Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro is a ROG Phone 2 rival with Snapdragon 855 Plus chip
The Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro is now available to buy, and for a few reasons it could be a genuine competitor to the Asus ROG Phone 2.
The Black Shark 2 runs on Snapdragon’s 855 Plus chip, the top-of-the-line processor from tech giants Qualcomm, and 12GB of RAM. There’s no doubting that it’s a real powerhouse, but fans can take even greater encouragement from the price: ¥2999 (~£360/$435).
Currently, it’s only available in China, but we expect the device to reach our shores too, where it should provide stiff competition to the Asus ROG Phone 2 for shoppers on a tighter budget.
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Aside from the headline improvements, the Black Shark 2 Pro also has received a few tweaks to set it apart from its predecessor, the Xiaomi Black Shark 2. Flash storage has been upgraded to UFS 3.0, the touch response time has been upgraded to just 34.7 ms, and the secondary camera sensor now has a 13-megapixel resolution rather than 12-megapixels. The latter spec might not be too important to keen gamers, but overall the package is a worthwhile upgrade and it will be tempting for gamers. However, many of the specs will remain the same between this model and its predecessor. The screen remains a 6.39-inch AMOLED, and the battery capacity also stays put at 4000mAh.
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The Asus ROG Phone 2 will be the main competitor to the new device. It also has a Snapdragon 855 Plus chip, has a slightly larger 6.59-inch screen, and a much bigger 6000mAh battery. The price has not yet been confirmed, but we expect it to be similar to that of the previous Asus ROG Phone, at around £799/$899.
Meanwhile, the Razer Phone 2 remains a very competitive gamer phone also at the higher end of the market. Though it runs on the older Snapdragon 845, we were very impressed by the performance and especially by the 120Hz screen. There are also rumours the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Plus will pack the Snapdragon 855 Plus.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
