Attention! The accuracy of the information and the results of the ranking is subjective and is not an advertisement.
Top 5 gaming smartphones
2018 rating: review of popular smartphones for games
Author: Vladimir Nyenets
If you do not take into account that playing on the screen with a small diagonal is not very comfortable, the main criteria for choosing the best gaming smartphone should be considered graphics performance and amount of RAM.
Concerning performance - A level acceptable for modern games is demonstrated by hardware platforms gaining at least 20 thousand points in the popular 3DMark Ice Storm GPU benchmark. It is impossible to unambiguously focus on the indicated numbers, and a fresh example with ARM Mali-T880 graphics can serve as a negative example here. Nevertheless, no one has yet invented a more objective method for testing 3D performance.
WITH the amount of RAM simpler - already three gigabytes of RAM allow you not to worry about caching delays, and the problem can only be a lack of space for installing the applications themselves. Choosing the best smartphone for games, it makes sense to give preference to models with at least 64 GB of internal memory and above.
And finally, so that the pleasure of the game is not blurred by the need to recharge the smartphone over and over again, pay attention to battery capacity. The rule “the more - the better” is still very relevant.
In our review of the best smartphones for games, almost no “A” brands are represented.. The fact is that their flagship models are able to cope with any game by definition, while other rulers are noticeably inferior to smartphones of other companies in terms of price / performance ratio. As a typical example, you can call the younger Sony Xperia, the cost of which can not be called democratic.
Ranking of the best gaming smartphones in 2018
| Category | A place | Name | Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best cheap gaming smartphones | 1 | Xiaomi Redmi 5 | 9.6 / 10 | 10 790 |
| The best gaming smartphones mid-priced | 1 | Xiaomi Mi Note 3 | 9.6 / 10 | 15 750 |
| 2 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 | 9.6 / 10 | 12 750 | |
| 3 | Xiaomi Mi Max 2 | 9.5 / 10 | 12 900 | |
| The best premium gaming smartphones | 1 | Oneplus 5t | 9.5 / 10 | 28 600 |
Best cheap gaming smartphones
|
10 790 (for model with 3/32 GB memory)
This smartphone is one of the best budget solutions for mobile gaming. Maximum graphics quality settings will not always, and especially heavy toys will go here at minimum salary (in particular, PUBG Mobile). With less demanding things like tanchiki and even Injustice 2, there should be no problems at all. The smartphone has a fresh Snapdragon 450 hardware platform, a closely related 625 “stone”. At least, her video accelerator is exactly the same and all eight cores are equivalent, i.e. load is distributed evenly. If we evaluate the differences in terms of gaming, we have lower operating frequencies, and therefore lower overall performance. On the other hand, low heat during continuous load is a virtue. The idea of purchasing a version of the recommended device with less memory is defective. First, the tray at the Xiaomi Redmi 5 hybrid. Secondly, applications are not installed on the memory card. Regularly, of course. Main advantages:
Minuses:
|
 9.6 / 10
Rating
Reviews
A great smartphone for your money. In terms of balancing everything and everything, in my opinion, it has no equal in this price category. |
The best gaming smartphones mid-priced
|
15 750 (per model with 6/64 GB memory)
This smartphone shows a very decent gaming ability at a fairly reasonable price tag.Interestingly, there are no special methods for cooling a single-chip system, like the Nokia 8 heatpipes, and the device’s heating under load is still small. Like the accompanying drop in performance (throttling). The device works on the Snapdragon 660 platform and absolutely all modern toys allows you to run with maximum graphics quality settings. At the same time, even in the most difficult scenes, the frame rate never drops below comfortable values. Among the other advantages of Mi Note 3, it is worth mentioning a decent chamber part and a premium design. Of course, dropping the device is strictly not recommended, and the glass case slides well. Well, the lack of a mini-jack or the inability to use Band 20 may not please someone. Main advantages:
Minuses:
|
 9.6 / 10
Rating
Reviews
About WoT at max speeds, everyone already knows. I play PUBG at the maximum - there are no lags, FPS is more than comfortable. Also tightly sticky in WarRobots. In the coolest mixing lags not observed. |
|
12 750 (for model with 4/64 GB memory)
