A new Xiaomi smartphone labelled as “Blackshark Skywalker” has appeared on Geekbench today. What’s interesting about this listing is that the handset has appeared with the all new Snapdragon 855 mobile platform.

The Geekbench listing of the Black Shark Skywalker shows that it is powered by “msmnile.” Reports from last year had revealed that “nile” is the codename of the 855 chipset while “msm” refers to Snapdragon. The SoC is supported by 8 GB of RAM.

The smartphone is running on Android 9 Pie OS. In the single-core test, the Black Shark Skywalker has scored 3,494 points and in multi-core test, it has recorded a very impressive score of 11,149. These scores similar to other Snapdragon 855 phones seen on Geekbench.

In October, Xiaomi had launched the Black Shark Helo smartphone as the world’s first smartphone with 10 GB of RAM. The smartphone is fueled by the Snapdragon 845 chipset. It appears that the Chinese manufacturer could be now gearing up to launch a new Snapdragon 855 SoC powered gaming phone in the next few months. The Black Shark Helo was launched ahead of Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 last year. Hence, there is a possibility that the Black Shark Skywalker may debut in March ahead of Mi MIX 3 5G which is also expected to go official in the same month.

• Read More: Redmi’s 48MP camera smartphone images revealed by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun

The Snapdragon 855 tags along X50 LTE modem which enables 5G connectivity on devices driven by the chipset. However, some Snapdragon 855 powered phones arriving this year that won’t be supporting 5G connectivity are expected to feature X24 LTE modem. A recent report had revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 9 will be powered by Snapdragon 855 and it will feature X24 LTE modem. There are no details available on the other specs of the Xiaomi Black Shark Skywalker. Hopefully, forthcoming leaks may reveal more information the smartphone.

(source)

The post Xiaomi Black Shark Skywalker with Snapdragon 855, 8 GB RAM spotted on Geekbench appeared first on Gizmochina.

Each month, AnTuTu benchmarking platform releases the list of top 10 best performing Android phones. In November 2018, the top 10 best performance Android smartphones was dominated by Kirin 980 chipset powered Huawei and Honor phones. The other phones that made it to the list were fueled by Snapdragon 845. AnTuTu’s latest lists for December 2018 reveals has the Snapdragon 845 powered Nubia Red Magic Mars smartphone leading pack which is followed by Kirin 980 driven smartphones.

All the phones mentioned in the list below were benchmarked using AnTuTu version 7 between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. The Nubia Red Magic Mars phone that is placed on the number one position recorded an average benchmarking score of 320,464. The next five phones in the list are all powered by Kirin 980 chipset. The Mate 20 Honor V20, Mate 20 X, Mate 20 Pro and Honor Magic 2 have respectively scored 309,310, 303,525, 304,096, 302,872 and 300,978 points

The Xiaomi Black Shark Helo phone is on the seventh position with a score of 300,211. On eighth is OnePlus 6T with 296,278 score. The original Xiaomi Black Shark gaming phone and Nubia X have made it to the top ten list of best performance Android phones by respectively scoring 294,193 and 294,032 points.

• Read More: Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo to maintain lead in China in 2019

In the coming months, multiple phones with Snapdragon 855 are expected to go official It remains to be seen whether it will be the Samsung Galaxy S10 or Sony Xperia XZ4 or any other phone will be the first Snapdragon 855 powered smartphone.

An unofficial listing of the Xperia XZ4 that was spotted earlier today revealed that it had scored over 395k points. Hence, it appears that Snapdragon 855 may start leading AnTuTu’s list of best performance Android phones by the end of first quarter of this year. Huawei is also rumored to be prepping up Kirin 985 chipset to power the Huawei P30 series that is expected to go official by the end of March. Hopefully, it could be a good rival for the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform.

(source)

The post AnTuTu’s top 10 Android phones with best performance for December 2018 released appeared first on Gizmochina.

Not too long ago, Xiaomi disclosed its Double 11 earnings reached up to 4 billion yuan. That massive sales figure didn’t apparently include the Black Shark gaming phone brand. However, Black Shark has announced its own 11.11 sales report and it clearly shows the brand is the 11.11 sales champion under the emerging gaming smartphone category.

gaming smartphones are not so many around but the category is gradually gaining some momentum especially among gaming enthusiasts. Xiaomi first launched the Black Shark gaming phone in the fourth quarter of last year and just recently, a new model dubbed Black Shark Helo joined the fray.  The Helo came with a price tag of 3,199 yuan ($459) which is pretty impressive for a gaming phone. The Weibo poster announcing the emergence of the brand as the 11.11 gaming smartphone champion but was silent on the number of units or the revenue generated from the sales.

