Black Shark 2 vs ZenFone 6 vs OnePlus 7 Pro: What Are Their Differences?

The smartphone industry is no longer dominated by a few OEMs like Samsung or Apple like it used to be in the past. It is also the playground of many other phone makers like Asus, OnePlus, or Xiaomi. All three companies have recently launched one or more offerings in the market. While OnePlus and Asus announced their flagships called OnePlus 7 Pro and Asus ZenFone 6, Xiaomi’s sub-brand Black Shark announced its gaming-centric Black Shark 2. We will fare these three phones against each other in this comparison to see which phone will come out on top.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 vs ASUS Zenfone 6 vs OnePlus 7 Pro: Price

The price of Black Shark 2 in India is Rs. 39,999 for the entry-level variant with 6GB of RAM / 128GB of storage. It goes up to Rs. 49,999 for the option with a whopping 12GB RAM / 256GB of storage.

The price of the OnePlus 7 Pro in India starts from Rs. 48,999 for the base variant with 6GB of RAM / 128GB of storage. There are two more options with 8GB of RAM / 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM / 256GB of storage. They are retailed at Rs. 52,999 and Rs. 57,999, respectively.

Unlike the two above smartphones, the ZenFone 6 hasn’t made its way to India yet. The phone is currently priced at 499 EUR (around Rs. 39,000) for the variant with 6GB of RAM / 64GB of storage. Two additional variants with 6GB of RAM / 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM / 256GB of storage are priced at 559 EUR (around Rs. 43,500) and 599 EUR (around Rs. 46,600). However, these are just the global prices of the handset, so you should expect there are some changes when Asus brings the phone to India.

It seems like the Xiaomi and Asus offerings have lower prices compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro. However, we have to see if OnePlus 7 Pro can make up the price difference with its specifications & features.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 vs ASUS Zenfone 6 vs OnePlus 7 Pro: Specifications & Features

All three offerings are packed with a Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor under the hood with an Adreno 640 GPU for graphics. However, the gaming-centric Black Shark 2 is also equipped with features like Liquid Cool 3.0 system with 20X heat dissipation. In addition, it also has several other features to deliver the best gaming experience to its users. The OnePlus 7 Pro also has a 10-layer Liquid Cooling technology as well. Meanwhile, the ZenFone 6 doesn’t have any liquid cooling system or gaming features, but it should still offer powerful performance with the Snapdragon 855 SoC and Adreno 640 GPU.

Regarding their displays, the Xiaomi offering sports a 6.39-inch AMOLED TrueView panel with FHD+ resolution, Gorilla Glass 6, and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The ZenFone 6 comes with a 6.4-inch IPS panel with FHD+ resolution, Gorilla Glass 6, and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The OnePlus 7 Pro has the best display of the three. It sports the largest 6.7-inch panel with better QHD+ resolution, the same 19.5:9 aspect ratio and Gorilla Glass 6. The phone also supports Netflix HDR and HDR10+. Among the three, the ZenFone 6 is the only phone that doesn’t have an AMOLED panel which is uncommon for a flagship device.

In terms of performance, the Black Shark 2 might be the most powerful as it is packed with gaming features to boost the performance even more. However, the OnePlus 7 Pro has the best and largest display which is HDR10 certified. The ZenFone 6 clearly falls behind in the display aspect as for some reason, Asus decides to pack its flagship offering an IPS LCD panel.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 vs ASUS Zenfone 6 vs OnePlus 7 Pro: Camera & Battery

In terms of camera, the Black Shark sports a dual camera setup, comprising of a 48MP main sensor and a secondary 12MP telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom. On the front, it comes with a 20MP camera for taking selfies and video calling. Under the hood, it has a beefy 4,000 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 4.0.

Moving to the ZenFone 6, it has a unique camera design. Asus goes for the interesting flip mechanism, and it is the first smartphone in the world to come with such design. Its dual camera setup includes a 48MP main camera and a 13MP secondary ultra-wide camera. They can capture pictures and videos on both front and back. In addition, the ZenFone 6’s cameras were also ranked as the best selfie cameras in DxOMark test. Fueling the Asus offering is a monstrous 5,000 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 4.0.

As for the OnePlus 7 Pro, it also has an interesting camera design though it might not be as unique as that of the ZenFone 6. There is a 16MP Sony IMX 471 front-facing camera with EIS support. At the back, it has a triple camera setup, comprising of a 48MP main camera, a 16MP ultra-wide camera, and an 8MP telephoto unit with 3X optical zoom, PDAF, and OIS. Powering all of that is a large 4,000 mAh battery with Warp Charge 30 fast charging support.

In terms of camera, the OnePlus 7 Pro should be the best of the three with a triple rear camera setup while the Black Shark 2 seems to be the worst. However, it is understandable as the Black Shark 2 is launched as a gaming-centric smartphone. For selfie, the ZenFone 6 offers the best selfie quality as it achieves 98 points in the selfie test by DxOMark and makes it the best selfie camera phone in its ranking.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 vs OnePlus 7 Pro vs ASUS Zenfone 6: The Verdict

Overall, the OnePlus 7 Pro seems to be the better phone of all. It has an HDR10 certified and full-screen display, attractive design, and a triple camera setup. However, if you are looking for a gaming smartphone, the Black Shark 2 should be on the top of the list with many gaming-focused features. As for the ZenFone 6, it is by no mean a bad phone but it doesn’t have an AMOLED panel, and its design is not that inspiring. Let’s wait for its price in India and see if it is a worthy purchase or not.