Is Your Smartphone Powerful Enough to Compete as a Gaming Console?

In an exploration of modern gaming technology, I acquired a Retroid Pocket 4 Pro, a handheld console designed to emulate classic games. After loading it with nostalgic titles from the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2, I became absorbed in the experience. However, the device operates on Android, leading me to reconsider its identity—it felt more like a smartphone with a game controller than a standalone console. This prompted me to evaluate whether my flagship smartphone could outperform a $150 Android console in running emulators. With that question in mind, I dedicated an afternoon to testing its limits.

The power of smartphones for gaming

Smartphones have become formidable contenders for emulation. Modern flagship and midrange devices are equipped with impressive power in a compact form. For instance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor in the Galaxy S25 features an 8-core CPU with two high-performance cores clocked at 4.32 GHz and six energy-efficient cores running at 3.53 GHz. Coupled with a robust Adreno 830 GPU operating at 1200 MHz and 12GB of RAM, these specifications surpass those of older gaming consoles.

To illustrate, consider the PlayStation 4—launched in 2013, it utilized an 8-core CPU with a maximum clock speed of only 1.6 GHz, an 800MHz GPU, and 8GB of RAM. The advancements in technology over the past decade have led to smartphones that fit in pockets yet offer performance superior to devices that once dominated living rooms.

Utilizing emulators effectively

Despite their power, much of this processing capability remains underutilized in everyday tasks. Scrolling through social media or watching videos on platforms like YouTube does not demand significant resources, raising the question: why not use this excess capacity to run emulators? Driven by curiosity, I set out to investigate.

While I will not delve into the intricate details of setting up each emulator, I recommend consulting a comprehensive guide that covers the installation process for most emulators I tested. My focus was on emulators for PlayStation 2, Nintendo Switch, and Steam, including the recently released Red Dead Redemption from Netflix.

To connect my phone to the television, I used a simple USB-C hub that allowed me to hook up an HDMI cable alongside a charging cable. For the tests, I selected my Google Pixel 10 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 due to my skepticism regarding the Pixel’s gaming capabilities.

Testing performance and capabilities

The results varied, particularly for the Pixel 10 Pro. It handled PlayStation 2 emulation effectively and ran Red Dead Redemption from Netflix smoothly. However, it struggled significantly with Nintendo Switch game emulation, failing to keep pace with the demands of various titles. Additionally, the GameHub application encountered issues and was unable to download games entirely.

This outcome was not unexpected. Google’s Pixel series employs proprietary processors, and despite being flagship devices, there have been concerns about their gaming performance. The architecture of these processors is less common, which may result in many emulator developers not optimizing their software for Pixel devices.

Conversely, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 surpassed my expectations. It not only excelled at PlayStation 2 emulation but also ran Nintendo Switch games with impressive fluidity, despite some minor visual artifacts. The performance of GameHub did not meet expectations, indicating an issue related more to the app than the device itself.

The practicality of smartphone emulation

In my view, using my smartphone as an emulation platform may not be worth the hassle, especially since I own dedicated devices such as the Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and my Retroid Pocket 4 Pro. However, the notion that smartphones can serve as emulation stations is indeed feasible. While PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch emulation still faces challenges due to its developmental stage, PlayStation 2 and earlier console emulation performs remarkably well.

Smartphones have become formidable contenders for emulation. Modern flagship and midrange devices are equipped with impressive power in a compact form. For instance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor in the Galaxy S25 features an 8-core CPU with two high-performance cores clocked at 4.32 GHz and six energy-efficient cores running at 3.53 GHz. Coupled with a robust Adreno 830 GPU operating at 1200 MHz and 12GB of RAM, these specifications surpass those of older gaming consoles.0