Read Also: Check Out Awesome 11.11 Festival Tech Deals at Gearbest

There is no doubt the new Black Shark Helo gaming smartphone contributed a great deal to the brand’s 11.11 sales. The device comes with a huge 6.01-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2160x1080pixels.  The device is equipped with a Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 10GB of RAM. The device packs a 20MP selfie camera and a 12MP+20MP dual rear camera setup. It equally packs a 4000mAh battery. The Black Shark phone also comes with a good heat dissipation mechanism that prevents overheating during heavy gaming.

(source)

The post Xiaomi’s Black Shark was the 11/11 champion in the gaming smartphone category appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is slowly expanding its smartphone portfolio in China. Some of the new phones that had arrive in the European markets in the recent weeks include Redmi Note 6 Pro, Poco F1, Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite. Fresh information that has surfaced today claims that Xiaomi’s brand new phones that are currently available in China such as Mi MIX 3 and Black Shark Helo will be launching soon in the European markets.

The Mi MIX 3 and Black Shark Helo phones are expected to land in multiple European markets such as the U.K, Spain, Italy and France. A recent report had revealed that Black Shark has hinted its early supporters that it may globally introduce the Black Shark brand on Nov. 9. Hence, it is speculated to announce the global version of the Black Shark Helo smartphone on the said date. There is no information available on the rumored pricing of the Black Shark Helo and Mi MIX 3 for Europe.

The Black Shark Helo has arrived as the successor of the Black Shark smartphone that was unveiled in April. The Black Shark Helo comes with a 6.01-inch IPS LCD FHD+ display and it is powered by Snapdragon 845 chipset. It is the first phone in the world to arrive with 10 GB of RAM. The handset features up to 256 GB of inbuilt storage.

The 12-megapixel + 20-megapixel dual camera resides on its rear. For shooting selfies, it is equipped with a front-facing shooter of 20-megapixel. It is packed with a 4,000mAh battery.

• Read More: Xiaomi marks its UK debut with the launch of Mi 8 Pro for £499 ($654)

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 slider phone features a 6.39-inch S-AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution. It is also powered by Snapdragon 845 chipset. It comes with up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

A pair of 12-megapixel cameras are placed on the rear of the Mi MIX 3. The slider of the smartphone features 24-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual selfie camera setup. It is packed with a 3,200mAh battery. In China, the company is also selling a special edition of the Mi MIX 3 that features 10 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

(source|via)

The post Xiaomi Black Shak Helo, Mi MIX 3 European release could be very near appeared first on Gizmochina.

In October, Xiaomi’s sub-brand Black Shark had launched the Black Shark Helo gaming phone as the world’s first phone with 10 GB of RAM. The smartphone is available for purchase in China, but there is no information available on its international availability. An email has been sent out by the company to its early supporters to hint that the brand will be internationally introduced on Nov. 9 possibly by announcing the Black Shark Helo smartphone.

Just before the launch of the Black Shark Helo phone, the global edition of the company’s website had gone live and it carried texts like “Sharks Approaching” and “Unleashing Soon.” It was then speculated that company may internationally announce the successor of the original Black Shark phone. The email that has been sent to early supporters states that the company will be launching “something big” on Nov. 9. It is likely that the Chinese manufacturer may introduce the global edition of the Black Shark Helo smartphone.

The Black Shark Helo phone features a 6.01-inch display that supports Full HD+ resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The Snapdragon 845 chipset fuels the smartphone. It is equipped with 12-megapixel + 20-megapixel dual camera setup and a selfie shooter of 20-megapixel. The handset receives power from 4,000mAh capacity battery that supports 18W fast charging.

• Read More: Pre-Order Xiaomi Black Shark Helo Smartphone For Just $639.99 On GeekBuying [Coupon Inside]

The 6 GB RAM + 128 GB, 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage variants of the Black Shark Helo are respectively priced at 3,199 Yuan (~$462), 3,499 Yuan (~$505) and 4,199 Yuan (~$607). It comes in single color option of Black.

(via)

The post Xiaomi Black Shark Helo global debut on November 9 seems likely appeared first on Gizmochina.

Since the past few months, AnTuTu’s list of top 10 best performance Android phones have been led by Snapdragon 845 powered smartphones. The list for the September month was completely populated by SD845 phones. Today, the benchmarking platform has released the list of top 10 best performance Android phones for October month. The top three positions on the list have been taken over by Kirin 980 chipset powered Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro and Mate 20 X smartphones.

