Guidemaster: A quick gaming smartphone gift guide
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So the "guide" (a.k.a. ad) is, get most expensive iphone, oh yes there is this android that has better CPU/GPU performance than pixel 8 pro but nothing about sustained performance (cooling), battery life and other such trivial things when gaming on the go.
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I have Pixel 8 Pro and it is decidedly average/disappointing in gaming performance. Don't really understand why as UI is smooth as butter. Not sure if it is just poorly optimised but my fave game of the mo Laya's Horizon positively runs like a dog on it. Hopefully phone updates will improve it over time.
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I don't have a steam deck, but a dual boot deck / phone would be a hard offer to resist.
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Mungus the Unhyphenated
Ars Tribunus Militum
ROG Phone? It's getting so you can't talk about gaming-focused phones without mentioning ASUS' flagship built around massive battery life and cutting-edge thermal management. And there are others. Black Shark? RedMagic? There have been several generations of gaming or at least gaming-aspirational Android phones, or flagship phones with at least enough CPU/GPU capability to run gaming workloads.
A good chunk of the reason why emulation has caught on in the Android space is because AAA studio support for current games on mobile has been hit-or-miss outside of popular primarily Asian-market titles and a range of mobile-only major games. Emulation at least allows older AAA console titles to play on a mobile device so it's a valid market segment, but seemingly treated as a small subset of retrogaming/emulation instead of a selling point for gaming phones.
I appreciate Apples foray into mobile-based gaming, but there's more to it than Just Apple's marketing splash.
A good chunk of the reason why emulation has caught on in the Android space is because AAA studio support for current games on mobile has been hit-or-miss outside of popular primarily Asian-market titles and a range of mobile-only major games. Emulation at least allows older AAA console titles to play on a mobile device so it's a valid market segment, but seemingly treated as a small subset of retrogaming/emulation instead of a selling point for gaming phones.
I appreciate Apples foray into mobile-based gaming, but there's more to it than Just Apple's marketing splash.
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I mean, there is a whole segment of gaming phones. Shouldn't that at least be acknowledged in an article about gaming on phones?
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This article is a waste of everyone's time. Get the best iPhone for the best gaming experience on an iPhone... OnePlus 11? You recommend a phone with a curved-edge screen for gaming? I expect better from Ars.
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Any list of recommend games for phones, or hardware for playing them? That's what I was hoping was here.
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So no mention of gaming phones on Android? Just because Android does not have AAA games playing on it natively, does not mean it's an inferior platform. You can play emulators and use cloud gaming on Android, where that isn't supported on iOS. This gives you access to much more and higher quality games.
I don't really do gaming on my phone, but this article just feels like an ad for the iPhone 15 Pro.
I don't really do gaming on my phone, but this article just feels like an ad for the iPhone 15 Pro.
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Ah. So that's how they want to differentiate the Pro from the non Pro iphones.
I'm 1500% sure RE Village can be made to run on the non pros and Apple are just -holes.
I wonder who the target audience is now, since you also need to invest in a controller. And if you already have one you may also have the console to go with it, in which case you finished Village last year.
I'm 1500% sure RE Village can be made to run on the non pros and Apple are just -holes.
I wonder who the target audience is now, since you also need to invest in a controller. And if you already have one you may also have the console to go with it, in which case you finished Village last year.
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My thumbs are too fat for my iPhone 14. Hence why I bought the Steamdeck. I have played the Professor Layton games on my phone on plane flights. Oh, and The Room games. My son played through all of those on his Switch, plus Portal 1 and 2 and a whole bunch of others, but now spends most of his screen time working on his own game on Scratch.mit.edu. That doesn't stop his mom from buying a new Switch game every month or so. I think her investment in games is far larger than what the Switch cost. Mostly he plays the Switch when he has a friend over who brings his device.
Though the last few playdates he has had the other kid drools over my board game collection and wants to play a board game. His mom has custody this week, but I get him early Wednesday (dropping him off early Thursday), and he has already announced he wants play either Thanos Rising. So we will. I know we played it before, but it was not memorable to me. His other option is the new expansion to Unmatched, which it appears adds a co-op mode. Maybe we do both. We do have a house rule for Unmatched--nobody plays Sherlock Holmes, who is quite OP.
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As much as many games suck on the Nintendo Switch, it is still a better option that a gaming phone. Then again the successor of the Switch will be released eventually so maybe just wait?
I honesty tried using a powerful phone for gaming but ugh... there is just so much crap! As much as I hate Apple their gaming service for Iphones at least has a curated list of good games.
So in the end I mostly ended using a gaming phone to run emulators.
I haven't seen any signs Google Play has got any better at curating games, unfortunately.
