About three weeks ago, Razer had tweeted a teaser, hinting that it will be unveiling something big on the first week of November. True to its promise, the company primarily known for its expertise in developing hardware and software products for computer gaming enthusiasts has officially introduced its first ever smartphone offering -- the Razer Phone. This is not entirely unexpected -- some may remember that back in January early this year, Razer after all had completed its acquisition of Nextbit, the phone maker behind the Robin smartphone.
Because Razer is a gaming company, the Razer Phone is unsurprisingly positioned as a smartphone for gamer users. Thus, the device’s specifications are pretty much impressive, especially in terms of processing power and graphics rendering. The Razer Phone is equipped with Qualcomm’s superfast Snapdragon 835 processor, the same chip found on a number of recent high profile smartphone releases this year, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 flagship phablet and Google’s Pixel 2. That chip is aided by 8 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM), as well as 64 gigabytes of built in memory (with support for micro SD cards), and an Adreno 540 graphics processing unit (GPU).
The Razer Phone also features a 5.7 inch 120 hz screen that is specifically designed to refresh very quickly, allowing for a much seamless scrolling experience and for rendering peerless animation and graphics during game play. To put that 120 hz display in perspective, Apple’s iPad Pro tablet also offers a 120 hz display, but it appears that Razer may be the first to do it on a smartphone.
Other notable features include twin 12 megapixel cameras on the rear side (one a telephoto lens and the other a wide angle sensor, each with varying optical zoom capabilities), an 8 megapixel selfie shooter on the front side, a fingerprint reader (hidden in the power button, just like Nextbit’s Robin), a powerful 4,000 mAh battery, support for near field communications (NFC) technology, and Google’s Android 7.1.1 Nougat mobile operating system.
The Razer Phone comes with a price of $699, and the device should start shipping in North American and European mobile markets around a couple of weeks from now.
Razer still has a long way to go before it can build the perfect gaming smartphone, but there is every indication that its Razer Phone is a major step in the right direction. For sure, it will appeal to the gamer demographic, but with specs like that, it might have a decent chance of attracting casual mobile users, too.
