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Black Shark 3S launched: 120 Hz OLED, UFS 3.1, and 65W charging starting at US$575

The Black Shark 3S.
The Black Shark 3S.
The new Black Shark gaming phone has been released. The Black Shark 3S succeeds the Black Shark 3, and offers improvements in fast-charging and display technologies, while starting under US$600. Sadly, it retains the Snapdragon 865 instead of the new Snapdragon 865 Plus.

Yesterday, Xiaomi finally launched its newest gaming device under the Black Shark brand, the Black Shark 3S. The Black Shark 3S is a direct successor to the Black Shark 3 that launched earlier in the year and offers a number of tangible improvements.

The Black Shark 3S sports a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display. The panel itself offers a 120 Hz refresh rate; better than the 90 Hz on the Black Shark 3, but not quite as impressive as the 144 Hz on the new Asus ROG Phone 3. Along with that is a 270 Hz touch sampling rate and 17ms latency for better response.

Surprisingly, under the hood is a Snapdragon 865, not a Snapdragon 865 Plus as most expected. Storage is of the UFS 3.1 type, and goes up to 512 GB. 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM is standard across the range. The same 4720 mAh battery from the Black Shark 3 makes an appearance, but fast charging is boosted up to an incredible 65 W, with secondary 18 W fast charging.

Three cameras reside at the back of the Black Shark 3S: A 64 MP main snapper, a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle, and a 5 MP depth sensor. At the front is a 20 MP selfie shooter. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the Black Shark 3S runs on JoyUI 12 based on Android 10.

Pricing is as follows:

  • 12/128GB: CNY 3999 (~$575)
  • 12/256GB: CNY 4299 (~$615)
  • 12/512GB: CNY 4799 (~$690)

It goes on sale on August 4 and will be available in Skyfall black and Crystal blue.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 07 > Black Shark 3S launched: 120 Hz OLED, UFS 3.1, and 65W charging starting at US$575
Ricci Rox, 2020-08- 1 (Update: 2020-08- 1)