Affordable Gaming Smartphones 2023: Seriously powerful handsets for mobile gamers
The world of gaming smartphones is becoming more competitive. With the likes of ASUS ROG Phone 6D Ultimate gaming smartphone going for over 1300, it’s time to look at affordable units. The exciting part is most of our affordable units come in at under 50% of that high end price tag yet still pack enough punch to offer a fast and enjoyable gaming experience.
ALSO READ: Advantages of Gaming Smartphones over Conventional Smartphones to learn about gaming smartphones, what to look for and should you get on.
Cheap and Affordable Gaming Smartphones in 2023
For affordable gaming handsets look to one powered by the last generation chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or equivalent. One exception to the rule is REDMAGIC 8 PRO which is powered by the latest flagship mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. When comparing the two chips, there is a 5.2% CPU performance gain and 10.5% performance gain on average based on a handful of benchmarks. Overall, we are looking at about 6.7% faster performance. Even the efficiency of battery consumption sees 5.6% improvement. Numbers based on Nanoreview.net’s comparison.
1. Nubia REDMAGIC 8 PRO 6.8-inch Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Our favourite gaming smartphone in this category and also the best bang for buck is REDMAGIC 8 PRO. It is not always that you find the latest flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in an affordable handset. With a price tag under 600, it’s about half the price of ASUS ROG Phone 6D Ultimate yet brings plenty to the tablet like its 50MP+8MP+2MP triple lens rear shooter, a hidden 16MP under display front camera, shoulder triggers, RGB lights on the backplate and is even available with three different colour options, two of which are see-through; (Titanium and Void) and Matt.
Forget rounded corners, if you are going to makes squared edges why not make the corner sharp and the display squared at the corner. This is exactly what’s on the REDMAGIC 8 Pro. The flat sides and squared corners together with its right to the edge full display makes this a true slate of a screen. A refreshing take on the candy bar profile.
Chief among the specifications for gamers are the fluid and dynamic 120Hz AMOLED display with high touch sampling rate, super fast LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.0 storage, full notch-less display as well as the ICE cooling system with 20000 rpm fan. There is also the huge 6000mAh battery which is split down the middle at 3000mAh each to facilitate fast 65W charging. Together with WiFi 7 support, this is one heck of a gaming smartphones, and a flagship no doubt.
- 6.8-inch True Full AMOLED 120Hz display 1300 nits peak brightness with 960Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile chipset
- ICE 11.0 Cooling System with turbo fan
- Buttons and triggers: 520Hz Shoulder Triggers
- Battery Capacity: 6000 mAh with 65W Fast Charging
- Storage & Memory options: 12GB+256GB, 16GB+512GB, 16GB+512GB (UFS 4.0)
- Height: 163.98mm, Width: 76.35mm, Depth: 9.47mm, Weight: 228g
Nubia REDMAGIC 8 PRO on Amazon
2. Nubia REDMAGIC 7S Pro 6.8-inch Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Also from REDMAGIC series is the previous generation REDMAGIC 7S Pro. The 7S Pro is the up market version of the 7 which is also on our list below. It uses the faster Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The REDMAGIC 7 and 7 Pro uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. To summarise the differences between the two; plus and non-plus chipsets based on Qualcomm’s numbers, see below:
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 when compared to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
- 10% faster in both CPU and GPU performance
- 30% more power efficient meaning better battery life
- 20% faster AI engine
Based on AnTuTu 9 and GeekBench 5 benchmarks, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is up to 4% and 9% faster respectively. See Nanoreview for more benchmark numbers.
Apart from the layout of the camera clusters on the backplate, the phone with its 6.8-inch AMOLED display is pretty similar to the REDMAGIC 8 Pro. You get a True Full Display with no notch or pin hole to get in the way of gaming, shoulder trigger buttons and serious cooling system. The disadvantage here is its slightly smaller 5000mAh battery which is made up of two 2500mAh cells capable of 65W fast charging. It even features the three backplate options (transparent mercury silver, transparent supernova black and obsidian black). It does have an upper hand when compared with REDMAGIC 8 Pro above in that it can be configured with 18GB of memory and comes with better rear camera setup (64MP+8MP+2MP).
