Pocket monster
Gaming specialist Razer has paused its PC antics to dive head-first into the high-end smartphone market
£700 / stuff.tv/razerphone ■ This is the first smartphone with a 120Hz screen – and that matters, because it’s a pocket device aimed squarely at gamers. While most phone screens refresh at 60Hz, doubling that means the Razer Phone’s display can keep up with buttery-smooth frame-rates.
■ This phone is a thin brick of aluminium with a soft-touch surface. It feels solid and looks smart, but isn’t a match for some of the prettiest phones around. Those sharp edges make it feel larger than it really is.
■ Inside you’ll find a top-end Snapdragon 835 and a mammoth 8GB of RAM. You also get 64GB of storage – well, anything less would be a slap in the face at this price.
■ It might have a 4000mah battery, but force the Razer’s screen to run constantly at 120Hz and stamina will be reduced to merely average – it’s easy to drain the phone in a day playing games. Luckily, you can extend that by dropping the rate right down to 20Hz between frag-fests.
■ There’s a dual 12MP sensor setup on the back – one with a normal lens and the other with a 2x zoomed-in view, like the iphone X. Looks good on paper, but it just doesn’t have the processing smarts to deal with dark scenes like other flagship phones’ cameras can.
Tech specs
Screen 5.7in 2560x1440 LCD Processor Snapdragon 835 RAM 8GB OS Android 7.1 Cameras Dual 12MP rear, 8MP front Battery 4000mah Storage 64GB, expandable via microsd Dimensions 159x78x8mm, 197g
The fast and the spurious Razer’s dedicated Game Booster app lets you choose the frame rate used by your games – as well as the resolution and CPU clock speed. Sadly, games aren’t always super-optimised to make use of this beefed-up hardware. With 2540x1440 resolution, the 5.7in IGZO IPD panel puts the Razer Phone right up there with the best LCDS, with great colour and contrast.
The sound and the fury The big expanses of black above and below the screen give you somewhere to put your fingers… but they also hold the speakers, which are very loud indeed. That’s just as well, as there’s no headphone jack.