The Razer Phone
comes with a solid spec list, an emphasis on mobile gaming, an audio experience
that any audiophile can appreciate, as well as what seems to be a justified
price. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Razer’s acquisition of Nextbit paid
off quite well in terms of this initial launch, but let’s dive into the details
to see just how this device stacks up against established Android
manufacturers.
Specs
Razer Phone is
no chump on specs, with Razer obviously taking the “spare no expense”
expression quite seriously. The device features a 5.7″ QHD IGZO LCD UltraMotion
display (2560 x 1440, 120Hz refresh rate), Snapdragon 835 processor, 8GB RAM,
64GB storage (expandable supported), dual rear-facing cameras (12MP f/1.75 Wide
+ 13MP f/2.6), 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 4+, Dolby Atmos-branded dual
front-facing speakers, NFC, fingerprint reader, and Android 7.1+ Nougat.
For a company’s
first attempt at an Android smartphone, this is quite the impressive sheet.
While I’m not giddy about dual camera setups (ex: Google does better with just
one camera) or even 8GB RAM, Razer actually did something innovative with
regard to specs, which is the LCD display capable of a 120Hz refresh rate.
That’s something we’re not seeing from any other maker at the moment, so for
Razer to bring it on their first attempt, well, that’s very welcomed.
While you won’t
find a headphone jack or water resistance, the price for all of this is $699,
which seems incredibly reasonable if high-end mobile gaming and audio
performance is what you’re concerned about.
Display
Considering such
a fuss was made about this display during Razer’s unveiling, the 5.7″ QHD IGZO LCD display is great,
offering sharp contrast, an accurate portrayal of colors, plenty of brightness
whether you’re indoor or outdoor the 120Hz refresh rate ability does play a
factor into the overall experience.
Inside of the
settings menu, the user can select which refresh rate they want the display to
run at. You can opt between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. Your typical Android display
has a refresh rate of 60Hz (Galaxy S8, Pixel 2 XL, etc.), so for these options
to be available, we’re talking an instant upgrade in user customization.
In case you
aren’t familiar with refresh rate, it’s a number based on how quickly a display
changes the image on screen. A lot of high-end computer monitors have a 144Hz
refresh rate, while pro gamers can use monitors with up to a 240Hz refresh
rate. Essentially, higher equals better (there is argument out there that
anything over 100Hz isn’t necessary), but Razer is making this a new spec in
the Android industry that we once never concerned ourselves with. We used to
bicker about resolution (FHD vs. QHD), but refresh rate could be the next area
of improvement for all mobile display makers. It plays directly into VR
implementations, and with Google and Samsung battling it out in that arena,
maybe we could see more emphasis placed on refresh rate.
As for Razer
Phone, you do notice a change in the scrolling effect when toggling between
60Hz and 120Hz. When cranked up, there is less stutter and animations are very
fluid. When playing mobile games, gameplay also looked and felt better, which
I’ll never argue against. For those interested in overall brightness it should
not be an issue when in direct sunlight with the screen cranked up to 100%.
Performance
Thanks to a
Snapdragon 835, 8GB RAM, plus that 120Hz refresh rate, everything you do on
this phone seems smooth. Whether you’re playing games, diving in and out of
apps, or scrolling through a webpage, it’s all good. Also aiding this
experience is a pretty barebones stock Android experience, but I’ll get into
that shortly.
Topping off the
experience is Razer’s Game Booster app, which comes in quite handy for those
who really plan on putting in some hours of gaming. With this app, you can
select customizable settings for individual game titles. The app allows you to
set CPU clock speeds, refresh rates, whether you receive notifications when in
fullscreen, as well as an anti-aliasing toggle. For games like Stranger Things,
where it’s a pretty pixelated game, you don’t need massive performance, so
throttling down your CPU and refresh rate can extend your battery life while
playing. Games like Gear Club want all of your juice, though, so setting your
CPU and refresh rate to the max leads to the best performance.
Software
The Razer Phone
comes with Android 7.1+ out of the box, with no custom OEM skin atop it. This
makes for a very familiar experience, but as a cherry on top, every phone is
shipped with Nova Launcher Prime as its default launcher. Talk about really
trying to make the Android fanboys happy, am I right? With Nova Launcher, you
can customize basically all aspects of your home screen and beyond, complete
with custom icon pack support and more. With that being said, now would be a
good time to brush up on the icon packs we think are hot.
Going beyond
just your launcher, Razer built in a theme manager for the software, which
makes customizing the phone’s color scheme and even notification sounds a
breeze. When a theme is applied, and there’s plenty to choose from, you’ll have
a custom-colored notification pulldown, calculator, phone app, as well as
ringtones and alarm sounds. It’s a snazzy effort on Razer’s part, one that I
appreciate as someone who gets bored with the same ol’ white UI on most phones.
While the software is pretty barebones, it
doesn’t really lack anything. Inside the settings, you’ll find access to Smart
Lock, Gestures (quick unlock to Camera), storage management settings, an
Ambient Display mode for incoming notifications, Night Light, and other
settings. It’s similar to the approach taken by OnePlus, where they give you
all of the essentials, then toss in a few extras that make it a more
customizable experience. For me, that’s fine, because when we start having
features piled on top of features, it’s easy for many things to get lost deep
inside of the Settings menu.
It would have been nice to see the Razer
Phone launch with Android 8.0 Oreo, too, only because it’s already November and
that means this device launches behind the Android update schedule, if that
makes sense. On the plus, this will be a good test to see how well Razer
intends to support the software on this phone. If we see Oreo come later this
year or very early in 2018, that’s a good thing. If we somehow creep into
February or March, though, that will be a bad sign and I wouldn’t blame anyone
for being disappointed. We’ll just have to wait and see how that plays out.
Audio
On the frontside
of the Razer Phone are dual Dolby Atmos speakers, both individually amplified
for improved sound. Via the USB Type-C port, you can utilize the accompanied
audio adapter with a THX certified DAC for your headphones.
To sum it up,
the sound on this phone, whether it comes from the speakers or your headphones,
is remarkable. The speakers get stupid loud and the sound when plugged in is
rich and full. No other phone has offered this much audio goodness in a while,
so it’s nice to have a player back in the game who is taking not just headphone
sound quality, but external audio propulsion seriously, too. While LG has great
audio via headphones with its Quad DAC, the Razer Phone takes it to another
level with these external speakers, getting nearly as loud as my MacBook Pro,
which is pretty impressive to me.
If I could make
one tweak, though, it would be to have better control over the lows on the
front speakers via the Dolby Atmos app. Inside this app, you can customize the
EQ to suit your needs, but even in there, I can’t get quite as much bass as I’d
desire coming from the speakers. They are very high and mid heavy, which is
fine for the spine tingling guitar riffs I listen to, but I still want more
bass.
Battery
In a world where
it seems like the most we ever get from the high-end Android makers is
3,500mAh, Razer brought the heat in the Razer Phone’s battery department. The
phone features a whopping 4,000mAh battery, capable of providing me with way
more than a day’s worth of usage, even with heavy testing and gaming.
Each night, I
hit the hay around 10:30-11PM. At that time, the Razer Phone would still show
40%+ of juice left, meaning I could easily leave it unplugged and pick up right
where I left off without having to do my overnight charging routine. For screen
on time, I’m getting my usual 4 hours, which is my typical day.
Now, you may
also want to know if the display’s refresh rate ability has any affect on the
battery. From what I can tell, that’s a “no,” and Razer specifically mentioned
this during its press event. According to them and its work with Qualcomm on
the UltraMotion display, users should actually see “significant battery life
improvement.” While I wouldn’t go so far as to say I saw improvements, what I
did see was a battery that was getting me through lots of gaming without a ton
of juice being used, so at the end of the day, I’m a happy user who still has
plenty of battery life left.
Conclusion
The Razer Phone
is an absolute tank, being one of the heaviest phones I’ve ever had in my
pocket. It weighs in at nearly 200 grams, compared to the Galaxy S8+ at 173g,
Pixel 2 XL at 175g, and the LG V30 at 158g. The Razer Phone is large in-hand,
heavy, and frankly, kinda boring to look at. While I appreciate its tankiness
at times, when it comes to leaving the house with it, it can be kinda daunting
depending on the type of pants I’m wearing. I know that’s weird to read, but
bear with me here.
Even inside of
the settings menu for the camera, the only options you’ll find are for
resolutions and shutter sounds. Really, I know you might be having a hard time
believing this, but it’s true. In terms of shooting, the only thing you can do
is toggle your flash and the HDR mode, which consistently needs to be enabled
because the camera handles many lighting environments poorly.
On the bright side, much of what I’m talking
about can be changed via an update to Razer’s camera app. All of those modes I
mentioned are done purely on the software side, so there’s no reason Razer
can’t address this. As of right now, though, there’s no telling if they will.
The Razer Phone
isn’t missing much, but there are just a few things I’d have loved to see in
this $699 smartphone. For starters, water resistance would be cool. Now, I’m
not docking points or anything from this phone because it doesn’t have it, I’m
just saying that it would be cool if it did. Also, this phone is certainly
large enough for a 3.5mm headphone jack. I don’t know why Razer decided to
exclude it, but seriously, there’s plenty of room. On the other hand, I do
appreciate that they included a fancy dongle with its own DAC to help me get
over the fact that left out the 3.5mm port. Lastly, and I know this is
nitpicking, but it would have been appreciable had it been launched with Oreo.
This phone is
only for audio philes and gamers if you aren’t one give this one a skip.
If you liked
this post follow my blog and share it on your favorite social media.
If you have any
inputs/queries post it in the comments, thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment