On Tuesday, Xiaomi’s sub-brand black shark launched its second smartphone in China- Black Shark Helo. If you remember earlier this year in April Xiaomi Black Shark made its debut. Therefore, the Black Shark Helo is the successor to the Xiaomi Black Shark. However, the 1st generation Black Shark failed to impress the tech enthusiasts. Hence, this time the Black Shark Helo comes with some major improvements over its predecessor.
Notably, this is the world’s first device with 10GB of RAM which will be available for every consumer. However, Xiaomi will be also launching the Mi Mix 3 on October 25 with the same amount of RAM. Therefore, if you are wondering about the Mi Mix 3’s 10GB variant then you must know that variant could be a limited edition. Now coming back to the Black Shark Helo, let’s find out what’s new it is offering to the gamers.
Black Shark Helo Features and Specifications
Black Shark Helo is a gaming-centric device and in order to appeal the gamers, it now comes with LED strip on the sides along with a glowing LED logo on the rear side. There is also AI game lighting that changes depending on the game. Furthermore, it now packs stereo speakers and a dedicated two-stage SHARK key for a rich gaming experience.
It now sports a slight bigger 6.01-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio and 402 pixels per inch. There is also a 101.3 percent DCI-P3 color gamut ratio with HDR support. Notably, it will support HDR even in games with an independent image processing chip. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with Adreno 630 GPU. Notably, there are two liquid cooling pipes to keep the phone cool while gaming. It will be helping to reduce CPU’s core temperature by up to 12-degree.
It comes in three different RAM and storage variants- 6GB+128GB, 8GB+128GB, and 10GB+256GB. However, there is no option to expand the storage further as it lacks a microSD card slot. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based Joy UI and it is backed by a 4000mAh battery with fast charging support.
In terms of cameras, it got the same camera components as its predecessor. It sports a Dual: 12MP rear camera with a f/1.75 aperture with 1.25µm pixel size, and dual-tone LED flash. The secondary 20MP rear camera comes with 1.0µm pixel size and f/1.75 aperture. There is also a 20MP front-facing camera with 1.0µm pixel size and f/2.2 aperture.
Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, AGPS, Glonass, aptX and aptX HD support. The device is also packed with every important sensor. It measures 160×75.25x 8.7mm and weighs 190 grams. However, despite having a glass back design it lacks wireless charging support. The company will also include a fast charger and a gaming console inside the retail box.
Black Shark Helo Price and Availability
As mentioned earlier, the handset comes in three RAM variants and the pricing goes something like this. The base variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is priced at 3199 Yuan (approx. Rs. 33,900). Another variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage will cost 3499 Yuan (approx. Rs. 37,100). Finally, the premium variant with 10GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is priced at 4199 Yuan (approx. Rs. 44,500). Most noteworthy, Black Shark Helo will be available only in Black color and it is already available for pre-order. However, it will go on sale starting October 30 but there are no words yet about the India launch.
Also, have a look at Asus Launched ROG Phone with massive 512 GB Storage, and Snapdragon 845