As mobile gaming continues to surge in popularity, 2025 has emerged as one of the strongest years yet for gaming-centric smartphones. With powerful chipsets, high-refresh displays, advanced cooling systems, and massive batteries, the latest flagships aren’t just phones anymore; they are pocket-sized gaming rigs. Whether you’re into competitive shooters, open-world RPBs, or intense battle royales, there’s plenty of great gaming smartphones to choose from.

So here’s our list of the best gaming smartphones of 2025.

Red Magic 11 Pro+

There are only a few brands that have a pure gaming pedigree, like Red Magic. So if you want a phone built from the ground up for performance and long gaming sessions, look no further than the Red Magic 11 Pro+. Unlike modern flagships that aim to offer a balanced experience, the Chinese brand goes all in on gaming.

It features a tall 6.85-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate for an immersive gaming experience. Powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it pairs up to 24GB LPDDR5T RAM and up to 1TB UFS 4.1 storage, more than enough for even the most demanding mobile titles. But what truly sets it apart is the dual cooling system. Not only does it have an active cooling system with a physical RGB fan, but it also features a vapor chamber liquid cooling. You can even see this system in the words as the liquid moves around in the pipes on the back.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

While Apple isn’t known to brand any of its devices as a gaming phone, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a premium phone that delivers true flagship performance. Not only can you play some of the most intense mobile game titles, but Apple has also ported actual console-level games to its iOS platform.

So you can play popular games like Resident Evil 4, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Death Stranding, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and many more. So you have access to an impressive catalogue of games without relying on any particular streaming service.

iQOO 15

If you want flagship-class power without the premium flagship price, the iQOO 15 emerges as one of the best value flagships for gamers in 2025. It ships with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset that brings cutting-edge performance. Pair this with a tall 6.85-inch LTPO AMOLED display, and you get a smooth gameplay experience.

One of its highlighting aspects is the massive 7,000mAh battery pack that promises long, uninterrupted gaming sessions. While it may lack some of the dedicated gaming-phone trappings like active cooling or shoulder triggers, its value-for-money positioning makes it attractive for casual and competitive gamers who don’t want to overspend.

OnePlus 15

The OnePlus 15 strikes a sweet balance between raw performance, everyday usability, and gaming-ready hardware. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 as well, but it pairs it with an even higher 165Hz refresh rate. The smooth display kicks in while you run certain titles, which brings an advantage in various competitive games.

This model outshines the iQOO 15 with its gigantic 7,300mAh battery pack that supports 120W wired fast charging as well as 50W wireless fast charging. It even supports bypass charging, which allows the device to run on a wired connection to prevent any overheating, so the battery doesn’t get damaged, and there is no performance throttling.

Honor GT Pro

Rounding out the list is the Honor GT Pro. A device that often flies under mainstream headlines but deserves attention if you’re serious about mobile gaming. While not always hyped, the Honor GT Pro has built a reputation for balancing performance, display quality, and capable cameras.

Just like the rest of Android flagships in this list, you get the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite and a huge 7,200mAh battery pack. Honor announced this model earlier in the year, so it arrived ahead of the current flagship generation. However, the brand marketed this as a dedicated gaming smartphone since it packed the Leading Edition variant of the Snapdragon 8 Elite along with a three stage cooling system that includes a 3D vapor cooling chamber, thermal conductive adhesive, and AI powered temperature control system.

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The post GizmoChina’s Best of 2025: Gaming Smartphones appeared first on Gizmochina.

OnePlus is gradually confirming the key specs of the OnePlus 15R, which is set to break cover on Dec. 17. The brand has recently confirmed that the 15R will have an upgraded front camera. It offers the same megapixel count as the OnePlus 15’s front camera.

OnePlus 15R selfie camera revealed

The OnePlus 15R is officially confirmed to feature a 32-megapixel front camera with autofocus support. It is the most advanced selfie camera on an R-series phone. This is a major upgrade, as last year’s OnePlus 13R featured a 16-megapixel front camera.

The 15R’s front camera is capable of capturing 4K videos at 30fps. This is also an upgrade, as the 13R’s front camera was limited to 1080p video. The 15R is also equipped with the DetailMax Engine, which offers advanced computational photography algorithms that enhance captured shots.

With the new selfie camera onboard, the OnePlus 15R levels itself with the OnePlus 15, which will also feature a 32-megapixel front camera with autofocus support. While the OnePlus 15 has a Sony IMX709 sensor powering the selfie camera, the OnePlus 15R is rumoured to be equipped with an OmniVision sensor for its front camera.

