A good phone is also a gaming phone. This used to be the prevailing wisdom earlier. Even now it is true up to an extent. But at the same time we have also started seeing that some phones are now coming with features that may not matter much during regular use but are of incredible help while gaming. These are the features that have potential to elevate user experience while gaming. The OnePlus 9RT 5G, launched earlier in January, is one such "gaming" phone.

As a regular phone the 9RT 5G looks good, but there are some gaming-specific features in it that may make it particularly appealing to the users who like to spend an hour or two daily playing something fast and twitchy like Call of Duty or Battlefield on their phone.

So, to cut a long story short, if you are looking to buy a phone that can play the latest games in all their glory, we believe that the OnePlus 9RT 5G should be on your shortlist. And we give you 5 reasons why we say so. Also given the way gaming phones go, it is also priced quite reasonably with the OnePlus 9RT 5G with 8GB RAM costing Rs 42,999 while the 12GB variant going for Rs 46,999.

First and foremost a gaming phone needs to be fast. It should be able to run the latest games well with some performance to spare. We have usually found the OnePlus phones to be fast and smooth and the 9RT is no exception. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processors, which is one of the best chipsets one can get in a phone. In addition there is up to 12GB RAM, which is plenty, and the fast UFS 3.1 storage which helps while loading the game. In our review earlier we found that the OnePlus 9RT can handle games like Call of Duty with ease at the top graphics settings.

While top performance is important, a good gaming phone must be able to sustain this performance over a long period of time without getting too hot. Because heat equals performance throttling. In our review of the 9RT we found that even with prolonged 30-40 minutes of gaming sessions, the phone runs relatively cooler than other OnePlus 9 series devices. This is likely because of the new cooling system OnePlus has used in the phone. In the 9RT, says the company, it has placed the cooling pipes particularly close to the chipset and battery. This, says OnePlus, results in the OnePlus 9RT 5G, setting "a new record for thermal efficiency amongst OnePlus devices" and providing "a 20 per cent more efficient heat dissipation mechanism compared to the previous OnePlus 9 series."

One area where gaming phones tend to be better and pay special attention to is the screen and how fluid and responsive it is. OnePlus says it has worked on the 9RT screen to make it more suitable for gaming. While the 6.6-inch screen in the OnePlus 9RT 5G comes with a 120Hz display, it is the touch sensitivity where the phone scores above its peers.

The phone comes with Hyper Touch 2.0, which allows for a touch response rate of 600 Hz, double of 300 Hz that is found on most of the high-end phones. This means, according to OnePlus, the response time of touch on the OnePlus 9RT 5G is 29ms. This makes the 9RT arguably the fastest phone in its segment. In practical terms it means that not only gamers will find playing Call of Duty on this phone more engaging and responsive but will also see that they don't miss a shot due to latency delays.

Sound and response is another key aspect of gaming. The OnePlus 9RT 5G has a gaming specific tuning for its haptic -- that vibration you feel while typing on the phone -- feedback. This tuned haptic feedback -- and it is something that we noticed in our review -- can make the gaming more immersive on the OnePlus 9RT.

As far as the tech is concerned, OnePlus calls this feature "4D intelligent haptic." The company says that for this feature it has created a unique algorithm that can recognise visual and audio signals and offer a specific haptic feedback while gaming. In total, the phone has over 150 unique haptic feedback types. So for example, when you hit a target in a game with a rifle, the haptic feedback could be different whereas firing a machine gun may offer subtly different feedback to your palms.

With the concept of gaming phones now a reality, we have also started seeing a trend where the gaming phones look different. Some people do indeed like their gaming phones to have lights and body armour and adornments. But most people may not because the phones are not only used while gaming but also during work in the office. The OnePlus 9RT 5G, despite its specific cooling features, is a sleek and good-looking phone. It's neither bulky nor looks like an armoured tank. Instead, it looks elegant. And that we believe goes in its favour.

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