Razer Phone

Razer Phone overview

Razer Phone is the first smartphone from a famous manufacturer of gaming accessories — Razer. The mobile gadget was also designed for gaming. Its killer features are a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother work, powerful hardware to support the heaviest games and one of the most powerful multimedia stereo speakers on the market. The battery capacity for 4000 mAh and a strong metal case also can be regarded as advantages. As for disadvantages, it has a weak camera, a bulky design and it lacks a 3.5 mm jack for headphones.
Razer Phone is really a smartphone for gamers, and in terms of performance it is one of the best options in its price category. But it is still behind many flagships like the iPhone X. If you like mobile games and want a unique screen — no smartphone has a 120Hz screen — then Razer Phone will be a good option. But in this case you should forget about high-quality photos and miniature design. These things are not about Razer.

Pros of Razer Phone

A unique display with a 120 Hz frequency support. No other smartphone has such a display. The screen itself is good — it's a bit dim, but the brightness margin is almost always enough. Thanks to the IGZO matrix, the display quickly responds to touches and perfectly conveys colors. In the mode of the maximum refresh rate even with accelerated scrolling you can read any text. Games at 120 Hz work much more smoothly;
The best stereo speakers on the smartphone market. The equipment meets THX requirements, the speakers and headset give a clean and loud 3D sound. Games, movies, music — there is no complaint about anything. There may be some problems with bass sound, but after all, a smartphone is not a portable speaker and, of course, it is not a boombox either;
Performance at the flagship level. With the Snapdragon 835 b processor with 8 cores and frequency of 1.9 to 2.35 Hz Razer Phone works like Samsung S9+. Games optimization makes it an ideal option for gamers. The case is almost not heated, the processor does not have throttling, even at the maximum settings of heavy games.

Cons of Razer Phone

Cameras of poor quality. For such a price cameras should have at least a stabilizer and sufficient photo quality. But even a dual module with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens produces photos of low quality when there is a slight lack of light. The front camera works well, but it is the only advantage;
There is no 3.5 mm headphone jack. You often need to use headphones when playing games — so as not to disturb others. Games also often require charging — they spend a lot of battery power. You cannot charge the smartphone and play games wearing headphones at the same time because there is no 3.5 mm jack. It is clear that it is a designers’ flaw because one additional connector could be inserted into the large case — at least on the upper edge;
The case is bulky and without water protection. Many people like the design, but a brick-like case with minimal rounding of the edges can easily tear your jeans pocket. Slippery metal and angular design lead to the fact that the smartphone is very likely to slip from your hand — you have to hold it with both hands. Razer Phone waterproof is not so necessary, but to produce flagships without this feature is unbecoming and inappropriate.

Razer Phone design and ergonomics

Razer Phone is a classic candybar phone, a "brick". Unlike most modern smartphones, there are no rounded edges and smooth lines. The gadget is similar to Sony devices of two or three years ago: a real rectangle with hardly noticeably smoothed corners to avoid skin scratching. The case is made of metal. The number of decorations is minimum — there is only a Razer logo on the back cover. Technical information and certification is given in several inconspicuous lines in small print on the lower edge. The antennas are built into the plastic strips in the corners, and they are also difficult to notice. The top and bottom ones of the front side are covered with a metal bar, there are hidden speakers behind it.
Let’s look more precisely at control function and sensors:

• Front side. The screen is covered by Gorilla Glass 3, occupying 72.7% of the surface. Loudspeakers are situated above and below it. There are two identical windows on the top panel. The right one has a front camera, the left one has sensors;
• Back side. There is a block with a dual camera and flash at the top on the left. They protrude a couple of millimeters above the surface;
• Upper edge. Here there is only a speaker and a part of the plastic line for antennas;
• Lower edge. There is a USB-C connector in the centre, on the right of it there is a microphone for speaking;
• Left edge. There are two volume keys exactly in the middle, they are even more convenient than a standard rocker;
• Right edge. There is a power button in the same place as the volume keys. Above it there is a card tray.

As for design, it can be arguable, but it will definitely find its fans. As for ergonomics, the situation is worse here. The case is slippery and angular — it is better to hold it with two hands so as not to drop it. It is advisable to buy a cover right away. The power button on the right edge is also not the most convenient one — you need to get used to it to reach it immediately.

Razer Phone display

What do you need for games? First of all, you need a screen. It seems that Razer Phone developers thought in the same way too. The smartphone is equipped with 5.7 inch LCS IGZO display with a resolution of 2560x1440. The IGZO matrix is better than the usual IPS one in terms of energy efficiency and response time. Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen with a good oleophobic coating.

But the main feature and game-changer of the entire display market is the refresh rate. The Razer Phone screen can operate in three refresh rate modes: 60 Hz, 90 Hz and 120 Hz. The last number is unique, there are no analogue indicators in any smartphone. It is because of the best opportunities for refresh rate that Razer specialists have chosen the LCD instead of the popular OLED technology. The difference between 120 Hz and 60 and even 90 is noticeable at once — on the screen everything happens many times faster, smoother and more accurate. Even with fast scrolling of the tape you can distinguish all the text. But the feature is revealed the best of all in games.
An interesting setting is "Night mode", it makes the picture colours warmer. Here you can select presets with different color temperatures from 2300 to 5000K. The bigger this number is, the more yellow the image is. What’s more, the update rate and resolution can be adjusted. The smaller these indicators are, the longer the battery survives, but even on the maximum the smartphone can withstand the working day.

