Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro, the new Xiaomi gaming smartphones that have been launched

Xiaomi has two new flagships for games, and they are not other mobiles than those Black Shark 3 and 3 Pro. Both high-performance smartphones have just been introduced and launched in the market, so we already know all the details of features, technical specifications, prices and availability.

The first thing that stands out in this duo is its aesthetics. Both one and the other make use of the same appearances and, therefore, finishes, so much so that they are almost identical to each other, except for some physical buttons that we find in the Pro model. They also differ in other aspects, and this is something that we show below.

Features and technical specifications of the Xiaomi Black Shark 3 and 3 Pro

Black Shark 3 and 3 Pro

At the outset we say that There are more similarities than disagreements between these two flagships. However, the screens touch on some of the most notable aspects where they distance themselves. In itself, the Black Shark 3 has a 6.67-inch diagonal with FullHD + resolution of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels. The Black Shark 3 Pro, meanwhile, has one that goes up to 7.1 inches and boasts a QuadHD + (2K) resolution of 3,120 x 1,140 pixels. Both panels produce a 90Hz refresh rate and support HDR10+ technology. In turn, they cause that, respectively, they measure 168.7 x 77.3 x 10.4 mm and 177.7 x 83.2 x 10.1 mm, and weigh 222 and 256 grams… It cannot be doubted that We are dealing with really large and quite heavy devices.

At power level, this duo bets on the Snapdragon 865Qualcomm’s most powerful platform that is 7nm and has a conglomerate of eight cores that can reach a maximum frequency speed of 2.84 GHz thanks to the most powerful of the set (Cortex-A77), 2.42 GHz thanks to three of the same (Cortex-A77) and 1.8 GHz thanks to the remaining quartet (Cortex-A55), which is dedicated to operating mainly in times of energy efficiency.

As for the versions of RAM and internal storage space of both phones, the Black Shark 3 is offered with 8 GB of LPDDR4 or 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128 or 256 GB of UFS 3.0 ROM, respectively. The same RAM options are available on the Pro variant, but only with 256GB UFS 3.0 internal memory. The batteries of these is compatible with 65 W fast charging technology and, respectively for each model, it has a capacity of 4,720 and 5,000 mAh; both can be charged from empty to full in as little as 38 minutes!

Color versions of the Black Shark 3

The cameras for both smartphones are the same. On the back of these we find a triple module with a 64 MP main sensor, a 13 MP wide-angle lens (120 °) and a third dedicated 5 MP shooter for the depth effect. Lacking a notch, punch-hole, or retractable system, this duo features the 20MP selfie camera on the top bezel of the panel.

On the other hand, They come pre-loaded with Android 10 under Joy UI as a customization layer and are compatible with 5G networks. They also do not do without a 3.5mm audio jack.

Two ideal beasts to play demanding titles

The Black Shark 3 Pro features two mechanical gaming buttons on its right side. Black Shark explains that each of these buttons is 21mm long and features a 1.5mm keystroke. They are good for more than 1 million clicks. Unfortunately, the standard variant omits these buttons. The Pro variant also gets horizontal linear motors for better tactile feedback during gameplay.

The rest of the gaming-focused features are common to both models. This includes a special liquid «sandwich cooling system». Black Shark explained at the event that its new models employ a dual-battery design with a 116mm motherboard in the middle. The company has placed heating components like the CPU and 5G modems as far apart as possible. In fact, it also claims that the distance between the two drives on the motherboard is almost 39mm.

In addition to this, Black Shark 3 models feature two 100mm liquid cooling units placed on both sides of the motherboard. This is what creates the similarity with a sandwich, according to the vision of the Chinese firm. In addition, there is also graphite coating on the two cooling units. As if that wasn’t enough, Black Shark is also selling an external clip-on cooling fan for both terminals, similar to what we saw for the Mi 10 series.

There is also a special voice control function that allows you to initiate actions during the game. For example, if you yell “grenade” while playing a game like Arena of Valor, the character will throw grenades. We’re not sure exactly how it works, but we hope that limited games will support it.

technical sheets

Prices and availability

At the moment, the only country that already has them available for purchase is in China, although it is certain that they will later be ordered internationally. The standard model is offered in black, gray and silver colors, while the most advanced model is only found in black and gray. The versions and respective prices of both smartphones are as follows:

• BlackShark 3 8/128GB: 3,499 yuan (~451 euros or 502 dollars in exchange).
• BlackShark 3 12/128GB: 3,799 yuan (~489 euros or 545 dollars in exchange).
• BlackShark 3 12/256GB: 3,999 yuan (~515 euros or 574 dollars in exchange).
• BlackShark 3 Pro 8/128GB: 4,699 yuan (~605 euros or 675 dollars to change).
• BlackShark 3 Pro 12/256GB: 4,999 yuan (~644 euros or 718 dollars in exchange).