Razer Announces its First Phone with Gaming Specification

Question-What happens when a Gaming hardware company makes an Android smartphone for gamers? The result is the Razer Phone, Razer’s first entry into the smartphone arena. Razer mainly develops gaming laptops and hardware. So before you expect a huge, ultra-powerful device with Alienware tech inside your pocket, let me tell you it’s nothing like it. But it differs from common Android smartphones. Let’s take a look inside.

The Razer phone carries two design elements- one from Razer and the other from Nextbit, which Razer acquired. Nextbit launched a Robin phone, from which the Razer phone gets inspiration. The Razer phone is a powerful handset that can do everything from web browsing to watching movies, but it exists for gaming. Razer claims the phone has the best “thermals” (i.e., heat dissipation) as the metal frame acts as a heatsink, allowing longer game time.

Razer phone features a 5.72-inch Gorilla Glass protected Quad HD (1440×2560) IGZO LCD UltraMotion display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. This means the display will give smoother animations and will not have any lag or stutter while gaming. It is the first smartphone to feature that, but it was available on the iPad Pro 10.5. While Gaming equipment is expected to invoke a futuristic feel, the Razer phone does the opposite and makes us feel back to the past. The phone has BIG BIG bezels that make the device look ugly. However, this leaves room for high-quality speakers necessary for a gaming device. Razer has included Dolby Atmos technology in its stereo-facing front speakers and dual amplifiers. The device has no 3.5 mm jack, a THX-certified USB Type C audio adapter, and a 24-bit DAC to back it up.

Inside the hood, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, an Adreno 540 GPU, 8GB of LPDRR4 RAM, and 64GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 2 TB via micro SD card. Razer claims you can even overclock the processor. The rear has a dual camera setup of two 12 MP cameras, one wide and one telephoto, offering Phase Detection Autofocus. The wide-angle lens has an f/1.75 aperture, while the telephoto lens offers an f/2.6 aperture. There is a dual-tone LED flash. On the front is an 8 MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture for selfies and video calling. (Challenge me, eh?)

The smartphone runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat but will get an Android 8.0 Oreo upgrade in the first quarter of 2018. It comes preloaded with the premium version of the Nova Launcher. An app called Game Booster helps customize frame rate, resolution, and processor clock speed per app. The device is backed by a 4000 mAh non-removable battery, which supports Qualcomm’s all-new Quick Charge 4+. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, 4G, and 3G. The device measures 158.5 x 77.7 x 8 mm and weighs 197 grams.

Several game developers are working with Razer to ensure their games run on the device without hiccups. The Razer phone is priced at $700 in the US, €750 in Europe, and £700 in the UK, which will cost around Rs 45,000 in India, which is costlier than the OnePlus 5. They would be available from November 17. Razer phone models will carry a silver logo, but Razer will launch a variant with a green logo soon.