The second generation of Xiaomi Black Shark gaming phone, the Black Shark Helo has just been announced. The device comes with little upgrades compared to its predecessor. The RAM and the internals have been increased.
The new Black Shark Helo features an AMOLED screen as against the LCD panel on its predecessor. It is built around a 6.01-inch screen with FHD+ (1080 x 2160) resolution. The refresh rate is still pegged at 60Hz this means if you want a gaming phone with higher refresh rate you have to wait for the Asus ROG Phone and Razer Phone 2.
Powering the device is a Snapdragon 845 which is paired with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM while storage remains constant – 128GB. There is another variant however with 10GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It will run on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 on top.
In the camera side of things, the Black Shark Helo is blessed with a 12MP + 20MP camera with the 12MP sensor serving as the main camera with f/1.75 aperture while the front-facing shooter comes with the 20MP sensor and f/2.2 aperture.
The Xiaomi Black Shark Helo is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 standard support.
Just as the norm for a gaming phone to be equipped with gaming accessories, the Xiaomi Black Shark Helo with 6GB and 8GB RAM versions will ship with one analog stick attachment while the 10GB model will come with two controllers – one for each side of the phone.
The Gamer Studio app lets you tweak the CPU, display, network, etc., so you can create different gaming profiles for each game. These profiles can even be shared via the “Shark Code” feature.
For a fun gaming experience, the device boasts a front-facing stereo speakers, RGB LED-illuminated back logo and side strips, vapour chamber for cooling and HDR10-compliant screen. There is a dedicated mobile chip by Pixelworks which helps in converting SDR content to HDR in real-time much like the recently announced Nokia 7.1.
The 6GB Black Shark Halo will cost CNY3,199 ($460) while the 8GB version will sell for CNY3,499 ($505). I
