Black Shark 2 - Everything you need to know, full specs, price, and more

When you boast about releasing a hardcore gaming phone, you better believe that you're going to need some specs to back up those claims. And luckily, the Black Shark 2 really does seem to have all of the technology to put it ahead of other gaming phones, and at an affordable price too.

Games need so many things to work to the best of their capacity on mobile. They need a powerful chipset, a vibrant, low-latency screen, speakers you can't easily cover while holding the device, decent cooling, control options, and that really is just the start. And Black Shark 2 really does seem to have all of that, in addition to a few more innovations you won't have seen in any other phone before. Not to mention, up to 12GB of RAM.

We spent some time with the device and talking to the executives of Black Shark, and they told us all about the promising future of the brand, and why they believe the Black Shark 2 is primed to dominate the mobile gaming space.

Gamer features

One of the Black Shark 2's innovations is aimed right at gaming - the liquid-cooling system, which works at dissipating heat from the chipset through the back of the phone. From testing thus far, the Black Shark 2 does feel cooler after long periods of play than some other devices.

The X-antenna is included too, which puts mobile receivers on both sides of the phone, giving you an overall better, clearer connection even in low-signal areas. Coupled with future innovations, like 5G, Black Shark hope to see game streaming become more of a possibility thanks to the X-antenna.

• Black Shark 2 - First impressions of a hardcore gaming phone

Not to mention, thanks to a mix of software driver optimisations and AMOLED screen technology, the Black Shark 2 has managed to achieve the lowest response time of any mobile device, clocking in at an impressive 45ms. The 6.39" screen is bright and incredible responsive, even at 1080x2340p.

Of course, the phone sports a Snapdragon 855 Processor, and at least 6GB of RAM, going all the way up to 12GB - definitely not to be sniffed at. This ensures that the latest games, such as The Elder Scrolls: Blades are all compatible, and will run as smoothly as possible, especially when the Shark Space gaming mode has been turned on.

When gaming mode is engaged, fans will be able to monitor CPU temperatures, framerates, edit gamepad layouts, disable notifications and more, all while shutting down background applications to ensure the games run as smoothly as possible.

• Black Shark 2 controllers: One step ahead, or a touch behind?

And for the photographers out there, you'll be happy to know that the Black Shark 2 comes with a dual rear 12MP camera, which offers HDR, Panorama, low-light enhancement, and more. The front facing camera is mean too, at 20M. Users will be able to record 4K video at 30FPS, and 720p video will allow for slow-motion shooting of up to 240FPS.

Price it up

It has pretty much everything you could need, save for a dedicated headphone jack, and it makes up for that with dual front-facing speakers, and two RGB LED light strips down each side of the phone, just to look nice.

It's a tempting offering, but price is, as always the deciding factor.

Tempting, right? No doubt. See below for a full rundown of the Black Shark 2's specifications, and keep checking back on Pocket Gamer for a full review of the Black Shark 2 very soon.