What phone gets the hottest while gaming for long periods of time? [VIDEO]

Smartphones are turning into the hottest gaming platform, where many of old favorites such as Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto are being ported for mobile devices. So for those of us who enjoy gaming on the go, there are a couple of variables that go into finding which device is perfect for us. These factors include performance and battery life, but another factor that must be decided is how hot the device gets during extended periods of gameplay.

The folks at TechRadar put 6 phones against one another in a heat test while playing Real Racing 3 for about 2 hours. This may seem a bit extreme, as the longest I’ve ever played a mobile game is about an hour, but it’s interesting to see how hot each device gets at different points. As for the devices that were included, here they are:

• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
• Nexus 6P
• HTC 10
• LG G5
• OnePlus 3
• iPhone 6S Plus

The video starts with each device measuring in at about 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and there are few pre-requisites that were followed to ensure an equal playing field.

1. All phones on full brightness
2. All phones connected to same Wi-Fi
3. No other background apps open – from restart
4. All as old as the phones are – so iPhone 6S Plus is the oldest. But all are review devices, so all have been used a roughly as long as each other.
5. We recorded the temperatures through a Rolson Infrared Thermometer and the thermal imaging was captured through the CAT S60 smartphone.

5 minutes –

• Coolest:  Galaxy S7 Edge – 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit
• Hottest: HTC 10 – 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit

15 minutes – 

• Coolest: Galaxy S7 Edge – 94.5 degrees Fahrenheit
• Hottest: HTC 10 – 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit

45 minutes – 

• Coolest: Galaxy S7 Edge – 100.2 degrees Fahrenheit
• Hottest: HTC 10 – 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit

2 hours – 

• Coolest: Galaxy S7 Edge – 101.7 degrees Fahrenheit
• Hottest: HTC 10 – 111.2 degrees Fahrenheit

Final results:

• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge – 101.7 F
• Nexus 6P – 104.4 F
• iPhone 6S Plus – 104.9 F
• OnePlus 3 – 105.6 F
• LG G5 – 107.4 F
• HTC 10 – 111.2 F

As I mentioned above, the reality of someone gaming on their smartphone for 2 hours seems a bit out there, but at least you’ll get an idea when it comes to knowing what to expect. The Galaxy S7 Edge stayed the coolest from start to finish, while the HTC 10 was the complete opposite. If you plan on doing a lot of gaming on your mobile device, you may want to steer clear so you don’t accidentally end up burning your fingers, or messing up the internals of the device.

This testing poses a great question. How long do you normally game for when playing on your smartphones, and what games do you play the most frequently? Drop us a line below and let us know.

[TechRadar]