These days’ cellphones are becoming potential gaming and emulation devices for more than mere distractions on the go, and mobile gaming is a major industry in its own right.
Eventually, cloud streaming will level the performance playing field, but until then serious mobile gamers need to pick up devices tailored for the purpose.
The finest gaming phones deliver maxed-out performance, stunning displays and acoustics.
In addition, frequently designs that integrate extra trigger buttons or other gaming-specific features.
We have picked the greatest options for you after comparing and analyzing dozens of cell phones accessible on the market.
Our top options for the best phones for gaming and emulation with the latest processors.
Additionally, our selections boast good refresh rates and have adequate RAM and storage.
Best Android Phones for Emulation
These Android phones are best suited to great gaming and emulation software.
1. ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro: Overall Best Phone for Gaming
The Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro is undoubtedly the ultimate gaming phone but you will have to pay for it.
Right now, our absolute favourite gaming phone is the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro, which also leads our list of the best phones for emulation.
Therefore, this isn’t a gaming phone that’s loaded full of the most powerful tech only, but it gives a decent performance with recent games.
This gaming phone features a 6.78-inch FHD+ 165Hz AMOLED display with HDR+ and Eye Care technology so you can immerse yourself in games all day long.
It feels zippy, and you would never notice any hitching or juddering while using the ROG Phone 6 Pro.
Performance is outstanding here, so the smartphone is equipped with the most powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip.
A great performance can only be attained with even better thermals.
The improved GameCool 6 tech has a 30% larger vapour chamber among other features for more consistent gaming frame rates.
Specs elsewhere are outstanding too, including a 165Hz AMOLED screen, 6000mAh battery, 18GB of RAM and storage space of 512GB.
It also boasts a distinctive AMOLED screen on the rear of the phone, used to indicate incoming calls, alerts, and charge conditions.
In addition, all the ROG Phones ships with a choice of optional supplementary accessories.
Asus put in an astounding 6000 mAh of battery power inside the ROG Phone 6 Pro’s casing.
Therefore, battery life is solid. In fact, this one boasts enough battery life in a single charge that you will either give up or pass out before it even starts to die on you.
The only concern is the price: it’s more expensive than all its rivals, which in certain cases cost half the price but offer identical performance.
Symmetrical front-firing dual speakers tuned by Dirac deliver truly balanced stereo sound, while the adaptive codec aptX enables lossless sound.
It’s a terrific high-end item, but there are plenty of gaming phones that’ll give you the same bang for fewer dollars in 2023.
Pros:
- Fantastic performance
- Gorgeous display
- Enough storage and RAM
- Amazing speakers
- Impressive gaming
- Long battery life
Cons:
- No wireless charging
2. REDMAGIC 7S Pro Smartphone 5G: Best Value
The Red Magic 7S Pro is a unique phone. It’s a tiny update on the 7 Pro principally to add the newer Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip.
The modifications here are largely in the display. The first is that the 7S Pro comes with the most snappy display in any phone right, detecting touch input at 960Hz.
A gaming phone with a 120Hz refresh rate, this 6.8-inch FHD full AMOLED screen delivers stunning HD+ images at up to 120 frames per second.
With a 960 Hz multi-finger touch sampling rate, this phone offers lightning-fast touch and precise response, giving you a huge competitive edge in gaming.
The 5G smartphone also has an under-display fingerprint sensor and a 16-megapixel under-display camera.
This helps keep the 7S Pro compact and provides you with a lovely full-screen experience.
The gaming smartphone is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 provides you with the power to effortlessly play your favourite games with the raw power of the new CPU clocking at nearly 3.2 GHz.
It comes with 18GB RAM + 512GB ROM not only provides a fun gaming experience and effects, but also ample storage space for downloading games.
Gaming phones incorporate new aerospace-grade phase change materials (PCM).
This material can store heat and release it slowly, so you won’t feel the heat from the phone when playing games, and you can hold the phone more comfortably.
The built-in high-speed turbo fan accelerates heat dissipation and the fan noise is whisper-quiet.
Moreover, the mobile phone-certified 65W GAN charger supports 65W fast charging.
Pros:
- Large 120Hz OLED panel
- Good battery life, and fast charging.
- Plenty of gaming features
- Impressive thermal management.
- Amazing stereo speakers.
- Good price-performance ratio.
Cons:
- No Auto brightness boost.
- Subpar camera performance.
- No microSD card.
3. Nubia RedMagic 5G: A High-End Gaming Phone
Another fantastic phone for emulation worth highlighting is the Nubia Red Magic 5G. It stacks up admirably versus the competition.
Built on a Snapdragon 865 processor and sports 8GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM, paired with a 6.65-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate.
The Red Magic 5G has specs that rival certain flagships.
These characteristics make the Nubia Red Magic 5G an excellent contender for gaming.
Another huge win for the phone is its audio performance. You would be equally impressed.
The Nubia Red Magic 5G isn’t inexpensive. However, if it asks a lot from you, it delivers a lot too.
One point where the Red Magic 5G certainly surpasses several phones in the same class is the battery compartment. The battery life on this phone is remarkable and you easily pass a whole day using it.
If you want to get the most out of the games you play, then the Red Magic 5G is well worth considering.
