Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro officially unveiled: Snapdragon 865, liquid cooling, 270 Hz touch sampling and more

After months of speculation, teases, and spec leaks, Xiaomi's Black Shark subsidiary officially unveiled the Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro gaming phones. The announcement brought with it a number of new details about both devices. 

For starters, both phones will feature the Snapdragon 865. While Qualcomm's latest chip is still not as fast as the A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11 lineup, it delivers the very best CPU and GPU performance this side of the Android/iOS divide. Sustained performance is a critical factor with mobile SoCs. The Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro both feature a liquid cooling system to mitigate thermal throttling. 

Both models feature a 65W fast charger that'll charge 50 percent in 12 minutes and fully charge both phones in a mere 38 minutes. This is a real achievement, considering that the Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro pack 4720 mAh and 5000 mAh batteries respectively. 

The two phones differ primarily in terms of display size and resolution. The Black Shark 3 offers a 6.67 in FHD+ display, while the Pro variant features a massive, 7.1 in 1440p display. Both displays run at 90 Hz and have a 270 Hz touch sampling rate to minimize latency. 

Pricing is surprisingly reasonable for what are among the best Android gaming phones on the market. The Black Shark 3 starts at CNY 3499 (around US$500). Meanwhile, the Black Shark 3 Pro has a starting price of CNY 4699 (approximately $670).

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