Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)
Nearly a year after Razer bought Nextbit, we now know what the startup smartphone company has been working on while under the gaming company’s leadership. Razer debuted its first smartphone today, the Razer Phone, and it’s clearly born from the ashes of the Nextbit Robin. Mobile gaming continues to be important to all types of smartphone users, and gaming companies are now focusing on making mobile games or translating big titles for mobile. While it’s not being billed as a “gaming phone,” the Razer Phone is the company’s attempt to give gaming enthusiasts the hardware they need to play any kind of title on the go.
Unlike the Nextbit Robin’s blue-and-white plastic construction, the Razer Phone is made of aluminum and has an industrial, all-matte black aesthetic like other Razer products. It has two large speaker grilles on the top and bottom of the front side like the Robin had, but Razer worked with Dolby to make these speakers Atmos-certified, and each has its own amplifier. In the short demo Ars received, the speakers filled the room with loud, booming sound, but the details did get a bit distorted at max volume.
The 2560×1440, 5.7-inch display takes up the rest of the space on the front of the device. Razer sourced the display from Sharp, which provides the panels for its gaming peripherals. Mobile gamers will appreciate the adjustable refresh rate, which can go as high as 120Hz. We haven’t seen this technology on a handset, but Apple did bring it to its newest iPad Pro models. This makes for smoother transitions between on-screen graphics, which should make the visual and performance experience better for both mobile gamers and regular users alike. The display also supports Razer’s “Ultramotion” technology, which is similar to Nvidia’s GSync and allows the screen’s refresh rate to sync up with the smartphone’s graphics system.
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