With mobile gaming on the rise, it isn’t surprising that brands have been creating smartphones targeted for mobile gamers. 

We have here the vivo Y21T which is touted by vivo as the budget smartphone built for all your mobile gaming needs. Then,  there’s the ROG Phone 5s Pro which ASUS claims as a gadget that will take your mobile gaming experience into the next dimension. 

It’s a lopsided match on paper, for sure. But what we’re really trying to find out here is if the you absolutely NEED high-ends specs for mobile gaming. Let’s go!

Apple, will make the case for the vivo Y21T while Andre wields the overpowered ROG Phone 5S Pro.

Design 

Let’s first look into how these devices compare with their looks.

Apple: Sleek and easy to hold 

Even being a budget smartphone, I find it impressive how vivo was still able to create a premium design for the Y21T. 

Its Pearl White variant can really catch your attention. It has a glossy back with light crystal coating that changes its hue when hit by light. 

And despite not having an aggressive looking aesthetic that screams gaming, I find its size really convenient. It fits perfectly in my hand and its design looks more versatile for day-to-day use. 

Andre: Aesthetic perfect for gamers 

Having gaming as its primary focus, the ROG Phone 5s Pro looks and feels the part. Unlike the vivo Y21T, everything about it screams gaming. Punchy red accents, geometric lines, and the flashy ROG Vision display at the back. This design would have any gaming enthusiast drooling.

Measuring 6.80-inches long, it doesn’t just look good, but it feels comfortable to play on. It also sports the Ultrasonic sensors and AirTriggers that a lot of ROG Phones are known for. The aforementioned seriously elevates the gaming experience. You do kind of feel that you are playing on a legit gaming console.

So if you’re into the way it looks and its size, you won’t be disappointed, this will surely catch the eyes of gamer peeps around you.

Display 

Moving onto the display department, these are two very different devices. Both are pretty capable in providing us with an enjoyable gaming experience.

Apple: Just the right display 

The vivo Y21T has a 6.51-inch, 1600×720 HD+ IPS Display. It may have been a bit disappointing since it still has a 720p resolution despite being launched this year. But in reality, after playing for a while, you’ll get over it. You’ll barely mind the difference once you’re already in the gaming zone. 

I still enjoyed playing games such as Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Mobile as the display still delivers vibrant colors and vivid details. It also still gives you a smooth and delightful visual experience despite its refresh rate being just at 60Hz.

It may not be as bright, but who plays games under direct sunlight anyways?

Andre: Display and responsiveness at its best 

On the ROG Phone 5s Pro, we are getting a feature packed 6.78-inch, AMOLED display. With a whopping 144Hz refresh rate, 800 nits of brightness and a peak rating of 1,200 nits, this is one of the most intense displays made for gaming on a smartphone.

As you have guessed, it is a feast for our eyes. Extremely smooth, exhilaratingly vibrant and elegantly beautiful.

It has a chin and forehead though… 

Gaming performance 

Now onto the heart of this comparison. Let’s talk about the actual gaming performance we can get out of these phones.

Apple: Optimized gaming 

One factor that vivo can really boast about the Y21T is its chipset. Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 with Adreno 610 GPU, legit gamers would be happy seeing that Snapdragon branding. This means a lot of games are optimized to run on this chipset. 

And true enough, despite its highly intensive graphics, Genshin Impact was very playable at medium settings.

Getting my game on Call of Duty: Mobile, this even manages to play it at maxed out settings on medium FPS. This means all graphical detail will be displayed just the same as how they would be on all other more expensive smartphones.

It was really great to know that an experience like this was even possible with a smartphone at this price range.

Andre: Beast 

ROG Phones are always packed with the finest specs around. The Phone 5s Pro is no different. A Snapdragon 888+ with 18GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage is what’s running this beast. That’s even more RAM than most gaming laptops I’ve reviewed. 

As expected, all games we’ve played ran at the highest available settings at the fastest possible speeds. And the experience is no less than amazing. As I’ve mentioned in my review, this is even the first time I have maxed out all graphic settings on Genshin Impact on a smartphone that ran this well.

Software

Another aspect that contributes to the gaming experience in these phones could be found in their software. Both devices come with their own game mode to compliment their gaming capabilities.

Apple: Enhanced experience

The vivo Y21T has its Ultra Gaming Mode which allows gamers to choose modes and adjust the phones performance on specific games. It grants us the ability to monitor our resource usage, battery percentage, game FPS, brightness adjustment and notification settings while in game.

It also has been loaded with vivo’s Multi-Turbo 5.0 which automatically kicks in upon entering a game. This enhances its network connection, processing speed and power-saving performance ensuring that the phone is at its optimal state for playing games.

Also, one notable difference of the Y21T on the ROG Phone 5s Pro is that we have received the latest Android 12 update on the Y21T while the Phone 5s Pro still hasn’t and is still left on Android 11.

Andre: Monitor and tweak everything in this software

On the other hand, the ROG Phone 5s Pro has a more complex console in its Armoury Crate app. Not only can you monitor and choose between preset settings but micromanage your own settings based on what you prefer.

 If you feel like adjusting the vibration strength on intense actions or the sensitivity of your movement, you’re free to do so in this console.

It even suggests games for you to try out which is handy for when you’re thinking of what to play next.

Battery 

Enjoying your games would not be possible without capable batteries. And both of these phones are equipped with ones that let you get in the game for hours. 

Apple: Battery that keeps you going 

One thing that’s commendable with the vivo Y21T is its robust 5000 mAh battery. This may already be a standard battery for budget smartphones but it definitely doesn’t disappoint. 

It lasts me for a day and a half or up to two days doing my daily tasks. I even managed to squeeze in viewing some Netflix episodes. And when I also sneaked in some game time, I thought my battery percentage would deplete quickly but surprisingly, only two percent was deducted from it. 

Andre: Massive capacity that charges incredibly fast

For battery performance, the ROG Phone 5s Pro is rated with a 6,000 mAh battery in two 3,000 mAh configurations. This resulted in one of the fastest charging speeds I’ve experienced in this rated capacity. At its peak 65W charging speed, a ten minute charge took us to 25 percent capacity and only took just under one hour to get a full charge.

Battery life does get us about a day on normal use but does run out more quickly when gaming. Pretty okay results especially if we consider that this is fueling a lot of power hungry specs. But in case it does run out on you, at least it won’t take long to get all juiced up.

Is the vivo Y21T or the ROG Phone 5s Pro your Gaming GadgetMatch? 

Bottomline is, the vivo Y21T and the ROG Phone 5s Pro are both amazing and more than capable gaming smartphone. However, the choice will come down to your budget and preferred gaming experience. 

If you still want to enjoy casually playing your games, you don’t actually need to spend a ton of cash and could still get by with a budget smartphone. Still optimized for gaming but also versatile enough to serve as daily driver, the vivo Y21T is a great match for budget gamers. 

But for big budget gamers, if you’re after the complete all-out gaming experience that can even be further enhanced with all of its other features in case you still have some extra cash, then the ASUS ROG Phone 5s Pro is hands down an outstanding piece of gaming machinery.

The vivo Y21T is priced at PhP 10,000 and is available in Midnight Blue and Pearl White while the ASUS ROG Phone 5s Pro with 18GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB storage is currently available for PhP 59,995 / SG$ 1,799.