iPhone 6s vs Nexus 5X vs Nexus 6P - which is the best for gaming?

Apple and Google have laid their cards on the table and we now know every little detail about their flagship 2015 devices.

But we're not going to talk about the iPad Pro, Mini 4, Pixel C, Apple TV, or either of the Chromecasts here. We're here to talk about phones.

And no, we won't get too bogged down in tech - this is Pocket Gamer after all. We'll be giving you our two cents about which you should go for if you want to play some good old mobile games.

So forget about your iPhone and Nexus 6s. They're done. And let's take a look at which of the iPhone 6s, Nexus 5X, or Nexus 6P is the best for gaming.

iPhone 6s

The iPhone 6s looks exactly the same as the iPhone 6. But the similarities end there.

First of all, the 6s is powered by the 64-bit A9 chip which is a staggering 70 percent faster for general tasks and 90 percent faster for gaming than the A8 found in the original 6.

Then you have support for 4G LTE Advanced and faster Wi-Fi which allows you to browse the internet or download games twice as fast as you would have on the iPhone 6.

Speed seems to be the name of the game here then. Well, it certainly is a big part of the appeal but there's an even more important buzzword you need to learn, and that's 3D Touch.

3D Touch is, all puns aside, a game changer. The display on your iPhone 6s senses how deeply you press it, completely opening up new control options for games.

The Nexus 6P is the successor to 2014's Nexus 6, which represented Google's first foray into the land of phablets.

The screen is slightly smaller at 5.7inches (the original 6 was 5.96 inches) but the resolution remains at 2560 x 1440 so you're actually getting a crisper display thanks to a pixel density of 515ppi versus 493ppi of the Nexus 6.

Meanwhile, in the performance department the 32-bit Snapdragon 805 is making way for the 64-bit 810 which will probably mean nothing to most people. It offers about a 30 percent boost in performance, basically.

There's also a 128GB version this time around which means even more games, and the battery has a larger capacity so will survive much longer sessions.

Oh, and there's 3GB of RAM involved this time around so you can play loads of games at once without your phone getting upset. Or crashing.

Nexus 5X

The Nexus 5X is a return to its roots for Google. It's once again developed by LG, the manufacturer responsible for the fan favourites Nexus 4 and 5 and, once again, offers top specifications and build quality at a budget price.

Now, it does feel kind of unfair to include the 5X on this list because it's not going to compete with either the 6s or the 6P specifications. However, as a budget offering it most certainly has its place.

The screen is 5.2 inches, which is bang in the middle of the 4.7 inch iPhone 6s and the 5.7 inch Nexus 6P, and has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. That's 423 ppi.

Performance-wise, things are a little underwhelming. It houses the Snapdragon 808 which offers around a 15%-20% drop in performance from the Nexus 6, and an even larger drop from the 6P.

Where the Nexus 5X really shines though is in its price, which is almost half that of the iPhone 6s for the 16gb version.

In case you haven't already figured it out, there is a clear winner here - the iPhone 6s. It houses the incredibly powerful A9 chip, much improved download capabilities, and, most importantly, 3D Touch.

3D Touch alone is such a serious game changer that it could likely have carried the iPhone 6s to victory without all the extra trimmings. New control schemes will pop up and this could finally signal the death of crappy virtual controls.

But, and there is a but, that doesn't mean that the Nexus 6P and 5X don't have their places. The 5X, for example, will set you back £339 / $379 at base level, which is almost half the price of the iPhone 6s at £539 / $649. So if you're looking for a budget option with comparable specs, look no further.

On the other hand, if iOS really isn't your thing, or you prefer the Android experience, the Nexus 6P is a solid alternative at £449 / $499 and still considerably cheaper than the iPhone 6s.

While you won't have 3D Touch, the Snapdragon 810 will offer a comparable experience and you'll have a larger and crisper screen to play with.