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 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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The post OnePlus 15 Receives December 2025 OxygenOS Update with Neon Camera Filter and System Fixes appeared first on Gizmochina.