Black Shark 5 Pro Price, Specs & Availability

Xiaomi has unleased its sharks to the smartphone world – the Black Shark 5 generation features three models, one with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, one with an 888+ and one with an 870 chipset. The series comprises the vanilla Black Shark 5,  Black Shark 5 RS, and Black Shark 5 Pro.

Black Shark 5 Pro

Among the trio, the Black Shark 5 Pro is the top model, powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The chip is kept cool by two vapor chambers, one on each side (4,323 mm² + 997 mm²). The Snapdragon is paired with up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB storage, but there’s more to it than that.

The storage is split equally between an NVMe SSD and the usual UFS 3.1 (i.e. 256+256 GB in the 512 GB model). Using the so-called DM Cache technology, Black Shark has managed to significantly improve random read and write performance. Also, the fast LPDDR5 (6,400 Mbps) RAM can be used to create a RAM disk for the occasions even faster storage is required.

The phone has a high performance battery as well. It has 4,650 mAh capacity and supports 120W fast charging. 0-100% charge can be achieved in just 15 minutes, but there’s is a temperature control mode that goes easier on the battery and slows down to 24 minutes. Also, the phone features battery bypass for gaming while external power is plugged in.

The Black Shark 5 Pro is equipped a 6.67” AMOLED display. This 10-bit panel supports HDR10+ the DCI-P3 color gamut. There are two ambient light sensors (one on the front and one on the back) so the brightness can be adjusted to match conditions perfectly.

The display boasts 144 Hz refresh rate and 720 Hz touch sampling rate while tracking multiple fingers. Additionally, there is a magnetic shoulder button that pops up on the side of the phone and uses a gaming-grade micro switch.

The phone has two symmetrical speakers with 1.5 cc cavities. The 5 Pro is currently the top phone in DxOMark’s audio chart with 86 points (beating its predecessors by 5 points). There is also an X-axis linear motor for better haptic feedback. Four microphones are arranged on each of the four sides of the phone, so it can always pick up your voice clearly.

On the back is a 108 MP main camera with a 1/1.52” sensor, plus a 13 MP ultra wide-angle camera (120°) and a 5 MP telephoto macro lens (it focuses at 3-7 cm distance).

Black Shark 5 Pro Specifications

Network Properties

• 2G bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2
• CDMA 800 & TD-SCDMA
• 3G bands: HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
• CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
• 4G bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 26, 28, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41
• 5G bands: 1, 3, 8, 28, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA
• Speed: HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A; 5G

Launch

• Announced: 2022, March 30
• Status: Exp. release 2022, April 04

Design

• Dimensions: 163.9 x 76.5 x 9.5 mm (6.45 x 3.01 x 0.37 in)
• Weight: 220 g (7.76 oz)
• Colors: Black, White
• SIM: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• Physical pop-up gaming triggers

Display

• Type: OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+
• Size: 6.67 inches, 107.4 cm2 (~85.7% screen-to-body ratio)
• Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~395 ppi density)
• Always-on display

Operating System

• Android 12, Joy UI 13

Hardware

• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm)
• CPU: Octa-core (1×3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.40 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.70 GHz Cortex-A510)
• GPU: Adreno 730
• Storage: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM
• Memory Card slot: No
• UFS 3.1/NVMe SSD

Cameras

• Main Camera: Triple
  • 108 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/1.52″, 0.7µm, PDAF
  • 13 MP, f/2.4, 120˚ (ultrawide)
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (telephoto macro), AF
• Features: LED flash, HDR, panorama
• Video: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps; HDR10+
• Selfie Camera: Single – 16 MP, (wide)
• Features: HDR
• Video: 1080p@30fps

Multimedia

• Radio: No
• Loudspeaker: Yes, with stereo speakers
• Audio 3.5mm jack: No
• 24-bit/192kHz audio

Connectivity

• WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
• Bluetooth: 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive
• GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
• NFC: Yes
• USB: USB Type-C 2.0

Features

• Sensors: Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Battery

• Battery Type and Capacity: Li-Po 4650 mAh, non-removable
• Charging: Fast charging 120W, 100% in 15 min (advertised)

Model: KTUS-A0

Black Shark 5 Pro Price and Availability

The Black Shark 5 Pro will be available form April 2 starting at CNY 4,200 ($660/€595). This is for China, a global rollout should be announced at a later date. You can leave a CNY 100 deposit to get in line, here’s the official online store.

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