If we talk about the battery life, it comes with a 4,500-mAh battery, which I think would be enough to last for a day if you are not too hard on emulation and gaming.
RedMagic 5G charges fast and lets you play longer. Fast charging restores large amounts of power quickly so you don’t have to worry about your battery draining throughout the day.
Pros:
- Sleek and aggressive design.
- Very nice build.
- The best gaming display.
- Good price/performance ratio.
- Great performance.
- Nice-sounding speakers.
- Can record 8K videos.
- Speedy charging.
Cons:
- Underwhelming camera performance.
- Battery life is disappointing considering the capacity.
- Fingerprint reader performance is unreliable.
4. Black Shark 5 Pro: Our Favorite Pick for Emulation Use
The Black Shark 5 Pro might not revamp the wheel, but it ticks all the boxes for gamers.
However, it boasts a silky smooth 144Hz refresh rate, top-level performance, gaming-specific features like magnetic triggers and gesture-activated shortcuts plus much more.
Black Shark 5 Pro features a stunning 144 Hz 6.67-inch OLED esports display that supports 10-bit colour depth, DCI-P3 colour gamut, HDR 10+ and SGS eye protection.
Black Shark 5 Pro makes full advantage of Snapdragon’s 5G 8 Gen 1 mobile technology.
It features UFS 3.1 and LPDDR5 (6,400 Mbps) RAM to unleash its limitless performance.
It is equipped with 8GB of RAM and storage space of 128GB for saving a lot of pictures and apps.
Black Shark 5 Pro is equipped with dual VC liquid cooling plates with a total area of 5320mm² for more stable gaming framerate performance.
Enjoy a fast and powerful performance in games and everyday life.
The 120W charging, albeit unaltered, delivers some of the snappiest charging times around delivering a full 100% charge in under 30 minutes.
Unlike the touch-based triggers of some rivals, the Black Shark 5 Pro includes magnetic triggers that pop up from the body of the phone for a more traditional controller experience.
Making it a terrific portable gaming experience without the need to carry additional devices.
Though not usually a focus for gaming phones, the Black Shark 5 Pro has an impressive 108Mp rear-facing camera that is capable of taking decent snaps.
However, the decision to include autofocus capabilities to the macro lens and not the more popular 120-degree ultra-wide is an odd decision that leaves some ultrawide shots looking a little soft.
It is more expensive than the competing Red Magic 7 Pro.
However, the magnetic triggers, in particular, make the Black Shark 5 Pro a tempting gaming smartphone that reduces the need for a controller in many games.
Say goodbye to the fear of running out of battery forever thanks to 120W Hyper-Charging technology and a 4650mAh high-capacity battery!
It will provide you with performance for a whole day without any worries.
Pros:
- Bright, 144Hz OLED display.
- Great stereo speakers.
- Fantastic Camera
- Plenty of useful gaming features.
- Super-fast charging.
- Solid performance.
Cons:
- The phone gets extremely hot.
- Average battery life
5. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G: Last Option
Frustrated with your smartphone? Do you think you have seen it all?
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the cure, the one piece of tech that has truly amazed us.
It’s the only foldable phone with 5G that we recommend buying, and only if, money is no object.
This is surely a great smartphone for advanced gaming and emulation purpose.
Samsung’s Z Fold 2 costs $1,169, that’s a steep price, but the Z Fold 2 is also the most elegant take on the most revolutionary new smartphone design factor we’ve seen in years.
Samsung Galaxy Z fold 2 has an advanced processor and a staggering 12GB of RAM giving you fast, powerful performance for smooth multitasking and low-lag gaming.
Its 6.2-inch Cover Display fixes our major concern regarding the original Fold’s bezel-heavy 4.6-inch front.
It’s now just big enough to type on, even though it still feels cramped on account of its narrow-yet-tall form.
Unfolded, it’s like owning a 7.6-inch small Android tablet. That is something we would ordinarily need a bag to tote around, and would often end up leaving at home.
Yet Samsung’s design makes its gadget very pocketable at a moment’s notice. As long as we are not wearing our jeans with the slimmest pockets.
This hefty phone-tablet hybrid can go practically everywhere.
The latest Galaxy phone seamlessly integrates hardware and software so you can multitask while using multiple apps.
Enjoy the productivity of wireless DeX by using your monitor or TV as a second screen for gaming, work and more.
Do everything you want with next-level performance with Galaxy Z Fold 5G. Share more, play harder, experience more and never miss a thing.
Pros:
- Big, high refresh rate
- Usable cover display
- Improved design and build quality
- The inner screen is 120Hz
- Matte glass back
- Solid performance
Cons:
- Awkward form factor when closed
- Multitasking isn’t intuitive
- Awkwardly placed speakers
- Very expensive
Conclusion
Gaming phones mean focusing on performance, with a powerful chipset and plenty of RAM to ensure it can play the latest mobile games smoothly.
Most gaming phones have large, responsive screens and powerful speakers – or even a headphone jack.
However, some go even further with designs specifically for gaming.
That could mean more cooling and a larger battery to ensure performance during long gaming sessions.
All the above models that we have reviewed are the best in the market with all the features that we have mentioned above.
These smartphones will surely suit you very well, just choose any gaming phone that suits your taste and demands, and it will work for you.