Xiaomi Black Shark 2 in for review

Gaming smartphones are on the rise and what we have here is one of the most popular among them - Xiaomi's Black Shark 2 - one of the cheapest gaming phones currently on the market. In fact, even if gaming isn't your thing ,this is one of the most affordable Snapdragon 855-powered devices in general, so it might be worth considering.

Aside from the all-powerful Snapdragon 855, the Black Shark 2 also features either 6GB, 8GB or 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage - more than enough for your favorite games plus a whole lot of other media. But while most of the competitors in the gaming segment boast high-refresh rate displays, the Black Shark 2 focuses on something else.

The 6.39-inch OLED screen settles for 60Hz refresh rate, but it's also the only handset with 240Hz touch report rate and 43.5ms touch response time. It's touted as the fastest input response in a smartphone. Resolution is gaming-friendly at 1080 x 2340px with tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio and it covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color space.

The phone carries a 48MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 12MP 2x telephoto unit with f/2.2 lens. The front has a 20MP sensor with f/2.0 lens for selfies and video calls.

The beefy 4,000 mAh batter supports 27W fast charging, which is pretty fast and we can't wait to see how it stacks against considerably more expensive solutions out there.

And on the contrary to other Xiaomi devices, this one rocks much cleaner Android 9.0 Pie with some additional custom features like Shark Space and Ludicrous Mode. The RGB LED lights on the back are programmable as well.

Other standout features include a huge heatsink to keep the Black Shark 2 cool during those long gaming sessions, excellent front-facing stereo speakers and precise haptic feedback for more immersive gaming experience.

Stay tuned for the full review and see how it stacks against the ever-growing gaming smartphone competition.