Officially introduced just earlier this month, the Black Shark 2 Pro gaming smartphone is set to arrive in Malaysia on 3 September 2019. Powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 855+ chipset, the Pro variant of the standard Black Shark 2 brings with it a number of improvements.
This launch date was revealed by Black Shark Malaysia itself on its Facebook page. Even though the phone maker did not specifically mention the Black Shark 2 Pro, the back panel of the device is clearly shown on the teaser image of the launch event.
Compared to its predecessor, the biggest difference the Black Shark 2 Pro brings is the new Snapdragon 855+ chipset. Thanks to the overclocked 2.96GHz CPU and Adreno 640 GPU, the updated SoC promises up to 15% better gaming performance.
Raw performance aside, the response time of the Black Shark 2 Pro’s display has been improved too: the input lag is reduced from 43.5ms to only 34.7ms. That may not sound like much, but it does complement the phone’s gaming appeal.
However, compared to other gaming smartphones in the market now, the Black Shark 2 Pro still only comes with a conventional 60Hz display. Given that most devices in this segment have 90Hz screens – some even feature a 120Hz refresh rate – Black Shark’s offering certainly don’t seem quite as attractive.
Thankfully, the 240Hz polling rate of the Black Shark 2 Pro’s screen is retained, which further reduces the phone’s input lag. This, combined with the phone’s 6.39-inch 1080p AMOLED panel, should make for a pleasant gaming experience – even if the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz.
Other specifications of the Black Shark 2 Pro include a dual camera system (48MP f/1.75 primary shooter + 12MP f/2.2 telephoto sensor), a 20MP f/2.0 selfie camera, 12GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of non-expandable storage, and a generous 4,000mAh battery.
For the Chinese market, two variants of the Black Shark 2 Pro are available: the 128GB model goes for 2,999 Chinese yuan (about RM1,780), while the higher-end 256GB model retails at 3,499 yuan (approximately RM2,075). Pretty competitive pricing, given the high-end hardware of the phone.
The Black Shark 2 Pro will be arriving in Malaysia on 3 September 2019 next month. It remains to be seen if both variants of the gaming smartphone will be made available here, though we’re pretty confident Black Shark will bring them in. After all, that was the case with the original Black Shark 2.