Not long ago, mobile gaming used to be simple.
Yes, you read that right. Gaming was more of a console thing where gamers had the whole world at their joysticks. Sure there were mobile games back then. But these weren’t at all the intensive and almost every phone could run them easily.
But deep down we all wished for something else…
Isn’t it?
With the evolution of technology, games got better and flexible. And so did smartphones! More and more games are now available for smartphones. And that’s probably how it’s supposed to be.
Now let me ask you a question that you secretly have dreaded asking yourself?
It’s time to buy a new phone. So, do you want to buy a phone that can run your favorite video games like a piece of cake? We both know what the answer to that is….
Of course! Why wouldn’t you?
So the next obvious question would be?
How can I choose an ideal gaming phone for myself?
The good news is that if we look closely at the specs, it can be easy to determine which phones in the market will perform the best. But remember that phone companies may often hold back information sometimes.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could have your very own cheat sheet deconstructing all these facts for you?
So this is exactly what we have done for you. Read along to learn what makes a smartphone good for gaming.
But wait a minute…
There is something else that you need to decide before that.
iOS or Android?
One question that has been around since Apple dropped the ball by launching the iPhone in 1997. A lot has happened since then. And today iPhones and other phones provide users with an equally incredible gaming and user experience.
OK, so I know what you are thinking
What if you are already an iPhone user?
Then the answer is quite simple. If you are looking for the best Apple gaming phone, just invest in the latest and the most expensive device and you are good to go. And if you are in luck if it’s just past September.
Yeah, until recently that is the iPhone XS Max which is modicum faster and comes with more RAM and a better display. Remember that updates are important too. Apple continuously keeps fixing its bugs so make sure you are always on top of your game.
But I must be joking if I say that it’s the same process when choosing an Android device. Different models can have very similar specs and there might be a lot of obscure information that you might have to uncover.
There are some great choices out there to choose from like Honor, Samsung, and Razer.
I think now we are ready to get this show on the board.
The Screen’s Display is Quite Important
Ever noticed how most potential smartphone buying are worried about the display of their mobile?
And very rightly so.
But, you needn’t worry if you can take these three things into consideration:
- Panel Type -This can be a game-changer as is has an immense effect on the battery consumption and color reproduction of any phone. Right now, you need to concern yourself with only 2 types of display panels. OLED and IPS.
Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, commonly called AMOLED or OLED doesn’t need a backlight and also allows for per-pixel lighting and can also be turned off which means you use your phone’s battery more effectively. These panels are particularly more expensive to produce. Some phones that currently support this panel type are iPhone XS, One Plus 6 and Samsung Galaxy 10 & S9.
- Pixels Per Inch (PPI) – By rule, a small-sized display has a higher PPI in comparison to a larger display screen with the same res.Do you know where I am going with this?
The fact is that PPI isn’t much help when you are looking for an ideal new phone because you can rely on display size and the available resolution to understand how sharp it will eventually be when you use it.
- Resolution – A very easy formula to help you out here. The higher, the better. But beware of marketing lingo’s that use words like Quad High Definition (1440p/2k) or Ultra High Definition (2160p/4k).
How Much RAM do You Need?
Cutting right to the chase, here’s one rule you need to learn. More RAM means your phone works less to load from flash memory. So the more, the better.
And what does this mean for you?
Choose a phone that automatically closes down processes when the RAM has maxed out. You can easily find a phone with around 6-8 GB RAM and that is more than enough for any game player.
Does The CPU Make Any Difference?
The simple truth is that is can be quite easy to decipher which central processing unit (CPU) is the best match for your needs.
Needless to say, one usually picked up a phone that pulls the max GHz. But this got irrelevant as multi-core processors entered the market in the last decade. So you probably need to use another way to find what you want.
In general, the CPU will have 2-speed ratings like 2.4 GHz + 1.6 GHz.
Ever wondered what these two meant?
Let me get this straight that more cores do not entail more processing power for your phone. The latest smartphones only use half of their CPU core to function while the other half is dedicated towards saving battery. So eventually they run at a normal speed and give a very good battery life.
But when you play a game, unsurprisingly the device will automatically switch to higher power CPU cores as your phone needs the extra horsepower.
So think about it.
More cores don’t mean extra power. And 2 different phones might perform altogether differently with the same CPU & chipset when they are used for gaming.
So what’s it all about?
The best idea here is to invest in a phone that uses the latest chipset (up to 1-year-old). You can also opt-in for game-friendly phones where when the CPU works harder, the phone economizes other functions and thus the power consumption eventually drops.
Now Stop Right There!
We can eventually discuss even more but these 3 specs are enough for you to make a sound decision. Playing games can often be a secondary consideration for people looking to buy a new phone.
Nonetheless, these 3 parameters can help you find a phone that performs well in addition to giving you an awesome gaming experience.
