Retracting shoulder keys and more
- Black Shark has launched the Black Shark 4 series.
- The phones are equipped with two shoulder buttons that can be retracted into the phone.
Xiaomi-affiliated Black Shark has been making gaming phones since 2018 and the company has updated its range of products with the Black Shark 4 and Black Shark 4 Pro. What should you expect from these phones?
As you’d expect from a decent gaming phone in 2021, the Black Shark 4 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 888 SoC. Meanwhile, the vanilla model gets the Snapdragon 870 instead, which should still perform smoothly in advanced 3D games and emulators.
We saw shoulder buttons on the phones last year and this year is no different, but the Black Shark 4 phones now have shoulder buttons that retract in and out of the body. These shoulder buttons can be raised above two nearby switches, but otherwise sit flush with the rest of the phone when not in use. Check out a GIF below to get a better idea of how this works.
Recognition: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
Both phones have a 6.67-inch FHD + E4 144Hz OLED screen, plus a 720Hz touch sampling rate for more responsive input. The shared functions don’t end there either, as the devices share the same 4,500 mAh battery with a 120 W charge via a “standard” charger. The brand says you can expect a full charge in under 15 minutes.
Both Black Shark phones also have triple rear cameras. The Pro model offers a 64-megapixel main camera and the standard version a 48-megapixel main shooter. Otherwise, the phones will share an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 5-megapixel macro shooter, and a 20-megapixel selfie camera in a center hole cutout.
Other notable features include Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Wi-Fi 6 and JoyUI 12.5 based on MIUI 12.
The Vanilla Black Shark 4 starts at 2,499 yuan (~ 384 USD) for the 6GB / 128GB model, 2,699 yuan (~ 414 USD) for the 8GB / 128GB variant, and 2,999 yuan (~ 461 USD) for the 12 GB / 128 GB option. In China and want the Black Shark 4 Pro? Then spend 3,999 yuan (~ $ 614) for the 8GB / 256GB model and 4,499 yuan (~ $ 691) for the 12GB / 256GB variant. There is still no word on global availability, although the global website allows users to sign up for Black Shark 4 series news.
