Level up your gaming with O2's game-changing Switch Up

For years now, the lines between PC gaming and mobile gaming have been blurring. Whether you're playing native mobile games with increasingly jaw-dropping graphics or streaming triple-A games from the cloud or your home PC, the technical prowess of games on the small screen is evolving, and you need a phone that will evolve with it. 

With O2 Switch Up, you can make sure that you always have the best phone and best conditions for gaming right at your fingertips. This feature, available to O2 customers on a Plus Plan (or to custom plan customers for a small monthly fee), lets you upgrade your phone as many times as you like with no extra charges. Essentially, you get to hop over to a new contract, send your old phone back to O2 (which will then be resold as a refurbished model), and carry on with your brand-new phone like nothing happened! 

Whether you're a gamer, a hobby photographer, or someone who needs the internet here, fast, now on your device, there are many variables to consider when picking a new phone.

Is image fidelity the priority for you? Then when doing your Switch Up, look for a phone with a crisp AMOLED display, which will make black colours on your screen as deep as the cosmic void–perfect for horror gaming under the covers.

If you're signed up to cloud gaming services like GeForce Now, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which contains cloud gaming), or Google Stadia, then you can take full advantage of them with a phone that supports 5G–the mobile internet protocol that's so fast it's led to a mass exodus of traditional home broadband users. With 5G and a cloud gaming subscription, you'll be able to stream heavy-hitting triple-A PC games straight to your phone even when you're on the go.

If you're streaming in your home from your own gaming PC (using an app like Steam Link or Moonlight), then keep an eye out for phones with high 120Hz, 144Hz, or even higher refresh rates so that those searingly high frame rates make it over from your rig to your phone. Or maybe you just want something as simple as a beefy battery to sustain you through those hours-long gaming sessions, in which case look for a device that has a 5000mAh battery or upwards.

Of course, there are plenty of other things to think about with a smartphone - from a powerful CPU for multitasking to storage capacity capable of holding all your photos, videos, and games - so head into an O2 store and the staff will be on hand to make sure that whatever phone you Switch Up to is the right one for you.

What you need to know about O2 Switch Up

• O2 Switch Up is included with a Plus Plan, but you can add it as a Bolt On to any new Custom Plans for a small fee (£3.99) within 14 days of the start of your contract.
• The phone you're returning needs to be in good condition.
• Switch Up isn't available on SIM-only plans. Contract customers only!

If you want to know more, head over to the official O2 Switch Up page, or just go to any O2 store to see what they have available. If you're already on a Switch Up plan, you can swap your old phone out for a new one right there and then, and the good thing about doing it all in-store is that you get to physically get a feel for what you want. O2 understands that your phone is a vital life and gaming companion, so they'll help you choose wisely.