A small con — the maximum brightness is sometimes not enough, especially in the bright sun. According to various tests, the brightness rises to 320-380 cd/m2. A sufficient level is at least 400, but 450 is even better. Another indicator, where Razer Phone performs worse than the top smartphones, is the color coverage. It is 103% sRGB, while for modern movies you need at least 136%. The color reproduction itself is moderate, for some users the brightness will not be enough.

Razer Phone camera

The smartphone is equipped with a dual camera, both modules are designed for 12 megapixels. There is one wide-angle lens with f/1.75, the second one is a telephoto lens with f/2.6. The second module is used for zoom, with the latest update there is the possibility of manual selection of cameras, the telephoto lens turns on when 2x zooming is chosen. The colors are close to reality, but the quality is much worse than the quality of cameras of its direct competitors, not to mention the flagships. In the daytime and outside Razer Phone copes with its work, but in the light twilight the quality drops sharply, noise appears. There is no optical stabilizer in the camera, so the images are blurry. The flash is two-tone and two-element, but it does not help at night.

The application looks unfinished. There is no manual mode or presets, and there are very few settings in general. You can turn on the HDR, then photos will be slightly better in quality. But the focus speed will fall — in HDR mode, the smartphone thinks a couple of seconds before the shutter is released.
The 8 megapixel front camera with f/2.0 in comparison with the main cameras looks great, makes a good selfie, and nothing more is required from it.
You can shoot the video in FullHD resolution. The Razer developers promise to continue improving the camera and the application, but for now this is the weakest point of the smartphone.

Razer Phone performance

The smartphone has a slightly outdated, but familiar to the flagships the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and 8 GB RAM. The built-in memory is 64 GB, optional memory cards up to 2 TB are supported. Its performance corresponds to the level of the best devices of this price category, like Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. Experienced gamers, of course, will notice the difference for the better, but to ordinary users Razer Phone does not offer anything unique.

As for hardware, there are no complaints. What is especially pleasing is that the smartphone is almost not heated and does not throttle, that is it does not lower the processor clock rate automatically. The processor copes with any games on the maximum settings.

Razer Phone software

Razer Phone runs on Android, with addition of Nova Launcher, which is slightly refined and optimized for the smartphone. It is good that the developers did not reinvent the wheel. Nova works reliably, there are a lot of settings for gestures managing, for work screens and notifications. There are also quite a lot of opportunities for personalization.
The original version of Android from retail software is 7.1.1 Nougat. At the beginning of 2018, developers released an upgrade to 8.1 Oreo with a more stable system operation, a modified camera application, 5.1 volume sound and support for more games.

By the way, several words about games should be mentioned. Since the smartphone is designed for gamers, then games should be given as much attention as possible. And it is true in this model. Top games were installed in the very beginning on Razer Phone, for example, World of Tanks Blitz and Arena of Valor. Some exclusive options are also promised to be included — in 2018 the game Ultra Hunt is going to be released exclusively for Razer Phone. But now nothing is unique, all available games can be installed on another flagship. During the first weeks after the release, many users complained that the games almost did not support the 120 Hz frequency, but by May 2018 developers have optimized many titles: from Mortal Kombat X to Minecraft, from Asphalt 8 to Pokemon Go. There are 49 options in total.

The Game Booster application should be mentioned separately. There are several game settings in it, and you can set them up for all applications at once or configure them separately. The Game Booster sets the refresh rate, screen resolution, fps. It is clear that the higher the performance indicators are, the faster the battery discharges. You can add and delete games manually. The ability to record games is not only enough, but as for another settings, they are enough for personalization.

Razer Phone sound

Razer Phone is equipped with one of the best speakers among all smartphones. They are the best ones, according to the TechRadar experts. Two speakers at the top and at the bottom of the screen are covered with a metal bar. 3D sound of the same quality at any position of the gadget is achieved due to the correct location and resonance of the case. Stereo speakers work with Dolby Atmos — users can adjust the equalizer for music, movies, games or conversations. The sound is really powerful and clean at any volume level. We do not recommend setting it at the maximum level — it's very loud.
The headset also works perfectly. The only inconvenience, which does not affect the sound quality directly, relates to the connectors. There is no 3.5 mm jack in Razer Phone. There is only USB-C here, you need to connect the headphones through an adapter. Therefore, you cannot simultaneously charge the smartphone and play games wearing headphones.
All sound equipment is certified by THX. This confirms the quality, as well as the tests do — in comparison with Razer Phone, the iPhone 8 Plus is behind it in terms of both volume and pure sound.

Razer Phone security

The fingerprint reader is integrated into the power button on the right edge. It works almost always and without any problems. The only important detail here — it is better to put the finger lengthwise, in this case the scanner will read the imprint more accurately. The principle of operation is standard, if the screen is off, press the button to start the reader. If the screen is already activated, then simply touch the sensor.

