The Black Shark 4 Pro is all-in on gamer stereotypes

Gaming telephones are out of excellent concepts. Each one which I’ve tried is a barely completely different tackle an exorbitant design, after all. But it’s simply a few firms making highly effective but very related (and, apparently, generally very fragile) telephones that aren’t actually definitely worth the effort of monitoring down — even for probably the most die-hard of cell players. Yet to date Xiaomi’s Black Shark gaming model would be the first that has resorted to titillation to face out.

The Black Shark 4 Pro is the primary cellphone I’ve seen that has a busty digital assistant packed inside that desires me to interact with it in methods I by no means might (and by no means wished to) with the Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, or Cortana. Meant to be a type of assistant that helps with getting you acquainted with this cellphone’s many settings, the anime Shark Chan character is a function that stands out on an in any other case ho-hum gaming cellphone. And, whereas I’m not a fan of the execution (extra on that in a bit), it’s good to have a gaming cellphone that’s at the very least trying to have an identification — something apart from what’s already been performed a number of occasions, like together with excessive refresh charges panels, ludicrous quantities of RAM, and an additional USB-C port for connecting proprietary equipment, together with controller grips or cooling followers.

The Black Shark 4 Pro launched within the US for $579.99 again in late February, and it’s one of many extra understated-looking gaming telephones that I’ve used. Its again has easy, frosted glass that feels mushy to the contact, and it’s usually devoid of flashy design components that the majority different manufacturers (together with Black Shark’s older telephones) depend on to catch the attention of whoever they suppose these telephones will attraction to. I like that concerning the Black Shark 4 Pro.

It’s additionally completely different when it comes to one key {hardware} function that isn’t obtainable on most different gaming telephones: mechanical triggers. Along its proper edge, there are two switches that, when toggled, make small button-like triggers sprout from the cellphone. Whereas many earlier gaming telephones have relied on invisible ultrasonic contact sensors (that do a surprisingly good job of mimicking the true factor), these have, nicely, one thing nearer to the true factor. The journey is vastly shorter than triggers that you simply’d discover on controllers, however they’re satisfyingly clicky.

Beyond in-game use, the switches are a few of the most fidget-friendly mechanisms that I’ve utilized in years. Similarly satisfying is that this gadget’s haptics, which give the punchiest, completely delineated blips of vibration that I’ve ever felt on an Android cellphone. The {hardware} is, arguably, the one wonderful thing about this cellphone.

Almost all the things else about utilizing this cellphone matches the ho-hum expertise that I’ve had with different gaming telephones. It makes use of JOYUI12 (primarily based on Xiaomi’s MIUI12 twist on Android 11), and on the beating coronary heart of the expertise is a gaming dashboard app referred to as Shark Space that acts as a house base for launching video games from, tweaking overclock settings, and extra. If you already know that video games set up into the app drawer on Android by default, it could possibly really feel like relearning an unnecessarily obtuse approach to entry your content material.

I’m used to gaming telephones having some odd touches to their software program to match the maximalist strategy to {hardware} design, however this Black Shark cellphone takes the cake with its built-in “Shark Chan” app. Shark Chan appears to be like like an anime character ripped out of Genshin Impact, with a scantily clad look that leans all the best way into being male-gazey. It’s basically a busty Clippy, and its accountability is to stroll you thru the cellphone’s mind-bogglingly quite a few UI components that may be accessed in-game with a diagonal swipe down from the fitting nook of the display whereas in panorama mode.

It’s useful that Xiaomi features a tutorial for utilizing the software program, even when it’s all however required because of the added complexity of getting so many options. In it, there are toggles that allow you to reap the benefits of this cellphone’s many spectacular specs, like its 720Hz contact sampling fee, or a “Ludicrous Mode,” that pushes the specs to their restrict. (It suggests that you simply purchase an adjunct to assist hold the cellphone cool whereas this mode is energetic).

Beyond being the place you’ll be able to modify settings, Shark Chan is usually a digital butler, of types, providing congratulations for charging the cellphone and nagging you when an alarm goes off.

Xiaomi ought to have stopped there as a result of Shark Chan has just a few different options which can be simply plain off-putting. I did a double-take once I seen that the software program features a point out of Shark Chan’s bust, waist, and hip measurements, as if I’m enjoying a courting sim. There’s additionally a gallery mode the place it needs you to the touch Shark Chan’s avatar. It’ll reply with dismissive or bashful responses relying on the place you contact it, calling you “commander” with every line. I didn’t need or want a bizarre try at a courting sim meshed with a digital assistant, and I’m undecided why Xiaomi thought that this may be a good suggestion.

I’d be keen to miss a few of these shortcomings if there weren’t already different highly effective telephones in the marketplace. Samsung’s newest Galaxy S22 lineup, as an example, packs lots of energy in addition to a 240Hz contact sampling fee. That’s a fraction of the Black Shark 4 Pro’s 720Hz spec, however I’d argue that the tangible distinction most likely isn’t perceptible to most individuals. And, at this level, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 throughout the S22 collection outpaces the Snapdragon 888 that’s within the 4 Pro. You can have a lot of the energy that you simply want in a cellphone that appears much better than this one and works with many extra US carriers. The Black Shark 4 Pro gained’t work with LTE or 5G networks on most carriers — at the very least reliably. It’s appropriate with a smattering of bands for AT&T and T-Mobile, but it surely’s not broad help within the slightest.

The Black Shark’s mechanical triggers are a neat thought, although it’s a function that I’m far much less more likely to depend on than connecting one thing inexpensive, like a Razer Kishi that provides console-like controls to your cellphone (together with USB-C passthrough) or perhaps a DualSense controller linked wirelessly through Bluetooth. If you’re utilizing an iPhone, you need to get the superb Backbone One controller to connect to your cellphone. To every their very own, although. I acknowledge that there’s an viewers of cell players who rely solely on contact controls. And for that one key space, gaming telephones like this one can’t be overwhelmed.

At the core, there’s nothing improper with the idea of gaming telephones. They’re thicker than your common flagship cellphone on account of larger batteries, a warmth sink, and several other different parts that you simply most likely gained’t discover in telephones made by Google, Apple, or Samsung. They’re proofs of idea which you could get laptop-tier specs right into a pocket-sized gadget. If solely an organization made a tool with extra centered software program that doesn’t really feel so pressured to lean (in Black Shark’s case, very awkwardly) into the stereotypical lane of what it thinks a gamer needs in cellphone software program. It’s actually not an excellent look.

For the entire energy and high-end tech that’s bundled in gaming telephones, they aren’t nice all-around picks for individuals who need nice software program, boundary-pushing cameras, and a extra interesting gadget across the edges.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge