Black Shark 5 Pro unveiled with SD 8 Gen 1, SSD+UFS storage, two more models follow

A shiver of sharks has swam up to the surface – 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.

Black Shark 5 Pro

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.

Black Shark 5 Pro

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.

Black Shark 5 Pro highlights

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).

The Black Shark 5 Pro will be available form April 2 starting at CNY 4,200 ($660/€595/₹50,000). 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.

Black Shark 5 RS

The Black Shark 5 RS uses a Snapdragon 888 or an 888+ chipset, the Plus chip is available on the 12/256 GB version. Chipset aside, the RS has many similarities with the Pro, including splitting the storage between SSD and UFS. The chipset is cooled by vapor chambers on two sides.

The battery is a tad smaller at 4,500 mAh, but it supports the same 120W charge rate and can hit 100% charge in 15 minutes.

Black Shark 5 RS

The 6.67” AMOLED display supports HDR10 and DCI-P3, it has a peak brightness of 1,300 nits. Like the Pro, this display has a 144 Hz refresh rate and 720 Hz touch sampling rate. The magnetic shoulder button remains on board as well.

For audio, there are the same dual speakers (1.5 cc) with Hi-Res Audio and DTS:X Ultra support. There is a 3.5 mm headphone jack on this one. The main camera on the back drops down to a 64 MP sensor, but the 13 MP 120° ultra wide camera and 5 MP tele-macro cameras remain the same.

Black Shark 5 RS highlights

The RS is also launching on Saturday, the base price is CNY 3,300 ($520/€465/₹39,400). You can find it on the official online store here. Note that the 5 and 5 Pro launch with the latest Joy UI 13, the RS gets a slightly older Joy UI 12.8.

Black Shark 5

The vanilla Black Shark 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 870 chipset, paired with two vapor chambers for cooling. There’s no SSD here, just LPDDR5 RAM (8/12 GB) and UFS 3.1 storage (128/256 GB).

Black Shark 5

The phone uses the same display as the others, 6.67” AMOLED with 144 Hz refresh rate and 144 Hz touch sampling rate. Even the magnetic shoulder button is here. The camera setup matches the RS with a 64+13+5 MP triple camera on the back, while the selfei camera drops to a 16 MP sensor.

The battery is identical to that of the Pro – 4,650 mAh capacity, 120W fast charging with two modes. One gets the job done in 15 minutes, the other is gentler and takes 24 minutes. Battery bypass is available too.

Black Shark 5 highlights

The Black Shark 5 will be available in China from April 2 starting at CNY 2,700 ($425/€380/₹32,200). More details at the official store.

Accessories

Black Shark also unveiled several accessories that pair well with the Black Shark 5 generation. The Black Shark Wireless buds are based on the Snapdragon Sound platform. They have 12 mm drivers and active noise cancellation (a solid 40 dB reduction in noise).

Black Shark wireless headset

The latency isn’t great, however, falling only to 85 ms. The buds are IPX4 splash proof and have wear detection. Battery life is good at 30 hours overall and the carrying case is fast to charge – 15 minutes are enough for 3 hours. The buds cost CNY 450 ($71/€64/₹5,400)

Then there are a pair of GaN chargers. There is a 120W charger, priced CNY 300 ($47/€43/₹3,600), as well as a 30W one for CNY 70 ($11/€10/₹835).

Finally, there is a thermally conductive case for CNY 100 ($16/€13/₹1,200) and a snap-on cooling fan for CNY 220 ($45/€31/₹2,600). By the way, you can get the cooling fan for free if you put in that CNY 100 deposit now.

Source (in Chinese)