Xiaomi Black Shark 4S Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

Overview: The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S is a gaming smartphone that combines powerful performance, a high-refresh-rate display, and gaming-centric features to deliver an immersive gaming experience. With its Snapdragon 870 5G chipset and up to 12GB of RAM, this phone can handle the most demanding games with ease. The 6.67-inch Super AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate ensures smooth visuals and vibrant colors. The phone also boasts a 48MP main camera, 120W fast charging, and 5G connectivity. Available in China, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S offers great value for money compared to other gaming smartphones in the market.

Design and Build Quality

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S showcases a sleek and premium design that appeals to gamers and tech enthusiasts alike. The phone's aesthetic is captivating, with its attention to detail and modern design elements. It has a solid build quality, thanks to the use of high-quality materials and robust construction. The device feels sturdy and durable in hand, ensuring it can withstand the rigors of intense gaming sessions. The form factor is well-balanced, striking the right balance between a large display and comfortable grip. The weight and dimensions of the Black Shark 4S are optimized for one-handed usability, allowing for easy navigation and control during gameplay. The back panel features a textured finish, enhancing grip and preventing accidental slips. The placement of buttons and controls is thoughtfully designed, providing quick and easy access for gaming actions. The bezels are minimal, maximizing the screen-to-body ratio and immersing users in their gaming experience. Overall, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S excels in both aesthetics and ergonomics, delivering a device that not only looks premium but also feels great in hand.

Display

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S boasts a 6.67-inch Super AMOLED display that delivers an immersive visual experience. With its Full HD+ resolution and impressive pixel density, the screen renders sharp and detailed images. The display's 20:9 aspect ratio provides a wider viewing area, perfect for gaming and multimedia consumption.

One of the standout features of the Black Shark 4S display is its 144Hz refresh rate, ensuring smooth and fluid animations. This high refresh rate enhances the overall gaming experience, making it incredibly responsive and reducing motion blur. It also supports HDR10+ for better contrast and color reproduction, resulting in more vibrant and lifelike visuals.

The OLED technology used in the display offers deep blacks and excellent color accuracy, allowing for enhanced viewing of photos, videos, and games. The color vibrancy is impressive, making every image pop. Additionally, the wide color gamut ensures a broader range of colors, adding richness and depth to the visuals.

The display's brightness levels are sufficient for comfortable viewing in different lighting conditions, including outdoor usage. The screen remains visible even under direct sunlight, thanks to its excellent outdoor visibility. The viewing angles are also wide, allowing for a consistent and enjoyable experience from any angle.

While the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S lacks specific information regarding display protection, it is advisable to use a screen protector to prevent scratches and smudges. Additionally, the phone's touch responsiveness is excellent, providing accurate and smooth touch interactions.

In terms of design, the Black Shark 4S features slim bezels and a notch design, maximizing the screen-to-body ratio. The display also supports an always-on display feature, allowing users to quickly glance at notifications and important information without fully unlocking the device.

Overall, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S offers an impressive display that excels in terms of refresh rate, color accuracy, and immersive visuals. Whether you're gaming, watching videos, or browsing the web, the Black Shark 4S display provides an enjoyable and captivating visual experience.

Performance

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S offers impressive performance and gaming capabilities thanks to its powerful chipset and optimized software. Powered by the Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, this device delivers exceptional CPU and GPU performance. In benchmark tests, the Black Shark 4S has shown outstanding results, with high graphics scores and smooth gameplay. The processor efficiency ensures multitasking performance and app loading speeds are fast, providing a smooth user experience. The system optimization and thermal management on the Black Shark 4S contribute to a lag-free performance even during long gaming sessions. Gaming benchmarks have shown that this device can handle demanding games with ease, delivering excellent frame rates and graphics quality. The GPU efficiency of the Black Shark 4S further enhances the overall gaming experience, providing immersive visuals and smooth gameplay. Whether it's playing graphics-intensive games or running multiple apps simultaneously, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S excels in performance, making it a reliable choice for gamers and power users alike.

Software and User Interface

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S runs on the Joy UI 12.8 interface, which is based on the Android 11 operating system. The software offers a range of customization options, allowing users to personalize their gaming experience. The interface is user-friendly and provides easy access to essential features and settings.

One notable aspect of the software is the gaming-centric optimizations. The Joy UI 12.8 interface is designed to enhance gaming performance, reducing touch response latency and improving overall gameplay. This makes the Black Shark 4S a great choice for mobile gamers.

In terms of pre-installed apps, the Black Shark 4S comes with a selection of useful applications, including a gaming toolbox, game mode, and gaming center. These apps provide easy access to gaming-related features and settings, allowing users to optimize their gaming experience.

One potential downside is the presence of bloatware. While some users may find the pre-installed apps useful, others may consider them unnecessary and prefer a cleaner software experience. However, it's worth noting that bloatware can be uninstalled or disabled to free up storage space and streamline the user experience.

Overall, the software on the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S provides a seamless and user-friendly interface with gaming-centric optimizations. It offers a range of customization options and pre-installed gaming apps, making it a solid choice for mobile gamers.

Camera

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S boasts a 48MP main camera that captures detailed and sharp images. With a wide aperture and advanced sensor, it performs well in various lighting conditions, making it suitable for both daylight and indoor photography. The camera's image stabilization feature helps in reducing blur and ensuring steady shots.

