ASUS has recently updated its gaming phone lineup with the global launch of the ROG Phone 3 and ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition. Nubia also launched the Red Magic 5S late last month as a minor upgrade over the Red Magic 5G.

Now, it’s Xiaomi‘s turn to update its Black Shark lineup. The company has debuted the Black Shark 3S in China to keep up with the competition, which added the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel.

The Black Shark 3S will be available from August 4 in China and has been priced as follows:

• 12GB/128GB: ¥3,999 (around P28,170 or $573)
• 12GB/256GB: ¥4,299 (P30,283 or $616)
• 12GB/512GB: ¥4,799 (P33,805 or $688)

The Black Shark 3S is very much the same as its predecessor, the Black Shark 3 from earlier this year, except when it comes to the screen. The phone has been upgraded with a 6.67-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate compared with the previous model’s 90Hz display. It’s still not as fast as the 144Hz panels on the ASUS ROG Phone 3, Lenovo Legion Phone Duel, and Nubia Red Magic 5S, but at least the 270Hz touch-sampling rate is top-notch.

The other components remain largely untouched, meaning you still get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 as opposed to a Snapdragon 865 Plus. The storage gets the faster UFS 3.1 standard and goes up to 512GB, while the LPDDR5 RAM is now locked to 12GB. The fast-charging 4,720mAh battery and camera setup remain the same.

However, the software runs Black Shark’s Joy UI 12 based on Android 10. It includes several improvements to the 3D touch controls and touch-sensitive shoulder buttons on the device.

SEE ALSO: Black Shark 3, Black Shark 3 Pro priced in the Philippines

You also get Black Shark Moment 3.0 for game recording and editing on the go, as well as a low-latency wireless screencasting feature that lets you cast the phone’s screen on a TV or monitor with a delay of just 40ms.

If you’re interested to see how the Black Shark 3S compares with the previous model, check out the specs rundown below. Again, spoiler alert: They’re not that different.

Black Shark 3S specs

• 6.67-inch AMOLED display, 2,400 x 1,080 pixel resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 270Hz touch-sampling rate, HDR10+
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor
• Adreno 650 GPU
• 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 128GB/256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage
• Triple rear cameras: 64-megapixel main (f/1.8) + 13-megapixel ultra-wide (f/2.25) + 5-megapixel depth
• 20-megapixel front camera
• Wi-Fi 6
• 5G support
• Headphone jack
• Voice-control feature for compatible games
• 4,720mAh battery with support for 65-watt fast wired charging, 38 minutes from 0% to 100%
• Android 10-based Joy UI 12
• Colors: Skyfall Black and Crystal Blue

Black Shark 3 specs

• 6.67-inch AMOLED display, 2,400 x 1,080 pixel resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh rate, 270Hz touch-sampling rate, HDR10+
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor
• Adreno 650 GPU
• 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0 storage
• Triple rear cameras: 64-megapixel main (f/1.8) + 13-megapixel ultra-wide (f/2.25) + 5-megapixel depth
• 20-megapixel front camera
• Wi-Fi 6
• 5G support
• Headphone jack
• Voice-control feature for compatible games
• 4,720mAh battery with support for 65-watt fast wired charging, 38 minutes from 0% to 100%
• Android 10-based Joy UI 11
• Colors: Lightning Black, Armor Gray, Star Silver, and Bright Pink

Images via Weibo

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