Nothing Phone (1) was released in July 2022 as a midrange smartphone with a unique design, great cameras, good performance, and stable software. Phone (1) is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ which is a 5G chipset based on 6nm fabrication paired with an Adreno 642L GPU. Phone (1) was launched at Rs 34,000 and provided good performance according to that price in 2022.
But now it is the last month of 2023, and until now, Phone (1) has had many updates in software to fine-tune its performance. Phone (1) was never marketed as a performance-centric smartphone, but it still has a capable processor that provides stable performance during gaming. We tested different types of games and analyzed the performance along with heating, stability, and battery drain to check how the Phone (1) performance aged with time.
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)
Battlegrounds Mobile India is the number one grossing action game on the Play Store, with over 100 million downloads. Nothing Phone (1) can run BGMI at smooth graphics at 60 FPS( extreme FPS) and Balanced, HD, and HDR graphics at 45 frames (Ultra FPS). Ultra HDR graphic settings are not available as the processor and GPU is not capable of running the game at such high graphics.
We choose to play at smooth graphics and 60 FPS as these are settings that most users generally play. We played a Team Death Match (TDM) and also turned on the game mode to see the game FPS in real-time through a floating window. During the TDM match, we didn’t notice any major frame drop, the game was running smoothly at 59-60 FPS and the gameplay was smooth. After completing one TDM match, the Phone temperature was normal, it didn’t get warm.
Just after the TDM, we played a Classic Ranked Erangel Match at the same graphics settings and we noticed a major 10 FPS drop during the parachute time. The rest of the gameplay was smooth, and the Phone provides consistent frame rates. Some frame drops were also noticed at the very end of the game in the last zone. After the ranked match, the Phone (1) got warm but didn’t heat up. After 30 minutes of BGMI gameplay, the Phone (1) battery drained to 83% from 94% which is an 11% battery drop. The game was played on Wi-Fi with max brightness and Bluetooth turned on all the time. The battery drain is average.
Subway Surfers
Subway Surfers is one of the top arcade games that is very famous among children. In this game, Jake dashes over trains to escape from the grumpy inspector and his dog. This is a graphics-intensive game and thus it runs well on most smartphones.
We played Subway Surfers for 10 minutes and the gameplay was super smooth with a constant 60 FPS. The battery dropped by just 1% during the gameplay and the phone didn’t get warm, which is good considering that Subway Surfers was played just after the 30-minute gameplay of BGMI.
Call of Duty: Mobile Season 11
Call of Duty is yet another multiplayer action game with over 100M downloads on PlayStore. It this you have to fight the enemy team members using guns, and missiles while also protecting yourself.
Phone (1) can run COD Mobile at MAX FPS (60 FPS) with low to very high graphics. We played multiplayer matches for 30 minutes and the gameplay was smooth with consistent frame rates throughout the game. The phone got warm but again didn’t heat up and delivered an amazing performance. However, we feel that Phone (1) stereo speakers don’t sound very high during gameplay, so we recommend using earphones for the best experience.
After 30 minutes of gameplay on a COD mobile phone (1) battery dropped from 81 % to 74% which is only a 7% battery drop. Phone (1) is very well optimized for COD Mobile as it delivers stable performance and very little battery drain.
Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9 is a sports racing game that can be played online, solo, or multiplayer. It is the top-grossing game in the racing category with 100 million+ downloads. It is famous for its realistic graphics and amazing gameplay.
Nothing Phone (1) can play Asphalt 9 at high quality and 60 FPS. We played Asphalt 9 for 20 minutes and the gameplay was extremely smooth with constant frame rates. Phone (1) didn’t get warm at all, and the battery just drained by 3%. Although some frame drops and lags were noticed during loading the gameplay, which can be neglected. We all feel that Phone (1) brightness feels low during gameplay, which affects the realism of the game.
Overall, Phone (1) performs well in most of the games, even in the last month of 2023, although now much better smartphones with much better gaming experiences are available in the midrange smartphone segment. Phone (1) is best for casual gaming, with some minor cons like low brightness and not loud enough speakers. It provides consistent performance without major lags, frame drops, or heating issues.
YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON– Telegram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Google News