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In 2018, mobile gaming already accounted for 51% of the gaming market. A figure that is likely to be significantly higher in 2022. According to experts’ estimates, gaming on smartphones and tablets is expected to attract even more consumers in the following years.

Once shunned by publishers and PC and console gamers, smartphone gaming is now becoming a must-have. From Nintendo (Mario Kart, Super Mario Run) to Activision (Call of Duty Mobile) to Epic (Fortnite), the big names in the industry are gradually getting into the game. It must be said that smartphones are becoming more and more powerful and are becoming small portable consoles.

And all indications are that this will soon get stronger. For example, the Galaxy S22, which Samsung is due to present on February 9, 2022, will feature a new Exynos 2200 chip – the first of its kind to include a true mobile RDNA2 GPU with Ray Tracing and other graphics technologies never before seen on a smartphone. At first glance, all high-end smartphones can be taken for excellent gaming smartphones.

Nevertheless, several aspects of the experience are enhanced by gaming smartphone models. They often include buttons in the shell that allow you to dispense with both joystick and touch controls. They also include large batteries and a powerful cooling system (active, with fan, vapor chamber or hybrid).

A must for playing long hours without noticing glitches that are potentially related to throttling the performance of your mobile processor due to excessive heat. Beyond that, it’s interesting to look at new smartphone formats, including foldable smartphones.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, for example, offers a screen area unmatched by any competing smartphone – a screen that is also 120 Hz and offers incredible color rendering. In addition, it should be noted that the mobile gaming experience is largely tied to the games themselves and the hardware features they can support.

Immediately after the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S22, for example, it will be worth checking which games can really take advantage of the new Exynos 2200 GPU. Because without support for this hardware, the gaming experience will probably be the same (or even worse) than on other smartphones. There are still a few days to go before the presentation of Samsung’s new smartphones. In the meantime, here is the selection of the best gaming smartphones, to date, in 2022.

Top 5 best gaming smartphone 2022:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
• Asus ROG Phone 5
• Xiaomi BlackShark 4
• iPhone 13 Pro
• Galaxy S21 Ultra

1- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

Probably the best gaming smartphone 2022

Imagine a smartphone that would have access to all the games in the Android catalog, be extremely powerful, deliver incredible battery life, and let you game anywhere on an XXL 7.6″ screen? Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is arguably in many ways the best gaming smartphone of 2022. Of course, you have to put the price on it, as the device is priced at over 1700 euros.

But with this device, the future is in your hands. With one of the most comfortable gaming experiences, to date, on a smartphone. Unlike previous models, Samsung has made this device quite durable and decidedly futuristic. We have for the first time the IPx8 water resistance. The flexible screen is covered with an ultra-resistant UTG glass. The exterior is protected by ultra-solid Gorilla Glass Victus.

Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 3

The hinge has been revised and corrected to make it more robust and allow it to remain folded in certain positions. The screen itself is 120 Hz which is perfect for gaming. The punch of the selfie camera has disappeared in favor of a sensor integrated directly under the pixels. So that the rendering of games is not disturbed by anything on this XXL screen. On the chip side, we have a Snapdragon 888 associated with 12 GB of RAM. The sotckage, ultra-fast, is standard UFS 3.1.

In addition to that the device has one of the best sets of 12 Mp photo sensors on the market. And practical technologies to connect controllers without lag, such as Bluetooth 5.2. It is therefore de facto the best gaming smartphone of 2022 even if Samsung does not position it at all on this niche!

2- Asus ROG Phone 5

The best gaming smartphone 2022 with 144 Hz refresh rate

Impossible not to mention the ROG Phone 5 in this top best gaming smartphone 2022. After several already successful versions, Asus pushes the limits of smartphone gaming. In addition to its excellent performance and two-day battery life, the ROG Phone 5 is entirely designed for gaming.

For the manufacturer, the experience of mobile gaming is not only about performance, but also about the quality of the screen, the gameplay and the audio. Behind its very gaming-oriented design, the ROG Phone 5 hides a powerful processor (Snapdragon 888) combined with a liquid cooling system and several vents ensuring long sessions without overheating. Asus even provides a small accessory with a fan.

Buy Asus ROG Phone 5

The 6.78-inch 10-bit OLED screen displays content in Full HD+ with an “optimal” mode that is particularly interesting for gaming. Above all, its 144 Hz refresh rate ensures great fluidity. Add to that two Hi-Res Audio compatible stereo speakers developed in partnership with Dirac and the immersion is total.

Not to spoil anything, Asus has redesigned the software interface and has developed an exclusive application for gaming. Once launched, you can access an interface with all the available games and various optimization settings. Two triggers with haptic feedback facilitate the gameplay and allow an excellent gaming experience even on a touch screen.

Finally, Asus offers a multitude of accessories, including controllers with joysticks and physical buttons. As you can see, the ROG Phone 5 is the best gaming smartphone on the market. However, its starting price of 799 euros is not within the reach of everyone. But when you like…

3- Xiaomi Black Shark 4

The best gaming smartphone 2022 for the price/performance ratio

Like Asus, Black Shark offers the fourth iteration of its gaming smartphone, the Black Shark 4. Historically, the manufacturer has positioned itself as the benchmark for good value for money. This new model remains true to this philosophy.

Offered at 499 euros, it is much more affordable than the ROG Phone 5. Of course, Black Shark had to make some concessions. The most important one is the processor, as the manufacturer opted for a Snapdragon 870 chip instead of the more powerful 888. This does not prevent it from delivering enough power to play all mobile games, even the most demanding.

Black Shark is much more generous in other respects: the 144 Hz HDR 10+ AMOLED Full HD+ screen is as good as Asus’ and the DTS sound is immersive.