OnePlus 15R specs confirmed so far

So far, the brand has confirmed that the OnePlus 15R’s screen supports a 1.5K resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, it has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip and a 7,400mAh battery with 80W charging. It will also have other features such as OxygenOS 16, a Plus Key, a 50MP main camera with 4K 120fps video recording support, and an IP68/69-rated dust- and water-resistant body. It will be available in three shades: black, green, and violet.

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OnePlus has started rolling out the stable OxygenOS 16 update for the OnePlus Open in North America, nearly a month after the update first arrived in India. Indian users received the stable build in November, followed by a smaller update in early December, while other regions were left waiting.

The update is being released in stages, so it will not reach all devices at once. OnePlus has said the rollout will expand to more regions over the next few weeks. For North America, the update arrives with build number CPH2551_16.0.1.300(EX01).

OxygenOS 16 is largely focused on improving how the system feels in daily use. Animations are smoother and more consistent across the interface, with better timing when opening, closing, or switching between apps. Drag and drop actions on the Home screen, widgets, folders, and the Smart Sidebar feel more fluid, and scrolling now follows touch input more closely. Transitions in the status bar, notification shade, and Quick Settings are smoother and can be interrupted mid gesture. Common actions such as charging, fingerprint unlock, audio controls, and long press actions across system apps now use updated animations with softer lighting effects.

Under the hood, performance improvements come from the updated Trinity Engine. It adjusts system resources in real time to keep performance steady during gaming, video playback, and long camera sessions. Background activity is better controlled during heavy use, helping reduce power drain. Games benefit from more stable frame rates, while pop up windows and video calls are handled more efficiently. Apps open faster from the Home screen, photo albums load quicker, and cached video previews appear sooner in supported third party apps. Power Saving mode now scales performance based on the remaining battery level.

OnePlus has also expanded its AI features across OxygenOS 16. Mind Space now supports voice memory recording by pressing and holding the Plus Key, including landscape capture. A new Mind Assistant makes it easier to search saved content and manage collections. The Photos app has been redesigned with simpler navigation, improved album sorting, and expanded video editing tools such as trimming, transitions, speed controls, filters, and background music. Motion photos can be turned into slow motion clips or collages without losing HDR quality.

Notes now supports block based editing, richer text formatting, image view switching, and one link sharing for full notes. The Recorder app gets a new layout, AI noise cancellation, automatic context detection, and easy sharing of audio files, transcripts, and summaries. AI Translate has been refined for smoother real time use. AI Writer is now available system wide, allowing users to generate text, summaries, tables, and mind maps directly inside apps. AI VoiceScribe and Call Summary also offer better context detection and more export options.

Design changes include the new Flux Home screen with light field style icons, customizable grids, folders, widgets, and a cleaner layout without icon labels. AI powered Flux themes add motion wallpapers, adaptive icons, Always On Display updates, and real time customization. Core apps such as Clock, Calculator, and Compass have also been refreshed.

The update also improves connectivity with features like Touch to Share, better OnePlus Connect PC mirroring, cross device clipboard and search, improved in car Bluetooth, My Devices controls, stronger network sharing, and smoother data transfer from iOS. On the security side, OxygenOS 16 adds warnings for risky apps and new options to lock or hide apps directly from the Home screen.

(Source)

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OnePlus has started rolling out the OxygenOS 16.0.2.401 update for the OnePlus 15 in India and Europe. The update is being released in batches, with wider availability expected in the next few days. The build numbers are CPH2745_16.0.2.401(EX01) for India and CPH2747_16.0.2.401(EX01) for Europe.

The update brings improvements across AI features, the camera, system performance, and charging. The AI summary and subtitle feature now ends automatically when there is no sound input for a certain period. This aims to make speech-related tools more accurate and easier to use.

The update also adds more control over app icons. After resizing an app icon and adding commonly used shortcut icons, users can now drag and drop these shortcut icons to rearrange them. App clone icons can also be dragged to resize and customized with shortcuts.

In the Camera app, a new Neon filter is now available. It is designed to recreate the CineStill 800T film effect and improve atmospheric night portrait shots. In the Photos app, new filter options have been added, including Motion Photo, Screenshots and screen recordings, and Edited items. The Photos app also loads thumbnails faster due to an improved parsing method.

Bypass charging is now supported. When the phone is used for gaming, live streaming, video playback, navigation, or other high-load activities, users can connect the charger for power without stressing the battery. This reduces heat and helps protect long-term battery health.

The update fixes an issue where a car display could disconnect when the phone switches data networks. It also integrates the December 2025 Android security patch to improve system security. Since this OTA is incremental, only a small percentage of users will receive it today. A broader rollout will follow. Update content may vary by region.

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