Smartphone Xiaomi Black Shark 2 - advantages and disadvantages

In 2018, Xiaomi launched its first gaming smartphone - Black Shark. Positive customer reviews indicate that manufacturers have managed to create a truly worthwhile product.

Some of the best smartphone manufacturers, despite the high popularity of the model, decided not to stop at the achieved high results. On March 18, 2019, the 2nd model of the line for active games was presented - Black Shark 2. This improved top-end smartphone model will certainly take its place in the ranking of quality devices.

In this article, you will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the novelty, as well as read a detailed description of Black Shark 2.

Smartphone overview

Device package

In addition to the smartphone in the box, you can observe:

• a paperclip to open the tray;
• silicone case that completely repeats the shape of the back of the phone, which eliminates the possibility of discomfort during games;
• gamepad case;
• an adapter, which is necessary due to the lack of a 3.5 mm jack;
• charger that supports fast charging.

Table with the main characteristics of the smartphone

Smartphone design

The novelty can be purchased in blue, black or gray. The body is made of metal and glass. On the back surface there are lines and edges that are highlighted in green, as well as a logo in the form of the letter "S".

On the sides there are LED strips, the color of which can be chosen in the settings.

During the game, the fingers will fall into special recesses, creating a comfortable "grip" of the hand and phone.

The dimensions of the device are 16.36x7.5x0.88 cm, and the weight is 205 g.

Gamepad

To use the game console, you need a special case, which is included in the kit.

To assemble the GamePad 3.0, you need to connect the left and right sides of the joysticks by inserting them into the slots.
The right side is the x, y, a, b buttons, touchpad and 2 buttons at the top. The left side is the joystick and arrow buttons.

Each side of the joystick has its own battery, usb connectors and ports. The phone is connected via Bluetooth. And each side is connected separately.

The controls are comfortable, and the settings can always be changed by pressing the triangle-shaped button on the left side of the game console.

Screen

The Black Shark 2 used an AMOLED display, which features energy-saving properties, thin glass and full viewing angles.

The screen with a diagonal of 6.39 inches is dressed in a thin metal frame. The 100.2 cm2 display has an 81.7% body-to-body ratio and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The resolution is 1080x2340 pixels, and the number of pixels per inch is 403.

For viewing high-quality video and photos, as well as for games, manufacturers used the DCI-P3 color space, which captures 100% of natural light.

The gaming smartphone will please you with no flickering at low screen brightness and a fairly fast response to the touch of your fingers at 43.5 ms.

A useful addition is the Magic Press system. Its presence will allow you to choose personal settings depending on 1 of 6 selected levels of touch strength, for each half of the screen.
While playing, swipe down to access the Game doc panel. With its help, it is easy to set up notifications, turn off or turn on the necessary functions, as well as adjust the touchscreen.

Device unlock

The smartphone has a Qualcomm 3D Sonic Senso fingerprint sensor that is built into the display of the device. The sensor has a high level of recognition, even in the case of dirt or moisture, and a high level of protection, since recognition takes place using a sound wave.

Performance

Reliable, nimble and high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor is what is inside the device. This is an incredibly powerful processor that opens up many possibilities for smartphones, especially gaming ones.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 performs 45% better than its predecessor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845.
A high percentage of performance is possible thanks to the three-cluster architecture, consisting of 8 cores:

• 1 main core clocked at 2.84 GHz;
• 3 cores with a frequency of 2.42 GHz, which have high performance;
• 4 cores clocked at 1.7GHz, energy efficient.

The mobile platform supports 5G networks, the connection speed of which is about 5 Gbps.
Neural Computing Blocks with 4th generation AI Engine, Hexagon 690 processor and GPU, shows high speed of artificial intelligence performance, namely 7 trillion operations per second.

The system resource monitor and process manager will inform you about the processor load and programs running in the background.

Soft

Black Shark 2 runs on Android 9.0 Pie operating system with JOY UI shell, which is optimized for gamers.

