Razer Phone 2

Although the Razer Phone 2 didn’t adopt a bezel-less screen this year, like most other smartphones released in 2018, it did improve in more practical ways. The 5.7-inch IGZO IPS LCD screen on the Razer Phone 2 is a lot brighter now, at 580 nits, compared to the 380 nits screen that was used in last year’s Razer Phone. This makes up for much-improved sunlight legibility and HDR video streaming performance. Want to game on the go? The new screen should let you do that without much of a problem. It still features butter smooth response, thanks to 120Hz refresh rate. Moreover, the screen is now protected using a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 panel, which means better protection against drops and scratches. Razer has also covered the screen with an oleophobic coating, resulting in fewer fingerprints and stains. Great gaming and multimedia consumption experience aren’t limited to the screen, though, and the Razer Phone 2 makes sure that audio quality is as good as it can get. It features Dolby powerful front-facing stereo speakers that can mimic Dolby Atmos audio on a smartphone. Audio amplifiers used to drive these stereo speakers are certified by THX, an audio expertise brand that was acquired by Razer a couple of years ago. There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, though, so you’ll have to rely on either the bundled USC-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter (featuring a 24-bit DAC) or Razer Hammerhead Wireless Bluetooth earphones.

The gaming performance of the Razer Phone 2 is better than that of the Razer Phone, all thanks to the powerful Snapdragon 845 processor. Compared to the Snapdragon 835 chipset’s Adreno 540 GPU, the Adreno 630 GPU inside the Snapdragon 845 chipset is 40% more powerful. The phone also features vapor chamber cooling system for better heat dissipation and better overall gaming performance. There’s 8GB RAM, so no matter what game you’re playing, it won’t affect the system performance. Hence, the Razer Phone 2 can offer better frame rates for almost all high-end games, be it Asphalt 9, Fortnite, PUBG, or Street Fighter 4. For a more immersive experience, the phone’s 120Hz refresh rate screen offers more perceived gaming fluidity. The Razer Cortex app not only lists a curated list of popular mobile games but also allows game optimization through CPU clock speed, frame rate, and resolution settings through Razer Game Booster feature. Razer has also announced that it has over 100 UltraMotion compatible games to take full benefit of its phones’ 120Hz refresh rate screens. Thanks to a 4000mAh battery, you can game long without worrying too much about battery life, and when the battery is low, you can use the phone’s compatibility with Quick Charge 4+ (at up to 24W) charging technology through its USB Type-C port. There’s wireless charging, too, and Razer is also selling a wireless charger with funky RGB lighting, something the company is known for in the PC gaming industry.

The Razer Phone 2 also gets a much better rear-facing camera setup, including two 12MP sensors. The primary sensor has an f/1.75 aperture, OIS, and dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus. The secondary 12MP sensor has an f/2.6 aperture and 2x optical zoom lens. The rear-facing camera setup also features dual-tone dual-LED flash and 4K video recording at up to 60fps. On paper, the Razer Phone 2 has as good a camera setup as many other current-generation flagship smartphones from competing brands which are known for terrific image and video quality. On the front, there’s an 8MP camera with fixed focus mechanism, f/2.0 aperture, and 1080p video recording at 60fps. Overall, the Razer Phone 2 has a much better imaging system than that of the Razer Phone, but it still can’t match market leaders like the Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XS, Mate 20 Pro, and the Pixel 3 XL.