A gaming phone is a special phone that is designed by the mobile manufacturers to handle demanding mobile games. Earlier, it was associated with PCs and special gaming consoles like Playstation (PS4, PS5), Nintendo. But nowadays the new smartphones have evolved to fill this space and are well capable to play high graphics games and commonly known as gaming phone.
A general smartphone is used in many ways, such as communicating with others, taking photos, recording videos, and streaming content. Even during the free hours, you can use it to play some lite games, but to play heavy mobile games like Battle Ground India (PUBG), Free Fire Max, Call of Duty, you need a powerful device or special gaming phone.
The entry level smartphones which costs around ₹10000, are not powerful to play the mobile game titles like Battle Ground India (PUBG), Free Fire Max, Call of Duty. Even if you choose a mid-range smartphone (Price around ₹11000 to ₹30000), then some cell phone models will fail to play these games or you have to play the games at lower settings. This spoils the mood, because you didn’t pick the right phone for gaming purpose and in this article I’m going to guide how you can pick the best gaming phone without wasting money in your selected budget range.
Points to Remember
- A gaming phone costs some extra bucks. In India, you can find a decent level of gaming phone in around ₹25000-₹30000. In short, entry level phones are not suitable for gaming, they are for general use only so never buy it for gaming or recommend it to anyone else.
- In India, a mid-range phone cost starts from ₹11000 and goes up ₹30000-₹40000 based on the brand value. There are a dozen phones from each brand available in this category and this variety creates confusion. People think, higher price means better phone and we can also play games. But guys this is not right, because these mid-range phones are designed by manufacturers for different users like best photography phone, best display phone, best selfie phone, and best 5G phone. Being a gamer, if you choose best display phone or camera phone, then you might not get better gaming experience as the phone’s processor is not too powerful (low GPU) or provided only to handle for everyday tasks.
- So, in the budget range around ₹25000 – ₹30000, look for a gaming-centric phone (a gaming mobile brand) or alternatively you must have a knowledge about the minimum Antutu benchmark score for smooth performance for 2-3 years.
- Based on Antutu benchmark score you can select a gaming phone and the ideal score should be above 600,000. For smooth gaming experience over 2-3 years, the score should be above 800,000-1,000,000.
- Don’t buy the phone if Antutu score is less than 600,000, because after the new update (OS or Game App), the same game may struggle or you will have to play it on lower settings now. Example: I purchased Oneplus 10R in August 2022 having Mediatek Dimensity 8100. Its Antutu score was around 800,000… and guys this device still plays heavy games smoothly.
- Only buy 5G phone, the 4G phones now out of trend and we recommend a 5G gaming phone as it offers betters and fast connectivity and for gaming a high speed internet is a first priority!
- As your search is for Gaming phone, make sure the phone has a cooling unit to keep the processor cool. This cooling system keeps the phone temperature under limit and you get longer gaming session.
Top 5G Gaming Phone in India List
Now based on the Antutu score you can buy a gaming phone from the nearest mobile store. But, if you are still confused then here we have complied a list of latest 5G gaming phones that you can consider while buying and use to play games for next 2-3 years.
| Processor | Approx. AnTuTu Score | Segment | Phone | Starting Price | Remarks |
| Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | 1,900,000 – 2,200,000 | Mid-Range | POCO F6 5G | ₹21,999 | Affordable & Powerful |
| MediaTek Dimensity 8350 | ~1,450,000 | Mid-Range | Realme P3 Ultra 5G | ₹24,999 | Killer Deal with Good Support |
| Mediatek Dimensity 8200 | 850,000 – 900,000 | Mid-Range | Infinix GT 20 Pro | ₹24,999 | GT 30 Pro Coming Soon |
| Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | 1,900,000 – 2,200,000 | Mid-Range | iQOO Neo 10R | ₹26,999 | Awesome Gaming Phone |
The above mentioned gaming phones are from the brands like iQoo, Realme, Infinix, and Poco. Under budget of ₹30000, you can get a best gaming from these brands and play games. Apart from that, you can also buy the previous gen gaming smartphones under ₹20000. But guys we don’t recommend as it is 2025 and new devices are more powerful and offers best user experience + the OS and security updates will keep the phone in active mode for next 3-4 years!
