Cheapest Phones For Best PUBG Experience At Least Start With Xiaomi Note 6 Pro With Snapdragon 636 Inside It

By Amritanshu Mukherjee: When PUBG MOBILE was announced earlier in the year, it was assumed that the game would be restricted only for the high-end devices. This has been the case with all major previous gaming titles. However, publisher Tencent Games made sure that the game was more accessible and therefore, worked along with the developers to make sure people with affordable devices could also join the quest for hunting the Chicken Dinner. Hence, PUBG MOBILE can be played even on budget devices priced under Rs 10,000.

On most iOS devices presently selling in the market, PUBG MOBILE is well optimised and made to run smoothly at least in medium graphics. The minimum system requirements for PUBG MOBILE on Android is listed below:

— Android 5.1.1 and above

— At least 2GB RAM

Any Android device that falls under the bracket can support PUBG MOBILE. However, if you have had a glimpse of PUBG MOBILE, you know that the game contains console-quality graphics with advanced gameplay physics and state-of-the-art maps. Therefore, it requires a powerful set of specifications to run the game in the way its meant to be played. After all, playing an online multiplayer game is fun only as long as you are able to have a smooth gaming experience without any lags or stutters.

Since my job allows me to get considerable hand-on on most new smartphones as well as tablets and PUBG MOBILE is one of the favourite pass-times, I have devised a list of all the chipsets from the Android universe that will guarantee you a smooth gameplay experience even in the lowest graphics segment.

For budget devices:

At least Snapdragon 636 and 3GB RAM

The Snapdragon 636 is a fairly powerful midrange chipset unveiled by Qualcomm last year. The chip uses eight custom Kryo 260 cores, which are based on the Cortex-A73 architecture, clocked at 1.8GHz. An Adreno 509 GPU is there to look after the graphics requirements of the chip. The chip is considered as a watered-down version of the Snapdragon 660 chipset. The chip is extremely efficient in handling daily tasks and casual games with ease. However, for a resource-intensive game such as PUBG MOBILE, the chip can only handle low graphics courtesy of the weak Adreno 509 GPU. However, you can be assured of smooth frame rates and stutters are fairly occasional. The gameplay durations can, however, not be sustained for long.

> Playing an online multiplayer game is fun only as long as you are able to have a smooth gaming experience without any lags or stutters.

In India, there are a few smartphones under Rs 15,000 that make use of the Snapdragon 636 SoC. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and Note 6 Pro rely on Snapdragon 636 SoC, but a heavy MIUI skin does affect the performance to an extent. The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1(Rs 10,999), Nokia 6.1 Plus (Rs 15,999) and Motorola One Power (Rs 15,999) also sport the same chip, but with a lesser complex stock Android operating system.

For those wanting decent graphics and a smoother gameplay

At least Snapdragon 660, Helio P60/P70

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset has been in the market for a while since the days of the Snapdragon 835 and has been powering premium devices for long. The two-year-old chipset has now trickled down to smartphones under Rs 15,000 as well and is the top choice for mobile gamers on a budget. The chip consists of an octa-core arrangement of Kryo 260 cores, with four of them clocked to 2.2GHz for faster processing. The Adreno 512 GPU is more capable than the Adreno 509 in terms of handling heavy graphics. MediaTek’s Helio P60 and Helio P70 chip are also capable on similar terms with reasonably powerful GPUs

Therefore, PUBG MOBILE on a smartphone with these chips should deliver a smoother gameplay experience with medium graphics. The performance is sustainable for longer durations on these chips while the thermal management is also pretty efficient.

Presently, there are a couple of smartphone under Rs 15,000 with these chips. For the Snapdragon 660 club, one can consider the Xiaomi Mi A2 (starts from Rs 14,999), Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 (starts from Rs 12,999) and Realme 2 Pro (starts from Rs 13,990).For those who prefer the MediaTek chips, one can consider the Nokia 5.1 Plus (Rs 10,999) and Realme U1 (starts from Rs 13,990).

For the best PUBG MOBILE experience

At least Snapdragon 835 and above

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 series of chipsets are the best that most Android phones can rely on. Last year’s Snapdragon 835 and the current flagship Snapdragon 845 offer the best performance to sustain peak performance for longer durations with efficient thermal management. Luckily, for gamers on a budget, the POCO F1 starting from Rs 19,999 is the cheapest smartphone that offers the Snapdragon 845 chipset and 6GB RAM. Xiaomi also couples the POCO F1 with a liquid cooling system for efficient heat dissipation and a big 4000mAh battery with fast charging.

The Asus ZenFone 5Z is next major offering with the Snapdragon 845 and 6GB RAM, starting at Rs 29,999. The Nubia Red Magic also comes in at Rs 29,999 with the Snapdragon 835 chipset clubbed along with air cooling and cool RGB lighting. The Honor Play with its flagship-grade HiSlicon Kirin 970 SoC also offers flagship grade gaming performance coupled with GPU Turbo for consistent peak performance, starting at a price of Rs 16,999.