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Top 5 best gaming phones (Summer 2018)

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Top 5 best gaming phones (Summer 2018)

Money no object

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Pocket Gamer isn't a tech site, as you've probably already noticed. Our business lies in playing and talking about portable games, not how many megaflops your flablet can finagle. 

In order to offer a complete overview of the world of smartphone gaming, however, we need to take a certain level of interest in the devices that make this wonderful past time possible.

When it comes to making smartphone recommendations, however, our advice is a little different to most other websites. We give a lot more weighting to games and how they play on a device than things like camera performance or software design.

Of course, hardly anyone splashes out the best part of £1,000 on a pocket computer purely to play games on the go. If that's all you want to do, you're probably better off buying a mid-range phone and a Nintendo Switch.

However, if you're looking to buy the absolute best smartphone on the market with gaming being a major factor, step right this way.

Click Here To View The List »

1
iPhone 8 Plus

We haven't changed our previously espoused view that the iPhone 8 Plus is a better gaming phone than the iPhone X.

Sure, the iPhone 8 Plus is nowhere near as pretty or svelte as the iPhone X, and its display isn't as eye-poppingly beautiful to look at. But it is a more uniform shape, with no distracting notch or curved corners eating into the screen space.

While things are a lot better for the iPhone X now when it comes to games being properly optimised for its unorthodox display, we still reckon that the iPhone 8 Plus and its 5.5-inch 16:9 unit offers a more reliable gaming canvass.

Display aside, the iPhone 8 Plus has exactly the same A11 Bionic processor as the iPhone X, which is pretty much the most capable mobile processor out there.

And yes, this is very much a straight shoot out between two iOS devices, for the simple and singular reason that the best games come to the App Store first. Sorry Android fans, but it's all about the games.

2
iPhone X

We've already given the game away somewhat, but our second pick is the iPhone X. We're nearing the end of the iPhone X's year-long reign as Apple's flagship phone, but it's still the hottest and most impressive smartphone on the market.

It's sleek, powerful, has the best display in the business (OLED is great for contrast), one of the finest cameras, and has access to Apple's peerless App Store. Oh, and Apple is at the forefront of AR gaming right now, so the X is a great bet if you're into that sort of thing.

On the negative side, it's still very expensive. Like, £1000 expensive.

Also, as we've mentioned above, not all games map perfectly to the phone's asymmetrical 5.7-inch 19.5:9 display. That notch can be quite annoying, particularly in densely detailed 3D games.

Still, if the iPhone 8 Plus is just too big and ugly for you (it really is quite a chunky) and money really is no object, the iPhone X is an easy recommendation.

3
Razer Phone

As our top two picks would suggest, Android is at a pretty major disadvantage when it comes to gaming. The Google Play Store just isn't as strong a source of games as the App Store.

That's not to say that it's a write-off, though. There are still more games released onto the Google Play Store in a week than you can hope to keep up with.

Also, a lot of people simply prefer the Android OS itself, as well as the greater hardware choice that's available. Indeed, Razer has crafted its own dedicated gaming phone, which we can't ever imagine Apple doing.

The Razer Phone is pretty hefty, but that's because its boxy form houses meaty front-facing stereo speakers and a huge battery for extended gaming sessions. Its Snapdragon 835 CPU offers ample power (though it's no longer the top dog, which is a bit of a downer), while 8GB of RAM is a frankly ludicrous amount that will keep your games running smoothly.

But the stand-out feature here is the Razer Phone's 5.72-inch QHD IGZO LCD display, which has a 120Hz refresh rate for super-smooth and responsive gameplay.

4
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

You know the iPhone X's brilliant OLED screen? Well that screen is made by Samsung, and while Apple has tweaked its design significantly, it's still the South Korean manufacturer that holds mastery over this technology.

That alone makes Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S9, a gaming contender. Sure enough, the Galaxy S9 Plus's 6.2-inch QHD Super AMOLED display is an absolute peach. It's bigger and even more pixel-packed than its iOS rival, in fact.

But the Galaxy S9 isn't just a pretty face. Its custom Exynos 9810 CPU packs a serious punch (though its GPU isn't as strong as Snapdragon's latest), and that's backed by a whopping 6GB of RAM - the key gaming spec advantage over the plain S9. It also comes with stereo speakers, which is a game-friendly first for the range.

On the software front, we're not huge fans of Samsung's custom Android UI in general usage, but its Game Tools are handy for managing in-game notifications and taking screenshots.

Also keep in mind that Samsung is one of the better supporters of mobile VR through its Gear VR platform, so there's that.

5
Sony Xperia XZ2

Sony doesn't often win a spot on our best gaming phone lists - or many other smartphone best-of lists for that matter. The PlayStation maker simply doesn't have a particularly impressive presence on mobile.

However, the Sony Xperia XZ2 has a couple of stand out features for the avid Android gamer. Like every other 2018 flagship, it has a Snapdragon 845 CPU and 4GB. That's bags of power.

More unique is the phone's 5.7-inch 2160 x 1080 display, which features High Dynamic Range (HDR) support. That doesn't have an awful lot of support as yet - especially in terms of games - but it should make Netflix video content pop at least.

Of more immediate benefit to gamers is a proper set of punchy front-facing stereo speakers, as well as an advanced Dynamic Vibration System for more sophisticated haptic feedback.

It's not the best all-round Android phone, but the XZ2 is a fine choice for gamers.

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Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.