The Razer Phone 2. Built for Gamers, by Gamers. The infamous motto of the Razer company seems to ring true here in their new device. But for those of us who aren’t as hardcore of a gamer on their phones, is the Razer Phone 2 for them? We’ll be discussing this in the review so sit back and check out if it’s worth the RM 3,499.

Design; Almost there, but not quite –

The Razer 2 has a glass back and aluminum body all around. It has a 5.72″ Quad HD+ display and a 120Hz UltraMotion refresh rate and a 16:9 aspect ratio. This makes the experience feel buttery smooth. The phone is at 158.5 x 79 x 8.5 mm dimensions and weighs in at 220 g. The phone takes a bit of getting used to at those dimensions, and it’s actually pretty bulky. It’s a little heavy and I think holding it with one hand for an extended periods of time might make your hand a little tired. 

For the speakers you’ll have to compensate with having only a 72% screen to body ratio, which might make the device feel a little dated. The phone’s form factor and screen to body ratio isn’t as modern as the rest of the market. A cool feature is the Chroma built in the phone. The logo on the back of the phone lights up and actually serve as a LED notification light. Different app notifications will cause the colors to change accordingly. But you can still set it in the phone itself if you’d prefer just static or spectrum effects instead.

Performance and memory –

The Razer Phone 2 comes with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and has a Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845. It has an Octacore 4×2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver and Adreno 630 GPU. This makes it a powerhouse for gaming and general usage. It comes with 64GB storage and 8GB of RAM with microSD support.

The Battery Power –

The Razer Phone 2 packs a 4000 mAh battery. This is a pretty big battery and can work for a whole day depending on usage. The phone has Quick Charge 4+, so I was able to charge from about 10% to 50% in about 40 minutes approximately. With moderate amount of gaming, surfing the web and streaming videos, I noticed that the battery was draining quite fast.

But having a 120Hz display and the Chroma logo running it’s to be expected. You can turn these settings off within the phone itself, so if you’d prefer longer battery life you can do so.

Because of the glass back, Wireless charging is available but you’ll have to get the Razer wireless charging stand to go along with it.

Camera –

The Razer Phone 2 has a pretty decent camera. However I don’t think it was built for photography in mind. It comes with a dual camera set up, 12MP f/1.8 aperture main camera with dual pixel PDAF and optical image stabilization (OIS) and another 12MP f/2.6 aperture camera with 2x optical zoom.

The shooters are above average at best but with proper framing and HDR on, you can get some pretty quality photos. Lighting is an important factor so pictures in low light won’t look as great. As you can see from the pictures below, there’s quite a bit of detail in them. Not the worst, but rather unremarkable as well. 

It also comes with an 8 MP f/2.0 aperture front facing camera which takes some pretty alright selfies.

Sound is King on the Razer 2-

The Razer 2 comes equipped with Dolby Atmos speakers which to me makes the Razer 2 have one of the best sounding speakers in the smartphone market right now. Loud, but not shrilly. With the Dolby speakers come the software perks too.

The Razer Phone 2 comes with Dolby Atmos software where you can increase or decrease the decibels, bass boost or even a Dialogue Enhancer for watching Netflix or Youtube videos. This level of customization is a differentiating factor when it comes to software. 

The front facing speakers makes it less likely for users to block it while in use. Playing games and watching movies and videos sound awesome, and it makes you feel more immersed in it too with loud, clear speakers.

Gaming Powerhouse –

And now comes the main focus of the phone. Gaming. Gaming on this phone just feels phenomenal. With everything it has to offer, the Razer phone really is optimized for gaming and for entertainment. I personally feel it is one of the better experiences out there.

With the 120Hz, games just run so smooth. But not all games support it. In the built-in Cortex software, you can actually see which games are compatible. The Cortex software is basically your one stop shop for gaming. You can change different settings, see all your games and featured games. The settings include if you’d like a better battery performance or the best possible looking, performing gaming experience. 

I play tested a few games on the phone. I played some PUBG, Asphalt 9 Legends and Mobile Legends.

PUBG felt good. The loud speakers really shone here. I could hear exactly where players were coming from, and where shots were being fired. Here, the Razer 2 really did have a difference in my gameplay. The buttons were not too far apart, and an overall good experience.

Asphalt 9 Legends was alright. The game has some pretty intensive graphics so I wanted to see if the Razer 2 could handle it. And it did, but I noticed some bugs that I don’t usually see when I’m on another phone. I couldn’t get past the age verification page at one point. It’s probably nothing, but otherwise gameplay looked amazing. Tiny bit of lag and cuts here and there but nothing too intense.

Mobile Legends was my favorite to test out. The game felt really good. The graphics were better than I had seen on any other device before, and I had no issues whatsoever. Holding the phone with both hands does feel comfortable and secure.

However something to consider when buying a ‘gaming phone’ is the games on the market. The Google Play store has some quality games like Mobile Legends, PUBG, Fortnite and others. But if you’re just playing Candy Crush or Angry Birds, try looking for another phone. 

Verdict –

The phone is great. The phone could take anything that I could throw at it, and more. The Razer Phone 2 was built for gamers. While it does have functionality as a modern smartphone, there are too many shortcomings in the design and camera for the RM 3499 price point. Android games are made equal and any phone can run them. For the average consumer who just wants a phone that performs and for taking photographs, it might not be the best bang for your buck. There are other phones out there with a similar price point which are arguably better for you. With all that said, if you’re someone who uses their phone as their main source of entertainment, the Razer 2 is for you.

Specifications –

Price: RM 3,499

Display: 5.72″ Quad HD+ display, 120Hz UltraMotion refresh rate, 16:9 aspect ratio

Weight: 220 g

Camera: Dual rear camera: 12MP f/1.8 PDAF OIS +12MP x2 Optical zoom; Front camera: 8 MP f/2.0

Processor: Snapdragon 845, Octa-core (4×2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver)

GPU: Adreno 630

Memory: 8GB RAM

Storage: 64GB, microSD support

Battery: 4000 mAh

Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo

For more information on the phone check out the link here to see the full specs and if you’re interested in buying it.