primary CPU core which can keep gameplay smooth. Its party piece if of course the massive 7.6-inch inner folding display with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate.

The phone features the same 50MP main camera, 10MP telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide camera as the last generation of this phone, but with Samsung’s software, you can still get some nice images out of this camera. On the battery front, you only get a 4,400mAh pack with 25W charging, so if you need your phone to make it through the day and night on a charge, you might want to pick up one of the best power banks as well.

This phone will work on just about any carrier with full 5G support with Wi-Fi 6E, so no matter how you’re connecting you should get plenty of speed for downloading games and playing online. When it comes to software, this phone launched with Android 14 and will receive seven years of support and updates, so you’ll be up-to-date for years to come.

Best software

Google's Tensor SoC has never made headlines for its raw performance, and this trend sadly continues with the new Pixel 9 series. On the bright side, the power efficiency has gotten better with the latest Tensor G4 which means less heating and better thermals when you hold the phone for gaming. The Pixel 9 Pro XL takes the spot of the Pixel 8 Pro, simply because it's the one with the larger screen and battery, both of which are good to have for a long-lasting gaming session. If you fancy a smaller display, there's the Pixel 9 Pro with nearly the same specs.

Not everyone wants to play Genshin Impact at the highest possible quality, and the 9 Pro XL will reward such gamers with its superb software experience and lengthy update commitment. This year's model also gets a bump in RAM from 12GB to 16GB, which should keep multitasking fluid and load times lesser. The display is crisp and vivid, although gamers who are sensitive to screen flicker won't like gaming on this phone in low light due to the medieval PWM dimming rate. On the bright side, the cameras are fantastic, battery life is solid, and the phone looks and feels great.

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How to choose

If you're upgrading to a new phone and want something that can handle gaming with ease, the ASUS ROG Phone 9 Pro is your best bet. It's packed with pretty much all of the features you'd want for gaming and daily use. The ASUS gaming phone has some the beefiest internals available inside any Android phone right now, so you can rest assured that it is a gaming powerhouse.

Without a doubt, one of the best aspects of the ROG Phone 9 Pro after performance is its display. It uses a Samsung-made AMOLED panel that is just as vibrant and colorful as ever and it enables a sublime 165Hz refresh rate. If you wish to save a bit of money without compromising on gaming performance, the ROG Phone 8 Pro is still a good buy. ASUS will keep this around till stocks last, so you should be able to get it at a good discount.

If you need something more readily available and versatile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the obvious choice. It has high-end internals and an even better, more vibrant AMOLED screen. You still need to pay a lot more though, and the Samsung phone still lacks gamer-esque features like the ROG Phone's ultrasonic triggers, additional USB-C port, and an extra OLED on the rear. The RedMagic 9S Pro is the next best thing to the Galaxy in terms of raw performance, but availability and network support in the U.S. can be sketchy.

Don't wish to blow your entire savings on a phone? The OnePlus 12R is the best answer to the value-conscious gamer with its flagship 2023 SoC and modern design. The ultimate display experience goes to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 for its impressive 7.6-inch AMOLED panel and excellent global availability. Last but not least, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the best phone for cacual gamers that want great software support and the best cameras bar-none in a gaming phone.