Why a gaming phone may be a better buy than some premium phones – Times of India

For a long time, there has been this perception that gaming isn’t a serious business. A report by KPMG suggests that online gamers in India have grown from 250 million in 2018 to more than 400 million in 2020. Further, the industry is set to touch close to $4 billion by 2025. In India, there are reportedly 400 — big and small — gaming companies. Considering these numbers, it’s rather surprising that gaming phones still remain a niche. While mainstream phones in the last couple of years have been packing in features that boost gaming performance, dedicated gaming phones still are rare. Buying gaming phones make more sense than high-end ‘regular’ phones for some. Here we explain why:

The features you get in gaming phones

There are certain features that you will not find in premium phones which make their way to gaming phones. Here we detail some of them:
Bigger battery
A gaming phone is meant for long gaming sessions, which means you need a bigger battery. Take the case of the Asus ROG Phone 6, it has a 6000mAh battery, which is not so common in premium phones. Apple doesn’t disclose the battery capacity of the iPhone but it’s certainly less than this. The Samsung S22 Ultra packs in a 5000mAh battery whereas the OnePlus 10 Pro also has the same battery capacity.
A different design
In terms of design, gaming phones look rather different from regular phones. The design tends to be bolder and not so conventional. If you want your phone to stand out from the crowd, a gaming phone will certainly do that.
Better display
A game has to look visually appealing and for that one needs a display that can do justice to it. While premium phones’ displays max out at 120Hz refresh rate, gaming phones offer a superior experience. Nubia’s Red Magic 7 has 165Hz refresh rate, as does the Asus ROG Phone 6.
More RAM means more power
If you want a phone that is high on RAM, then a gaming phone is the way to go. Most mainstream phones offer up to 12GB RAM whereas gaming phones offer up to 18GB of RAM. Graphic-intensive games need more RAM and this means that your day-to-day tasks on a gaming phone are handled with ease.
Enhanced audio output
If the display has to be good, then the audio output on a phone needs to be equally good for playing games. In most gaming phones, you will find the speaker setup much better than regular premium phones.
Special gaming features
Air triggers have made their way into certain non-gaming phones but they still work far better on gaming phones. The cooling mechanism on gaming phones is also superior compared to premium phones. It’s not as if gaming on iPhone 13 Pro or Samsung S22 Ultra is poor but spend two hours playing games and there is a great chance, that the phone will heat up. Gaming phones don’t suffer from any such issues, thanks to a better cooling mechanism.
Price matters
Chances are that a gaming phone will cost less than the top-end premium phone. The ROG Phone 6’s top-end variant costs Rs 89,999 whereas the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max cost a lot more than.
Should you buy a gaming phone?
Not all is great with gaming phones. For instance, the camera performance on gaming phones is just about satisfactory. Also, you are not guaranteed regular Android updates for more than two or three years. If you are a hardcore gamer who spends a lot of time playing games on your phone, a gaming phone makes a lot of sense. If you are a casual gamer — Candy Crush, Ludo, Temple Run kind of gamer — then it doesn’t make sense to choose a gaming phone over a premium ‘regular’ phone.