Home Tech Comparison Xiaomi Black Shark vs Pocophone F1 Comparison Review – PUBG gaming, speed...

Xiaomi Black Shark vs Pocophone F1 Comparison Review – PUBG gaming, speed test, battery

4321
0

Almost same specs, but what are the differences between Xiaomi’s Black Shark and Pocophone F1?

Just this year, Xiaomi release two of its latest Snapdragon 845 carrier smartphone. As we got our hands on the Pocophone f1 and Black Shark, a comparison is a must. It’s the same brand going up against each other. But before we start the detailed comparison, here’s the specification sheet first.

Phone Black Shark Helo Pocophone F1
Display 5.99″ IPS LCD, 1080 x 2160 pixels, 18:9 aspect ratio 6.18-inch Full HD+ edge-to-edge display @ 2160 x 1080px
Dimensions 157.9 x 75 x 7.9 mm, 156 g 155.5 x 75.3 x 8.8 mm, 180 g
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
OS Android 8.0 Oreo Android 8.1 Oreo
GPU Adreno 630 Adreno 630
Memory 128GB ROM + 8GB RAM

64GB ROM + 6GB RAM

6GB RAM + 64GB/128GB
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector 4G+ VoLTE, dual SIM (hybrid), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, USB Type-C
Battery Non-removable Li-Ion 4000 mAh battery 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0
Price PHP 31,000 – 6GB RAM + 64GB ROM

PHP 36,000 – 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM

PHP 17,990 (6GB + 64GB)

PHP 19,990 (6GB + 128GB)

Design

Let’s begin with Pocophone F1’s design, it has a curvy edge and a unibody polycarbonate design. But if you don’t favor this kind of design, you can also check its Armoured Edition. Its measurements are 155.5 x 75.3 x 8.8 mm and weigh 180g which is lighter than the Black Shark. It has a notch on the upper part and just like other Xiaomi phones, its fingerprint sensor is located at the back along with its dual camera and flash. Down its bunk are its speaker grille, microphone, and the USB Type-C port.

Now let us talk about Black Shark’s design, below is the device’s USB Type-C port, primary speaker, and a microphone. However, no headphone jack can be seen. The power button and the volume rockers are located on the right side. The awesome part is that it has its own button for gaming mode located on the left side of the phone aligned with the sim slot. When you toggle it, the user enters Shark Mode where you can select a specific game on your phone and play it without being disturbed. The package also came with an attachable controller for immersive gaming experience and a case.

Display

The Pocophone f1’s screen display, it has 6.18-inch screen size with a resolution of 1080 x 2246 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9 (82.2% screen-to-body ratio). The good thing is, if you don’t want the notch, you can just go to settings then click full-screen display and choose “hide notch”.

On the other hand, the Black Shark Helo has a little bit smaller screen display of 5.99 inches compared with the F1. Coming in with a 1080 x 2160 pixels resolution, it has an edge-to-edge 18:9 aspect ratio display. It has a 76.0% screen-to-body ratio due to its home button at the lower part of the phone compared to the Poco’s on-screen buttons.

Comparing both phones at the same brightness, we can see that F1’s screen is smooth and subtle from colors and everything with its 6.18-inch screen while Black Shark gives us a very sharp and crisp color and graphics. Both didn’t have any problems with playing HD games and watching movies and Youtube videos.

Camera

The camera on the Black Shark is just right considering Xiaomi highlights the gaming experience offered by it. It’s pretty fair but not the best especially when compared with the Pocophone F1 camera. The Black Shark offered much more photos with contrast and darker blacks while the Poco has subtle and soft images both when using its front and back camera.

Phone Rear Camera  Front Camera 
Black Shark 12 MP, f/1.8, 1.25µm, dual pixel PDAF
20 MP, f/1.8, 1.0µm, AF, 2x optical zoom
20 MP, f/2.2, 1.0µm
Pocophone F1 12 MP, f/1.9, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF
5 MP, f/2.0, 1.12µm, depth sensor
20 MP, f/2.0, 0.9µm

 

The same case applies when pictures were taken indoors. But both have good bokeh effects that don’t make the photos look edited since all edges are focused.

User Experience/Features

Both are powered with Snapdragon 845, Adreno 630 and has 6GB of RAM. Yet, the Black Shark offers an 8GB RAM variant aside from a 6GB one. The advantage of the Pocophone F1 is that it has a memory card slot if 64GB and 128GB aren’t enough for some people.

About gameplay, the Black Shark Helo offers very superb experience with its Shark Mode, Diving Mode, and Extreme Mode. Graphics were crisp and gameplay was smooth amid playing in Ultra HD mode in PUBG, Asphalt Extreme, and Tekken. If you want more insights on other features of the Black Shark Helo gaming, you may watch our full review (here). On the other hand, the Pocophone is tied with the Black Shark in normal speed usage. But the Shark offered more outstanding graphics and smoother gameplay in terms of heavy gaming.

Benchmark

Performance-wise, the Black Shark is faster than the F1. It was also deemed as the second fastest smartphone just below the ASUS ROG Phone via AnTuTu benchmarks. Nonetheless, the Pocophone F1 also offered decent speed for a device with it’s price. Below we tested some benchmarking tools for both the devices and here are the results:

Device AnTuTu Geekbench(single core; multi-core) PCMark Work
Black Shark 266767 2447, 8410 8567
Pocophone F1 265314 2438, 9003 7542

Battery

Powered by a 4000 mAh battery, the Black Shark Helo lasted approx. 24 hours with light usage while during Shark Space Mode, it lasted 4 hours. Charging time took us 1hour and 30 minutes. The Pocophone F1 also carries the same battery capacity but it took an hour and 20minutes for just 50 percent of battery. But amid that, the Poco still endured 24 hours with full battery with average usage.

Audio

Both offers fair sounds. But the disadvantage is that the Black Shark doesn’t have a headphone jack. But it still offers clarified audio. The Pocophone seems to lack in the bass department amid its stereo speakers.

Verdict

In terms of price, the Black Shark Helo is priced at Php 31,000 (6GB RAM + 64GB ROM) and Php 36,000 (8GB RAM + 128GB ROM). On the other hand, the Pocophone F1 retails for Php 17,990 (6GB + 64GB) and Php 19,990 (6GB + 128GB). Both can be purchased in online stores or at Mi Stores in SM Megamall and SM North Edsa.

With all that being said, both designs are good and it has its own unique feature. If you’re a gamer, Black Shark will definitely satisfy you, especially with its specially designed Shark Mode. On the other hand, if you want a gaming phone and use it as an on-the-go daily driver, you can go for Pocophone F1’s sleek and classic design. Which smartphone do you like better? Let me know in the comments. Til then and see you in the next one.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.