In the smartphone market, different needs of modern-day customers in one way or the other have various subcategories of devices to cater for them. While some prefer foldable smartphones, some are in love with compact smartphones. We also have the gamers around us. In this light, here’s a list for the Best Gaming Smartphones in 2022.

While the entries are not official, however, we are talking about a few top notch handsets that are undoubtedly powerhouses, so let’s have a look.

2022 Best Gaming Smartphones

ASUS ROG Phone 6 & ROG Phone 6D Series

ASUS is a known PC maker and has its own dedicated gaming sub brand called the Republic of Gamers or ROG. Under this brand, the Taiwanese brand has released the ROG Phone series of gaming smartphones.

Some of the latest one includes the ROG Phone 6 and the ROG Phone 6D lineup. Both of these are its latest offerings so let’s starts with the former first. The ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro sport 6.78 inch AMOLED displays that offer a high 165Hz refresh rate and a 720Hz touch sampling rate that helps make the device feel extra smooth and responsive while gaming.

In addition, both of these devices pack the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, which makes them one of the most powerful Android smartphones that are currently available in the market. This chipset is also paired with up to a whopping 18GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Meaning, stuttering due to lack of memory is not going to be an issue when running intensive titles.

Speaking about its design, it offers the sleek and angular design with RGB lighting which further cements its gaming nature with the sides also housing the pressure sensitive zones or Gaming triggers. This again makes it quite attractive for gamers since they won’t have to buy a dedicated trigger accessory.

Although, ASUS ROG Phone’s do support certain accessories, so hardcore mobile gamers can spec out their gaming smartphones. Apart from this, the company also sells the new ROG Phone 6D series as well, which consists of a base and an Ultimate model.

Unlike the ROG Phone 6 series, the Phone 6D models are equipped with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000+ SoC, which is a flagship chip as well. Similar to the previous series, the only difference between the ROG Phone 6D and 6D Ultimate is the memory, with the latter maxing out at 16GB while the former tops out at 12GB of RAM.

Apart from slight internal differences this lineup is quite similar to the other one from ASUS including its design. So, you can still expect RGB lighting and a small cover display to add to the gaming aesthetic. You also gain access to various accessories and built-in gaming triggers as well.

The ROG Phone 6 series starts from around 999 US Dollars, while the ROG Phone 6D series retails for around a similar price tag of about 917 US Dollars.

Red Magic 7S Series

Similar to the ASUS ROG Phone series, Red Magic is also a brand that is dedicated towards the mobile gamers. The Chinese company’s Red Magic is working on a new Red Magic 8 Pro model that will launch soon, but for now, we have the Red Magic 7S series that consist of a base and Pro model.

Both models sport a tall 6.8-inch AMOLED display with the vanilla variant offering a high 165Hz refresh rate while the Pro variant only offers 120Hz refresh rate. Although the latter also supports Red Magic x Qualcomm LTM dimming technology.

The Red Magic 7S and Red Magic 7S Pro are equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is the chipmaker’s 2022 flagship chipset. This chip is paired with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of internal storage for the lineup.

As for the design, it is also a gaming phone so you can see angular designs and a capable cooling system. This includes an RGB enabled turbo fan that is used for cooling the internal of the device. Yes, this series has a dedicated cooling fan with a vent.

With such high-end specs, and for those that game for longer times, a dedicated thermal dissipation system helps keep performance throttling at bay.

The Red Magic 7S starts from around 600 US Dollars while the Red Magic 7S Pro gaming smartphone was launched for 729 US Dollars.

Apple iPhone 14 Series

While you may be wondering what the Apple iPhone 14 series is doing on a gaming smartphones list, you have to remember that the company is one of the biggest players in the smartphone industry. Apart from this, the iPhone series is one of most capable and optimized handsets in the market, so it is even used by certain esports athletes as well.

The platform is so reliable that there are people that buy iPads just for gaming as well. However, for the best gaming smartphone category the latest iPhone 14 series.

Talking about the iPhone 14 & iPhone 14 Plus, these two models still feature last year’s A15 Bionic chip. However, this by no means implies that they are behind any of the Android competitors on this list.

Apple’s chips have been ahead of their counterparts in Android, so one can expect top notch gaming performance. But when we move to the higher end Pro models, this is where you get the powerhouse, which is the A16 chipset.

Furthermore, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max sport 120Hz display that is both smooth and responsive.

These chips have even been commended for their power efficiency as well, with the entire lineup overall offering a premium flagship experience even in terms of design. So, for those looking to game on their devices but don’t really like the gamer aesthetic, these phones might be the ones for you.

The iPhone 14 starts from 795 US Dollars while the higher end Pro variants start from 999 US Dollars.