
Over the past 5 years, a new form factor has emerged in the smartphone sector designed to cater to committed smartphone gaming enthusiasts and esports players. Building on the sophisticated technology inherent in modern flagship devices such as the iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G, these devices bring added horsepower and a slew of clever innovations to smartphone design in order to create the ultimate portable gaming device. But where did they come from, and what has led to their emergence in an otherwise saturated smartphone market in recent years? Below we’ll break down the origins of the gaming phone and explore the unique features they offer to consumers.
The Global-View
Smartphone gaming has been steadily on the rise for a number of years. This is due to a range of factors. For one, smartphones make gaming much more accessible to a larger audience thanks to the abundance of games in the Google Play and Apple app stores. Furthermore, improvements in both software optimization and hardware refinements have combined to improve mobile gaming performance. Titles like Genshin Impact and Ark: Survival Evolved demonstrate that smartphones can deliver top-tier gaming experiences capable of rivaling anything available on home consoles today. In many regions across the world, such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, consumers are 1.5 times likelier to use their smartphones as their sole gaming device. In South Africa, for instance, the number of people regularly playing online games through their smart devices is projected to rise from 25.5 million to 33 million by the end of the decade. This growth is being driven equally by reputable localized gaming platforms such as Casinos.co.za, which offer their patrons the opportunity to play the most popular online casino games in South Africa, and the increased affordability of devices that can support graphically intensive gaming apps. This is a picture that is reflected elsewhere globally and is a major contributor to the growing demand for more gaming-optimized phones in various markets.
Ergonomics
A major pioneering innovation of modern gaming phones is their emphasis on ergonomic profiles suitable for gaming. Modern flagship devices have different aesthetic goals and requirements when compared to gaming phones. Typically, consumers want their smartphones to be increasingly slim, low profile, and lightweight. In contrast, gaming phones are often thicker and heavier, as they feature larger batteries in order to maximize gaming time and onboard fans to promote cooling. In many devices, such as Asus’ ROG Phone 5, a charging port is included on the side of the phone as well as on the bottom. This is because, when playing games in landscape mode on a phone that’s plugged in, the position of the standard charging port gets in the way of a player’s grip. By placing the charging port on the side of the phone, it’s no longer obstructive to users when the phone is oriented in a landscape position. Gaming phones also strive to emulate game controllers by including additional capacitive and tactical buttons and triggers on various parts of the device, increasing the number of potential inputs a player can map, and removing the necessity for on-screen controls.
Peripherals
Many manufacturers offer a range of attachable peripherals for their devices. This is because, in spite of efforts to make their smartphones more akin to a Nintendo Switch or PS Vita, many gaming phones still lack the range of buttons and triggers typical to these dedicated games consoles. This is because to include these phones would often have to become impractically large and unwieldy. To get around this, manufacturers offer clip-on controllers in order to maximize gameplay efficacy for users without sacrificing a device’s standard footprint. Thanks to the interconnectivity of Bluetooth, nowadays it’s easy to connect a controller to an android phone or tablet, maximizing ergonomic comfort and gameplay feedback. In addition to controllers, manufacturers often offer large battery packs that can also be attached, potentially doubling the battery life of certain devices. The expandable design philosophy of gaming phones ensures that players can customize their devices to their specific preferences. Another popular peripheral found on many devices such as the Razer Phone 2 is an attachable cooling fan. Gaming places considerable strain on a phone’s hardware, as such the ability to attach active cooling fans safeguards the internals from thermal throttling, improving overall performance.