The Kashmir Monitor
Xiaomi-backed brand Black Shark has launched yet another smartphone – Black Shark Helo (aka Black Shark 2) – in China on Tuesday.
The latest gaming handset has arrived as a successor to the Xiaomi Black Shark that was released in April this year. The Xiaomi Black Shark Helo aka Black Shark 2 will take on rivals such as the Razer Phone 2, which was launched earlier this month. The handset comes with several gaming-focussed features and minor upgrades from its previous version. Notably, the Black Shark Helo comes in three RAM variants and a bigger display. The smartphone will be sold in its home country and there is no information on whether it will be unveiled globally.
The Xiaomi Black Shark is equipped with a new liquid cooling system that leverages double heat pipe partition to prevent the handset from overheating. The company is also touting the presence of an X+1 antenna, ensuring better connectivity. It also comes with front stereo speakers. The other key highlights of the handset include up to 10GB of RAM, 6.01-inch display, Snapdragon 845 SoC, independent image processing chip, and more. Xiaomi also announced a controller dock for the Black Shark Helo, called as Black Shark Biplane Handle. The controller comes with a joystick and other buttons, and can be connected to the handset. The 6GB and 8GB RAM variants will ship with a Biplane Handle for the left side and the 10GB RAM model will get one on both the sides.
Xiaomi Black Shark Helo price
The Xiaomi Black Shark has been announced at a starting price of CNY 3,199 (roughly Rs. 34,100) in China. This price is for the 6GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant. Meanwhile, for the 8GB+128GB variant, you will have to pay CNY 3,499 (roughly Rs. 37,000). The premium 10GB RAM/ 256GB storage model comes with a price tag of CNY 4199 (roughly Rs. 44,500). Notably, the smartphone will ship in only one Black colour variant. It is available for pre-order via the Xiaomi China site and will go on sale starting October 30.
Xiaomi Black Shark Helo specifications
The dual-SIM (Nano) Xiaomi Black Shark sports a 6.01-inch (1080×2160 pixels) display with 18:9 aspect ratio, PPI of 402 pixels per inch. There is also a 101.3 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut ratio. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with Adreno 630 GPU and three different RAM and storage variants. It comes in 6GB, 8GB, and 10GB RAM models.
In terms of optics, the Xiaomi Black Shark features the same set of cameras as the ones present in the previous version. It has a dual-rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 20-megapixel secondary sensor, both with f/1.75 aperture and LED flash. It has a front camera with a 20-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture.
The Xiaomi Black Shark phone comes in 128GB and 256GB inbuilt storage variants. Also, the smartphone packs a 4000mAh battery and comes with Quick Charge 3.0 support. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, AGPS, Glonass, aptX and aptX HD support. Sensors onboard are ambient light sensor, geomagnetic sensor, gravity sensor, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. The phone measures 160×75.25×8.7mm and weighs 190 grams.
