The Settings Menu Is Your Best Friend

Most people boot a game, mash through the tutorial, and never open the settings. That's a mistake. The defaults are almost never tuned for your phone or your hands, and five minutes of fiddling can turn a frustrating game into a smooth one.

Start with the frame rate cap. If a game offers 60fps, it looks lovely, but on a long session it heats the phone and chews the battery. Capping at 30 for story-heavy games often makes no real difference to the feel while doubling how long you can play.

Next, the graphics preset. High settings are usually overkill on a small screen. Medium keeps the game cool and still looks sharp when you're holding the phone at arm's length. Particle effects especially are worth turning down.

Then look at the controls. Virtual sticks and buttons can often be resized and repositioned, and the deadzone matters more than people realize. A stick that feels floaty usually just needs a tighter deadzone. Spend a minute here and your aim will thank you.

Finally, kill the notifications you don't want. Games love to nag you back with timers and events. Turn off what annoys you and the game instantly becomes more respectful of your time.