Xiaomi Black Shark - A smartphone for players

Hardware

Xiaomi Black Shark certainly does not have conservative hardware. We have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa core 2.8 GHz processor with Adreno 630 GPU and another PixelWorks processor dedicated to improving graphics performance in games. Then we have 6 GB of RAM (even if there is a variant of 8) and a non-expandable 64 GB internal memory. On this point, considering the weight of the games, maybe you could do something more. Good connectivity: LTE gigabit (even without band 20), Wi-Fi dual band, Bluetooth 5.0 and dual SIM support. But it is a real smartphone for the Chinese market and in this sense we have some shortcomings, such as the aforementioned band 20 LTE, the NFC and, like other recent smartphones, the 3.5 mm audio jack. A pity, especially in a gaming smartphone. The smartphone is then equipped with two good stereo speakers, a cross-shaped antenna to avoid signal drops while playing and also cooling the liquid. The fingerprint reader is instead positioned on the front and is very quick and precise.

Design

Xiaomi Black Shark has a "gaming" design. This results in very aggressive lines, an X shape on the back, a triangular pattern that thickens and enlarges towards the central part where there is a large "S" that also acts as a green notification LED. All the milling of the metal body are then green and generate very special reflections. In your hand the smartphone is not too often (despite its 9.3 mm thickness) thanks to a slender and tapered design. Everything is perfectly assembled and the physical keys well built and easily reachable.

Camera

Xiaomi Black Shark is equipped with a 12 + 20 megapixel dual camera system. The main camera has a ƒ / 1.75 aperture, while the second camera acts as a 2x optical zoom. The interface is that of Xiaomi with not many additional modes but easy to use and quick to shoot. The focus is not very fast and sometimes made us mistake some shots. Overall the camera did not disappoint, but we did not even find that this compartment is one of the reasons for buying this smartphone. The photos with little light are poorly defined and very noisy, while those with lots of light can show "burned" areas that they could not have been. Overall, the images still have a good definition and a fair color calibration. The videos in 4K are sufficient , but even here we found better smartphones in the same price range. The 20 megapixel ƒ / 2.2 front camera is also discreet. Overall it has not disfigured, as well as videos that records in Full HD.

Display

Xiaomi Black Shark is equipped with a 5.99-inch Full HD + display (2160 x 1080 pixels) in IPS technology. Although it is not an AMOLED, it was a great companion for our gaming sessions. It is not the brightest ever, but has behaved well, with well-calibrated colors and high contrasts. It does not support the always on settings but you can still activate the adaptive display that wakes up when a notification is received.

Battery

Xiaomi Black Shark is equipped with a 4000 mAh battery and the result was truly remarkable, even in the most challenging day with we never managed to finish the battery, despite the gaming sessions. Supported then the Quick Charge Quick Charge 3.0.*

Software

Xiaomi Black Shark is a very particular product in the company panorama. It does not come with MIUI but JoyUI that personalises Android to 8.0 Oreo version. It is an interface of course of Asian mold that occasionally betrays in the English menu sounds some writing in Chinese, but that all in all after a first start up is much more similar to the Android stock interface than to MIUI. There are no great special features, if not a side menu in the home for music and the menu device management in which to lose some 'time to disable the function of smart background and enabling the autostart of the app you want that always work and in any case.

The big news is in the menu dedicated to gaming. By sliding the green physical switch you will enter the Shark Zone where the games will have priority over everything. Incoming calls and notifications will be disabled, as well as, with very few steps you can monitor the work of the CPU / GPU and activate many other specific options for gaming. The performance of the games in this mode is perfect and we have never seen a single frame miss out on challenging games like PUBG Mobile. Then there is a menu related to the game statistics and the ability to decide the limits of the game or a parental control mode, so as not to risk spending too much time immersed in video games.

Then there is the physical controller to be purchased separately (free on Honorbuy) that connects on the side of the smartphone (after putting the bumper in plastic) and that allows you to have some physical checks. The overall user experience was not very satisfying, partly due to the layout of the keys and partly due to the absence of a counterpart from the opposite side. Connects via Bluetooth, recharges using USB-C and the keys can be reprogrammed in the individual games. The keys are two backbones and the analog stick.

Price

Since 550$ someone sell higher price someone lower, stay focused on online store!

Data sheet

• Screen: 5.99 "full HD + (1.080 x 2.160 pixels) 18: 9, 97% DCI-P3, 550 nit

• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with GPU Adreno 630

• RAM: 6/8 LPDDR4x

• Internal memory: 64/128 GB UFS 2.1 (not expandable)

• Rear camera: 12 megapixel, f / 1.75, 1.25μm pixel size + 20 megapixel f / 1.75, 1μm pixel size, and dual-tone LED flash

• Front camera: 20 megapixel, f / 2.2, 1μm pixel size

• Connectivity: dual SIM (nano + nano), LTE (no band 20), Wi-Fi 802.11ac dual-band (2.4 / 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS / * GLONASS / Beidou, USB Type-C

• Dimensions: 161.6 × 75.4 x 9.25 mm

• Weight: 190 grams

• Battery: 4,000 mAh with Quick Charge 3.0
  OS: Android 8.1 Oreo