I honesty tried using a powerful phone for gaming but ugh... there is just so much crap! As much as I hate Apple their gaming service for Iphones at least has a curated list of good games.
So in the end I mostly ended using a gaming phone to run emulators.
I haven't seen any signs Google Play has got any better at curating games, unfortunately.
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Unfortunately, most of those (save the ROG Phone) aren't available in the US, and Ars is a mostly US-based publication. And the ROG phone is still unavailable where most Americans buy their phones (i.e. from their carrier).
The ROG Phone does look like an amazing piece of kit, though.
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One thing I rarely, in fact I can't remember ever reading about, isn't whether or not you can play high(er) end games on phones, it's whether you should play them on a phone even when you can.
If you're paying for a high end smart phone, you're still investing in a near solid slab of electronics. These devices are not well cooled, especially once you end up adding the near requisite bumpers to keep them from breaking the first time you drop them on a corner on a hard floor or concrete. AAA games are high resource utilization on the CPU, GPU, and RAM. High resource utilization means you're generating more heat than normal (as determined by the engineers that designed the hardware layout and thermal dissipation). This will shorten the phone's components' lifetime, especially when you're generating that heat for hours on end - and it doesn't matter much if it's one day a week or several days a week. There will be a drop in the average life expectancy for those devices.
Yes, you can. I'm sure there's plenty of people that don't care because they throw $1000+ on smart phones as a fashion statement every year or two anyway. But for the rest, please consider the downsides and remember just because you can doesn't necessarily follow that you should. Just maybe read a book while postponing your addiction satiation till your back at your gaming desk or coffee table and don't give into the marketing pressure to throw more money at smart phone makers who're desperate to find more "growth" at all costs.
If you're paying for a high end smart phone, you're still investing in a near solid slab of electronics. These devices are not well cooled, especially once you end up adding the near requisite bumpers to keep them from breaking the first time you drop them on a corner on a hard floor or concrete. AAA games are high resource utilization on the CPU, GPU, and RAM. High resource utilization means you're generating more heat than normal (as determined by the engineers that designed the hardware layout and thermal dissipation). This will shorten the phone's components' lifetime, especially when you're generating that heat for hours on end - and it doesn't matter much if it's one day a week or several days a week. There will be a drop in the average life expectancy for those devices.
Yes, you can. I'm sure there's plenty of people that don't care because they throw $1000+ on smart phones as a fashion statement every year or two anyway. But for the rest, please consider the downsides and remember just because you can doesn't necessarily follow that you should. Just maybe read a book while postponing your addiction satiation till your back at your gaming desk or coffee table and don't give into the marketing pressure to throw more money at smart phone makers who're desperate to find more "growth" at all costs.
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I was quite literally beginning to type something very similar. My two teenage crotch goblins each destroyed new iPhone XRs within a year with their Fortnite obsession. Battery life was down below 70% and the two of them sitting in their respective caves tied to the wall wort because of it. Rapid discharge cycles and heat were the culprit I suspect. I tried getting into some of the decent racing games on my iPhone 12 and a Razer Kishi and while the experience was OK, the heat.....Oh my. Until Apple designs a proper thermal solution this will never be something I consider again. I can't speak for Android directly as my last phone with it was a Galaxy S3. Now, there ARE some decent, older PC and console ports on both platforms that run decently, but modern AAA stuff is just too far beyond the hardware (chassis, ergonomics) in my opinion.
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This is one of those times I wish we get to vote on the article. I guess complaining about it in the comments is better than nothing (and on the plus side we get to elaborate), but unfortunately not every reader dives down into the comments section.
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Somewhat pointless article? I at least expected to see Asus RoG phones. Anyway, I’d just get/gift someone a Nintendo Switch.
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FPS on a phone. So, during firefights, use thumb to pop up from behind cover for a headshot aaaaand I'm dead.
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I don't really get the point of this article, and it doesn't seem very much thought went into it beyond listing some of the newest devices. More thought is there, about what a future article would be.
This article should have waited for that. And given the premise of the article centered around an Apple promise, the throwaway android note is probably not even worth it.
The fully fleshed out article with actual battery and perf data? I look forward to thay content and I am not even one who uses my phone for games. Its just interesting. But this? Im uh... not sure what this tells me other than mobile chips are pretty good these days?
This article should have waited for that. And given the premise of the article centered around an Apple promise, the throwaway android note is probably not even worth it.
The fully fleshed out article with actual battery and perf data? I look forward to thay content and I am not even one who uses my phone for games. Its just interesting. But this? Im uh... not sure what this tells me other than mobile chips are pretty good these days?