As it can be seen in the below image, the first position is held by Huawei Mate 20 phone that has recorded 311,840 average benchmarking score. The second position goes to Mate 20 Pro that has raked in 307,693 points. The Mate 20 X is sitting on the third position with a score of 303,112.

Another new phone that has appeared on AnTuTu’s list is the all new Xiaomi Black Shark Helo phone that has reached 301,757 mark on the benchmarking platform. The original Xiaomi Black Shark phone is sitting on the fifth position with 293,544 benchmarking score.

• Read More: OnePlus 6T AnTuTu listing appears with 298k benchmarking scores

The Meizu 16th smartphone that was announced in August is on the sixth spot with a score of 293,554.  The seventh position goes to OnePlus 6 that has salvaged a benchmarking score of 292,371. The ASUS ROG Phone (291,701) Smartisan R1 (291,102) and Nubia Z18 (290,332) are the remaining phones that are present on the list of top 10 best performance Android smartphones for October.

AnTuTu has stated that the aforementioned points for each smartphone are not the highest benchmarking score, but an average of their scores. Smartphones such as Xiaomi Mi MIX 3, OnePlus 6T and Honor Magic 2 that were announced at the end of the previous month haven’t made it the October list by AnTuTu. These phones are expected to rank well in AnTuTu’s top 10 best performance Android smartphones list in November that will be released in the coming. As far as October’s benchmarking scores are concentered, the new list is a clear evidence that the Kirin 980 powered phones have outperformed SD845 driven smartphones.

(source)

The post AnTuTu’s top 10 best performance Android phones for October is led by Kirin 980 fueled Mate 20 series appeared first on Gizmochina.

As promised, Xiaomi Black Shark Helo aka Black Shark 2 went on sale at 10:00 Beijing time today via Xiaomi Mall in China. Today, Lei Jun made an announcement about the availability of Black Shark Helo gaming smartphone via Xiaomi Mall app. It is available for the starting price of 3199 Yuan (~$459) for 6GB RAM+128GB internal storage. Other storage variants such as 8GB+128GB is available for 3499 Yuan (~$509), the biggest, 10 GB RAM + 256 GB is available for 4199 Yuan (~$602).

All different storage variants of Black Shark Helo is available in black color. Those who have pre-ordered it can see their orders shipping out. Although, Xiaomi Black Shark Helo was already available for pre-orders via Xiaomi Mall.

Xiaomi Black Shark Helo is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with an Adreno 630 GPU. It is the first device that has gone on sale with 10 GB of RAM. Further, it replaces the LCD panel on Black Shark with a new 6-inch HDR ready AMOLED display having a resolution of 2160×1080 pixels. Its dual liquid cooling system will dissipate heat from the device while playing games.

Black Shark Helo also carries extended battery capacity of 4000 mAh to sustain your gaming sessions for even a larger time. There are various AI features which facilitate users while you are playing games or usually using the device. In-camera section, Black Shark helo comes with a dual rear camera of 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 20-megapixel secondary sensor. On the front, Xiaomi has added a 20megapixel shooter for selfies.

• Read More: Xiaomi Black Shark Helo vs Razer Phone 2 vs Asus ROG Phone: Specs Comparison

As like of Black Shark, Xiaomi has added an illuminated logo on the backside of the Black Shark 2. Additionally, it has a customizable LED light strip on the phone. In connectivity, it carries 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, AGPS, Glonass, aptX and aptX HD support. There are plenty of sensors which assist Black Shark 2 gaming phone while using it.

So, the groundbreaking deal is now on, and users can directly buy it from Xiaomi Mall in China. Besides, there are air-cooled thermal back clips, naked-eye 3D protective shells and other accessories on sale. Black Shark Helo is available for the starting price of 3199 Yuan.

(Source)

The post World’s first 10GB RAM phone Black Shark Helo goes on sale appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has finally taken the wraps off the Black Shark Helo smartphone. Touted as the long-awaited Black Shark gaming smartphone follow-up, the Helo offers an array of powerful specifications and awe-inspiring features at an unbeatable price.

Unlike its well-received predecessor, the new Black Shark Helo does not resort to using the LCD panel but replaces it with an AMOLED one, while the notch is still missing. The phone sports a mammoth 6.01-inch HDR AMOLED screen with a screen resolution of 2160×1080 pixels.

Under the hood, this 2nd Generation Black Shark gaming phone packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 10nm Octa Core 2.8GHz processor and an Adreno 630 GPU. It comes with 6GB/8GB/10GB of LPDDR4x RAM and offers a hearty 128GB/256GB onboard storage option.
On the photography front, the Black Shark Helo smartphone houses a 12.0MP+20MP dual camera setup on the back and a 20.0MP front shooter with AI Smart Beauty for self-portraits. The phone runs on Joy UI OS based Android 8.0 Oreo OS and is backed by a 4000mAh battery Quick Charge 3.0 standard support.

If the new Black Shark Helo smartphone has grabbed your attention, it might interest you to know that the Xiaomi branded phone has gone up for pre-order carrying a $549 price tag for 6GB RAM+128GB ROM and a $729 price tag for the larger variant that offers 10GB of RAM and a hefty 256GB ROM on Giztop, the official online store of GizmoChina.

You can follow this link in order to check out the full specification and the Black Share Helo smartphone and pre-order it on Giztop.

The post Xiaomi Black Shark Helo Smartphone Goes Up For Pre-Order Bearing An Unbeatable Price On Giztop appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Black Shark Helo is official! The Helo is the phone we thought would launch as the Black Shark 2. Black Shark doesn’t want to call this a direct successor to the Black Shark Gaming Phone probably because they have the same processor. This is understandable but that doesn’t mean the Helo isn’t worthy of the title. There are a bunch of significant upgrades, some which are appearing in a phone for the first time ever.

Design

The Helo has a completely different design from its predecessor. It still has an 18:9 display with a bit of bezel but it now has symmetrically designed front-facing cameras. The Black Shark Helo also has a green thin line that goes around the front and rear of the phone.

A large area of the back is covered in glass with the pattern from the original underneath. The area covered in glass is where you have the dual cameras which are now vertically arranged in a straight line with the LED flash and fingerprint scanner.

There is also the Black Shark logo which now glows thanks to the RGB LED underneath. That isn’t the only RGB LED on the device. There is one on each side of the frame that can change between 16.8 million colors with different effects based on the games you are playing.

Black Shark Helo Specs

The Black Shark Helo has a 6.01-inch 18:9 display. It is not just a tad bigger than the original but it is an AMOLED screen and not LCD. It also has a dedicated image processing chip that works with the AMOLED display for superior HDR quality. It also has support for DCI-P3 and SRGB for a wider color gamut.

The Helo might have the same Snapdragon 845 processor found in a lot of phones released this year but it is the first commercially available phone to have 10GB of RAM. It beats the Mi MIX 3, which is scheduled to launch on Thursday, to the title. The 10GB RAM version has 256GB of storage. There is a 6GB RAM version with 128GB of storage and an 8GB RAM version, also with 128GB of storage.

The original Black Shark gaming phone has liquid cooling to keep the phone’s temperature down while gaming. For the Helo, there are two liquid cooling pipes with a combined area of 10000mm². The cooling pipes can reduce the CPU’s temperature by up to 12°C and increases thermal efficiency by up to 20 times.

The Black Shark Helo has dual rear AI cameras – a 12MP primary sensor and a 20MP secondary sensor. The cameras can recognize up to 206 different scenes and take bokeh images. The front camera is a 20MP sensor that can also take portrait mode selfies. Sitting below the rear cameras is a fingerprint scanner.

The Helo has front-facing stereo speakers. The audio should be significantly better now, thanks to the larger cut-out for the top speaker (symmetrical with the bottom speaker). There is a Smart PA amplifier and Black Shark’s own Biso audio technology. It also has 3 microphones for clear calls during gaming. Black Shark says the Helo has improved signal reception thanks to its X+1 antennas.

There are a bunch of new features on the software side too such as Gamer Studio – a dedicated app where users can tweak CPU settings, notifications, sounds, and more. There is also Shark Time – an AI-based feature that automatically records highlights while you are playing games and allows you to share them. The Shark Key is also still there for one-key push performance boost and DND activation.

Black Shark also announced a new gamepad for the Helo. This has a circular touchpad and XYAB action buttons. They also announced a clip-on cooling case with two cooling fans and ports for charging and audio and a 3D protective case.

READ MORE: Nubia Red Magic 2 gaming smartphone coming soon, reveals a new poster

Black Shark Helo Price and Availability

The Black Shark Helo is priced at ¥3199 (~$460) for the 6GB RAM version, ¥3499 (~$504) for the 8GB RAM version and ¥4199 (~$605) for the 10GB RAM version. The 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM models are already available for purchase on the Youpin site and will come with a free Black Wings left-hand gamepad.

You can also pre-order all three models on the official Black Shark site, JD.com, and Mi.com today before they go on sale on October 30. The 10GB RAM variant will come with a Black Wing left-hand gamepad and the new Black Wing right-hand touchpad controller.

The post Black Shark Helo launched: first phone with 10GB RAM & dual cooling pipes! appeared first on Gizmochina.