Black Shark, the hardware company Xiaomi has invested in, today unveiled a new gaming smartphone at a press event in Beijing, China.
(Update, April 17: Are you based in the Philippines? See Xiaomi-Black Shark gaming phone up for sale in the Philippines.)
Named after the company that developed it, the Black Shark phone is now official after weeks of rumors and build-up. It represents a new opportunity to capture the mobile-gaming niche not many OEMs are tackling. And as the market expands, and game developers bring more quality titles to mobile platforms, the niche is expected to grow.
At the Black Shark gaming-phone launch in China, via the company’s Weibo account
And so, here we are, with the Black Shark following in the footsteps of last year’s Razer Phone.
On the surface, the phone features a rugged exterior sporting green accents and an admittedly cool backlit logo around the back. Additionally, the backing utilizes an X-shaped design to reduce wireless interference and improve handling when holding the unit sideways.
The Black Shark’s backing uses an X-shaped design to reduce wireless interference and improve handling when holding the unit sideways.
The rear panel also gets a dual-camera setup, with 20- and 12-megapixel sensors, f/1.75 aperture, and bigger pixels that allow the system to take in more light with each shot. More light means cleaner, higher-quality pictures. To snap selfies, the Black Shark uses a 20-megapixel camera with AI-assisted and 4K-video-recording features.
Fronting the phone is a 6-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2,160 x 1,080 pixels for an 18:9 aspect ratio. Earlier reports had indicated that the Black Shark would come with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. However, there’s no mention of it launching with the said feature.
The Black Shark gaming phone has a 6-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 2,160 x 1,080 pixels for an 18:9 aspect ratio.
Internally, the Black Shark gaming phone will arrive with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 845 processor, as the company had said in the past. The processor will be paired with as much as 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, depending on how much you opt to pay.
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The base model has 6GB RAM and 64GB storage — which still leaves the Black Shark sitting in a better place than majority of smartphones available today. Regardless of the configuration you go with, all games will run buttery smooth on these things.
It’s also worth noting that a liquid-cooling system is built into the assembly to keep the unit running in tip-top operating condition for a longer period of time without throttling. The sealed battery inside the Black Shark is rated at 4,000mAh and promises up to 5 hours of continuous online gaming.
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Finally, there’s the Bluetooth controller accessory that snaps onto the back of the phone and adds a physical joystick and shoulder buttons to an already impressive array of dedicated gaming features. The controller houses its own battery and will be sold separately.
Price of each Black Shark variant, plus the Bluetooth controller accessory
The 6GB RAM and 64GB storage model of the Black Shark is priced at ¥2,999 (about P24,799 or $478), while the 8GB and 128GB version rings in at ¥3,499 (P28,933 or $557).
The Shark GamePad attachment costs ¥179 (P1,480 or $29). Preorders start today in the company’s native Chinese market. There’s no word at this time if the phone will be sold outside of China. We’re hoping Black Shark changes its mind and maybe release it in markets like the Philippines.
Specs of Xiaomi-backed Black Shark gaming phone
- Fingerprint reader (front-mounted)
- 6-inch LCD display, 2,160 x 1,080 resolution (18:9)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor
- 6GB/8GB RAM
- 64GB/128GB expandable storage
- 20-megapixel + 12-megapixel rear cameras with dual-LED flash
- 20-megapixel front camera
- 4,000mAh battery
- Android 8.0 Oreo
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