Xiaomi wants their own Gaming Phone

[WMGroomAK]

In a bid to give Razor a bit of competition (or add more PUBG mobile players I guess)  Xiaomi has announced their plans for a Gaming Smartphone.  This phone will be running a Snapdragon 845 with an Adreno 630 GPU and 8 GB of RAM and using a 5.99-inch IPS display with 97% coverage of DCI-P3 color space a 550 nit brightness.  One of the features I thought sounded unique is that they supposedly have some sort of multi-stage direct contact liquid cooling system, which can supposedly drop CPU temps by 8-degrees C.

 

 

Hot Hardware: https://hothardware.com/news/xiaomi-blackshark-android-gaming-phone-snapdragon-845-8gb-ram-128gb-storage

 

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Xiaomi has taken the wraps off its new Blackshark handset that was teased earlier this week, thereby giving Razer some competition in the Android smartphone gaming space. It's a niche category for sure, though the specs on these devices rival (and in many cases surpass) flagship phones from other manufacturers that are not necessarily aimed at gamers, but boast high-end hardware nonetheless.

 

In this case, the Blackshark does not match the 120Hz refresh that is a standout feature of the Razer Phone's display. However, it does boast a 5.99-inch IPS Pixelworks panel will a Full HD+ resolution and 97 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, and an impressive 550 nits brightness level. Xiaomi is pitching the display as a highlight of the Blackshark, noting that it offers a comprehensive tone-mapping pipeline to render HDR410 videos that are true to the creator's intent.

 

Powering it all is Qualcomm's top-end Snapdragon 845 processor with an Adreno 630 GPU, paired with a generous 8GB of RAM. That combination should give the Blackshark plenty of pep, just as we have seen on a spattering of other phones that run the same system-on-chip (but typically with less RAM). On the storage front, the phone offers up to 128GB of space (minus whatever is needed for the OS and other custom bits)

Techspot: https://www.techspot.com/news/74149-xiaomi-launches-black-shark-compete-razer-phone.html

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A multi-stage direct contact liquid cooling system can keep the Black Shark running in high performance mode for an extended period of time. Upon engagement, the liquid cooling system can bring the CPU temperature down by 8°C.

Xiaomi's Black Shark is available for pre-order today and is expected to ship on April 20. Pricing is set at CNY2,999 and CNY3,499 for the 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB models respectively. Converting to US currency, that is $477 and $557. Black Shark Gamepads will be included free for the first 50,000 customers. After that, they will be sold separately for CNY179 or about $28.

Wonder if this would perform any better than the Liquid Metal mod that Linus did on the Razor Phone...  Also wonder how good the battery life is on this given that they are going with a 4000 mAH. Although the 20 MP front and back facing cameras make for some impressive specs.

[Okjoek]

Gaming? Like as in you can dock it somewhere and use it as a desktop/ laptop form?

[Theguywhobea]

1 minute ago, Okjoek said:

Gaming? Like as in you can dock it somewhere and use it as a desktop/ laptop form?

No, probably as in "you can add this word to your product and automatically sell more"

[WMGroomAK]

2 minutes ago, Okjoek said:

Gaming? Like as in you can dock it somewhere and use it as a desktop/ laptop form?

Not that I've read.  Appears to be more geared towards mobile gaming, especially with more games adding in mobile ports.  Although the first 50,000 pre-orders get a free Gamepad accessory that docks onto the side.

[Snapperx]

1 minute ago, Theguywhobea said:

No, probably as in "you can add this word to your product and automatically sell more"

If their cooling works well then it is a good step forward as phones tend to thermal throttle fast.
But yeah I would rather get a switch and play on that.

[DocSwag]

I must say, the price is impressive considering the specs.

[dizmo]

Apparently ZTE is set to release a gaming phone as well in the coming months. Looks like Razer is setting a new trend. This thing has too much glossy plastic. I had to seen the grey version though, it's definitely nicer. Not my style at all though. At least Razers phone didn't scream "look at me! I game!" 

 

Your title confuses me. They don't want their one gaming phone. They clearly already have it. 

1 hour ago, Okjoek said:

Gaming? Like as in you can dock it somewhere and use it as a desktop/ laptop form?

I don't know why that'd be tied to gaming. Sounds more like a convertable. 

1 hour ago, Snapperx said:

If their cooling works well then it is a good step forward as phones tend to thermal throttle fast.
But yeah I would rather get a switch and play on that.

Kind of a different market than the Switch though

[Mooshi]

I'd rather switch to iPhone than have a "gaming" phone that looks like it was styled after those $20 knock-off mice on Amazon.

[Snapperx]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

Kind of a different market than the Switch though

Well what is the market for "gaming" phones though :D?
Like every Flagship basically performs very well in games despite being "gaming".

[Drak3]

Just now, Snapperx said:

Well what is the market for "gaming" phones though :D?
Like every Flagship basically performs very well in games despite being "gaming".

The Switch isn't a phone...

[Snapperx]

4 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

The Switch isn't a phone...

Oh really? Didn't know that. /s
Still doesn't answer my question on what the market for a "gaming" phone is. As I stated all flagship phones performs very well on games.

[Zodiark1593]

1 hour ago, Mooshi said:

I'd rather switch to iPhone than have a "gaming" phone that looks like it was styled after those $20 knock-off mice on Amazon.

Tbh, the iPhone tends to get decent games first anyway.

[8uhbbhu8]

ha aha hahahaha!!!! *Xiaomi gaming phone* Not if their ram management it as bad as it currently is!

