XIAOMI BLACK SHARK 3
This gaming phone can take a serious bite out of any game you throw at it
he Black Shark 3 gaming phone from Xiaomi has a lot to live up to: we were very impressed by the Black Shark 2, and this new 2020 model aims to be better in every way. Fortunately, if you want a phone packed with power and built for gamers, it’s well worth considering.
In terms of specs, the Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB or 12GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage (which is non-expandable, unfortunately) are certainly enough to make mobile gamers sit up and take notice.
If you want to do some serious gaming on your phone, of course you need a serious screen to do it with, and the 6.67-inch AMOLED panel here does the job very well indeed. It runs at a very respectable 1080 x 2400 pixels, and can go up to a refresh rate of 90Hz when needed (for less intensive tasks, it sticks with 60Hz). The 270Hz touch reporting rate should mean super-snappy responses with every press of the display.
We like the look of the Black Shark 3, though it’s not going to be for everyone. It has sharp angles and a choice of bold colour schemes, and it’s relatively chunky too; it’s 10.4mm thick and weighs in at 222 grams. Around the back there’s some bold styling in the form of ridges, and three LED lights that you can customise for alerts or have glowing continuously in shades of your choosing – very gamer-y.
The camera isn’t best in class, but you’ll still be able to take some good-quality photos. The phone comes with a triple-lens 64MP wide, 13MP ultrawide and 5MP depth rear camera,
Tand a 20MP wide selfie shooter on the front – both offer quick shutter speeds and HDR processing to balance out dark and light areas.
It comes with some cool optional extras too. The GamePad 3 adds a Bluetooth controller option for those games that support it (like Call of Duty Mobile). Meanwhile the FunCooler Pro adds even more cooling protection, though to be honest the built-in cooling system seemed to work just fine for us.
It doesn’t have everything though – there’s no wireless charging, no expandable storage, and no waterproofing. The Android skin is also a bit hit and miss, as tends to be the case with Chinese-based manufacturers.
But if you’re looking for plenty of power, combined with features that put mobile gaming to the fore, then you’re going to love the Black Shark 3. It ripped through every mobile game we played without breaking a sweat – staying cool to the touch, showing no lag or stutter, and providing one of the best mobile gaming experiences out there.