A new smartphone is born into the gaming world called Black Shark 3S. The handset picked up a few upgrades over the vanilla version. The biggest change is that the 6.67-inch AMOLED display now has a 120Hz mode in addition to the 90 Hz mode of its predecessor. The new panel is capable of 270Hz touch sampling rate (same as before).

Black Shark 3S refresh rate

The display comes with two pressure-sensitive zones, which can be mapped to different actions. Also, the gyroscope is used to detect flicking motions. You can create game macros too, which trigger several actions in sequence. Voice commands are available as well, so you can start the screen recorder without taking your hands off the controls.

The AMOLED panel has 1080p+ resolution (20:9), offers 500 nits of brightness, 105% DCI-P3 coverage and a 3rd generation MEMC.

The Xiaomi Black Shark 3S still has the Snapdragon 865 chipset under the hood. It paired with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

The latest JOYUI12 software comes with screen mirroring. It sends a video of the screen over USB-C to a computer, so you can play your games with a keyboard and mouse. This mode will run at 60 fps and has a 40 ms latency.

As per the camera, nothing has really changed. The main module has a 64 MP sensor (0.8 µm pixels, 1.6 µm with binning) and an f/1.8 aperture. It’s joined by a 120° ultra wide camera (13 MP, 1.0 µm, f/2.25) and a 5 MP depth sensor. A 20 MP selfie camera completes the picture. It’s embedded in the top bezel and not the screen.

There’s also the unchanged 4,729 mAh battery that charges at 65 W over the USB-C connector. It needs 12 minutes for a 50% charge, 38 minutes for a full charge. Alternatively, there’s a magnetic adapter that attaches to the back (keeping out of the way of your hands) so you can play and charge at 18W simultaneously. This attaches to the “triangle” opposite the cameras.

Black Shark 3S

Black Shark 3S Specifications

Network Properties

  • 2G bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2
  • CDMA 800 & TD-SCDMA
  • 3G bands: HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
  • CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
  • 4G bands: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41
  • 5G bands: 41, 78, 79 SA/NSA
  • Speed: HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A; 5G

Launch

  • Announced: 2020, July 31
  • Status: Exp. release 2020, August 04

Design

  • Dimensions: 168.7 x 77.3 x 10.4 mm (6.64 x 3.04 x 0.41 in)
  • Weight: 222 g (7.83 oz)
  • Build: Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame
  • Colors: Sky Cloud Black, Crystal Blue
  • SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

Display

  • Type: AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • Size: 6.67 inches, 107.4 cm2 (~82.4% screen-to-body ratio)
  • Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~395 ppi density)
  • Always-on display
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • 500 nits typ. brightness (advertised)
  • HDR10+

Operating System

  • Android 10

Hardware

  • Chipset: Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+)
  • CPU: Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 585)
  • GPU: Adreno 650
  • RAM: 12GB
  • Internal Storage: 128GB, 256GB
  • Memory Card slot: No
  • UFS 3.1

Cameras

  • Main Camera: Triple
    • 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm, PDAF
    • 13 MP, f/2.3, 120Ëš (ultrawide)
    • 5 MP, f/2.2, (depth)
  • Features: LED flash, HDR, panorama
  • Video: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@1920fps
  • Selfie Camera: Singleb- 20 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/3″, 0.9µm
  • Features: HDR
  • Video: 1080p@30fps

Rear cameras

Multimedia

  • Radio: No
  • Loudspeaker: Yes, with stereo speakers
  • Audio 3.5mm jack: Yes

Connectivity

  • WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
  • Bluetooth: 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive
  • GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
  • USB: 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

Features

  • Sensors: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Battery

  • Battery Type and Capacity: Non-removable Li-Po 4729 mAh battery
  • Charging: Fast charging 65W, 100% in 38 min (advertised)
  • Magnetic charging: 18W

Black Shark 3S Price and Availability

  • 12GB + 128 GB configuration costs CNY 4,000 ($575/€485)
  • 12GB + 256 GB model costs CNY 4,300.

Black Shark 3S in colors

Note that there’s a 512 GB model on the way for CNY 4,800, but that one isn’t available for pre-order just yet. The other two are ready to ship out on August 4 (next Tuesday).

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