Modern smartphones can be used for just about anything. They’re important tools to stay in touch with friends and family, stay up-to-date on the world around us, and to entertain us. The world of mobile gaming is becoming increasingly popular as newer and higher-quality games are released into the Play Store. It makes sense that how good a phone is at gaming is now a key comparison point when choosing a phone.
Here’s our list of the best phones for gaming on the market right now.
Razer Phone
The Razer Phone is built for gaming. Coming from the company who made its name with excellent mine, keyboards, and gaming laptops, the phone was built from the ground up with gaming in mind.
It all starts with the display. The 5.7-inch, 2560 x 1440p Sharp IGZO IPS is a 120Hz display that looks incredible in person. Everything is fluid and it just looks perfect. Games and animations look so smooth it’s hard to believe you’re looking at a display on a mobile device and not a gaming monitor.
See also:Â Best cases to protect your Razer Phone
Flanking that screen are two front-facing speakers. If you pay attention to Android phones at all, their design is going to look pretty familiar. Razer stuck with the Nextbit Robin’s design (it bought Nextbit in 2017) to prioritize audio. The huge speakers are some of the best on the market and do a great job of keeping you immersed in whatever you’re playing or watching.
Razer Phone purchase links: Razer | Microsoft Store | Amazon
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
When you’re looking for a phone for gaming, what’s important? For me, it’s display, speakers, and battery life. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 checks all of those boxes and has an added killer bonus: the S Pen stylus.
The 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display on the Note 9 is one of, if not the, best display on the market. Not only is it gigantic, but it comes in a frame not larger than it. That makes it pretty easy to handle and makes content feel immersive. When you pick up the Note 9, you feel like all screen and that’s an awesome feeling. There’s a ton of real estate so you’re not trying to tap in cramped quarters and the phone is an ergonomic masterpiece and easy to hold.
See also:Â Nine things we love about the Note 9 |Â Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Specs: A complete monster
As for battery life, the Galaxy Note 9 is rocking a 4,000 mAh battery. It also has a few special power saving modes if you’re low on juice. It also has a mode that allows the processor to spin up to its highest clock speed so you can get the best performance possible while playing games.
Samsung also includes different performance modes that you can select based on how you use your phone. Game launcher allows you to use the system’s Game Tools, which are a suite of options which can do things like stretch the game to your entire screen, turn off alerts while you’re playing games, disable the digital home button, turns off screen lock and allows you to easily take screenshots and record your screen.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 purchase links: Amazon | Best Buy | B&H Photo | AT&T | Verizon | T-Mobile | Sprint | Samsung
Motorola Moto Z Play/Moto Z2 Play
This one might catch some people off guard, but hear us out. While they aren’t the newest versions, the Moto Z Play and Moto Z2 Play feature processors and GPUs that can keep up with most modern games and RAM to keep them all in memory. They also both support microSD card slots so you can store as many games, movies, music, and pictures as you want.
But, the killer feature for us is Moto Mods. Moto Mods are modules that you can connect to the back of Moto Z family phones to increase their functionality. For gaming, there are three in particular that catch our attention: the Moto Gamepad, the Moto Insta-Share projector, and the Moto Turbopower Pack.
We’ll start with the least sexy first, the Moto Turbopower Pack. This one is simply just a huge battery that you can strap to the back of your phone during long gaming sessions to make sure you don’t drain your battery. It serves the same purpose of a battery bank, but is far more convenient.
The Moto Insta-Share project allows you to broadcast a 70-inch version of your screen onto a wall or projector screen. How cool would it be to load up your favorite game, connect a Bluetooth controller and this projector and game away for hours? That sounds like a fun night with friends to me!
Last but certainly not least is the Moto gamepad. This handheld gamepad adds buttons on both sides of your screen and totally reminds us of the Sega Game Gear from way back in the day. It’s perfect for racing games and shooters alike.
Motorola Moto Z Play purchase links: Motorola | Verizon | Amazon (Certified Refurbished)
Motorola Moto Z2 Play purchase links: Motorola | Best Buy | Verizon | Amazon