- 6.8-inch True Full AMOLED 120Hz display 600 nits peak brightness with 960Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile chipset
- ICE 10.0 Cooling System with turbo fan
- Buttons and triggers: 520Hz Shoulder Triggers
- Battery Capacity: 5000 mAh with 65W Fast Charging
- Storage & Memory options: 12GB+256GB, 18GB+512GB, 18GB+512GB (UFS 3.1)
- Height: 166.27mm, Width: 77.1mm, Depth: 9.98mm, Weight: 235g
Nubia REDMAGIC 7S PRO on Amazon
3. POCO F4 GT 6.67-inch Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Xiaomi gone and surprise us with their POCO sub-brand’s introduction of a gaming smartphone that actually uses a flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. In the history of the POCO series, it only introduces phones with mid-range chips like the Snapdragon 778G, Snapdragon 695 and MediaTek Helios G99. This is a flagship level smartphone with a mid-range price tag. The current offer puts this as the most affordable unit. It uses a triple shooter with 64MP main camera using Sony IMX686 sensor, 8MP ultra wide camera and 2MP macro camera. Around the front, you get 20MP selfie camera using Sony IMX596 camera set in a pin hole. Nothing to shout about.
As gaming priorities go, the handset comes with display capable of 120Hz refresh rate, dual vapour chambers for cooling and smart 120W HyperCharge thanks to parent company Xiaomi. The last one charges the battery from 0-100 in 17 minutes using the 120W charger supplied. The display is slightly smaller at 6.67-inch compared to the 6.8-inch on REDMAGIC units but it is AMOLED nonetheless. Other features include 480Hz touch sampling rate for control accuracy, quad speakers with Dolby Atmos and magnetic mechanical pop-up triggers. Design wise, it is toned down compared to the rest. We like the cyber yellow edition. It stands out from the silver and black favoured by other manufacturers here.
- 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED 120Hz display 800 nits typical brightness with 480Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile chipset
- Liquid cooling Technology 3.0 no active cooling
- Buttons and triggers: Magnetic Pop-up Triggers
- Battery Capacity: 4700 mAh dual batteries with 120W Hyper Charging
- Storage & Memory options: 8GB+128GB, 12GB+256GB (UFS 3.1)
- Height: 162.5mmWidth: 76.7mmThickness: 8.5mmWeight: 210g
4. BLACK Shark 5 Pro 6.67-inch Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
The BLACK Shark 5 Pro has an eye popping 144Hz OLED display and that is higher than most of the phones here except for REDMAGIC 7 Pro. Remember, higher refresh rate means lower peak brightness. It’s a give a take, balancing super smooth motion with brightness. But, this is not the case here. Even with 144Hz refresh rate, the 6.67-inch OLED panel is still capable of 1300nits peak. We are talking esports level performance for professional gamers. Powered by the fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the flagship phone from Xiaomi’s sub brand, Black Shark shares some of the features with POCO.
It comes with a slightly higher capacity 4650mAh battery that supports the fast 120W Hyper Charge with 0-100% in 15mins. To make sure that. you are running cool, the unit uses anti-gravity dual VC (Vapour Chamber) liquid cooling system. It is worth noting that there is no active cooling here, unlike the REDMAGIC or ROG Phone units. As for buttons and controls, it shares the same magnetic pop-up triggers with POCO F4 GT and uses a high 720Hz sampling rate couple with dual pressure sensitive zones for touch controls.
What sets this apart from the other gaming phones is the sound and camera systems. Black Shark 5 Pro achieved a very high DXOMARK audio score of 86, putting it at the top of the chart. It uses a pair of 1216P flagship speakers and 4 deriver audio chips to produce symmetrical cinematic sound. As for the camera, the main shooter is a huge 108MP sensor grouped with a 13MP wide angle and a 5MP telephoto camera. Around the front, it uses a 20MP selfie sensor set in a pin hole.
