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Buyer's Guide

Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition

Genshin Impact 3.2
Credit: HoYoverse

Genshin Impact version 3.7 will be releasing soon, and many Genshin Impact fans are hyping up for the new events and questline.

This is surely a test on the hardware and battery life of every smartphone out there, especially considering that Genshin Impact is notorious for eating up storage space and graphically punishing on older devices.

What Phone Do I Need To Play Genshin Impact?

If there is one thing Genshin Impact players hate, that is frame stutters. Nobody likes to have their quickswap Dendro Hyperbloom 30,000 damage combo messed up just because the game froze momentarily.

With so many new smartphones being released, now is also a great time to get a better phone and start playing at higher framerates. We have shortlisted 5 phones that should be in your radar for your next upgrade, along with a few honourable mentions.

Xiaomi 13 Pro

Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition 11
Credit: Xiaomi

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone for 2023. Sporting the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a 6.73″ AMOLED screen and a 4,820 mAh battery with 120W fast charging, the Xiaomi 12T Pro is almost the complete package for playing Genshin Impact. On our tests, the smartphone managed 60 fps almost across the board, save for the messiest boss fights, where it dipped slightly to 55 fps.

If you want to save a bit of money, the Xiaomi 13 performed similarly to its larger sibling, albeit with a smaller screen and less stellar battery life.

Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada

iPad Mini 6

iPad Mini 6
Credit: Laptop Mag

While not exactly a phone per se, the iPad Mini 6 should definitely be in your consideration if you want a dedicated gaming / entertainment device. Equipped with the A15 chipset, and a 8.3″ Retina display, the iPad Mini 6 bridges the gap between smartphones and bulkier tablets. In our Genshin Impact test we are able to get 59 fps on average. The iPad Mini 6 barely gets warm too so overheating should not be an issue. Pretty impressive results for a non-flagship Apple chipset.

Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada

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Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition 12

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 14 Pro Max
Credit: Apple

Released as recently as September 16 2022, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is Apple’s flagship smartphone. The A16 chipset is no slouch when it comes to gaming. In our tests, we managed to hit 58 fps on the highest settings. Temperature runs a bit warm to the touch at 48°C, but it is well within acceptable temperatures without throttling issues. The iPhone 14 Pro Max also comes with a 6.7″ Retina display and up to 1TB of storage. Running out of space for updates is a thing of the past.

Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada

OnePlus 11 5G

Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition 13

The OnePlus 11 5G is the company’s latest flagship device. Starting at RM3,299, the smartphone packs a ton of power under the hood: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 256GB of storage. The 120Hz AMOLED screen displays brilliant colours too.

During our testing, we managed to hit a consistent 50-53 fps at the highest settings. However, due to the positioning of the camera, your fingers might end up smearing the lens, so do keep that in mind.

Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition 14

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra boasts several flagship features that gamers would love: a customised Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, Adreno 740 GPU, and a large 6.8″ AMOLED 120Hz screen running at 1440 x 3088 pixels. Running Genshin Impact at the highest settings with Games Optimizations Service (GOS off), we managed to get more than 50 fps consistently. Temperatures are stable thanks to the improved cooling over the predecessor, and battery life is excellent thanks to a large 5000mAh battery. If you want more frame rates, you can tweak the settings a bit lower without losing too much in terms of visual goodness.

Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada

ROG Phone 7

Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition 15

The ROG Phone 7 is a thorough-bred gaming smartphone through and through. Unlike other smartphones in this roundup, the ROG Phone 7 is designed to excel at gaming. Featuring exceptional cooling, large battery, and a 165Hz high refresh rate display, it handles Genshin Impact with ease. During our initial tests, it managed to cap the frame rates to 60fps even during boss fights.

Where to buy: Shopee, Lazada

Honourable Mentions

iPad Air 2022

If you absolutely need a larger screen, the iPad Air 2022 should be in your shortlist. Boasting a 10.9″ Liquid Retina display, you will feel more immersed in the beautiful world of Teyvat. Consider getting a compatible Bluetooth controller and turn your iPad Air into a portable gaming console (RIP Switch owners still waiting for official launch).

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Despite being from the previous generation, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is still a good performer for gaming. It features the efficient Apple A15 chip, which is powers a few current generation iPhones. Gaming on it feels snappy, with framerates hovering around 52 fps. You can even snag one for less too.

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Best Smartphones To Play Genshin Impact: Mid 2023 Edition 12

Redmi K50 Pro

The Redmi K50 Pro performs similarly well as the K50. With a higher spec-ed MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset and Mali-G710 MC10, it managed a respectable 53 fps during our tests. You do however, get a slightly smaller battery for a much better camera.

iPhone 14 Plus

If the iPhone 14 Pro Max is out your budget, the iPhone 14 Plus is a great alternative. Granted, you get a lower powered A15 chip, but its gaming performance is still great. Upon testing, we managed to run Genshin Impact at 56 fps. You also get a 6.7″ Retina display just like the flagship model so you don’t lose out much in terms of gaming.

Conclusion

All in all, you don’t need a dedicated gaming smartphone to have a fun time with Genshin Impact. Most smartphones that are released this year are reliable performers with a few settings tweaked.

Ultimately, the right phone for gaming depends on your preference and priorities. Whether it is battery life, screen size, GPU and budget, these aspects should be considered before you make your next purchase.

Written By

Part-time gamer, writer, & full time weird coffee person.

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