Over the last couple of days, several smartphone OEMs have launched their latest and greatest gaming smartphones. ASUS unveiled its ROG Phone 3 and ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition, Lenovo launched the much-awaited Lenovo Legion Phone Duel, and Nubia launched the Red Magic 5S. Adding on to the list of new gaming smartphones, Xiaomi-backed Black Shark has now unveiled the Black Shark 3S in China. This latest gaming smartphone is just a minor upgrade over the Black Shark 3 from earlier this year, with a better screen and a few other changes.

Black Shark 3S: Specifications

For the most part, the Black Shark 3S is the same device as its predecessor. It's powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chip, packs in 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It offers the same camera setup, with a 64MP primary camera, a 13MP wide-angle camera, and a 5MP depth sensor on the back, along with a 20MP selfie camera over on the front.

The device packs in the same 4,720mAh battery with support for 65W fast wired charging via USB Type-C, it still features a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it also includes a secondary magnetic charging port, which is capable of charging the device at 18W.

In terms of improvements, the Black Shark 3S packs in a 6.67-inch FHD+ 120Hz high refresh rate display, instead of the 90Hz display found on the previous model, and it runs the company's latest Android skin — Joy UI 12.

Thanks to the new software, Black Shark has managed to include several new features on the Black Shark 3S, including screen pressure 4.0 for 3D touch controls, voice control 2.0 to help users adjust settings using voice commands while in-game, and something called somatosensory control that offers 6 built-in somatosensory actions. We aren't exactly sure what somatosensory control offers, but it seems to refer to touch-sensitive shoulder buttons on the device.

Additionally, Joy UI 12 brings features like Game barrage to control notifications while playing games, Game macro to help users set up macro commands in games, Hunting mode to enhance vegetation and ground contrast in games, and Black Shark Moment 3.0 for game recording and editing.

Joy UI 12 also enables screencasting support on the Black Shark 3S, which will let users cast their device's screen on a larger display with a delay of just 40ms.

Along with the Black Shark 3S, Black Shark has also announced a couple of new gaming accessories. These include the Black Shark Gamepad 3, Black Shark Gaming Finger Gloves, and an attachment that adds physical shoulder keys to the device.

Pricing and Availability

The Black Shark 3S will be available in three RAM/storage variants that have been priced as follows:

• 12GB+128GB: CNY 3999 (~$573)
• 12GB+256GB: CNY 4299 (~$616)
• 12GB+512GB: CNY 4799 (~$688)

The device will go on sale in China starting from August 4th via JD.com and other major Chinese etailers. Buyers will be able to choose from two different color options — Skyfall black and Crystal blue.

The new Black Shark Gamepad 3 has been priced a CNY 238 (~$34), while the Black Shark Gaming Finger Gloves and shoulder keys will be available for CNY 29 (~$4) and CNY 79 (~$11), respectively. As of now, we have no information from Black Shark regarding a global launch.