Classic locking options — PIN, password, graphic pattern — are also available.

Razer Phone battery

The battery capacity is 4000 mAh — it sounds impressive, but do not forget about the performance. A lot of things depend here on the selected refresh rate. If you keep the standard 90 Hz, then the smartphone will live for 1 day and still 10-15% of the charge will remain. It includes 5-6 hours of activated screen with social networks, video and a few games. If you set 60 Hz, then the battery will withstand 1.5 or even the whole 2 days — it also depends on how actively it is used. At a constant 120 Hz, by the evening there will already be 0% of charge. The Game Booster is very helpful here, it is possible to set 120 Hz for games with its help, and for the rest of the interface — 60 or 90 Hz to save the battery.

The support for fast charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0+ is also an advantage. It is the first smartphone with such a feature. According to the developers, Razer Phone is charged during an hour from 0 to 85%. According to the tests, the full charge takes 3 hours.

Razer Phone packing and arrangement

It is a pity to throw away a box from Razer Phone, and here it is. The packaging differs advantageously from the majority of other monotonous boxes, it demonstrates that the smartphone designers and developers are proud of their work. A large box of quality cardboard is held by magnets. Immediately under the cover there is a letter from CEO Razer with information about the kit and gratitude. Under the letter — a smartphone in a transparent protective package, and then — the rest of the components:

• Adapter for charging;
• USB-C cable — USB-C for charging and connecting to a computer;
• USB-C cable — mini-jack for connecting headphones;
• A metal clip for the SIM card tray;
• User guide.

Each of the components is in a separate cardboard box, cables are in a manufacturer’s package. It looks very stylish and expensive. As for the set of functions, there are no headphones or accessories. But Razer Phone packaging is one of the best on the market in terms of its quality.

Razer Phone errors and bugs

A perfectly working smartphone on Android without bugs — it's something really fantastic. In addition, Razer Phone is the first mobile gadget from the company, so software and hardware problems do not surprise anyone. The most common users’ complaints are the following:

• Display. In games after about half an hour the display dims, the picture fades and becomes less bright. Sometimes the screen starts to flicker. The problem can be connected both with the rejects and with the firmware bug;
• Communication. Sometimes after a few days of work the sound disappears during a telephone conversation. With the release of the Android 8.1 update, there were also communication failures, problems with the SIM-cards work. The firmware is still being set up;
• Camera. Sometimes the system itself imposes random filters on the photos. This happens more often with the native camera application. Neither the reboot, nor the update do not solve the problem;
• Sound. Audio in YouTube lags behind video for a second. Bluetooth Audio and wireless headphones crash after an incoming call;
• Video. In the Neflix application, graphic artifacts appear, it works slowly and crashes;
• The fingerprint reader. It simply stops working, and sometimes even the adjustment of fingerprints itself disappears from the menu;
• NFC. Android Pay does not work at all or works very slowly;
• The system as a whole. It happens sometimes that the smartphone screen turns off, although there is a vibration when a fingerprint is recognized. It can be solved by rebooting — hold down the power button and the + volume for 5 seconds. The phone can be restarted automatically during connection to the car charger. The ‘Do Not Disturb’ function sometimes simply does not work.

Little bugs and problems with the camera can be solved by Android 8.1 upgrade, but it also leads to communication failures. Razer often releases fixes, so try to update your smartphone more often to fix bugs.

Recommendations for Razer Phone usage

Let's repeat the main advice — update the firmware regularly. Many bugs can be solved by a "soft" reboot, it is described above. If it does not help, then try a full reset. In order to do this, enter the Recovery mode:

1. Turn off the phone. Make sure it is fully charged before that;
2. Hold + volume and without releasing the button, connect the smartphone to the computer. Razer recommends using a USB 3.0 Type-A —Type-C cable;
3. Wait for a few seconds. The Recovery menu appears on the smartphone screen, control function is carried by the volume buttons and the On / Off button.

In Recovery mode, you can manually install the update, clear the cache or reset the device to the factory settings. Before any action, we advise you to make a backup — the data may not be saved.
There is another tip for those who have problems with the camera even after the update. Try using third-party applications, such as Google Camera. The picture quality will increase, bugs will disappear.

Reviews about Razer Phone

Gamers admire this gadget, but ordinary users are satisfied with the quality too. They highlight the screen and sound, the camera also gets very few complaints — it is not the main feature here. The design is not suitable for everyone, but funs of classic candybar phones with sharp edges and the standard correlation of the screen sides are pleased. The framework design is especially suitable for games — there are less chances of clicking in the wrong place than in frameless smartphones.
The main complaints, except for the camera, are connected with the screen brightness and autonomy — buyers want more from the both functions. Everyone has resigned themselves to software bugs and is just waiting for updates, but the slow work of the NFC chip is annoying.

For gamers Razer Phone is a real godsend. For the rest it is a rather good flagship, which offers a unique screen and powerful sound at the expense of a weak camera.

Razer Phone - Comparison

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