Black Shark 3 Hands-On Review: Snapdragon 865, 65W Fast Charging, Headphone Jack

Karamchand Rameshwar - Mar 09, 2020

Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro are two gaming-centric smartphones with powerful specs, 65W fast charging standard, beefy battery, and advanced features for the best gaming experience.

On 3rd March, Xiaomi officially launched two gaming-centric smartphones marking the first steps of cooperation with Tencent: Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro. These are also the first two high-end gaming phones that Xiaomi has introduced this year, featuring a powerful performance from the Snapdragon 865 chipset, along with a series of advanced features for gaming, such as physical shoulder buttons, 65W super-fast charging standard or new liquid cooling technology ...

This year is also the first year we have seen Xiaomi launches two different versions in the Black Shark series. This year's Pro version is superior to the regular version in a few aspects, accompanied by a more expensive price. The version reviewed in this article is the standard version.

Black Shark 3 Review 1 — Black Shark 3 box with Tencent logo

Black Shark 3 Review 2 — All accessories bundled with the handset

Black Shark 3 Review 3 — 65W charger included in the box, offering a full recharge in just 38 minutes

Black Shark 3 Review 4 — Xiaomi carries over the design of its predecessor to the new Black Shark 3

Black Shark 3 Review 5 — Triple camera setup housed in a triangular module on the back

Black Shark 3 Review 6 — Below are the Tencent logo and the magnet charging pin, which allows users to charge and use the phone simultaneously.

Black Shark 3 Review 7 — In the 5G-enabled version, there will be a 5G logo at the bottom.

Black Shark 3 Review 8 — The Black Shark 3’s S logo can glow in customized colors.

Black Shark 3 Review 9 — The front of Black Shark 3.

Black Shark 3 Review 10 — The Black Shark 3 Pro has a large 7.1-inch QHD + screen, while the standard version only has a 6.67-inch FHD + screen.

Black Shark 3 Review 11 — The screen bezel on the bottom of the device is quite thick ...

Black Shark 3 Review 12 — … so that users can play games more easily.

Black Shark 3 Review 13 — Another reason for the thick bezel design on the bottom is: there is space for placing dual speakers in a symmetrical position, for a better audio output.

Black Shark 3 Review 14 — The second speaker

Black Shark 3 Review 15 — There is a gaming mode activation button on the left side of the device. Once activated, the device will automatically free up memory, turn on the do not disturb mode and optimize the gaming experience.

Black Shark 3 Review 16 — The game mode of Black Shark 3.

Black Shark 3 Review 17 — Like Sony, Xiaomi has realized the importance of the 3.5mm headphone jack for entertainment experience, so Black Shark 3 is equipped with a headphone jack on the top edge.

The vanilla model will be available in China from March 6 with a starting price of CNY 3,499 (around Rs. 37,300). Meanwhile, the Pro model will hit the stores on March 17, with a starting price of CNY 4,699 (around Rs. 50,100).

Black Shark 3 price: around Rs. 37,300

Black Shark 3 price in India: Unavailable

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