First Razer Phone

Razer Phone. © Razer.

Razer, the well-known gaming company, unveiled its first smartphone, simply called Razer Phone. The introduction of an Android phone by a company known for its gaming-oriented PCs, keyboards and mice is the result of Razer’s January purchase of Nextbit, a start-up founded by former Google and HTC employees in 2015. Not surprisingly, the Razer Phone looks just like the Robin, the angular phone Nextbit launched in August 2015. But its components are in a league of their own: Snapdragon 835 processor, 8GB RAM, 4,000 mAh battery. Battery life is said to be 7.5 hours of gaming (tested with Blizzard’s Hearthstone), which isn’t bad. While phone displays have always topped out at 60Hz, even on the latest iPhones, the 2K LCD 5.7-inch Razer display is unique: with a refresh rate of 120 images per second, it makes for smoother transitions, enhancing the gaming experience. In fact, Apple only recently adopted this standard, and even then, only for its iPad Pros. The Razer Phone will be available as of November 17 for US$700 (€750, or CA$885).

⇨ Ars Technica, “Razer made a smartphone, and it’s an all-black version of the Nextbit Robin.”