Razer Phone Review – 120Hz £699 smartphone for gamers

1. Introduction2. Design & Display3. Performance & Software4. Camera & Battery5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Created as a smartphone for gamers, the Razer Phone is definitely going to appeal to that market.

Starting off with the design, the phone is definitely very well built, with a CNC-machined aluminium unibody and a lovely matte black finish. Razer has also rejected the current trend towards bezel-less phones by incorporating large front-facing stereo speakers, and they give quite a chunky ‘chin' and ‘forehead' to the phone.

The benefit of that, however, is the sound quality – the physical space allows each channel to be amplified separately, and the overall sound quality is just very listenable and easy on the ears. To my mind, these are undoubtedly the best smartphone speakers on the market right now.

The display is also a big selling point. After all, it is a Sharp IGZO IPs panel with a 120Hz adaptive refresh-rate. I have to say, I really think the display is a game changer for the smartphone market – everything is just so smooth and fluid, it would be very hard to go back to my 60Hz LG G6 now. If you are worried about battery life, too, there is the option to set the display to either 90Hz or 60Hz, too, which would keep the battery lasting longer.

So, the excellent front-facing speakers and 120Hz display really make an excellent gaming/multi-media phone. Having a 16:9 aspect ratio is actually also highly beneficial as there are no ‘black bars' when watching standard HD content – many modern phones with 18:9 (or wider) aspect ratios have to compromise with black bars when consuming 16:9 content.

Accordingly, the Razer Phone is undoubtedly a brilliant phone and one that is likely to appeal to those who want to game or consume a lot of content via their mobiles. The big downside for me is currently the camera app as it is quite slow and lacking in many features. The camera itself actually takes quite decent pictures, but it is really let down by the software. We've been promised updates but we'll have to see how that pans out.

On the whole, though, I think the Razer Phone achieves what it set out to achieve – to be an excellent phone for gamers. It won't appeal to the mass-market the same way the Galaxy S8 has, but the excellent sound, fantastic display and all-round performance make it perfect for mobile gamers or streamers.

You can pre-order one unlocked directly from Razer for £699 HERE.

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Pros

• Great stereo speakers.
• 120Hz display is so smooth and fluid.
• Stock Android experience.
• Excellent performance.
• 16:9 1440p display.
• Camera is pretty good.
• Quick Charge 4.0+ support, with included charger.

Cons

• Camera software is very poor.
• Battery life isn't as good as expected.
• No headphone jack.

KitGuru says: While it may not be for Average Joe on the street, gamers and hardcore content consumers will find a lot to like in the Razer Phone.

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