One year after Xiaomi got into the gaming phone market with the Black Shark, the company is back with another gaming-focused handset.
The Black Shark 2 features upgraded specs over its predecessor, including a Snapdragon 855 processor. There's more RAM here, too: The original Black Shark came in two versions with 6GB or 8GB of RAM, but the Black Shark 2 starts with 6GB of RAM and is also available with 8GB or a whopping 12GB of RAM.
Xiaomi has packed plenty of gaming-focused features into the Black Shark 2. There's a Ludicrous Mode that'll "release all the CPU power for supporint gaming performance without dropping frames" and a liquid cooling system to help keep the Black Shark 2's internals running cool. Xiaomi also says that Black Shark 2 owners can pull down the Game Dock to customize settings without leaving their game, and the Performance Dashboard will show details like frame rate and system temperatures in real time.
The display on the Black Shark 2 is a 6.39-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2340x1080. Xiaomi touts that the touchscreen has a response speed of 43.5 milliseconds, which is faster than devices like the iPhone (45ms) and Galaxy S10 (60ms). There's a 4000mAh battery powering the whole package, and Quick Charge 4.0 will help you recharge that battery in a hurry.
The Black Shark 2 features a dual rear camera setup with a main 48MP and secondary 12MP snappers as well as 2x optical zoom, PDAF, HDR, and portrait mode. The 20MP front-facing camera includes portrait mode and AI beauty mode features. There are dual SIM slots included, too, as well as a USB-C port and a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter in the box. Storage options include 128GB and 256GB variants, and there's an in-display fingerprint sensor on the Black Shark 2 as well.
Rounding things out is RGB lighting. RGB is a major part of the gaming PC world and lots of gaming phones offer it, too, so it's no surprise to see it on the Black Shark 2. The RGB lighting on Xiaomi's new gaming phone can be used for different gaming effects and you can customize the light effect for alerts from different friends.
Xiaomi is now taking pre-orders for the Black Shark 2 in China. Pricing starts at 3,199 yuan ($477 USD) for the 6GB/128GB model and increases to 3,499 yuan ($521 USD) for the 8GB/128GB version and 3,799 yuan ($566 USD) for the 8GB/256GB model. The top-end version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage will set you back 4,199 yuan ($625 USD). There's no word on when or if the Black Shark 2 will be available outside of China.
