- Analysis by KJ David
Xiaomi's first attempt at a full-fledged gaming smartphone comes in the form of the flagship-class Black Shark. Despite being one of the Chinese brand's highest-specked 2018 smartphones (Discover some of the best smartphones here), however, it did not get out of our specs-driven review unscathed, since we still caught a couple of questionable cons within its feature set.
For instance, it sticks to a 1080p-only (2160 x 1080, to be precise) resolution 
, even though its 6-inch 18:9 facade, which, by the way, boasts a 550-nit peak brightness level and a 97 percent DCI-PC color gamut 
, sounds like a good venue for a 2K-1440p definition. Rubbing some salt to its wounds is the fact that some of its rivals in the gaming smartphone market are also among the best phones for VR, boasting at least 500ppi pixel densities -- the Black Shark scores only 403ppi on that front.
Its ambitious feature set is also marred by the absence of a memory card slot , although it makes up for that setback by packing 256GB's worth of on-board memory (It is also offered in 128GB and 64GB variants).
As for its pros on the gaming front, the Black Shark became one of the fastest smartphones available when it debuted by running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 eight-core 2.8GHz processor infused with an artificial intelligence engine . It also expanded Phonerated's list of premium 8GB-RAM phones with its 8GB dual-channel LPDDR4x RAM . Additionally, it features a multi-stage liquid cooling system that mimics those of many full-fledged gaming PCs as well as an Adreno 630 graphics engine.
The Shark's gamer-friendly bundle of pros and cons also include what the brand calls an R angle design topped off by a SHARK atmosphere light for gaming effects and notifications . Moreover, it comes with a dedicated gaming button called the SHARK Key , which is used to enter or exit its performance-boosting SHARK Mode -- several competing gaming smartphones, such as the Asus ROG Phone and the Nubia Red Magic, come with gaming keys as well.
Although gaming smartphones don't usually go big on photography, this Xiaomi model enters flagship imaging territory by touting a 12- plus 20-megapixel dual rear camera that's decorated with things like an Ultra HD (2160p) video-recording mode, a dual-color temperature flash, and 6P-lenses for both cams .
As for selfies, its 20-megapixel selfie cam, which comes with a 4-in-1 pixel technology , sounds auspicious in comparison to the ones sported by some similarly-sized high-enders.
The Xiaomi Black Shark's pros and cons are topped off by a 4000mAh battery and a finish of either Extreme Night Black, Royal Sky Blue, or Cang Ash (Gray). With the Android 8.1 Oreo OS tying everything together, this high-caliber Xiaomi smartphone makes for a fitting mobile companion for the hardcore gamer.
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