Playing Games on a Tablet or Smartphone: The Benefits and Limitations of Extended Displays

I recently had the opportunity to test out an external display for my smartphone, and I was pleasantly surprised by the benefits it brought to my gaming experience. For example, in a tower defense game like this one, having more room to maneuver and look at what I'm doing greatly improves the experience. It's like playing on a tablet, where you have a larger screen to work with and can focus on your gameplay without feeling cramped.

In contrast, games that are optimized for traditional smartphone displays just don't take full advantage of the extra real estate. For instance, this game, Down Well, was developed more for a narrow display and doesn't benefit from the extended display as much. On the other hand, some games like Table G are perfect examples of how an external display can enhance your gaming experience.

When playing games that require on-screen controls, having more space to work with is invaluable. Games like PopG (which I found to be terrible on the full display) benefit greatly from this extra real estate. The game's developers were able to take advantage of the larger screen and create a more immersive experience for the player. On the other hand, games that require precise targeting, like shooters or first-person games, also benefit from the expanded display.

One example that stands out is Table G, which is a shooting game that uses on-screen controls. In this game, having the extra real estate allows you to move around more easily without interfering with your view of the screen. This makes it feel more like a tablet experience than playing on a traditional smartphone. The left thumbstick also benefits from the larger display, allowing for more precise control and movement.

Another example is CSR Racing, which showcases the hardware capabilities of the device. The game's graphics are smooth and visually appealing, taking full advantage of the extended display. This highlights the potential for developers to create games that are specifically designed with this feature in mind.

Samba Ville is another example of a side-scrolling game that benefits from the larger display. The colorful graphics and swipe controls work beautifully on the expanded screen, making it feel like a more traditional arcade experience. However, I couldn't help but think that the gameplay itself isn't significantly improved by the extra real estate. Nevertheless, the game's visuals and overall feel are still enjoyable.

Ultimately, whether or not an external display enhances your gaming experience depends on the type of games you play. If you're into casual, one-handed games, you might find that the benefits of the extended display aren't as pronounced. However, if you're looking for a more immersive experience with precise control and larger visuals, then this device is definitely worth considering.

One thing to keep in mind is that some games may not be optimized for the external display, and vice versa. It's essential to research and test out different games before investing in a device like this. However, based on my experiences, I can confidently say that playing games on an extended display can greatly enhance your overall experience.

