News

Xiaomi’s Black Shark gaming phone has high-end specs, liquid cooling

Has the Razer Phone been dethroned?

Published

April 14, 2018

Marvin Velasco

There’s a new high-end gaming smartphone in town, and it’s called the Black Shark. Doesn’t sound familiar? We can’t blame you.

It’s the first in its lineage but isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere. As you can see in the title of this piece, Xiaomi helped make its launch happen.

Black Shark is a portfolio company under Xiaomi’s own hardware ecosystem, meaning Xiaomi invested in it but it’s not part of the company’s smartphone lineup. All you really need to know is that this is a brand-new product and it comes with some hefty features.

Being a gaming phone, it delivers the highest-end specs: 6-inch 18:9 LCD with a 1080p resolution, Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of memory, up to 128GB of storage, and a generous 4000mAh battery. That matches the best Samsung, Sony, and even Xiaomi have to offer.

Keeping the system cool is an advanced multi-layer liquid cooling setup that’s normally found in gaming laptops. Although the Snapdragon chip is already proven to be efficient in maintaining temperatures, this design will at least lengthen gaming sessions and the phone’s overall lifespan.

But what really makes the Black Shark special is its ability to attach a gamepad on the side for improved control during games. It connects through Bluetooth and has its own built-in battery so it won’t suck energy from the phone. The gamepad will be given away for free to the first 50,000 customers and will cost CNY 179 (US$ 29) on its own.

For those interested in gaming and photography, there’s a dual-camera setup on the back consisting of 20- and 12-megapixel sensors, plus another 20-megapixel shooter in front. Android 8.0 Oreo runs the software, but it’s skinned with Black Shark’s own user interface.

The Black Shark is available for pre-order in China beginning today. Its 6GB memory with 64GB storage variant retails for CNY 2,999 (US$ 475) while the model with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage goes for CNY 3,499 (US$ 555). Available colors are black and gray as shown above.

News

Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.

News

Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.

According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.

Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.

It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.

Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.

News

Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it

“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”

Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”

Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.

In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.

Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.