The world of gaming phones has been growing rapidly over the last few years, but finding a budget option is not an easy feat. You obviously would want the latest, flagship processor with an ample amount of RAM and battery life. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of the best budget gaming phones so far in 2020.
Nubia Red Magic 5G
| SoC | Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650 GPU |
| RAM | 8 or 12 GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 128 or 256 GB UFS 3.0 |
| Display | 6.65-inch 2340×1080 AMOLED, 144 Hz |
| Battery | 4,500 mAh |
| Water and dust resistance | No |
| Cameras | 64 MP main, 8 MP ultra-wide, 2 MP macro, 8 MP front (f/2.0 aperture) |
| Software | RedMagic OS 3.0 based on Android 10 |
| Measurements | 168.56×78×9.75mm, 218g |
| Price | From $579 |
Two years ago, we reviewed the original Nubia Red Magic and it was a fantastic gaming phone. The new Nubia Red Magic 5G from ZTE improves on that experience. It’s got a Snapdragon 865, 8 or 12 GB of RAM, a 144 Hz display, and a beefy 4,500 mAh battery. On top of that, there’s also an actual liquid-cooling system built-in with an internal fan to help prevent overheating while gaming.
There are shoulder trigger buttons along the edge that you can map to an action in games. It features dual stereo speakers, and, because it’s a gaming phone, it’s got to have that sweet RGB, and you bet it does. The downsides are that the software is a bit meh and the camera processing isn’t stellar.
The Red Magic 5G costs $579 for the 8 + 128 GB version and $649 for the 12 + 256 GB version.
Poco F2 Pro
| SoC | Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650 GPU |
| RAM | 6 GB LPDDR4X or 8 GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 128 or 256 GB UFS 3.1 |
| Display | 6.67-inch 2400×1080 AMOLED |
| Battery | 4,700 mAh |
| Water and dust resistance | No |
| Cameras | 64 MP main, 13 MP ultra-wide, 5 MP macro, 2 MP depth, 20 MP pop-up front |
| Software | MIUI 11 based on Android 10 |
| Measurements | 163.3×75.4×8.9mm, 219g |
| Price | From €499 (~$550) |
The Poco F2 Pro from Xiaomi isn’t targeted primarily at gaming, but, just like the original Pocophone, it’s still an absolute spec champ for its price. It’s got a Snapdragon 865, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, and a massive 4,700 mAh battery.
It’s got a quad rear camera array, but I wouldn’t expect stellar image processing out of this device either. There’s also a 20 MP motorized pop-up selfie camera. There aren’t any specific gaming features baked in, and the major downside of this phone is that Xiaomi’s MIUI skin on Android is a bit of a mess. Regardless, this phone should be able to handle just about any game you throw at it, including some of the best mobile casinos that became very popular during the current quarantine worldwide.
The Poco F2 Pro costs €499 (~$550) for the 6 + 128 GB version and €599 (~$650) for the 8 + 256 GB version. Unfortunately, the device isn’t being sold in the US, so your only option would be to import one.
iPhone SE
| SoC | A13 Bionic |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Storage | 64, 128, or 256 GB NVMe |
| Display | 4.7-inch 1334×750 LCD |
| Battery | 1,821 mAh |
| Water and dust resistance | IP67 |
| Cameras | 12 MP rear camera (f/1.8 aperture and OIS), 7 MP front camera (f/2.2 aperture) |
| Software | iOS 13 |
| Measurements | 138.4×67.3×7.3mm, 148g |
| Price | From $399 |
You probably didn’t see this one coming, but we’ve got to give an honorable mention to Apple’s new iPhone SE. The A13 Bionic chipset just blows away any other. You’re essentially getting a flagship processor for $400. However, this probably isn’t the most fun phone to game on. It’s only got 3 GB of RAM, a measly 4.7-inch 750p LCD display, and a tiny sub-2000 mAh battery.
It also runs iOS, obviously, which you may not want to switch to. But, for when you’re not gaming, it’s got a more than capable camera and at least 4-5 years of software support, so it’s sure to last.
The iPhone SE costs $399 for 64 GB, $449 for 128 GB, and $549 for 256 GB.
Verdict
Finding a budget smartphone is all about sacrificing some specs in certain areas but still looking for the ones that matter the most to you, and the same applies to finding a budget gaming phone. We think that most gamers would be happy playing on any of these phones, but another option would be to also look at previous flagships from 2019 which feature the Snapdragon 855 like the Galaxy S10, OnePlus 7, Pixel 4, and others.
Featured-Image: TechRadar