The hit of the season, impressive with its versatile talents, including gaming. It will not be able to please its owner only with the highest quality graphics in PUBG Mobile. And then only in the default state, as far as craftsmen have already found ways to circumvent the corresponding software restriction. Record FPS values in this case should not be expected, but the playability is maintained at a very decent level. The smartphone boasts a fresh single-chip system Snapdragon 636, the core of which, according to Qualcomm marketing experts, is 40% more productive than the standard from ARM. Figuratively speaking, smartphones on this chip are tearing to shreds all classmates with outdated platforms inside. A good bonus is the very high autonomy of the recommended model, a surprisingly decent camera part of Redmi Note 5 and support for modern versions of wireless interfaces. Main advantages:
Minuses:
|
 9.6 / 10
Rating
Reviews
The best smartphone for games, I think. Performance - here is a delight. 636 SD and 509 Adreno do the trick. 115k + parrots in Antutu. In use, so generally rocket. |
|
12 900 (for model with 4/64 GB memory)
The Mi Max 2 smartphone is noticeably inferior to the fifth “laptop” in terms of gaming performance, but in terms of aggregate indicators it takes a worthy place in our ranking of the best gaming smartphones. The phone's engine is the most popular Snapdragon 625 chip, the eight cores of which are not divided into powerful / economical clusters. Consequently, all of them can be involved simultaneously, due to which high energy efficiency is achieved. Considering the five-thousandth battery, good autonomy of the recommended model is not surprising. Even with a large screen, so convenient from the point of view of mobile gaming. As for modern games, the smartphone will easily pull any of them with low quality graphics. Including the reference PUBG Mobile. Many applications will also go with medium and even heavy settings if you are ready to put up with a small FPS drawdown. Main advantages:
Minuses:
|
 9.5 / 10
Rating
Reviews
Smartphone with the size of "pill".Build quality, functionality, ergonomics, an impressive view, screen, battery, memory, stereo sound - all this and a lot of chips at an elegantly low price. |
The best premium gaming smartphones
|
28 600 (for model with 8/128 GB memory)
Perhaps this smartphone is the most attractive gaming solution of the flagship level. Of course, if you take the price / performance ratio as the main criterion for evaluating a good gaming smartphone. The OnePlus 5T has so much RAM that its volume allows keeping several “heavy” games in the background without any problems. Any doubts about the possibility of noticeable drawdowns, "friezes", etc. completely groundless. The device easily pulls at max speeds even PUBG with the FPS restrictions removed. Moreover, the heating device during prolonged operation in such a mode is relatively small. Another attractive factor for mobile gamers can be ultra-fast charging technology, which is supported by the recommended smartphone. We consider the absence of a serious moisture protection to be the most significant drawback of this model. A very strange omission for the modern flagship. Main advantages:
Minuses:
|
 9.5 / 10
Rating
Reviews
Pulls at the maximum settings all the games, never freezes, does not slow down, everything works smoothly and steadily. This smartphone will still be relevant for 3-4 years, at least. |
Which smartphone for games is better to buy?
The situation when almost all positions in this ranking of the best gaming smartphones are given to Xiaomi models should not be taken as an attempt to “promote” this particular brand. These are just the realities of the current moment, and above all pricing. Say, Meizu E3 (Snapdragon 636) is half the price than Redmi Note 5. Approximately the same difference between Meizu 15 and Mi Note 3 (Snapdragon 660). Continuing the listing in a similar vein will not be difficult, and as far as the topic of our review is gaming opportunities, we preferred Xiaomi products, without paying attention to the features of the latter. Actually, we indicated the reference points:
- smartphones on the platform Snapdragon 450 suitable for all games, except for the most "heavy";
- models on Snapdragon 625 (630) they will suit gamers who are ready to be content with Minimal in especially demanding games;
- devices with Snapdragon 636 even demanding gamers will be satisfied on board, but they will have to additionally "poshamanit";
- smartphones with chips Snapdragon 660 we consider the best choice of a mobile gamer right now, before the mass appearance of the “dragons” of the seven hundredth series;
- uncompromising players should look towards devices on Snapdragon 835/845.
This is in theory. Practical results sometimes differ greatly in smartphones of supposedly one class, and there may be several reasons for this. Starting from the job scheduler algorithms and ending with the type of memory used. Of course, even Qualcomm's chips are much larger than what is named, but we are talking about the best for mobile gaming. Have a good choice!
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Updated: 03.08.2018
Rating in categories:
