The Razer Phone 2 is poised to be the gaming phone to beat

Razer is introducing a new flagship smartphone, the Razer Phone 2, which is meant to establish a foothold in the new gaming market. I had the chance to spend some time with Razer's new flagship and found the new phone, but it has a new aluminum frame that has gone through a complete structural revamp. The Razer Phone 2 is meant to be gaming phone, so there have been some improvements made to the screen and audio, but also helpful additions that were not in the phone last year, like waterproofing.

Gaming phones are increasing in number, but not in maturity. Manufacturers that produce gaming computers – Razer and ASUS, for starters – they are a few of the most important things in the world. the spectrum. Fortnite and PUBG China's biggest mobile games, like Honor of Kings with 200 million monthly players.

While plenty of highly capable flagship smartphones exist, these companies hope that they will be able to improve the gaming experience. This year, Razer is not reinventing the gaming phone, but instead is adding signature features like Chroma and partnering with mobile game studios to optimize games for the Razer Phone 2, in order to stay ahead.

Internally, here's what's changed with the Razer Phone 2. The new brain of this gaming phone is a Snapdragon 845 chipset – what most other Android flagships are using – at 2.8GHz with an Adreno 630 visual chip. To avoid heat dissipation, Razer has a scaled-down version of the vapor chamber cooling technology used on its Blade 15 laptop, designed to keep the phone from getting too hot.

A substantial upgrade to 8GB of RAM, LTE gigabit antennas for faster data, 64GB of storage, and a massive 4,000mAh battery powers the device. The Razer Phone 2 runs Android 8.1 with Nova Launcher by default, but Android Pie is currently testing and planning an over-the-air upgrade. A new flagship Android phone should not launch with an outdated OS, but that's unfortunately the situation here.

Gaming phones need content, and it's been that the best mobile games have been iOS, not Android. Even as Android has matured and game release dates, it has not come out as the leading mobile game platform. Razer tells me it's aware of this problem and is teaming up with game studios for the Razer Phone – PUBG Mobile, Rival: Crimson x Chaos, Marvel Future Fight, and RuneScape to name a few – but also exclusive content for the future.

But maybe one of the best upgrades is something you might not want to read from: how much easier it is to hold this time around. The original Razer Phone had an all-edged design – it was a literal candy bar – with a huge size that ensured it was the most comfortable phone to hold. Although the updated design is almost identical, the edges have been rounded slightly, to give a better feel to your edges.

There is also a glass back now, so the Razer Phone 2 can charge wirelessly. The Phone 2 will work on your own charging mat or Razer's new Chroma $ 99 charging stand powered by USB-C that can prop the phone up or lay it flat. Razer is aware that some of its current and potential customers may not be fans of the glass back.

Also, I could not believe it, but it's happening: Chroma on a phone. Razer replaced the triple-snake logo on the back Chroma backlit version that serves the notification blinker, while removing the notification LED from the front. It supports 16.8 million colors (just like other Razer Chroma-supported products) and can use static, breathe, or spectrum cycling lighting modes. Do you need it? Not really. Is it cool? Kind of.

The 5.7-inch HDR coverage and brightness, while keeping the 2560 x 1440 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate for consistent and smooth visuals. It's a pretty display of pixels for sure, but it would not be more important to have a look at the lights of a conference room.

Like last year, large speakers flank both the top and bottom of the screen. While Razer believes that the size and the position is great because they give the user an area to grip the phone, I think they take away from the display. However, Razer is boasting Dolby Atmos support from the front-facing speakers and has a 24-bit DAC over USB-C. The Razer Phone 2's audio prowess is something that could be useful for situational awareness in games, or just watching Netflix.

The gaming hardware company also switched to Sony camera sensors with optical image stabilization – both 12 megapixels, one wide-angle and another regular – for the Razer Phone 2, repositioning them on the back and adding a new, better-looking camera app. With the few photos I had an improvement in clarity and color reproduction. Razer also says that it is very important to the subject of fashion, but it has not been possible to test it thoroughly.

Ultimately, it seems like Razer really thinks that the people who take mobile gaming seriously – especially in Asia – would be able to give them a competitive edge. Looking at the competition, the Razer Phone 2 is not as much as the Asus ROG Phone, despite not having any modular functionality. It's mimicking the same strategy that Razer took with the Blade 15 – subtlety over attention – while its competitors continues to release laptops with "gamer styling"; they're making the same mistake with gaming phones.

The Razer Phone 2 will be sold for $ 799 in the United States from Razer and its online partners; overseas the phone will see a few carrier partners in China. Preorders start today, with shipping dates to be announced.