Best gaming phones for 2024: Asus, RedMagic, Samsung, and more

Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset makes the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro one of the most powerful mobile gaming phones, with an extremely high frame rate that has a lovely 165Hz refresh rate to go with it. Games like Genshin Impact are no problem for this phone: we guarantee a buttery smooth experience with this device.

Then there’s the RAM and storage potential, with up to 24GB and 1TB, respectively. This means you don’t have to worry about running out of space, no matter what you store on your phone. While we can’t fault the performance of the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, we do have to point out that its 5,500 mAh battery is a downgrade from the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s 6,000 mAh battery. Regardless, our testing still found this device to have a solid battery as a rapid charger means it goes from 0-100% in less than 45 mins.

Asus’ most recent ROG Phone does better than the former model on the camera front, though, so you can capture some decent pictures with the 50MP wide, 32MP telephoto, and 13MP wide lenses. However, it still doesn’t meet the level you’d expect from such an expensive flagship device. The cameras certainly don’t quite match the prowess of the Samsung Galaxy S24, so if taking excellent pics is just as important as playing games, the ROG Phone 8 Pro may fall a little short.

Read our full Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the most powerful iPhone on the market right now (until the inevitable iPhone 16 appears), allowing you to play games such as Resident Evil Village and the Resident Evil 4 remake. It features Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which is more efficient than the previous A16 bionic chip found in iOS devices.

This does wonders to ensure a smooth gaming experience, but so does the display, with the 120Hz refresh rate OLED screen offering a stunning visuals. To match the flagship performance, you can get upto 1TB of storage and all iPhone 15 Pro Max devices have 8GB RAM, meaning there’s sufficient storage for your games, apps, pictures, and operating systems.

While the 4,422 mAh battery is a slight improvement over the iPhone 14 Pro Max, it’s still lacking in comparison to other flagship devices. However, we did find that we still had 60% of our battery left at the end of an average day (35% on weekends). The battery is a constant concession with Apple, which can make the expensive price tag sting a bit more than other devices.

Read our iPhone 15 Pro Max review.

With processing speeds of 3.1GHz, 2.9GHz, and 2.2GHz, we can see why the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is such a powerful gaming device. like the ROG Phone 8 Pro, this phone has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, giving you a lovely gaming experience that’s elevated by the stunning and vibrant 6.8-inch 120Hz AOLED display.

Better still, during testing, we found the battery to be “nothing short of impressive,” with the phone easily seeing you through two days of use before it needs some juice. However, that’s not the case if you’re gaming, but we still had about 20% battery left at the end of the day, even with extensive use.

Though expensive, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the perfect example of a flagship device that nearly has it all. Its 200MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto 1, and 50MP telephoto 2 cameras are its main selling points to those who are looking for more than games.

As we state in our review, the downside is that the device tends to get “toasty while gaming,” which is hardly ideal if you’re in a session for the long haul. Furthermore, while the device’s AI features are innovative and useful, it seems Samsung is planning on charging for access to these tools in the future, which means spending more money.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the best gaming phone for Google lovers thanks to its Google Tensor G3 chipset, which sees a small improvement in performance over its predecessor. However, it does still fall short of competitors such as Apple and Qualcomm, whose chipsets are the most powerful on the market.

With that said, it’s a cheaper flagship device than Apple and Samsung, and it does feature a lovely 120Hz refresh rate that we found makes for a “buttery smooth experience” in our review. You can play games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail with no problems, but you shouldn’t expect to see the likes of Resident Evil Village here – Google has some catching up to do to make that a reality.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro’s battery is slightly better than the 7 Pro at 5,050 mAh, which nets you about six to eight hours of screen time. With 30W charging, you can get a full battery in 90 minutes, which is admittedly longer than other entries on this list.

However, if you’re after a smartphone with stunning cameras but don’t want to pay the price of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, this is a winner. Boasting 50MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, and 48MP telephoto cameras that can capture crisp photos.

Read our Google Pixel 8 Pro review.

While the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 isn’t as capable as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, it’s still able to give you decent performance for the price point, and the 120Hz refresh rate does give the screen a good look. A plus for the chipset is that due to being a little older, it doesn’t drain the battery quite so hastily.

Speaking of the battery, at 5,000 mAh, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G can last the day, but it only allows for four hours of gameplay before you need to charge it. The 67w turbocharge offsets this, however, and in our testing, we found that you can fully use your device after just 15 minutes.

Another concession that the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G makes is in the form of storage, with a maximum of 256GB, while other devices can have 1TB. It’s not a terrible thing, however, for it still offers enough space to store your games, apps, and pictures.

The best thing about the Redmi Note Pro 5G is that it’s a good all-rounder, so if you need a cheap handset that can handle gaming but still fit into your daily life, it fits the bill. Decent cameras, battery life, and build quality come together to make an ace smartphone.

Read our Redmi Note Pro 5G review.

The RedMagic 9S is, first and foremost, a gaming phone, and it features the Snapdragon Gen 3 chipset, which is an improvement from the Gen 2 version of the RedMagic 8S Pro. As is the norm with this line of phones, the RedMagic 9S Pro features Game Space mode, which shoots your RAM straight into your gaming experience for peak performance. You can also mess with general performance GPU settings to optimize them.

To match the impressive chipset, gaming features, and RAM, there’s the stunning display setup featuring a 120Hz refresh rate and a 6.8-inch screen that uses BOE’s Q9+ luminescent technology to fantastic results, offering a crisp and clear display that shows what mobile gaming can look like.

In our testing, we found that the device can “run games like Zenless Zone Zero and Diablo Immortal with ease, even at the highest settings.” The RedMagic 9S Pro can handle anything you throw at it. However, there’s a slight caveat in that the phone can get a little toasty from time to time, though the ICE13.5 cooling system does keep things from getting out of hand.

Using a phone for gaming can drain the battery, but the RedMagic 9S Pro packs a beasty 6,500 mAh battery, which can keep you going for two days with sporadic use. For those who intend to push it to the max with gaming, you can take the phone from no charge to 100% charge in just over 30 minutes thanks to its 80W super fast charging capabilities.

Read our full RedMagic 9S Pro review.

As you know by now, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset is a powerhouse, only falling short of the most recent one by a fine margin. The OnePlus 12R also boasts 16GB RAM. Not only does that ensure an incredibly smooth gameplay experience, but it also means that your phone runs seamlessly – switching between apps is a breeze, and with up to 256GB storage, you can store plenty of them.

During our testing, we found that high-demanding games such as Call of Duty: Mobile ran without issues, with no framerate drops in sight. Then there’s the main selling point of the OnePlus 12R: your games look stunning due to the 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with the LTPO tech allowing an adjustable 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate. This optimizes your battery, giving you even more use.

Speaking of which, you can expect your phone to last the day with the 5,500 mAh battery, though a long gaming session will drain the juice. Luckily, the OnePlus 12R features 80W SuperVOOC charging, which can take you from zero to 100% percent battery in just 30 minutes, making it one of the best gaming phones in this regard. Outside of the US, those charging speeds can rise to 100W.

Read our OnePlus 12R review.

Gaming with the Motorola Edge 40 offers a crisp experience courtesy of that dazzling P-OLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. Not only does the screen look stunning, but framerate drops aren’t noticeable, with a solid performance across all manner of games.

While the MediaTek Dimensity chipset doesn’t quite meet the standards of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon range, it still offers a solid performance that can run all of your favorite mobile games. We even took Need For Speed: No Limits for a spin and found no issues.

However, while the gaming performance is decent, the 4,400 mAh battery in the Motorola Edge 40 could be better. When testing the phone, we found that it could last just over two days when used periodically, but that drastically drops to nine hours with extensive use – not even half a day. Luckily, Motorola comes in the clutch by taking just 39 minutes to get to 100% battery from nothing.

With its lower price point, it comes as no surprise that Motorola made some concessions with the features in the Edge 40. The cameras are perhaps the most disappointing, with a main 50MP camera and a 13MP ultra-wide one. You can still capture some nice images, but it’s not going to set the world on fire, and it certainly doesn’t match the heights of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Read our Motorola Edge 40 review.

The Xiaomi 14T Pro is an impressive little powerhouse from the growing Chinese tech giant that truly impressed us. Thanks to its Mediatek Dimensity 9300+ chipset it has fantastic performance, and is capable of dealing with all day-to-day tasks with ease.

But we’re here for gaming, right? Well, you’re in for a treat there, too. In fact, in our Xiaomi 14T Pro review, I state “I don’t say this lightly, but it might be the best candybar phone I’ve used this year for gaming, and I’ve had my share of gaming-specific devices in 2024.”

Diving into Honkai Star Rail with the visual settings on high, I was incredibly impressed with how smooth the in-game graphics and animations look, handling transitions that even expensive flagship phones have struggled with in the past.

The real shining star here is the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s stunning 6.67-inch AMOLED display. It might just be the best display we’ve seen on a mid-range phone, making streaming, gaming, and even doomscrolling a joy. It’s incredibly bright and comes equipped with 144Hz refresh rates, which is the highest you can find on a smartphone, making everything feel wonderfully smooth.

While the battery didn’t blow us away, the Xiaomi 14T Pro is more than capable of lasting a full day on one charge, or even longer if you’re using it sporadically. Plus the 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging capabilities are as good as you’re gonna get from current-gen phones. In fact, with a wired charger you can get it from 0 to 100% in as little as 20 minutes, meaning it’s quicker than both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S24.

Overall, the Xiaomi 14T Pro is a solid all-rounder phone with a top-notch display and competitive performance, earning it a solid spot on this list. Alternatively, you can check out our list of the best Xiaomi phones to see what other devices are on the market.