Specs, features, availability, and more
Update, May 27, 2019 (4:28AM ET): The BlackShark 2 is now available in India as well. Exclusive to Flipkart, the phone goes on sale starting June 4, 2019.
The two variants are priced at 39,999 rupees (~$575) for the 6GB RAM/128GB storage version while the variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage will cost 49,999 rupees (~$720).
The Black Shark 2 India launch also comes just over a month after the gaming phone landed in the U.K. Users in this market can expect to pay 479 pounds (~$627) for the 8GB/128GB model, and 559 pounds (~$731) for the 12GB/256GB variant.
In terms of design, the Black Shark 2 doesn’t separate itself from its predecessors all that much. That means it has a rear panel with aggressive angles and RGB for the Black Shark logo and side strips.
Elsewhere, the Black Shark 2 features a 6.39-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ (2,340 x 1,080) resolution and an in-display fingerprint sensor. Xiaomi claims that the display features the world’s lowest phone display latency of 43.5ms. A higher latency makes gameplay feel sluggish and unresponsive, though we’re not sure how much smartphone gamers will care about something like that.
The Black Shark 2 gaming phone removes the headphone jack, but Black Sharks states future products will include it.
Flanking the display on the top and bottom are stereo speakers, with a 20-megapixel camera also found around front. Around back are a 48MP camera and a second 12MP telephoto camera.
Under the hood are the more significant changes, starting with the cooling system. For the Black Shark 2, Xiaomi uses dual-layered vapor chambers — the top is used during gameplay, while the bottom is used when you’re charging the phone and playing games at the same time.
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The Black Shark 2 also features a 4,000mAh battery that supports 27W fast charging through the USB-C port. According to Xiaomi, that means 30 minutes of gameplay with a five-minute charge and one hour of gameplay with a 10-minute charge.
The RAM and storage options allow for four variants — 6GB/128GB for 3,199 yuan (~$476), 8GB/128GB for 3,499 yuan (~$521), 8GB/256GB for 3,799 yuan (~$566), and 12GB/256GB for 4,199 yuan (~$626). All four variants are now available for pre-order in China. The BlackShark 2 is available in Europe as well with prices ranging between 479 and 559 pounds (~$609 and $711) for the two variants. The phone goes on sale in India starting June 4, 2019, and is priced between 39,999 rupees (~$575) and 49,999 rupees (~$720).
What’s your take on gaming phones? Is there any merit in going for dedicated gaming-centric hardware or are regular high-end phones good enough?
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