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Very poor take on Android. There is a performance gap between ios and android, but as of the latest chipset releases, its favorable towards android. The SD8 Gen 3 and mediatek 9300 have a better GPU than the A17 pro and the Gen 2 is no slouch either as it is more efficient than the newer A17. Genshin Impact, arguably one of the most demanding smartphone games available, runs eminently on all these chipsets.
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I was surprised i could link my xbox controller i use for pc games to my phone.
Future is neat. Still need my hoverboard.
Future is neat. Still need my hoverboard.
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It isn't. Just bloated skin and "gaming" features. The sustained performance of worse than an iPhone still worse for gaming. Sent mine back.
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The hell is this? I was like yay not another generic “deal master” post but no it’s not. It’s a whole bunch of fluff to say “HEY you want BeST GrAPHiCs for mobile gaming!?!?! BUY THE NEWEST MOST EXPENSIVE PHONE USING OUR AFFILIATE LINKS!!!!!”
Stop baiting clicks with “guide master, deal master, etc” and call it what it is. A poor quality ad, lenovo product sheet dump or SEO crap that you can get anywhere with a quick google search.
Stop baiting clicks with “guide master, deal master, etc” and call it what it is. A poor quality ad, lenovo product sheet dump or SEO crap that you can get anywhere with a quick google search.
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If you want to game on a phone, don’t put too much energy into trying to play AAA games. Unless you can’t afford or don’t want to deal with a console or gaming PC, the compromises to the experience just aren’t worth it, in my opinion.
However, with that said, I have been enjoying casual gaming on my Android phones for years, and, more recently, Apple Arcade on my 13 Pro Max. The trick is to find games that are designed to be enjoyed on a phone (or at least adapt well to it), and there are plenty of high-quality ones if you’re willing to pay for them (and several free ones besides). Lara Croft Go, Ordia, Steve Jackson’s Sorcery!, OK Golf, The Room series, Slay the Spire, Monument Valley, Vampire Survivors, INKS, Attack/Unleash the Light, Mini Metro, Lifeline, the Voice of Cards games, Automatoys, Cut the Rope, and so many more.
And yes, I am also the type of person to bring a controller with me (I use my Switch Pro Controller) from time to time and play games that work well with on during my meal breaks at work. On Apple Arcade alone, there’s Horizon Chase 2, Oceanhorn 2, Riptide GP Renegade, Shovel Knight Dig, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, Grand Mountain Adventure, and likely plenty others; to say nothing of the selection of games outside Arcade and Google Play Pass.
I’d love to see a deep dive into all that instead of the advertisement for iPhones and Resident Evil that I’m commenting on.
However, with that said, I have been enjoying casual gaming on my Android phones for years, and, more recently, Apple Arcade on my 13 Pro Max. The trick is to find games that are designed to be enjoyed on a phone (or at least adapt well to it), and there are plenty of high-quality ones if you’re willing to pay for them (and several free ones besides). Lara Croft Go, Ordia, Steve Jackson’s Sorcery!, OK Golf, The Room series, Slay the Spire, Monument Valley, Vampire Survivors, INKS, Attack/Unleash the Light, Mini Metro, Lifeline, the Voice of Cards games, Automatoys, Cut the Rope, and so many more.
And yes, I am also the type of person to bring a controller with me (I use my Switch Pro Controller) from time to time and play games that work well with on during my meal breaks at work. On Apple Arcade alone, there’s Horizon Chase 2, Oceanhorn 2, Riptide GP Renegade, Shovel Knight Dig, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, Grand Mountain Adventure, and likely plenty others; to say nothing of the selection of games outside Arcade and Google Play Pass.
I’d love to see a deep dive into all that instead of the advertisement for iPhones and Resident Evil that I’m commenting on.
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This reads like a pitch for an article rather than an actual article.
Native game libraries, streaming options, controller types, adapters, benchmarks, special features, specialized gaming phones, the list goes on for a potential guide.
This article reads like word-shaped air.
Native game libraries, streaming options, controller types, adapters, benchmarks, special features, specialized gaming phones, the list goes on for a potential guide.
This article reads like word-shaped air.
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I've been very impressed by the quality of games on Apple Arcade (no ads, no IAP), are they AAA gaming games... not really, but they're very very good quality all around. It's great to not deal with store spam and just have a curated list of high quality mobile games.
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If you want to game on the go just get a dedicated handheld. Switch, Deck, the Asus one, whatever. Better controls, better screen, and way better thermals.
As a bonus you’re looking at about half what a top of the line iPhone costs. Buy a cheaper phone and a gaming device.
This post types on an iPhone 13 mini while I watch the firmware on my Deck update.
As a bonus you’re looking at about half what a top of the line iPhone costs. Buy a cheaper phone and a gaming device.
This post types on an iPhone 13 mini while I watch the firmware on my Deck update.
