Xiaomi launched its gaming smartphone subrand today with the Black Shark coming to lead the charge. It is an entirely new device with customized hardware to bring out the best gaming performance out of a handset, including a new type of cooling system, new ISP, the latest Snapdragon 845 and a massive 4,000 mAh battery.
Gaming phone needs to have the best of the best in terms of specifications, even just to future proof itself given that phone hardware is at the stage where it is constantly evolving and changing. Anything less than the Snapdragon 845 powering this device would have left it dead on arrival. With the Adreno 630 GPU on board, it’s currently the best solution for high-performance mobile gaming — hopefully, the Black Shark’s thermal envelope will allow Qualcomm’s latest chipset to shine. In terms of RAM and storage, there are two options: you can get the device with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of UFS 2.1 storage, or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage.
Xiaomi also announced a controller dock for the Black Shark gaming smartphone. The controller comes with a joystick and a trigger button, and can be connected to the handset. This controller has been priced at CNY 179 (roughly Rs. 1,900). Also, the smartphone is equipped with a multi-stage direct-touch integrated liquid cooling system to prevent the handset from overheating. The company is also touting the presence of an X-type antenna, ensuring connectivity whether held in landscape or portrait and avoiding the ‘grip of death’.
The Black Shark Gaming Phone is already available for pre-order and it will start shipping on the 20th of April, though it is currently unknown if the device will see a western launch.