In conclusion, having an external display for your smartphone can be a game-changer (pun intended) when it comes to gaming. While there are some limitations to consider, the benefits far outweigh them. Whether you're into shooting games, strategy games, or casual experiences, this device has the potential to elevate your gaming experience to new heights. So, if you're in the market for a new gaming device, I highly recommend considering one with an external display.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso of course it's all about this galaxy fold still I mean I haven't been this interested in a smartphone for a very long time as I'm sure you can tell there's so many changes to the day to day adjustments that you make as a user and of course the questions they're all flowing in I covered a couple of those things in the previous video in which I compared this galaxy fold to the other flagship devices comparing you tube multi-window multi-application Instagram Facebook and whatnot so if you're interested in that go check out that video but this video exists to address a very specific question gaming what about gaming on this phone you have this gigantic display now you would think it would work really well for gaming where my skepticism came in in the early stages was around the types of games that exist for mobile they're designed with a smartphone form factor in mind something like this and then so typically the controller layouts the experience pretty much the whole thing is developed around that form factor so I was like let's see what's happening in games let's play a few games what's better what's worse and so forth maybe we should kick it off with Mario run look at that okay so Mario run is an interesting one because it's a portrait game and then the other thing is like is the screen really being taken advantage of does the game get any better having more displayed in some games yes other games maybe less sold in this game for example you kind of just end up with more sky like a lot of it now some people love this game some people hate this game it's an homage to the original but it's definitely not a replacement for the original and it's just the kind of game that requires very little input from you so many games are developed for foreplay on tiny little screens so the interaction is limited by the hardware I'd say this is an example of a game that doesn't really benefit that much from the bigger display and maybe you could argue that ru is worse on the big display beyond the fact that it looks great the overall experience of that game is tuned for a smartphone slender portrait display more so than this unusual form factor in my opinion now this next game I'm gonna say is the opposite Altos adventure kind of snowboarding down this hill and you jump over some rocks and you chase these these creatures these llamas I just hit a rock there because it's so bright in here these things here you can grind there you go see this game I feel like benefits a lot of games that work in landscape mode I think benefit because it sets your hands further apart but it frees up all this extra space here so if you sign this game for example to Hill it's kind of coming from here you just would see a lot less of where you're coming from and where you're going now there's other games you can say for example you know a tower defense game for example like this you just have more room to maneuver and to look at what you're doing I'd say it improves the experience quite a bit it's like playing it on a tablet so tower defense games I think are bonus you could still play on the exterior display maybe I should do that real quick I don't know if anyone would actually do this you could play this game here with one hand so far having used this device I just hate using this like I don't want to use this screen this screen is just strictly a backup for like picking up a phone call that's it so far using this exterior display it's just a bit depressing like it works and as you can see this game is totally developed for a smartphone experience it's a bit depressing you know that you have this enormous screen on the inside you could do other things on it but I don't recommend it just pop it open it takes two seconds yes there's the option with portrait style games to go onto the outside display and play them in a more typical smartphone fashion but I do not recommend it another example of that is this game down well which I find to be kind of terrible on the the full display mean it works it's developed more for a narrow a narrow display and you don't really benefit from the extended display now I should get into the couple of examples where this thing's amazing table G is a game where I feel like it's beginning to take advantage of the extra real estate this is a game which is a shooting game you have on-screen controls which take up space now on a typical smartphone the whole experience is pretty cramped this is the opposite experience this is like a tablet experience but the benefit is it doesn't have the weight of a tablet this thing is so much lighter than a typical tablet you feel like you have a real advantage over someone who's playing just on a regular smartphone and the same thing actually goes for the left thumbstick you just have more room to roam around without interfering with what you see like I said that's the perfect example the extra real estate and what that means for you within the game whether you're launching the map and trying to look at precise stuff or you when I targeted that guy earlier and I had the crosshairs I was looking down the crosshairs and he's a tiny little speck so having it scaled up does there's it there's an actual value in that so when you're thinking about picking this up as a gaming device I think it's important to think about which game you like to play and then you'll know whether there's gonna be an improvement this one looks amazing so this is CSR and this one is really showcasing the hardware better it presents interesting opportunities as well for game developers to think about these formats differently like what mobile gaming has to be if you're not confined to the typical smartphone form-factor dudes he's gaining it's another one that I feel like benefits from the bigger display because it just looks good it's just more to look at I'll do Samba ville here so this is a side-scrolling type of game I mean you move up and down a little bit but it's very arkady what's the benefit me are you really gonna be that much better at it it's just more room to roll them around it just looks a bit better it looks good very colorful so this is like a forward moving swipe kind of situation jump swipe oh that's a duck by the way now these type of games I do feel like are better on a bigger display as well because you can have more deliberate swipe movements ma just looks cooler as well and you can see Yumi you just see more obviously so what have we learned here well yeah I mean this thing is a powerhouse it's not gonna have a problem with any mobile gaming graphics that are out there whatever it is that you want to play but some games I think you're actually gonna have an advantage on here games like pop G whereas others actually don't work as well like down well for example or possibly Mario run so it does depend what type of games you're into you do have the external display if you want to play a one-handed kind of casual game the type of games I would want to play they're all better when utilizing the extended the bigger display that the fold gives you it doesn't get too hot not overwhelmingly and it gives you kind of a tablet like gaming experience without the bezels you would typically have on a tablet or the weight that you would typically have with the tablet so you get the