Razer Phone 2 officially announced with new design and vapor chamber cooling system

The Razer Phone entered the market last year as the first modern smartphone built specifically for gamers. Now nearly a year later, the company is unveiling the Razer Phone 2 hoping to maintain its position in the market as the best option for mobile gaming.

Design

Razer has maintained the rectangular smartphone design with a 16:9 display which thankfully doesn't include a notch. Razer has replaced the metal back panel with a glass one, now allowing users to wirelessly charge their Razer Phone 2.

The updated design has also allowed Razer to make their new phone water and dust resistant, with IP67 certification. This means your device will be protected from accidental liquid spills and can survive under 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.

Razer has also implemented a cool RGB lighting system in the back on the Razer logo which they call Chroma. Users will be able to able to pick from a variety of (16.8 million) colors and several effects to personalize the looks of their Razer Phone 2. Some of the color effects include static color, color spectrum cycling, or breathing color (fading in and out). This Chroma logo will also work as a notification light with support for apps, such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Upon receiving a notification, the Razer Chroma logo will temporarily light up and change color based on the source application. Three brightness intensities for the logo will ensure that you get the right balance between looks and power efficiency.


Display

The Razer Phone 2 features a 5.7 inch IGZO LCD (120Hz) display with a 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution. While the specifications are the same as last year's model, you now have Gorilla Glass 5 protection and a 50% increase in maximum brightness according to Razer.

Camera

Just like its predecessor, the Razer Phone 2 features dual 12-megapixel rear cameras - one wide angle and the other for telephoto for zoom and portraits. These Sony IMX sensors feature phase detection, autofocus and dual tone flash. The primary rear camera is optically stabilized with an aperture of f1.75, which should result in good low-light pictures.

The Razer Camera app has been redesigned for easier one-handed operation, especially when the user is capturing a portrait or panoramic photo.

Battery

The Razer Phone 2 has retained the 4000mAh battery capacity from before, which while being generous is perfect for power hungry games. Razer has included a wireless charging option this time around, along with support for QuickCharge 4+.

According to Razer, their new flagship can retain the same 10 hours of on-screen time at full 120Hz as a benefit to its new chipset.

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Hardware

The Razer Phone 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, which is currently the most powerful mobile chipset available on Android. This chipset includes the Adreno 630 GPU, which Razer has customized to ensure that their new flagship is a step ahead of its competition.

Razer is also introducing an innovative new vapor chamber cooling system. It is made of special, graphite-based, server-grade materials which are reported to be superior for heat control. It also includes nano-particle thermal blockers designed to reduce those annoying hot spots. The combination of having the newer chip and the more advanced cooling solution has allowed the Razer Phone 2 to achieve up to 30% higher performance than the original Razer Phone.

The device has stereo speakers setup on the top and the bottom bezels of the device. These powerful speakers will offer you a great immersive stereo gaming experience. Additionally, they come with Dolby Atmos support.

Software

The Razer Phone 2 will run Android 8.1 Oreo at launch, and is expected to get an update shortly after. The handset will come with the Nova Launcher Prime pre-installed for free, allowing you to fully customize your Android interface to suit your style.

The Company is also releasing Razer Cortex for Android, an application that will help with organizing your games, recommend 120Hz enabled content and optimize the games for better performance and battery life on your Razer Phone 2.

You also have the Razer Theme Store for Android, which features exclusive game-related wallpapers and themes for complete device customization.

Release and Availability

You can pre-order the Razer Phone 2 starting October 11 for $799 in 'Mirror Black' or 'Satin Black'. While Razer did not reveal an exact release date, they did promise to start shipping the phones soon.

The handset will see global distribution across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and can be purchased online Razer's store or through other retailers like Amazon. The company also revealed that it will be partnering with a number of carriers across the world, including Verizon Wireless in the US.