Why I’ll Never Buy a Gaming Phone

I’m not a hardcore mobile gamer, but I do enjoy an occasional game on my phone. But even if I was all-in on mobile gaming, I would never buy a gaming phone. Here’s why.

Flagship Prices Without Being Flagships

While most gaming phones are marketed as flagship devices, they aren’t really flagships, at least from my perspective. Sure, they cost as much or more than the usual flagships, pack in some of the best hardware available, have gorgeous screens with high refresh rates, and are seemingly bursting at the seams in terms of features.

But they still lack the two most important things that set apart flagship phones from their peers: top-notch cameras, and long-term software support.

Let’s take the newest “flagship” gaming phone from ASUS, the ROG Phone 9 Pro, as an example. Its hardware is remarkable, the screen’s gorgeous, and the price keeps pace with the rest of the flagship phone stack, but the camera just isn’t on the same level you’d expect from a flagship device.

Both GSMArena and Android Authority have found ROG Phone 9 Pro’s camera to be inconsistent and not on the level of what you can get from other Android flagships, such as Samsung Galaxy S and Google Pixel devices. Low-light camera quality is serviceable and noticeably below what you’d expect a $1,200 phone to deliver.

Then there’s the issue of having just two years of major OS updates and four years of security updates in a world where both Google and Samsung offer seven years of major OS updates. Even my Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, a 2022 device regarded as an upper mid-range handset when it came out, will get four major OS updates, ending with Android 16. Apple offers five, typically more.

The situation with other “flagship” gaming phones is even worse. ROG Phone 9 Pro’s main rival, the REDMAGIC 10 Pro+, should receive at least two years of software support. But REDMAGIC (or ZTE, the parent brand) doesn’t have a great track record with software support.

A quick Google search shows that you can expect one or two OS updates, and that’s about it. According to Android Authority: “ZTE has plans to provide major system updates (one update) on flagship products, but the update time depends on the release time of Google’s commercial version,” which doesn’t inspire much confidence. At least the 10 Pro+ is cheaper than the ROG Phone 9 Pro.

If I were to get a flagship phone (which I most likely will if the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro end up being at least as good as the Pixel 9 Duo), I’d avoid a gaming phone on these grounds.

I Don’t Need a Flagship Chip for Mobile Gaming

Having a flagship phone, especially an iPhone, was the best way to enjoy mobile gaming back in the day. Ten years ago, mid-range and budget Android or Windows Phone devices weren’t known for their gaming prowess. But modern mid-rangers and even some budget models pack enough oomph to run almost any game you throw at them at respectable frame rates.

While I’m a casual mobile gamer, I could download Genshin Impact if I wanted to and run it with a mix of medium and high settings and get playable performance because even the aging Snapdragon 888 powering my phone comes with a decent GPU. Newer, mid-range SoCs pack even more gaming performance, especially those released in the last couple of years.

In other words, you can enjoy the full breadth of games on your mid-range Android phone as long as it came out in the last couple of years. You’ll get smoother frame rates and higher levels of detail with a flagship chipset, but you don’t need one.

Even if you want to treat yourself to a phone powered by something like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Elite, you don’t need a gaming phone to get the most out of the chip.

Both the ROG Phone 9 Pro and the OnePlus 13 (a regular flagship without “gaming” markting) can run Genshin Impact without throttling as shown by Dave2D. To me, this suggests that the custom cooling solutions found in gaming phones (like the active cooling gimmick included with the ROG Phone Pro 9) aren’t really doing much.

A Controller Turns Any Handset Into a Gaming Phone

You might want a gaming phone for its extra gaming features, like capacitive “buttons” on the sides that play the role of bumpers on regular controllers or the high touch sampling rate, which is bumped to a pretty impressive 720Hz on the ROG Phone 9 Pro.

But a quality gaming controller like the GameSir X2s, GameSir G8 Galileo, or the Razer Kishi Ultra will provide a noticeably better gaming experience that no touchscreen or capacitive buttons can match. These controllers work with a wide variety of phones.

I’d rather spend the extra cash on a phone controller, slap it on my phone, and get a console-like gaming experience.

Gaming Handhelds Put Phones to Shame

I don’t even need to buy a new phone to get the best gaming experience on Android. Instead of spending over a thousand dollars on a flagship device and more money on a gaming controller, I can get an Android-based gaming handheld or an affordable retro handheld instead. This provides a gaming experience that no phone, gaming or otherwise, can match.

Arguably the best Android gaming handheld on the market, the phenomenal Retroid Pocket 5, costs only $220. It’s got a powerful Snapdragon 865 that can run any Android game without issues, a gorgeous OLED screen, and proper physical controls that are superior to any gaming phone and controller combo.

I could buy a Pocket 5 and a Pixel 9 Pro and save hundreds of dollars. I could buy the king of Android gaming handhelds, the $440 AYN Odin 2 Pro with its Snapdragon 8 Gen2 and a Pixel 9 Pro and still not spend as much as ASUS is asking for the ROG Phone Pro 9. And the less I talk about the bonkers gaming value of a used Switch Lite or the Steam Deck, the better.

iOS Has a Better Gaming Library Than Android Anyway

Last but not least, every single gaming phone out there runs Android. Regardless of which OS is your favorite, there’s no denying that iOS has the better game library.

There are loads of amazing iOS-exclusive games that aren’t available on Android, and you’ve also got the still pretty solid Apple Arcade subscription that Google Play Pass is a poor replacement for. iOS supports Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming and now that Apple allows retro game emulators on iOS, you can enjoy many classic console titles on your iPhone or iPad, too.

Gaming phones are generally overpriced and don’t give me anything I can’t get on a comparable non-gaming flagship phone, be it Android or iPhone. You’ll get a better gaming experience with a regular flagship or an Android handheld and spend less.

The biggest flaw, however, stems from the software. Gaming phones run Android, but iOS offers a superior game library. Ironically, a newer iPhone coupled with a high-end mobile controller is probably the best gaming phone you can get.