The Black Shark 4S excels in producing natural colors and maintaining sharpness in its photos. Its dynamic range is impressive, allowing for well-balanced exposures and accurate representation of highlights and shadows.

When it comes to low-light performance, the Black Shark 4S performs admirably. Thanks to its low-light sensitivity and noise reduction capabilities, it delivers remarkable results even in challenging lighting conditions. The phone's dedicated night mode further enhances low-light photography, capturing brighter and more detailed images with reduced noise.

In addition to its excellent still photography capabilities, the Black Shark 4S offers a range of camera features for creative expression. These include portrait mode, HDR, panorama mode, and pro mode, allowing users to experiment with different shooting styles and settings.

For video enthusiasts, the Black Shark 4S supports 4K video recording with impressive video stabilization. It also offers slow-motion video and time-lapse features, perfect for capturing those special moments in unique ways. The phone supports various video formats, ensuring compatibility and flexibility for sharing and editing videos.

Overall, the camera of the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S delivers satisfying image quality, whether it's capturing stunning landscapes, detailed portraits, or recording high-quality videos.

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S is equipped with a 4500mAh battery that offers decent battery life for a gaming smartphone. The battery capacity is sufficient to support long gaming sessions and regular usage throughout the day. The phone also supports 120W fast charging, allowing for quick charging times and minimizing downtime. With this fast charging technology, you can get a significant amount of battery life in just a few minutes of charging. Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S does not support wireless charging. However, the phone does come with battery optimization features and power efficiency enhancements to help maximize battery life and minimize battery drain. Overall, the battery performance of the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S is reliable and can easily keep up with the demands of gaming and daily usage.

Connectivity and Networking

The Xiaomi Black Shark 4S offers a wide range of connectivity options, making it suitable for users who rely on fast and seamless connections. With support for 5G connectivity, users can experience lightning-fast data speeds and enjoy lag-free browsing, streaming, and gaming. Additionally, the phone supports LTE for areas without 5G coverage, ensuring a stable and reliable network connection.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the Black Shark 4S features Wi-Fi standards such as 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, allowing for high-speed internet access and smooth online gaming. Bluetooth version 5.2 is also supported, enabling users to connect wireless headphones, speakers, or other accessories effortlessly. The inclusion of NFC (Near Field Communication) allows for convenient contactless payments and quick data transfers between compatible devices.

For wired connections, the Black Shark 4S features a USB-C port, which not only allows for fast charging but also enables high-speed data transfers between the phone and a computer. This versatile port also supports USB OTG (On-The-Go) functionality, allowing users to connect external storage devices or peripherals.

The phone also offers dual SIM capability, allowing users to use two separate phone numbers on a single device. This feature is particularly useful for individuals who want to separate work and personal contacts or for frequent travelers who want to use local SIM cards.

Furthermore, the Black Shark 4S includes GPS for accurate navigation and location-based services. Whether you're using maps for directions or tracking your fitness activities, the phone's GPS functionality ensures precise positioning.

Overall, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S provides a comprehensive range of connectivity options, including 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB-C, and dual SIM support. With these features, users can enjoy fast data speeds, seamless wireless connections, and convenient payment options, making the phone an excellent choice for those who value connectivity and convenience.

Additional Features

Comparison with Other Related Phones

In terms of gaming smartphones, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S is a strong contender in the market. Let's compare it to some related devices to get a better perspective on its features and performance.

When comparing it to other gaming phones, such as the ASUS ROG Phone 5 and the Nubia Red Magic 6, the Black Shark 4S holds its own. It features the powerful Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, similar to the ROG Phone 5, ensuring smooth gaming and multitasking capabilities. The Nubia Red Magic 6, on the other hand, offers the slightly more powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset.

In terms of display, the Black Shark 4S boasts a 6.67-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, similar to the ROG Phone 5. However, it lacks the Corning Gorilla Glass protection that both the ROG Phone 5 and the Red Magic 6 offer.

When it comes to camera performance, the Black Shark 4S's 48MP main camera is on par with the ROG Phone 5's 64MP main camera. However, the Red Magic 6 surpasses them both with its 64MP main camera and additional lens options.

Battery-wise, the Black Shark 4S comes with a 4500mAh battery, similar to the ROG Phone 5 and the Red Magic 6. However, the Black Shark 4S stands out with its impressive 120W fast charging support, which is significantly faster than the 65W fast charging offered by its competitors.

In terms of pricing, the Black Shark 4S is competitively priced compared to its rivals, offering excellent value for money. It positions itself as an affordable gaming smartphone without compromising on performance and features.

Overall, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S holds its own in the competitive gaming smartphone market. While it may not have the absolute best specifications in every aspect, it offers a well-rounded package with a powerful chipset, high-refresh-rate display, and impressive fast charging capabilities. Gamers looking for a cost-effective option without sacrificing performance should consider the Black Shark 4S as a reliable choice.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S is a compelling gaming smartphone that delivers a satisfying gaming experience. With its powerful Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, high-refresh-rate display, and gaming-centric features, it offers excellent performance and responsiveness. The device's sleek design and vibrant display add to its appeal. The camera quality is decent, but not exceptional. However, the standout feature of the Black Shark 4S is its 120W fast charging, ensuring minimal downtime and longer gaming sessions. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of flagship gaming smartphones, the Xiaomi Black Shark 4S provides fantastic value for money. Gamers looking for an affordable yet capable gaming phone should definitely consider the Black Shark 4S.