It’s a marginal increase, but that little boost could mean that the Black Shark 4 Pro stays a viable option for gamers that much longer. As far as I can tell, the only thing the 888 has over the newer model is its battery life, but honestly, that feels like splitting hairs. If you do a lot of distance or night shooting, I’d look elsewhere, especially because the phone doesn’t have a MicroSD card slot for additional storage.
- But I’m thinking that the ROG Phone 6 from Asus will arrive soon, powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor.
- The pictures that we took were, for the most part, pretty solid and really good considering the $500 price tag.
- If you’re more focused on the core gaming experience than the specs, the Black Shark 4 Pro is still a tempting option.
- While I’m typically against comparing devices through benchmarks — nothing is more accurate than real-world use — here’s a snapshot of how the Black Shark 4 Pro fares in a sea of similarly priced handsets.
The gaming phone was first announced in March 2021 and was, at that time, only available in China. Consequently, there are aspects of the phone that have a distinctive 2021 feel to them, but other parts of the phone are enticing enough to attract some users. The OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) is best for slow panning or tilting movements—anything too fast and it came off as very digital. 4K recording is limited to the main camera only; switching to the ultra-wide lens brings the resolution down to 1080p. Introduced with last year‘s model, the magnetic pop-up triggers make their return with the Shark 4. The two top sliders reveal a left and right trigger button which can be custom mapped, via their Shark Center app, to any two A and B points on the screen.
Cirrus Logic is a renowned manufacturer of semiconductors that are widely used in audio. I’ve put a gameplay snippet below, captured in 2400 x 1080p resolution at 30 FPS with a 24 Mbps bitrate.
- You know, the kind of bottle in the sea sent by NASA to communicate with an extraterrestrial civilization to explain to them what humanity is and to show them the location of the Earth?
- As one of the flagship mobile chipset, Snapdragon™ 888 adopts an advanced 5nm EUV process and has a brand-new Cortex X1 large core architecture.
- It’s not the most impressive gaming-focused feature though; that award goes to the magnetic pop-up triggers, found on the right-side of the smartphone (or the top left and right when gaming horizontally).
- A stock ROM higher score on the display and screen segmentation means that the device will have excellent visual quality and provide the user with the best experience for any image or visual activity.
- The Black Shark 4 has addressed the biggest issue with mobile gaming, giving you a more responsive screen as well customizable triggers.
Black Shark website. That’s ahead of the device going on sale in the UK and Europe from 6 May. Nothing has been revealed with regards to a global launch of the Black Shark 4 Pro – that may never materialise. Offers a fresh, fast platform to help you stay connected and productive while you’re on the go.
Xiaomi also includes AI enhancement, as it can determine the scene and adjust the settings on the fly. Obviously this isn’t earth-shattering or anything, but it’s a big vibrant display that is super-responsive and just looks fantastic. From watching YouTube or some shows on HBO Max, to firing up some Xbox Game Pass or Genshin Impact, everything looks crisp and clean. Plus, I don’t have to worry about the accidental touches or the video wrapping over the edges. Around the rest of the phone, you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the phone, placed next to the USB-C charging port. Another nice touch for a phone to include, and something we still are only seeing sporadically in phones.