bigger display without those downsides and then at the end of it you can of course just pop it in the pocket so gaming as expected it's good on the fold I think you'll be happy with it but single handed vertical games might not work so well so keep that in mindso of course it's all about this galaxy fold still I mean I haven't been this interested in a smartphone for a very long time as I'm sure you can tell there's so many changes to the day to day adjustments that you make as a user and of course the questions they're all flowing in I covered a couple of those things in the previous video in which I compared this galaxy fold to the other flagship devices comparing you tube multi-window multi-application Instagram Facebook and whatnot so if you're interested in that go check out that video but this video exists to address a very specific question gaming what about gaming on this phone you have this gigantic display now you would think it would work really well for gaming where my skepticism came in in the early stages was around the types of games that exist for mobile they're designed with a smartphone form factor in mind something like this and then so typically the controller layouts the experience pretty much the whole thing is developed around that form factor so I was like let's see what's happening in games let's play a few games what's better what's worse and so forth maybe we should kick it off with Mario run look at that okay so Mario run is an interesting one because it's a portrait game and then the other thing is like is the screen really being taken advantage of does the game get any better having more displayed in some games yes other games maybe less sold in this game for example you kind of just end up with more sky like a lot of it now some people love this game some people hate this game it's an homage to the original but it's definitely not a replacement for the original and it's just the kind of game that requires very little input from you so many games are developed for foreplay on tiny little screens so the interaction is limited by the hardware I'd say this is an example of a game that doesn't really benefit that much from the bigger display and maybe you could argue that ru is worse on the big display beyond the fact that it looks great the overall experience of that game is tuned for a smartphone slender portrait display more so than this unusual form factor in my opinion now this next game I'm gonna say is the opposite Altos adventure kind of snowboarding down this hill and you jump over some rocks and you chase these these creatures these llamas I just hit a rock there because it's so bright in here these things here you can grind there you go see this game I feel like benefits a lot of games that work in landscape mode I think benefit because it sets your hands further apart but it frees up all this extra space here so if you sign this game for example to Hill it's kind of coming from here you just would see a lot less of where you're coming from and where you're going now there's other games you can say for example you know a tower defense game for example like this you just have more room to maneuver and to look at what you're doing I'd say it improves the experience quite a bit it's like playing it on a tablet so tower defense games I think are bonus you could still play on the exterior display maybe I should do that real quick I don't know if anyone would actually do this you could play this game here with one hand so far having used this device I just hate using this like I don't want to use this screen this screen is just strictly a backup for like picking up a phone call that's it so far using this exterior display it's just a bit depressing like it works and as you can see this game is totally developed for a smartphone experience it's a bit depressing you know that you have this enormous screen on the inside you could do other things on it but I don't recommend it just pop it open it takes two seconds yes there's the option with portrait style games to go onto the outside display and play them in a more typical smartphone fashion but I do not recommend it another example of that is this game down well which I find to be kind of terrible on the the full display mean it works it's developed more for a narrow a narrow display and you don't really benefit from the extended display now I should get into the couple of examples where this thing's amazing table G is a game where I feel like it's beginning to take advantage of the extra real estate this is a game which is a shooting game you have on-screen controls which take up space now on a typical smartphone the whole experience is pretty cramped this is the opposite experience this is like a tablet experience but the benefit is it doesn't have the weight of a tablet this thing is so much lighter than a typical tablet you feel like you have a real advantage over someone who's playing just on a regular smartphone and the same thing actually goes for the left thumbstick you just have more room to roam around without interfering with what you see like I said that's the perfect example the extra real estate and what that means for you within the game whether you're launching the map and trying to look at precise stuff or you when I targeted that guy earlier and I had the crosshairs I was looking down the crosshairs and he's a tiny little speck so having it scaled up does there's it there's an actual value in that so when you're thinking about picking this up as a gaming device I think it's important to think about which game you like to play and then you'll know whether there's gonna be an improvement this one looks amazing so this is CSR and this one is really showcasing the hardware better it presents interesting opportunities as well for game developers to think about these formats differently like what mobile gaming has to be if you're not confined to the typical smartphone form-factor dudes he's gaining it's another one that I feel like benefits from the bigger display because it just looks good it's just more to look at I'll do Samba ville here so this is a side-scrolling type of game I mean you move up and down a little bit but it's very arkady what's the benefit me are you really gonna be that much better at it it's just more room to roll them around it just looks a bit better it looks good very colorful so this is like a forward moving swipe kind of situation jump swipe oh that's a duck by the way now these type of games I do feel like are better on a bigger display as well because you can have more deliberate swipe movements ma just looks cooler as well and you can see Yumi you just see more obviously so what have we learned here well yeah I mean this thing is a powerhouse it's not gonna have a problem with any mobile gaming graphics that are out there whatever it is that you want to play but some games I think you're actually gonna have an advantage on here games like pop G whereas others actually don't work as well like down well for example or possibly Mario run so it does depend what type of games you're into you do have the external display if you want to play a one-handed kind of casual game the type of games I would want to play they're all better when utilizing the extended the bigger display that the fold gives you it doesn't get too hot not overwhelmingly and it gives you kind of a tablet like gaming experience without the bezels you would typically have on a tablet or the weight that you would typically have with the tablet so you get the bigger display without those downsides and then at the end of it you can of course just pop it in the pocket so gaming as expected it's good on the fold I think you'll be happy with it but single handed vertical games might not work so well so keep that in mind\n"