What’s the Best Mobile Gaming Setup

A great controller, gaming device, and games lend themselves to relaxing evenings and hardcore adventures alike. 

The ritual of gaming is tried and true. Getting the right snacks and hopping on with friends to play together is a guaranteed good time. Alternatively, you can enjoy engrossing single-player games that envelop you in the world at hand. 

The aesthetics of gaming are a little more up to personal taste. Your mobile gaming setup involves both your phone or tablet alongside any accessories you have. 

The market for gaming accessories is almost intimidatingly large. It would be easy to devote an entire article to any singular piece of gaming equipment. Instead, we’re going to highlight several pieces of equipment that can make your gaming setup perfect.

 The best mobile gaming setup enhances your controls, audio, and visuals. Discover the components that go into creating this elevated experience below and dive into the future of mobile gaming. 

The Gaming Rig Essential: Portability

The first essential part of creating a mobile gaming setup is embracing what makes mobile gaming great. Portability fuels mobile gaming, making it different and special. 

Think about how the Nintendo DS and its successors dominated the handheld market for over a decade. Think about the meteoric sales of the Nintendo Switch compared to other consoles. The ability to play anywhere turns your device into one of the most versatile gaming machines on the market. 

Plenty of free games exist on the Apple app store and Google Play store to help you make the most of your gaming experience. For paid services, many major games now receive ports to mobile operating systems. Paid games-as-a-service features allow you to constantly improve your library. 

Your gamer gear should still preserve the portability that makes it special. Many devices come with carrying cases that make transportation easier. In other cases, such as with controllers, inherent designs provide you with an upgraded experience. Game on the go with the below items. 

Accessories for Viewing

With mobile games, you’re dealing with a smaller screen space compared to console or PC games. There’s also the question of what you can do to prop your device up if you’re using a controller. 

Thankfully, there are a few tools that you can use to make your viewing experience easier. 

The first is a stand. 

Using a phone stand gives you the freedom to use your favorite controller while gaming. Since your phone can remain stationary, you can also keep it attached to a power source. This solves both visibility and battery issues with one accessory. 

You may want to look into a screen enlarger, too. Screen enlargers magnify your device’s screen when it’s slotted in. This larger attachment gives you the space of a small TV, rather than that of a small phone. 

Many smart TVs offer technical capabilities that allow you to stream games from your phone. However, this solution comes with a few drawbacks. 

First, you have to own a compatible smart TV, which not everyone may have. Second, this limits you to gaming in whichever room your TV is in. Limiting yourself like this kind of goes against the basic premise of mobile gaming. 

If you’re in the market for a new device, you may also want to consider your future phone or tablet. Companies like ASUS, Lenovo, Samsung, and more have begun entering the space of mobile devices designed with specific gaming functions. These put a greater emphasis on graphics and processing power than most other mobile devices.

When it comes to enhancing your viewing experience, you have several options to choose from. Some of these options can even directly improve your performance while gaming.

Essentials for High-Performance Gaming

It’s safe to say that most serious gamers probably don’t find a flat-screen to be the best controller around. There’s first the ergonomic issue that keeping clamped on your device causes, especially if you’re gaming for a long time. Thankfully, there’s a way to address your performance in situations like these. 

Many dedicated mobile controllers exist. In other cases, console controllers are increasingly able to be paired to mobile devices. The result is that control is now firmly in the hands of mobile gamers. 

A well-designed mobile controller can improve the responsiveness and comfort of your gaming. Bluetooth controllers offer versatility in how you position yourself with your devices but may have higher latency than wired ones. Some wired controllers directly slot in your phone, turning it into something resembling a classic handheld game console. 

With wireless controllers, you can use a stand or gaming clip to ensure your game is close at hand. The latter is especially perfect if you want to relax somewhere without worrying about propping your phone up. This benefit is also held by the controllers that slot in your phone. 

Another pro tip: Use regular internet networks instead of VPNs, as VPNs can result in slower connectivity due to their encryption practices. 

Something that helps every mobile gamer is improved battery life. A dedicated power bank can help extend your device's life. Even if you don’t use it while gaming, you can charge your phone on the go. 

Phone processors are getting better with every subsequent generation. Moore’s law states that the number of transistors in computers increases by magnitudes every year and a half. At the same time, computers of similar or superior power will continue to become cheaper every single year. 

Thus, gaming will significantly improve with every upgrade.

How to Get the Best Audio on Mobile

Knowing what you’re listening to is important to more than just the audiophiles among us. It can be tempted to turn the audio down or keep it on low. 

Some multiplayer mobile games like COD, Fortnite, or PUBG rely on audio cues within the game itself. Beyond that, if you’re playing with friends, you may want to connect with them. 

Not every game innately supports the sort of squad communication high-paced action games necessitate. If playing together in separate environments, you can still boot up Discord to communicate with each other. 

You don’t have to simply settle for your phone’s innate ability as an audio output device. You can use your favorite headphones or headset to improve communication and game audio alike. Choosing the specific type of headset you use makes for a complicated decision, however. 

There are two basic options you have for most audio formats: 3.5mm and USB-C. Between the latter, you also have a choice between wired and wireless audio devices. 

The latter offers enhanced audio-only at their highest levels, but they still rely on your system soundcard. The former relies on its internal soundcard to provide the best possible sound.

Beyond this, they also have varying accessibility depending on your other build pieces. Not every controller allows for an additional USB slot. Given these situations, a headphone jack may be your only option. 

If your main goal is to game and communicate with friends, we suggest using a Bluetooth headset. If you want better audio purely and have a good onboard sound card, use 3.5mm-compatible headphones. 

With this, we’ve covered the essentials of audio, performance, and visuals. Now, all that’s left to do is synthesize these, and create the ideal mobile gaming setup for the present day.

Enhancing Your Mobile Gaming Setup

Let’s take a look at a hypothetical mobile setup to showcase how your build can be transformed using the tips above. 

The basis of your setup is going to include a controller of your favorite type. These can be standalone pieces, wired or Bluetooth, and may or may not attach to your phone.

Next, you’ll want a device to enhance your visuals or immersion in the game. This can be a device you stream to, like a TV or screen magnifier. You can also be more immersed through a slot-in controller, or using a clip to attach your phone and controller. 

Now, you can grab the perfect headset for an ideal audio experience. Check your phone specs and compatibility implications of your other accessories beforehand to make sure you have the right format.

The last detail is one to keep you going before and after gaming: Use a power bank to keep your system lasting longer. 

With these details in place, you’re almost ready to create the best mobile setup around. 

The last important part of a mobile setup is your internet connection. A wired connection and latency-destroying services can help reduce lag, keeping you invested and present in your games.

WTFast: Our Mission

WTFast is here to help gamers build better gaming experiences. No detail is too small to be unimportant when it comes to evolving to the next level of play. To that end, we’ll continue offering the latest gaming news on top of providing game-enhancing services. 

We’re every gamer’s new secret weapon.

Sources:

Diffusion and the Meteoric Rise of the Nintendo Switch | Cornell

Moore's Law Definition I Investopedia

Is There an Advantage in a USB Headset vs 3.5mm Jack Headset? I DVHARDWARE