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Yeah, let's make the discussion more constructive. But if we focus on "fancy graphics", which games on iPhone have fancy graphics but are also worth playing?
I remember playing Infinity Blade on iPhone (sitting on my bed with a power cable plugged in) and thinking "wow the graphics are awesome". But the game was a little bit meh, basically you just had to time your taps for "swordfighting". Wow, that was 2010. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity_Blade
The more things change the more they stay the same.
edit: sadly those games are no longer available; I guess there was a server-side component they didn't want to maintain anymore. I bet infinity blade 3 would still look cool on a new iPhone
https://www.epicgames.com/infinityblade/en-US/news/infinity-blade-trilogy-says-goodbye
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I was hoping there might be some info on cooling solutions, etc, for mobile gaming, or other useful accessories.
I bought one of these brackets View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088BNKVRH/
to attach an iphone to a PS4 controller and it was VERY helpful for games that play well with a bluetooth-paired controller. (I find on-screen game controls very challenging to use for third-person-view games ... to the point I'd rather not play). Handy, although it makes your hands tired if you don't prop it up someplace... perhaps a good warning-sign to take a break.
I bought one of these brackets View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088BNKVRH/
to attach an iphone to a PS4 controller and it was VERY helpful for games that play well with a bluetooth-paired controller. (I find on-screen game controls very challenging to use for third-person-view games ... to the point I'd rather not play). Handy, although it makes your hands tired if you don't prop it up someplace... perhaps a good warning-sign to take a break.
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Samuel Axon said:
A few iOS titles have console experience-style graphics settings menus. Recent console titles have had these because frankly, PCs and consoles are closer and closer every generation and developers clearly aren't going to spend any time optimising settings; this trend was quite noticeable when the ps4 pro plopped out.
There was a time, roughly 2011, when certain experiences were released that let you have one image on the device and another on a connected telly. I believe Real Racing 2 was one that had the racing view on screen and a map (or steering wheel?) on the iOS device.Samuel Axon said:
I also remember reading around that time of experiences where you could wirelessly connect iPhones as controllers with one iOS device as the host. I believe most people used this for board experiences such as the hit app Scrabble.
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You could get a Backbone controller to turn your phone into a Switch and run the Egg NS Swtch emulator for AAA gaming?
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I think the issue is too complex to just be a simple "win."
iPhone wins for people who want convenience. The base model of the iPhone 15 is 36% smaller than the Nintendo Switch in length, and a whopping 52% smaller than the original Steam Deck. I'd imagine it's much easier to keep a phone in your pocket than a entire console, (because not everybody wants to lug around a carrying case or backpack)
However, the iPhone loses in the games department because there simply aren't enough games to take full advantage of the immense performance. (one of the few things I envy Apple for getting right)
You can't compare the game library of the iPhone (mostly casual games with a few AAA titles in the mix) with those like the Nintendo Switch or the Steam Deck.
The Nintendo Switch for those who want something that just works. Despite being innovative in the way it can go from a portable to stationary console, the software is unsurprisingly not very complex to entice casual gamers of all ages. Another thing it has over the iPhone is the fact that it has physical controls. Sure, you can buy a Backbone controller for the iPhone, but then it's not as convenient.
However, since it has to be portable and nothing can currently beat the power/performance efficiency of Apple Silicon it loses in the performance department, which brings us to the final console:
The Steam Deck.
With the form factor of a Switch and performance comparable to a GTX 1050, it blows the Nintendo Switch (and possibly the iPhone 15 with things like FSR?) out of the water when it comes to performance. The game library is incredible, too - ProtonDB shows that over 10,000 games run on the Steam Deck, and 87% of the Top 1000 games. Add the fact that, since it's literally a PC, the Steam Deck can run emulators for dozens of consoles including, ironically, the Switch, and that means the Steam Deck can run tens of thousands of games!
The biggest downside of the Steam Deck is that it's still not as polished as other devices since not only is it the first attempt by Valve to make a gaming console since the doomed Steam Machines but it's also the first portable console by Valve, so they have to figure out things they usually wouldn't have to do with stationary consoles.
Not to mention that instead of running Windows, the current gold standard for gaming, it runs a modified version of Arch Linux, which presents an entire new set of problems they have to deal with.
In summary, the iPhone is good for more casual gamers that want something that's easier to carry around day to day, since they already need a phone.
The Nintendo Switch is good for slightly more serious gamers thanks to the physical controls and larger game library.
And last, but not least, the Steam Deck is good for those who are somewhat experienced with technology and can do some things by themselves in return for what is possibly the closest contender for a "best, hands down" console.
I now realize that I could have gotten my point across with just the last part, but I spent nearly an entire hour writing this and it would be a waste for me to delete it all.
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