Test Bench Razer Phone 2

IT’S A SMARTPHONE AIMED AT HARDCORE GAMERS — BUT AREN’T PHONE GAMES STRICTLY FOR CASUALS?

RAZER IS A company that makes products aimed squarely at gamers, so it’s no surprise that its efforts in the smartphone arena would attempt to take phone gaming to the next level. With its first Razer Phone, the Singaporean manufacturer introduced the world to a powerful gaming handset, one that predictably offered a classic Razer experience, with beautiful and unique industrial design and high-end specs.

Now, the Razer Phone 2 has arrived, boasting updated hardware, wireless charging functionality and a few other bells and whistles. While it’s undoubtedly a superior handset to its predecessor, we have to wonder just who the Razer Phone 2 is for - when you consider that hardcore gamers don’t really care about phone games, and casual gamers don’t care about specs, we’re left with a device that feels at odds with itself.

LOOKIN’ SHARP

In the laptop space, Razer stands out from its competitors by offering sleek, minimalist products that are bathed in black, with the company’s multicoloured Chroma lighting being the only thing to shine out of the darkness. That approach translates spectacularly well with Razer Phone 2, which has a striking, slate-like design — all glass and matte-black aluminium, punctuated by sharp, squared edges (seriously, you could tile your bathroom with this thing).

Given that it’s a gaming phone, it’s nice to see that Razer has made some smart decisions in terms of button placement. While most phone manufacturers keep their side-mounted buttons up high, Razer has wisely placed its keys right in the middle of the phone, so you won’t have to worry about accidental button presses while playing in landscape mode.

From front on, Razer Phone 2 looks almost identical to last year’s model, which is not a bad thing by any means, although the decision to stick with a 16:9 aspect ratio for the handset’s display seriously dates the device, especially when you factor in its large forehead and chin. That space is at least utilised by the inclusion of loud front-facing speakers, but really, who games on a phone without using headphones? We’d gladly sacrifice loudspeaker quality for a taller screen and smaller bezels.

On the flip side, you’ll find that Razer has gone with a glass backing for its second handset to allow for Qi charging, and the Razer logo can now light up in any hue of your choosing when you receive a notification, which is a very nice touch.

SCREEN TIME

Thankfully, the screen itself is a big step up from the first Razer Phone, which was dim and difficult to view in direct sunlight – even at full brightness. While Razer Phone 2 can’t hope to reach the sheer luminosity of a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or LG G7 ThinQ, it’s noticeably brighter and more vibrant than it was before. Of course, its 120Hz refresh rate is back, allowing for incredibly fluid scrolling in menus, apps and select games.

Unfortunately, there are currently only six games in Razer’s Cortex store which are able to fully utilise the screen’s high refresh rate, and they’re not terribly exciting, aside from the racing game Gear.Club, which is the clear standout in terms of visuals. Though the game is lumped with unsatisfying tilt and touch-based controls, its blistering framerate does make the game look

like a console title. Still, it begs the question: what good is a high-end gaming smartphone if there aren’t many games that take advantage of it?

Despite this, the 120Hz display is still a sight to behold — even while performing mundane tasks. The simple act of scrolling through the phone’s Nova Launcher-based app drawer feels exceptionally smooth and precise. Admittedly, Razer Phone 2’s display is far from perfect - being an IPS LCD screen, its backlight is fairly obvious, especially when viewed from an angle. We appreciate its QHD resolution and impressive 513ppi density, but blacks tend to look more like really dark greys on this handset.

SNAP HAPPY

Just like its predecessor, Razer Phone 2 features a dual camera setup on its rear, with a 12MP primary wide-angle camera and a 2x telephoto lens, which is also 12MP. Thankfully, Razer has introduced optical image stabilisation on this year’s phone, which should result in less blurry shots taken. On the front, you’ll find a perfectly functional 8MP camera for selfie taking and video calling.

When you consider the impressive strides that companies like Huawei and Google have made lately in terms of photographic prowess, Razer Phone 2’s photo-taking capability is a little underwhelming by comparison. Shots generally appear lifeless and lacking in detail when the available light isn’t just right. Even the slightest drop in light will cause Razer Phone 2 to overcompensate, resulting in contrast that’s too high and noise reduction that’s overpowering. That said, the handset is capable of taking impressive shots under well-lit conditions. Given Razer’s stellar reputation in the world of high-end gaming hardware, you’d expect the company to deliver the goods in terms of power performance on its latest handset - and you’d be right to do so. Simply put, Razer Phone 2 is a beast, with the latest Snapdragon 845 processor, a whopping 8GB of RAM and an Adreno 630 GPU. In Razer Phone 2’s Geekbench 4 benchmark test, it delivered an impressive single/ multi-core score of 2435/9021, placing it just behind the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which scored 3734/9056.

During gameplay and general use, we never experienced a single performance hiccup. Transitioning between apps and games was smooth at all times, and slowdown was non-existent. It’s also worth noting that Razer has included a vapor-chamber cooling system in the Razer Phone 2, and while you’d assume that would prevent the phone from heating up during intense gameplay, it did still manage to get quite warm, even after a few minutes of PUBG action.

Like the Galaxy Note 9, Razer Phone 2 boasts an enormous 4,000mAh battery. On paper, it sounds like a lot, but when you factor in the 120Hz display, QHD resolution and Chroma lighting, battery life takes a significant hit. Razer Phone 2 lasted just 5 hours and 55 minutes in the strenuous PCMark for Android battery benchmark, and while that number could be extended by dropping the refresh rate and resolution, it would rob the phone of its best assets in the process.

In answer to our earlier question of just who the Razer Phone 2 for, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s really for fans of the Razer brand. If you love the company’s style and want another excuse to carry it with you at all times, Razer Phone 2 is for you. However, if you’re looking for a phone that will significantly improve the quality of phone games, you’ll have to keep waiting.

WHILE RAZER PHONE 2 CAN’T HOPE TO REACH THE SHEER LUMINOSITY OF A SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 OR LG G7 THINQ, IT’S NOTICEABLY BRIGHTER AND MORE VIBRANT THAN IT WAS BEFORE. OF COURSE, ITS 120HZ REFRESH RATE IS BACK, ALLOWING FOR INCREDIBLY FLUID SCROLLING IN MENUS, APPS AND SELECT GAMES.