Indian Gadget Awards 2022 – Best Gaming Phone nominees: iQOO 9T, ROG Phone 6 Pro, OnePlus 10T 5G, and more

Smartphone gaming has been on the rise slowly, with popular titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact, BGMI, and more attracting gaming enthusiasts. This rise has made smartphone brands take mobile gaming seriously. This is why we see phones with gaming-centric processors, gaming features like triggers, and high touch response for a lag-free gaming experience. Here’s a look at the nominees for the best gaming phone of 2022 as part of the biggest tech awards in the country – the Indian Gadget Awards.

Best Gaming Phone of 2022 nominees

iQOO 9T

iQOO 9T is a gamer’s delight. Firstly, the phone comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, which is based on TSMC’s 4nm process paired with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. These are impressive hardware specifications that promises to take your gaming experience on a smartphone to the next level.

There is an in-display Dual Monster Touch, where the screen is divided into left and right areas with L and R keys, which assist in pressing any operating position and easily trigger the mapping in the game. The phone features a dual X-Axis linear motor and an in-display fingerprint sensor. There is a V1+ Chip for Gaming and Real-Time Extreme Night Vision. The phone packs a 4700mAh battery with 120W ultra-fast flash charging support.

Redmi K50i 5G

Redmi K50i is yet another gaming phone that has found its place in the nominations. The handset comes as a budget offering and has gaming-centric features like DC Dimming, Dolby Vision, and an industry-first LCD panel that is certified with a DisplayMate A+ rating. The phone arrives with the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC paired with up to 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. To control heat dissipation, the Redmi K50i 5G comes with a 2268 mm² Vapour Chamber with 7 layers of graphite.

Realme GT Neo 3

Realme GT Neo 3 is also a good option for gamers to consider. The phone comes with a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1000Hz touch sampling rate, which should really aid with gaming. There is a dedicated display processor that offers a high frame rate with lower power consumption. Like the Redmi K50i, the Realme GT Neo 3 is also powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC with up to 12GB RAM.

Realme GT Neo 3 features a stainless steel liquid cooling max with a total heat dissipation area of 39606mm², a VC liquid cooling system covering the area up to 4129mm², and a 9-layer heat dissipation structure. Realme claims the core peak temperature is reduced by 19 degrees centigrade. To charge it all, there’s 150W fast charging support that will charge completely in less than 15 minutes.

Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Though Apple iPhones aren’t typically considered gaming phones, Apple’s A-series chipsets paired with a 5‑core GPU offer an incredible gaming experience. This time Apple is offering the entry-level iPhone experience in a large Pro Max package. The iPhone 14 Plus‘ large display means that users get a good amount of screen real estate for an immersive gaming experience. This, and the long-lasting battery put the iPhone 14 Plus on our list of best gaming phones of 2022.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Another top-of-the-line phone on the list is the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Much like the iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is also an incredible offering for gaming. However, the Pro Max comes with a 120Hz OLED ProMotion display with up to 2000nits brightness, HDR and TrueTone. There’s an accelerated 5-core GPU with 50 percent more memory bandwidth, which should boost the gaming experience.

Vivo X80

Vivo X80 is yet another high-end flagship offering from the brand. The phone comes with MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 SoC with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage that is expandable. The phone does come with a vapour chamber cooling for heat dissipation during gaming sessions. The Vivo X80 comes with a 4,700mAh battery that supports 80W wired fast charging support. This means the phone should charge up pretty quickly.

ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro

No smartphone gaming list is complete without mentioning an ASUS ROG phone. The ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro phone comes with a 6.78-inch FHD+ Samsung AMOLED HDR display with a 165Hz refresh rate and 720Hz touch sampling rate. Powering the phone is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC paired with up to 18GB of RAM. There is a large 6000mAh battery with 65W fast charging support.

The ROG 6 Pro comes with an improved cooling system that is claimed to bring the CPU temperature by up to 10 degrees centigrade. There’s a new AirTrigger 6 control system that lets you map up to 14 specific touchpoints and there are nine input methods. Interestingly, the Pro model comes with ROG Vision Colour PMOLED display. The phone is tailor-made for gamers and has the most-dedicated gaming features on a phone.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G

Samsung’s current flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is also a pretty good gaming phone on the market currently. The phone offers a large 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with a 240Hz touch sampling rate in game mode. The Indian variant also comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 coupled with up to 12GB RAM and 1TB storage. There’s 5G network support and Wi-Fi 6E for better network reception.

OnePlus 10T

OnePlus 10T is the last flagship phone of the year 2022. The handset comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 1000Hz touch sampling rate, and features the company’s largest cooling area of over 37,000 mm2. The cooling system has a cryo-velocity vapour chamber, which is apparently the largest vapour chamber in any OnePlus device. All these should help with a good gaming experience without any heating issues. 

The OnePlus 10T packs a 4,800mAh battery with 150W fast charging support. The phone sports a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED 10-bit display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1000Hz instant touch sampling rate.