It was highly suspected that Razer’s event today in London would bear the fruit of the company’s first ever smartphone, and those suspicions were proved correct when Razer unveiled the all new Razer Phone.
Touted as a smartphone for serious mobile gamers (and smartphone enthusiasts), Razer Phone packs the punch of a flagship through its impressive specs. The Razer Phone features a 5.7-inch IGZO panel 1440 x 2560 Quad HD display with 120Hz Ultramotion, Snapdragon 835 processor, an impressive 8GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage with microSD card slot, 12-megapixel dual rear-facing cameras, 8-megapixel front-facing camera, and a massive 4,000 mAh battery. The device ships with stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, with an upgrade to Oreo coming in early 2018. A special black-and-green themed Razer Edition of Nova Launcher Prime is also included in the purchase of a Razer Phone.
The device’s design is reminiscent of the Nextbit Robin with its sharp boxy design, which isn’t too surprising considering Razer’s acquisition of the start-up earlier this year (which tipped us off that the gaming-oriented company was interested in entering the smartphone space in the first place). It even features the fingerprint sensor in the same location - within the power button. The device doesn’t feature the slim bezel design that many flagships have utilized this year, but the space is well utilized with dual front-facing Dolby Atmos speakers, certified by THX. It features an all-aluminum CNC chassis and comes in black.
Of course, the company also put a huge emphasis on how the device performs with games. The Razer Phone features the first ever 120Hz Ultramotion display, giving the device two times the refresh rate of the best performing smartphones on the market. 8GB of RAM gives it incredible multitasking capabilities, and the 4,000 mAh battery allows for 7 hours of gaming (with Hearthstone as the cited game for testing). Users can also watch 12.5 hours of movies and listen to 63.5 hours of music. Specific testing environments were graciously given in the keynote. The Razer Phone is also the first phone to utilize Quick Charge 4+, which charges the device from 0-85% in one hour.
It doesn’t appear that the device has a 3.5mm headphone jack, as the term “dongle” was used a couple of times throughout the keynote.
The Razer Phone looks promising on paper with excellent flagship specs, upgrades where it would count for a gamer or power user (RAM; battery life; screen refresh and resolution), dual front-facing speakers, dual rear-facing cameras and good thermal performance. But, as with any phone, it’s going to be the real-world performance that will ultimately show us how great the phone really is.
One of the phone's most impressive feats is its price, which is $699 full price. It will be sold in the US and the EU. Pre-orders begin today, and the devices will ship on November 17th.
Readers, what are your thoughts on the Razer Phone? Are you impressed with the company’s first foray into the smartphone industry?
