Gaming phone for $350?

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OldGeek

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#300617 22-Sep-2022 11:05

My daughter has challenged me to find what amounts to a gaming phone for her 14-year-old son.

Prime usage is gaming, therefore my take is that processor speed and storage capacity are paramount. While this may be used as a phone, associated specs are not important beyond being able to make voice calls and to text.

Yes the budget is low, so my research is Android-only and specs will be slower/lower rather than faster/higher. I have found the following phones so far: https://tinyurl.com/mrxttued (Xiaomi Redmi 9c) and https://tinyurl.com/3zhkf347 (Samsung Galaxy A13). Is there anything else that I have missed? Note that parallel imports are not appropriate.

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KrazyKid

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#2971644 22-Sep-2022 11:37

I was looking for a phone for my 14yo last weeked and PB tech had this Samsung A23 on sale for $369.
You had to buy the Peach colour which she didn't like but a $14 case fixed that.

Sale ended on Sunday which sucks for you, but if you ask maybe they will help you out since you just missed it.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/MPHSAM7323502/Samsung-Galaxy-A23-2022-Dual-SIM-Smartphone-6GB128

sidefx

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#2971684 22-Sep-2022 12:35

Not sure on current models, but the Oppo phones seem pretty good value for money... the large capacity batteries for long battery life are nice if physical size doesn't matter too much.

PS: Much like for a gaming computer I imagine another big question is what games? Or at least what type of games?

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mrgsm021

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#2971709 22-Sep-2022 13:23

It depends on whether the games played are graphics intensive or not.

If so, a $350 phone probably isn't going to cut it since it needs a decent GPU.

Behodar

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#2971719 22-Sep-2022 13:49

Today I learned there's apparently such a thing as a "gaming phone".

Inphinity

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#2971739 22-Sep-2022 14:20

My son uses a Galaxy A12, and uses it more for social media & gaming than as a phone. We were looking for something sub-$300, and it's been great.

Jase2985

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#2971751 22-Sep-2022 14:48

Behodar:

Today I learned there's apparently such a thing as a "gaming phone".

https://rog.asus.com/phones/rog-phone-6-model/

not related to the OP's question but there is a flash one. and check out the accessories

PsychoSmiley

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#2971760 22-Sep-2022 15:09

Behodar:
Today I learned there's apparently such a thing as a "gaming phone".

While not specifically phones, 'ETA Prime' on YT does a lot of tablet/handheld device reviews and there is heavy focus on gaming both native android and emulation. Your average device can do some pretty significant work emulating PlayStation 2/PSP/GameCube games.

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jonb

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#2971784 22-Sep-2022 16:35

I find the wifi pretty crap/laggy with the dreaded red wifi symbol when gaming on my Redmi Note 11, but my last Redmi Note 8 was fine. If doing AliExpress would choose the Redmi Note 10 Pro 6GB/128GB, the RAM doesn't make that much difference (is more for multi-tasking) so 6GB would be plenty. Exchange rate isn't that great for buying stuff of AliExpress at the moment though: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003088224208.html

See if you can find a lightly used similar phone on trademe maybe, sometimes people buy these as short term interim phones.