[DrMacintosh]

Gaming phones don’t exist. Especially if they use Snapdragon off the shelf components. 

 

Just adding a bigger battery and coming up with a somewhat over engineered cooling solution doesn’t make it a gaming phone. 

 

You need Graphics performance and if it’s just using generic Snapdragon SoCs then really every phone is a gaming phone isn’t it?

[Zodiark1593]

16 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Gaming phones don’t exist. Especially if they use Snapdragon off the shelf components. 

 

Just adding a bigger battery and coming up with a somewhat over engineered cooling solution doesn’t make it a gaming phone. 

 

You need Graphics performance and if it’s just using generic Snapdragon SoCs then really every phone is a gaming phone isn’t it?

Snapdragons have no shortage of graphics performance. Among SoCs, they're probably only seconded by Apple in this regard (the SD820 walloped the Exynos 8890 in graphics benches, for example). The cpu performance and driver support however, tend to be the points of contention.

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Snapdragons have no shortage of graphics performance. Among SoCs, they're probably only seconded by Apple in this regard (the SD820 walloped the Exynos in graphics benches, for example). The cpu performance and driver support however, tend to be the points of contention.

Yeah but if every device has a SnapDragon SoC what makes this phones graphics performance alluring? With only a 4,000mAh battery and a meh screen what is to stop someone from getting any other old phone with the same specs save for probably having a better everything else   

[Zodiark1593]

4 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Yeah but if every device has a SnapDragon SoC what makes this phones graphics performance alluring? With only a 4,000mAh battery and a meh screen what is to stop someone from getting any other old phone with the same specs save for probably having a better everything else   

By your definition, a TI-80 would be a "gaming calculator" because Doom can be ran on it.

 

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, Zodiark1593 said:

By your definition, a TI-80 would be a "gaming calculator" because Doom can be ran on it.

 

No, I'm saying that if every device has the same flagships SnapDragon SoC what makes a phone "gaming" is only its display and battery life. 

 

I personally do not think gaming phones exist, but if they did they would not be what the Razor Phone and this phone are doing. 

 

They would need massive batteries, 60+Hz displays, ergonomic shapes, stereo speakers, and a custom SoC focused on graphics performance rather than single/multi threaded performance. 

 

The current "gaming phones" dont' really hit those marks making it more compelling imo to just buy a flagship device with the same SoC. 

[Drak3]

15 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Yeah but if every device has a SnapDragon SoC what makes this phones graphics performance alluring? With only a 4,000mAh battery and a meh screen what is to stop someone from getting any other old phone with the same specs save for probably having a better everything else   

Better cooling. The newer SD800 series chips throttle to the point that going from the 820 to the 845 yields slight improvements in gaming when there's a good bit of difference in benchmarks. It's almost like going from 4770K @ stock vs 7700K @ 4.7GHz to 6700K vs 7700K, both at stock, moving from benchmark to real world.

[Zodiark1593]

5 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

No, I'm saying that if every device has the same flagships SnapDragon SoC what makes a phone "gaming" is only its display and battery life. 

 

I personally do not think gaming phones exist, but if they did they would not be what the Razor Phone and this phone are doing. 

 

They would need massive batteries, 60+Hz displays, ergonomic shapes, stereo speakers, and a custom SoC focused on graphics performance rather than single/multi threaded performance. 

 

The current "gaming phones" dont' really hit those marks making it more compelling imo to just buy a flagship device with the same SoC. 

If this thing can maintain full clocks without throttling for some time, the "gaming" bit would be warranted, if barely. Though we'd need to see to believe.

[Blademaster91]

45 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Gaming phones don’t exist. Especially if they use Snapdragon off the shelf components. 

 

Just adding a bigger battery and coming up with a somewhat over engineered cooling solution doesn’t make it a gaming phone. 

 

You need Graphics performance and if it’s just using generic Snapdragon SoCs then really every phone is a gaming phone isn’t it?

So it needs a custom chip to be considered "gaming"? By your logic then you need to have a special gaming branded CPU and GPU to have a "gaming" PC then,lol. I don't see the point of a 120Hz panel in a 5-6" display, if the game isn't running 120fps and it just drains the battery anyway.

The active cooling, 6/8GB ram,and bigger battery make it more for gaming than most phones. This is a really nice phone for the cost with a top end SOC and lots of RAM, i'd just put in a case so I wouldn't have to see the "Razer-like" backing. ITT: people who didn't even look at the article, It  also comes with a gamepad with a battery for extended use.

 

Edited April 14, 2018 by Blademaster91
spelling/grammar

[Drak3]

Just now, Blademaster91 said:

ITT: people who didn't even look at the article, It  also comes with a gamepad with a battery for extended use.

It's free only to the first 50K that buy. If it sells like hot cakes, then people that waited need to buy it separately.

[DrMacintosh]

2 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

So it needs a custom chip to be considered "gaming"? By your logic then you need to have a special gaming branded CPU and GPU to have a "gaming" then,

As far as GPUs are concerned yes. Going for a SoC focused on graphics performance rather than general use would be my main focus in designing a phone for gaming. 

[Blademaster91]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

It's free only to the first 50K that buy. If it sells like hot cakes, then people that waited need to buy it separately.

oops, I missed that part. I'd wait to see how good this phone is, not sure if the gamepad is worth it separately then.

[Drak3]

Just now, Blademaster91 said:

oops, I missed that part. I'd wait to see how good this phone is, not sure if the gamepad is worth it separately then.

I don't think its worthwhile when its free. Something more like the Switch Joycons would probably be better.