Xiaomi's mobile gaming section, Black Shark, has finally launched on the market two new phones specifically designed for gaming: this is the third generation of the series and the first to showcase the 5G protocol, along with some very interesting accessories. For the moment the products in question are available only and exclusively for the Chinese market but, in case you intend to order them, you will be able to acquire a Black Shark 3, Black Shark 3 Pro and / or Ophidian Bluetooth soon enough, always assuming that the Coronavirus emergency does not make everything slower.
Both phones offer apparently very similar features, although the Black Shark 3 Pro prevails over Black Shark 3 in certain categories which prove to be quite fundamental. The Black Shark 3 it is a device that definitely does not shine, equipped with dated ram technology and a lower power controller. For a device that aims to be gaming-oriented, having a ram not up to par and a poorly performing power system is certainly a deterrent not just.
Both devices are equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (obviously with 5G support), 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM. The 128GB drive of the Black Shark 3 is LPDDR4X while the units assigned to the Black Shark 3 Pro they are all LPDDR5 - 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.0 memory e double batteries connected in series to support charging speeds up to 65 watts (for the base Black Shark 3 model, that top speed is 30 watts). These batteries discharge simultaneously, a practice that can reduce wear and extend their useful life. In addition to cables USB-C, users also have the ability to magnetically charge the device with some accessories. Black Shark also has a partnership with Tencent Games to optimize games and specific software for its phones.
Black Shark says these gaming-oriented phones are the "first in the world" to have 5G technology.
The general characteristics of the two devices are as follows: RGB led, liquid cooling with copper piping covering both sides of the processing stack (sandwich cooling), low signal latency with the latest technologies and Wi-Fi, as well as perpendicular antenna layout, more immediate and nuanced user experiences with display interpolation interpreted by artificial intelligence that can increase the content of 25 FPS up to 90 FPS, touch sampling a 270 Hz for latency up to 24 ms, improved acquisition for pressure sensitive functions of Master Touch, mappable inputs, dorsal touchpads and, exclusively for 3 Pro, a tactile motor on the x-axis.
Also, after an absence last year, the headphone jack come back up both phones third generation. As for the backbones, the manufacturer ensures a duration equal to 1 million clicks and input lag close to zero. By comparing the data sheets of both devices, the differences emerge markedly:
Technical Specifications Black Shark 3
| Screen | 6.67 "20: 9 1080p AMOLED, 105% DCI-P3 gamut |
| Battery | 2cell 4,720mAh w / - 30W (8GB RAM) or 65W (12GB RAM) charging, Quick Charge 4+ support |
| Colors | Faerie Pink, Midnight Black, Knight Gray, Frozen Silver |
| Connectivity | 5G, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6, USB-C |
| Sizes | 168.7 x 77.3 x 10.4mm / 222g |
| Front Camera | 20MP f / 2.2 |
| Rear Camera | 64MP f / 1.8 wide, 13MP f / 2.25 ultrawide, 5MP f / 2.2 depth |
| Headphone Jack | SI |
| Memory | 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.0 |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR4X or 12GB LPDDR5 |
| Operating system | Android |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
Technical Specifications Black Shark 3 Pro
| Screen | 7.1 "19.5: 9 1440p AMOLED, 97% DCI-P3 gamut |
| Battery | 2 cells 5,000mAh w / up to 65W charging, Quick Charge 4+ |
| Colors | Knight Gray, Blasting Black |
| Connectivity | 5G, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 6, USB-C |
| Sizes | 177.8 x 83.3 x 10.1mm / 253g |
| Front Camera | 20MP f / 2.2 |
| Rear Camera | 64MP f / 1.8 wide, 13MP f / 2.25 ultrawide, 5MP f / 2.2 depth |
| Headphone Jack | SI |
| Memory | 256GB UFS 3.0 |
| RAM | 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 |
| Operating system | Android |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
In mainland China, pre-sales for the Black Shark 3 started with a starting price of 3499 yuan (502 dollars). The Black Shark 3 Pro will be available for booking from 10 March for at least 4699 yuan (675 dollars) but the final price in USD will be announced when these phones become available globally in the near future. On the accessories front, Black Shark is launching a pair of earbuds Ophidian Bluetooth headband-based through indiegogo, where customers from anywhere in the world can pre-order them for themselves dollars 69 (if you are among them, hurry up as they are quickly sold out).
These earphones Bluetooth 5 they are protected with a degree of protection IPX4 and are equipped with drivers for balancing Knowles, including a 10 mm in each support. Latency is suns 50 ms. At the level of autonomy, they have the ability to last up to 14 hours along with charging USB-C. Of course, the earphones are also equipped with lighting RGB.
Observing the technical characteristics of the two new terminals presented by Black Shark, the questions are many and the perplexities even more: if Black Shark was making its debut in the extremely hard-fought segment of high-performance smartphones, it would tend to turn a blind eye and maybe even two, but we are talking about a company that, although born as a Xiaomi section dedicated to this type of device, is arrived at the third generation by offering a product that, in many ways, is even inferior toAsus Rog Phone 2, smartphone that hit the shelves practically a year ago. What is the sense of investing huge resources in research and development, if the result is an old product even before it comes out? The hope is that at least they have significantly improved customer support, which is really problematic with older devices. The display size of the Pro version, of 7,1 ”is very large for a smartphone and is very close to the tablet segment.
