Black Shark just unveiled an update to the original Black Shark 2. Dubbed simply the Black Shark 2 Pro, the new gaming smartphone comes with a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, as well as UFS 3.0 storage; the previous model only had UFS 2.1 storage instead.
Beyond the updated chipset, other specifications of the Black Shark 2 Pro are very similar to its predecessor, including the overall design. There are, however, a few small changes here and there, and it is expected to be coming to Malaysia very soon.
Aesthetically, the Black Shark 2 Pro has a new rear panel design. Compared to the regular Black Shark 2’s more bulky-looking design, the Pro model has a more streamlined look with a strip of metal going down the middle of the phone. This isn’t only done for looks, apparently: it supposedly improves grip comfort in long gaming sessions.
Thanks to the faster Snapdragon 855+ chipset, the Black Shark 2 Pro will have better gaming performance than its predecessor. Even though it still uses the same Adreno 640 GPU, it has been overclocked to return up to 15% better performance. That’s really quite a noteworthy performance gain.
Besides the GPU, the CPU of the Snapdragon 855+ is clocked higher too: it runs at up to 2.96GHz instead of 2.84GHz with the standard Snapdragon 855.
Response time of the Black Shark 2 Pro’s display has also been further improved. Its predecessor already had an impressive 43.5ms input lag, but the Pro model lowered it down to only 34.7ms. For comparison, the Asus ROG Phone II‘s input lag is 49ms. On top of that, the 240Hz polling rate of the Pro’s screen is retained too.
Unfortunately, the Black Shark 2 Pro still comes with a 60Hz display. Given the fact that its competition has 90Hz, or even 120Hz screens, the 60Hz refresh rate of the Pro’s display definitely isn’t impressive. Especially so for a gaming-centric smartphone.
Regardless, at least the 6.39-inch display is still a 2340 x 1080 AMOLED panel, so it should have deep blacks and vibrant colours. Other specifications of the Black Shark 2 Pro include 12GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of non-expandable storage, a 4,000mAh battery, a dual camera system (48MP f/1.75 primary sensor + 12MP f/2.2 telephoto lens), as well as a 20MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter.
Two variants of the gaming smartphone are available: the 128GB model retails at 2,999 Chinese yuan (about RM1,800), while the 256GB variant goes for 3,499 yuan (approximately RM2,100).
Currently, the Black Shark 2 Pro is only sold in China, but that will change in the coming months. In fact, we were told that the gaming smartphone will be coming to Malaysia soon. Rest assured, we will keep a close eye on the local availability of the Black Shark 2 Pro.