Black Shark, Xiaomi’s gaming smartphone brand now has two new members: the Black Shark 4 and Black Shark 4 Pro. Launched on the 23rd of March 2021 in China, both devices sport significant upgrades from their predecessor (Black Shark 3 series). The flagship duo have a lot in common but there are differences in the camera and chipset department.
Let’s take a look at both devices below and see some of the features and specifications.
Xiaomi Black Shark 4 and 4 Pro Specifications
| Key Specification | Black Shark 4 | Black Shark Pro |
| Display | 6.67 inches Super AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400 pixels (395 PPI) | 6.67 inches Super AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400 pixels (395 PPI) |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB | 256GB/512GB |
| RAM | 6GB/8GB/12GB | 8GB/12GB/16GB |
| OS | Android 11, Joy UI 12.5 | Android 11, Joy UI 12.5 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
| GPU | Adreno 650 | Adreno 660 |
| Main Camera | 48MP+8MP+5MP | 64MP+8MP+5MP |
| Front Camera | 20MP | 20MP |
| Battery | Li-Po 4500mAh, non-removable battery | Li-Po 4500mAh, non-removable battery |
| Charging | Fast charging 120W | Fast charging 120W |
| Sensor | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
Xiaomi Black Shark 4 and 4 Pro Features
Both devices measure up to 163.8 x 76.4 x 9.9 mm and they are built around 6.67 inches E4 AMOLED screen by Samsung, these devices are built with a 144Hz screen refresh rate and touch sampling rate of 720Hz. The 20mp front camera is integrated into a centered punch-hole while the fingerprint sensor is mounted on the side.
On the rear end of the Black Shark 4 Pro is a unique camera setup consisting of a 64-megapixel primary camera with f/2.2 aperture, 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, and 5-megapixel macro camera. On the other hand, the Black Shark 4 sports a 48-megapixel primary camera with f/2.2 aperture, 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, and 5-megapixel macro camera.
The Xiaomi Black Shark 4 is equipped with a Qualcomm SM8250-AC Snapdragon 870 5G (7 nm) chipset followed by a 6GB/8GB/12GB RAM with 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0 storage while its Pro counterpart has a Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) followed by an 8GB/12GB/16GB RAM with 256GB/512GB UFS 3.0 storage.
Both devices have a USB Type-C 2.0 charging port with a non-removable Li-Po battery of 4,500 mAh which supports 120W wired fast charging; Xiaomi says it can charge from 0-100% in under 15 minutes. On the software end, the flagships are powered by the Joy UI 12.5 that’s based on Android 11.
Xiaomi opted for a two-layered liquid cooling system to handle the extra heat. The first layer of the liquid cooling system is located directly below the screen followed by the chipset and other valuables internals with the second layer. As claimed by Xiaomi, it will lower CPU temperature by 18C degrees and increase heat dissipation by 30%.
There are pressure-sensitive shoulder keys that recognize both light and hard press when gaming. The devices also come with two-mode switch keys, on the right side and the fingerprint scanner. Another noticeable difference is that the Black Shark 4 Pro can use its RAM as disk storage (RAMDISK) which helps in boosting the performance of a particular app.
Availability and Price
The Black Shark 4 comes in three color variants (Magic Black, Silver, and plain Black) and the prices vary depending on the storage configuration. The 6/128GB is CNY2,499 ($383), the 8/128GB is CNY2,699 ($415), 12/128 GB variants goes for CNY2,999 ($460) and the largest phone of 12/256 GB goes for CNY3,299 ($505).
The Black Shark 4 Pro starts from CNY3,999 ($615) for 8/256GB and goes up to CNY4,499 ($690) for the 12GB RAM with the same storage. The 16/512GB which is the highest configuration goes for CNY5299 ($815).