Game space Shark Space, will help free up the maximum resources of the smartphone for games. Exiting one game and launching another, given that 1 game will be unloaded from the phone's memory, is easy.To do this, just click on the "Shark Space" button, which is located on the side of the panel.

Autonomy of work and charging

The device has a 4000 mAh lithium-ion battery. This capacity is capable of providing 3-4 hours of continuous gaming with high demands. Of course, with normal use, the charge will last for a longer time.

The device supports 27W fast charging. This means that after spending only 5 minutes on a charge, you can provide half an hour of play.

Cooling system

The new liquid cooling system 3.0 is responsible for protection against overheating.

The system works in 2 directions:

1. Protecting the controller by removing heat from it;
2. Protection of chips and chipsets by surface heat dissipation using a cold plate filled with cold liquid.

Thanks to the cooling system, you can charge your smartphone during the game, eliminating the possibility of overheating.

Gaming smartphone memory

The Black Shark 2 lacks an additional memory card slot. But this is not critical, because depending on the version of the smartphone, the RAM will be 6, 8 or 12 GB, and the internal memory will be 128 or 256 GB.
The provided volume will be enough to store a large amount of information.

There is also support for the HEIF format, which compresses high-resolution content while providing about 50% space savings.

Sound

Surround sound, high-quality sound reproduction and good noise reduction are provided by the Qualcomm Aqstic DAC.

And TrueWireless Stereo Plus and Qualcomm AptX technology will provide high-quality sound with minimal signal delay between channels, as well as significantly reduce power consumption when using Bluetooth headphones.

Camera and its features

The main camera includes 2 modules:

• 48 MP lens, f 1.8.1/2 aperture and built-in phase detection autofocus. The pixel size is 0.8 µm;
• 12MP lens, f2.2 telephoto, 2x optical zoom, LED flash, panorama, phase detection autofocus and HDR. Pixel size 1.0 µm.

The front camera has 20 megapixels, a pixel size of 0.9 microns and an aperture of f 2.0.

HDR+ is supported for viewing and recording video.

The video is available for editing even when it is created.

The gadget takes high-quality pictures both at night and in the sun, thanks to the Computer Vision processor and the Night Shift function.

Wireless connections and communication

The gadget supports Bluetooth version 5, with aptX HD, A2DP and LE codecs. There's also WiFi Direct and dual-band WiFi, with support for 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. Built-in GPS navigation includes GLONASS, OBD and A-GPS programs.
If you need to connect your smartphone to other devices, there is a USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 connector.
You can also use your smartphone as an Internet access point for other equipment.
Black Shark 2 supports dual sim+nano sim, dual standby.

How much does Black Shark 2 cost?

The gadget will differ in price, due to the different amount of memory:

1. If you're considering inexpensive options, then the Black Shark 2 with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of built-in memory will do for $477.
2. The average price of $521 will be for a device with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. And for $566, you can buy a smartphone with 256 GB of internal memory and 12 GB of RAM.
3. The highest cost model will be with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory.

• unusual and beautiful design;
• the presence of LED strips and a luminous logo;
• the back panel has recesses that create comfort during the gameplay;
• the presence of a convenient gamepad;
• high-quality display;
• the presence of the Magic Press system;
• a sensor with a high level of fingerprint recognition built into the display;
• new processor providing many features;
• game-optimized shell JOY UI;
• availability of Shark Space gaming space;
• fast charge support;
• the presence of a cooling system;
• high-quality and clear sound;
• high-quality videos and photos, with additional features;
• support dual sim+nano sim,with dual mode.

• small battery capacity.

Conclusion

When choosing which device company is better to buy, you should definitely pay attention to the convenient and functional Xiaomi Black Shark 2. After all, this model impresses not only with its original design, but also with high-quality “stuffing”, which provides a high level of performance and comfort during games and normal use.