For a majority of users, a smartphone is good enough to play games on the go. In fact, you don’t need a gaming console unless you want to play must-have exclusive games. While smartphones offer exceptional hardware, there are a number of small software changes you can make to adjust your phone for the best gaming experience possible. Here are a couple of quick tips to tweak the gaming performance on your smartphone.
Most smartphones now feature a display capable of operating at a higher refresh rate of 90Hz, 120Hz, and some devices even offer up to 144Hz and 165Hz of refresh rate. On most phones, the screen refresh rate is usually set to low or auto, where the phone will automatically adapt the refresh rate to conserve power. Make sure that the screen is set to the highest refresh rate possible to experience the best possible gaming experience.
Go to Settings > Display > Screen refresh rate and select the best available option.
Depending on the brand, this might vary. On Samsung phones, the same can be found under the Motion smoothness and select the Adaptive option.
Priority mode will block all the notifications to enable stress-free gaming (Express Photo)
Enable do not disturb on gaming mode
Many Android smartphones now come with a dedicated gaming mode, where users will get more control over the game. On Samsung phones, it’s called Game Launcher, where, enabling the priority mode on the same will block incoming notifications and will help you focus on the game.
Similarly, if you have a OnePlus smartphone, the same option can be found within the Games app. These apps also allow users to monitor the game’s fps, processor clock speed, and a lot more.
Standard mode on Samsung offers the best possible gaming performance (Express Photo)
Switch to a Wi-Fi network
A Wi-Fi network will usually have lower latency and ping, which is a big deal while playing online multiplayer games like BGMI or COD: Mobile. Within the Wi-Fi, it is advised to connect to a 5GHz (Wi-Fi 5) or a 6GHz (Wi-Fi 6) network for an unparalleled online gaming experience.
Wi-Fi network will not only improve the latency but will also help the phone to deliver longer battery life when compared to a 4G LTE or SA/NSA 5G network.
Tweak performance profile and battery saver
Never play a game when your phone is on power saver mode. In fact, always use the standard or the best performance mode available on the device to experience high-fidelity graphics and higher refresh rate. Some phones also offer light mode, which reduces the current and voltage to the processor to keep the phone cool, and disabling the same will also help the device to deliver a better gaming experience.
Dolby Atmos for gaming works best when using a headphone (Express Photo)
Enable Dolby Atmos for gaming
There are quite a few Android games that support Dolby Atmos audio and enabling the same will result in an enhanced surround sound experience. However, depending on the device, one might have to use compatible headphones to enjoy Dolby Atmos audio while gaming.
On Samsung phones, go to Settings > Sound quality and effect > Dolby Atmos for gaming to experience elevated audio quality while gaming.
ROG Phone 5 with an external cooler with shoulder buttons (Express Photo)
Use gaming accessories
Gaming accessories like detachable shoulder triggers and gaming finger sleeves can also have a positive impact while gaming on smartphones. These inexpensive accessories will not only make gaming on smartphones enjoyable but can also offer some advantages against the opponent. Similarly, for racing and boxing games, one can also pair an external wireless control to Android smartphones for a better gaming experience.
Bonus tips
If you want to take it up a notch, then here are some additional tweaks, which will further enhance the gaming experience on an Android phone. For these tweaks, one needs to enable the Developers option, which comes with its own drawbacks, hence, make sure to only apply these settings with caution, as some of these could greatly impact how your phone would behave.
Enable Developer Options on Android smartphones
Go to Settings > About device > build number and tap on it five times and enter the passcode to enable the developer option. Once enabled, follow these individual guidelines to further enhance the gaming experience.
4x MSAA can improve the gaming experience on flagship phones (Express Photo)
Enable/Disable 4x MSAA (multisample anti-aliasing)
While 4x MSAA is meant to improve gaming performance, it does quite the opposite on entry-level and mid-range phones, and disabling the same will prevent frame drops, especially on demanding games. If you have a high-end device, enabling this feature will enhance gaming performance. Similarly, the same needs to be disabled on entry-level phones.
Limiting the background process will also help in enhancing gaming performance (Express Photo)
Ever heard about the “background process limit” feature?
Limiting the background process to just one will ensure that all the computing prowess of the CPU and the GPU will be allocated to just one app/game. By default, it is set to a standard limit and selects “at most one process” to experience the best graphics. However, this will affect the multitasking capability of your smartphone, where background apps will become inactive.
