Razer Phone hands-on review

Introduction

It's official - computer hardware company Razer is stepping into the smartphone market with the Razer Phone. We were invited to attend the announcement event and, the way these things work, we got to spend a few precious moments with one of the Razer Phones.

As with all things Razer, gaming is the main theme here. And as any self-respecting true gamer will tell you, fps and Hz are things you can never have too much of. So Razer went ahead and fitted the handset with a 120Hz display, which they call Ultramotion. That's twice the usual refresh rate, and a first on a global release phone (there's the Japan-only Aquos R from Sharp). It's a proper 16:9 5.7" QHD unit, so you're not trading off pixels for refresh rate.

You're getting the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, and should we mention the Adreno 540 GPU before the octa-core Kryo CPU, this being a gaming rig? We just did. Razer went all out and equipped the Phone with 8GB of RAM, but took a more restrained approach with storage - 64 gigs isn't what it used to be. You get a microSD card for expanding that though - so no real reason to worry.

Little restraint has been shown in the audio department too - the phone comes with dual front-facing speakers, each with its own dedicated amp, and a THX certification.

It's all powered by a 4,000mAh battery and the smartphone features Qualcomm's QuickCharge 4+ - gaming's never been easy on them cells, so you'd best have more battery and faster charging. And this time around you actually get a 24W QuickCharge 4 charger in the box, unlike other Snapdragon 835 devices.

Razer Phone at a glance:

• Body: All aluminum CNC unibody
• Screen: 5.7" IGZO IPS Ultramotion LCD, 1,440x2,560px resolution (16:9); wide color gamut, 120Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: Snapdragon 835 chipset: octa-core Kryo 280 CPU (4x2.4GHz +4x1.9GHz); Adreno 540 GPU
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 64GB storage, microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.1.1; Nova Launcher Prime Razer Edition
• Rear camera: 12MP f/1.75 wide-angle + 12MP f/2.6 telephoto; dual-tone dual-LED flash
• Front camera: 8MP
• Battery: 4,000mAh; QuickCharge 4+
• Connectivity: LTE Cat.16, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, NFC, USB Type-C
• Misc: Fingerprint sensor embedded in power key, dual front-facing speakers, THX-certified amplifiers, Dolby Atmos

The looks and build is also very Razerly - a boxy rectangle made of metal shows the Phone means business. Meanwhile, the grown-ups among us appreciate the choice of a white logo on the back. Of course, die-hard fans can still get the bright green logo on the Limited Edition version - it changes nothing but the color of the lock.

For a bucketload of hands-on images of the phone and some first-hand impressions, head over to the next page.