Enduring, the Black Shark 4 is compatible with fast charging up to 120 W. Here again, it has nothing to envy to the market reference. And if its plastic design looks a bit cheap, we’ll gladly forgive this little weakness for its price.

4- iPhone 13 Pro Max

The best gaming smartphone 2022 with Apple Arcade, solid battery life and a beautiful 120 Hz display

Apple has been banking on its mobile game offering for a very long time, and has one of the most complete catalogs to date, both in terms of number of titles and quality. Apple has been offering the Apple Arcade subscription for some time now, which allows you to consume games from the App Store, with a number of interesting independent titles such as Inside, at will. The iPhone is therefore a very attractive platform for mobile gaming, but until now the iPhone has been a bit lacking in terms of its characteristics, especially in terms of refresh rate.

The mistake is nevertheless advantageously repaired on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It has one of the best 120Hz screens on the market (it’s made by Samsung), a new A16 Bionic chip that again this year ridicules the performance of its closest competitors, and more RAM that will be appreciated in some of the more demanding titles. In addition, the battery capacity is much larger and the XXL screen allows you to enjoy your mobile gaming sessions to the fullest.

Buy the iPhone 13 Pro Max

In addition to being part of this top best gaming smartphone 2022, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is also one of the best all-around smartphones available for purchase in 2022. In addition to its power, design, battery life, and 120Hz screen, Apple has made significant progress in the field of photography, with a triple set of physically very large sensors that capture much more light and detail. But also the sensor shift stabilization technology and a LiDAR sensor.

Many shots compare favorably with those of the other heavyweight of the market, the Galaxy S21 Ultra and its 108 Mp sensor. In the field of video, especially 4K, the device is even far ahead of its competitors.

5- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

The best gaming smartphone 2022 in an ultra-premium Android flagship case

In the flagship that act as the best gaming smartphone there is also the Galaxy S21 Ultra. As with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the smartphone deserves its place in this comparison because of its outstanding performance, large RAM envelope, ultra-fast UFS 3.1 storage, good energy management, and 120 Hz display, knowing that Samsung is undoubtedly the best mobile display manufacturer on the market.

The screen is also, with 1500 nits, one of the brightest currently available. On the chip side, in France, we have an Exynos 2100, equivalent engraved in 5 nm to the Snapdragon 888 of Qualcomm. Most variants come with 12 GB of RAM, but it is possible to opt for the 512 GB storage model if you want to benefit from 16 GB of RAM to make your gaming sessions more fluid.

Buy Galaxy S21 Ultra

On top of that, we’re on what is arguably the most photo-savvy Android smartphone. We have a quadruple sensor led by a 108 Mp main module, a 10 Mp periscopic telephoto lens, another shorter 10 Mp telephoto lens, and a 12 Mp ultra-wide-angle lens – all optically stabilized. The selfie sensor is not left out since Samsung has integrated a 40 Mp sensor particularly capable. As on the Galaxy Fold3 we find useful technologies for gamers like Bluetooth 5.2.

6- OnePlus 9 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra… there are also other alternatives in the high-end

Even if they are not dedicated gaming models, the latest high-end smartphones have some assets that make the experience more enjoyable. Besides the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Galaxy S22 Ultra, two models in particular are interesting: the OnePlus 9 Pro (and probably also the OnePlus 10 Pro at the end of the month), and the Xiaomi 12 Pro.

All of them feature a large screen size and are particularly powerful. The Xiaomi 12 Pro, the OnePlus 9 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro stand out with a 120 Hz refresh rate. All this makes animations significantly smoother. But that’s not the only reason to buy a very high-end smartphone rather than one that is really aimed at gamers.

The advantage of these models lies in their versatility. If they don’t have an interface dedicated to gaming, they shine with the quality of their camera, a real flaw in all gaming smartphones. You’ll also be able to take more beautiful videos, and often take advantage of little extras such as the integrated S-Pen on a smartphone like the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

This raises the question of accessories. Supporting PS4/PS5, Joy-Con or Xbox Controller can get around the problem. Some accessory manufacturers even offer kits that allow you to add a real controller to the device. But the experience doesn’t reach that of a smartphone designed for gaming, especially in mobility. Nevertheless, we can see that high-end smartphones are still very good alternatives. As long as you pay the price.

Conclusion: how to choose the best gaming smartphone in 2022?

If you want the best gaming smartphone available in 2022, there are two possible choices: either opt for dedicated gaming smartphones, which are ultra-powerful and well optimized for gaming but often lack in other areas, especially in terms of photography. Or opt for high-end flagship devices that have the advantage of delivering equivalent performance while being much more versatile.

In the end, it all depends on what you include in your needs, as well as, of course, the budget you have. Smartphones that are really dedicated to gaming can deliver better value for money, like the Xiaomi Black Shark 4 for example, but others like the ROG Phone are just as expensive as more general high-end smartphones.

So, as a general rule, if in-shell controls aren’t your thing, the higher-end flagship devices will probably give you a better overall experience. In this respect, it’s hard to beat the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Samsung’s foldable smartphone offers a truly XXL screen when unfolded. As long as the game is displayed in this definition, the experience is totally sublimated.

iPhones, on the other hand, have several advantages: a solid reputation for performance, a community of beautiful and interesting independent game developers, and the Apple Arcade subscription, which allows you to play all available games with no limit.

Finally, if you are really aiming at low prices, and the Xiaomi black Shark doesn’t interest you, look at OnePlus, Realme, Poco, and other flagship that focus on performance at the expense of the rest such as the quality of materials.

You’re likely to get away with a very reasonable price without having to suffer from poor performance so you’re always on the safe side.

Our comparison of the best gaming smartphones 2022 ends here. This guide will be updated as we release new products. By the way, which is the best gaming smartphone for you? Share your favorite model in the comments!