Which Mobile Phone Is Best For Gamers.

1. iPhone 14 

For those playing games that take advantage of 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, the iPhone 14 Pro presents a ProMotion display that will fully utilize those capabilities, and games such as Genshin Impact benefit from higher and smoother frame rates.

However, I want to draw attention to the first result. The iPhone 14 exceeds what many consider to be the gold standard for gaming frame rates: 60 fps. Hitting 69 fps, the iPhone 14 proves itself as a capable gaming phone. Of course, with the 60Hz display, you'll only see a max of 60 fps, even though the phone is capable of more. Yet another reason why it's a shame that Apple didn't go with at least a 90Hz refresh rate for the iPhone 14. But I digress.

2. ROG Phone 5

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform takes mobile processing power to a new level. With a stunning 35%2 increase in rendering performance, even the most demanding 3D games run smoothly with maxed-out settings. The all-new performance manager in Armoury Crate now packs the renowned X Mode, with multiple system profiles to give you even more performance settings and performance tuning tools, so you can instantly adapt ROG Phone 5 to the task at hand. 

Boasting an industry-leading 300 Hz touch-sampling rate3, the 144 Hz / 1 ms AMOLED display — built by Samsung — gives you a super-smooth gaming experience, with an ultra-low 24.3 ms touch latency4. The supreme visuals are enhanced even further with world-beating color accuracy, the new always-on HDR technology8 that improves non-HDR visuals, and a screen that’s protected by Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™. ROG Phone 5 is built to endure — and built to win.

The GameFX audio system on ROG Phone 5 now incorporates symmetrical 7-magnet dual speakers for truly balanced stereo sound effects. Optimized in collaboration with audio specialist Dirac, the projected sound quality will grab your aural senses and take them to a different world.

3. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Why you should buy this: You get a stunning 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen, up to 12GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip (Exynos 2200 outside the U.S.), an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, and the ability to stream Xbox games. Who it's for: Anyone who wants the very best gaming experience available on a Samsung phone. 

Why we picked the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: This phone packs the specs and then some. Starting off with its 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen with a resolution of 3088 x 1440 pixels (the same as the Note 20 Ultra before it), it also supports HDR10+ and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. This means every game — even the most demanding titles — will look crisp, vibrant, and smooth, with reduced lag. Pick up the phone in the U.S. and you get Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor (the Exynos 2200 in the rest of the world) and up to 12GB of RAM. Qualcomm's latest chip can handle whatever you throw at it without slowdown issues, from the latest games to multitasking. With up to 1TB of internal storage, there's plenty of room for downloading games and apps, though there's no microSD card slot here. 

You also get a huge 5,000mAh battery to see you through a full day of gaming, plus 45W fast charging, though there's no charger in the box. When it comes to special features, you can use Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass to stream console games over 5G or Wi-Fi on the S22 Ultra. You also get the new-and-improved S Pen stylus, which can be used with some games, boasting reduced latency of 2.8ms. Then there's Samsung's Game Booster function, which monitors your usage, available memory, device temperature, and other metrics, optimizing settings to boost efficiency and battery life. 

The S22 Ultra is no slouch on the non-gaming features front either, with a powerful quad-lens camera, including a 108-megapixel main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and 10MP telephoto periscope with 10x optical zoom. You can also record video at up to UHD 8K resolution at 24 frames per second. True, the S22 Ultra is a behemoth of a phone, so it's not designed for one-handed use. 

However, you're getting the latest smartphone processor, a beefy battery, and a stunning 6.8-inch screen, so the trade-offs are worth it. Did we mention you also get Samsung's impressive update promise, with four years of operating system updates and five years of security updates? This isn't a cheap phone by any means, though right now you can get the 256GB model from Samsung for the same price as the 128GB at $1,200, rising to $1,600 for the 1TB version.