What are gaming mobiles and are they worth buying?

2020 and 2021 can be called the years of the gaming smartphone. Sales figures all over the world skyrocketed as home bound users turned to mobile games like never before. Mobile versions of popular PC and console games like PUBG, Fortnite and Call of Duty all have more users in India. It means, more people play PUBG on a phone than on anything else.  

But a gaming mobile looks like any other mobile, unlike the trademark gaming laptops with backlit keyboards, shortcut keys, and sometimes, even a differently shaped screen. How can we differentiate between a normal mobile and a gaming one? 

The price of gaming mobiles is higher  
Initial gaming mobiles form Razer and Asus cost the same as any premium mobile by any brand. But with the rise of Indian and Chinese players shoved up the price index. Given the huge rise in demand, and the buying capacity of the players, this is one case where more demand meant more cost instead of the opposite.   

Specs and performance benchmarks of mobile  
Specs of what are usually called high performing mobiles include a good camera, high CPU and GPU performance, and other benchmarks related to overall mobile usage. But for gaming mobiles, the resolution is much higher, cameras are not that important, CPU and GPU speeds hold on to top speed much longer, and device cooling mechanisms are more elaborate. In fact, camera performance for a gaming mobile of 2021 is perhaps more like a normal mobile of 2020. But screen resolution is considerably higher than best-in-class normal mobiles.  

Gaming mobiles may have extra apps in-built 
The ROG Phone is a good example of how a gaming mobile can have specific software pre-loaded in it. Apart from Android, the phone actually has a whole dedicated OS for avid gamers to switch.  

Is it worthwhile to buy a gaming mobile?  
A top-notch Samsung, Redmi or OnePlus still costs a good INR 20 to 30 thousand more than a decent gaming mobile. So, if the buyer is a serious gamer, the gaming mobile would be too good to bother for only a camera. On the other hand, for those who game occasionally or can use a console instead, the gaming smartphone may be wasteful.