- 6.67-inch Full HD OLED 144Hz display 1300 nits peak brightness with 720Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile chipset
- Anti Gravity Dual VC liquid cooling with no active cooling
- Buttons and triggers: Magnetic Pop-up Triggers
- Battery Capacity: 4650 mAh dual batteries with 120W Hyper Charging
- Storage & Memory options: 8GB+128GB, 12GB+256GB (UFS 3.1)
- Height: 163.83 mm, Width: 76.35 mm, Depth: 9.9 mm, Weight: About 220 g
5. REDMAGIC 7 Pro Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
This is the third and won’t be the last REDMAGIC unit, this time the 7 Pro. It’s a step down from the 7S Pro in that it uses the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. This means lowermemory, CPU and GPU clock speed as well as efficiency. You do still get the full screen design on the 6.8-inch AMOLED display with ultra high 960Hz multi finger touch sampling. Like the top of the crop REDMAGIC 8 Pro, it uses active cooling with 20,000rpm high speed turbo fan. To enhance the gaming experience, it employs c
- 6.8-inch True Full AMOLED 120Hz display 600 nits peak brightness with 960Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile chipset
- ICE 9.0 Cooling System with turbo fan
- Buttons and triggers: 520Hz Shoulder Triggers
- Battery Capacity: 5000 mAh with 65W Fast Charging
- Storage & Memory options: 12GB+256GB, 18GB+512GB, 18GB+512GB (UFS 3.1)
- Height: 166.27mm, Width: 77.1mm, Depth: 9.98mm, Weight: 235g
6. REDMAGIC 7 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
This is the regular edition of the REDMAGIC 7 series with the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. We have seen the 7S Pro and the 7 Pro so far. If it is an even cheaper option you are after then this regular edition is for you, not that it is any smaller. The 6.8-inch AMOLED panel is actually faster, capable of 165Hz refresh rate. We are not exactly sure what the logic is when both 7S Pro and 7 Pro are only capable of 120Hz refresh rate. Clearly, these are higher models reflected in its price. Anyways, the REDMAGIC 7 does scale back on its camera sensors using 64MP main +8MP ultra wide + 2MP macro cameras for its rear and a paltry 8MP front camera, a huge drop from the Pro cameras.
Nevertheless, the regular 7 is powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 so there is no lacking in performance. The one thing we noticed, not so much during gameplay but from the specification is that it comes with lower touch sampling at 720Hz (vs 960Hz) and the slower 500Hz (vs 520Hz) shoulder triggers. The battery is also smaller at 4500mAh (vs 5000mAh) with single cell design. Still, it comes with fast 65W fast charging support. Other than that, it is pretty much the same design with see-through backplates.
- 6.8-inch True Full AMOLED 165Hz display 700 nits peak brightness with 720Hz Touch Sampling Rate
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile chipset
- ICE8.0 Cooling System with turbo fan
- Buttons and triggers: 500Hz Shoulder Triggers
- Battery Capacity: 4500 mAh with 65W Fast Charging
- Storage & Memory options: 12GB+128GB, 16GB+256GB, 18GB+256GB (UFS 3.1)
- Height: 170.57mm, Width: 78.33mm, Depth: 9.5mm, Weight: 215g
7. ASUS ROG Phone 6 6.78-inch Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
The ASUS ROG Phone 6 isn’t exactly cheap. Powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, it belongs up there on our list but is let down by the cost of the unit. ASUS is well-known for its Republic of Gamers (ROG) series and is charging a premium for its ROG Phones. Here is the regular vanilla ROG Phone 6, not the eye watering 6D Ultimate, Diablo Immortal Edition or Batman Edition. It is the cheapest in the series but still costing over 800.
It fulfils all the requirements as a good gaming handset and then some. These include a stunning and fast 6.78-inch AMOLED panel from Samsung with 165Hz refresh rate, great performance from the 8+ Gen 1 chip, two USB-C ports and good battery life from its giant 6000mAh battery with 65W Quick Charger supplied. It also features a pair of AirTriggers, ultrasonic sensors that support gestures and not mechanical push buttons. On the rear, RGB lighting aside, the phone supports the clip-on AeroActive Cooler 6 external cooler fan on top of its onboard cooling system. The external fan is positioned right on top of the chip to dissipate heat from the enlarged vapour chamber.
OTHERS
Other phones you might consider are previous generation ASUS ROG Phone 5 and Black Shark 4 Pro. These are powered by even older Snapdragon 888 5G based on 5nm process, flagship chip in their time.
