Why Xiaomi's gaming phone Black Shark is likely to 'rip apart' Razer Phone
Despite great advances in silicon technology and smartphones becoming more powerful than ever, the tech industry has still failed to create a device that makes gaming on the mobile platform a seriously enjoyable experience. Last year, a smartphone was conceptualised and designed by Razer - a brand known for its gaming peripherals and laptops - with gaming and only gaming in mind.
However, this gaming-focused device despite its top-of-the-line-specs and Nextbit Robin-inspired design that ended up making it a well-rounded smartphone too, did not really live up to the promise of ushering in a new era for mobile gaming.
In 2018, that burden looks to have been taken on by Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, which has decided to jump into the fray with its very own gaming-centric smartphone to woo users from across the globe.
The Black Shark
At an event in its home country, Xiaomi launched its first gaming phone under its new sub-brand, Black Shark – a Chinese gaming company that Xiaomi recently invested in. The first device - Black Shark phone - comes with custom hardware tweaked to improve gaming performance on the handset.
Xiaomi has also announced a special controller with the device, called the Black Shark gamepad, which Xiaomi will bundle for free with the first 50,000 devices it sells. The gamepad connects to the phone via Bluetooth and comes with its own rechargeable 340mAh battery, and features a single joystick which can be used for movement in mobile games.
Xiaomi claims that this gamepad can run for about 3.5 hours on a single charge and can sit on standby for about 30 hours.
With the Black Shark phone, Xiaomi is making a pitch to those buyers looking to play heavy duty games that until some time ago were only playable on full-fledged PCs and consoles. Reports suggest the company will also release accessories and e-sports smartphones in the future, and we’re guessing that most of their products in the coming months will be focused on the newly announced handset.
Specifications and design
Coming to the specs, the smartphone brings with it a 5.99 inch Full HD+ panel with a 2160x1080p resolution. The screen thus follows the trend and uses a tall 18:9 aspect ratio display. The phone's body is made out of metal, which is unlike anything you'd find in the market as it has been created with gaming in mind. There is a distinct pattern at the back which is designed to provide the user with more grip than usual smartphones.
Apart from the usual power/lock, volume up and volume down keys, the Black Shark also has a physical key on the left-hand side of the device, called the "SHARK" key that activates high-performance mode for gaming.
Under the display is a 2.8 GHz octa-core Snapdragon 845 paired with LPDDR4 6GB/8GB RAM versions with internal storage of either 64GB or 128GB which sadly is not expandable using a MicroSD.
For taking care of heavy duty games, the phone also has an Adreno 630 GPU. Instead of normal air cooling, the internals of this gaming phone are cooled using a liquid cooling system which Xiaomi claims helps keep the internals of the phone, mainly its SoC, cool by as much as 8 degrees.
There is a 4,000mAh non-removable battery to power the phone which also supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging.
In terms of the camera, the phone sports a dual-rear camera setup with 12-Megapixel+20-Megapixel lenses with f/1.75 aperture and a dual-LED flash. At the front, the phone features a 20 megapixel front camera with an aperture rate of f/2.2. The cameras on the phone can shoot 4K video at 30fps, and also support Xiaomi's "Smart Beauty" feature to click better-looking selfies.
Comparisons with the Razer Phone
Like its gaming-centric laptops, the Razer Phone brings to the table specs to handle everything you throw at it. The chipset on board is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 which comes with an Adreno 540 GPU paired with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. To power all this, the phone has a 4,000mAh battery with QuickCharge 4.0+ technology neatly tucked inside the boxy frame of the Razer Phone.
Compare this to the Black Shark and one thing is clear that the Snapdragon 845-powered phone has to be quite a bit faster and more efficient than last year’s Razer Phone. However, the phone falters when it comes to the display. The Razer phone brings with it a superfast 5.72-inch 120Hz quad HD display, that should totally blow the Black Shark's Full HD+ panel out of the water in terms of detail and refresh rate.
But then there's the price too to consider. The Black Shark has been priced at RMB 2,999 ( approx Rs 31,000) and RMB 3,499 (approx Rs 36,000) in the Chinese market. The Razer Phone, on the other hand, is slightly more expensive at $699 (approx Rs 45,000).
There is no denying that both the devices are good options for gaming. The Razer Phone is a device that is surprisingly well-rounded and recommended for your average user as it is for your next-door gamer.
However, Xiaomi's Black Shark, with its liquid cooling, internals and the ecosystem that Xiaomi's trying to build around it, can give you the best possible gaming experience on the Android platform for now.