Black Shark 3 Pro vs iQOO 3 5G vs Asus ROG Phone 2: Which is the best gaming smartphone?

Asus Rog phone

Xiaomi spin-off brand Black Shark, recently added another two gaming smartphones to its ranks. The Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro arrive as flagship smartphones with gaming-dedicated features. But the Black Shark 3 is not the only power-packed gaming phone on the block.

The Asus ROG Phone 2 and the recently launched iQOO 3 5G make for excellent competitors. So, we decided to pit the Black Shark 3 Pro against the two to see which of the three phones is deserving of the title of "best gaming phone".

Black Shark 3 vs ROG Phone II vs iQOO 3 5G

All three phones feature a pretty premium design. But the most essential part of "design" in a gaming phone is ergonomics. With a 7.1-inch screen, the Black Shark 3 Pro takes big smartphones to the next level. If you don't mind the size, the Black Shark 3 Pro has physical pop-up triggers that will be more pleasing to game with than the touch buttons on the ROG Phone 2 and iQOO 3 5G. But if you are looking for a more subtle gaming phone, the iQOO 3 5G is the way to go. The ROG Phone 2, on the other hand, strikes the right balance between a gaming and a regular smartphone. We think, it is the best "designed" gaming phone of the three.

Performance

Considering the ROG Phone II released last year, it won't be able to hold its own against the iQOO 3 5G and Black Shark 3 Pro. The Snapdragon 865 is just faster and better than the Snapdragon 855+. Moreover, the iQOO and Black Shark are also helped by the LPDDR5 RAM standard. But the iQOO 3 5G also features UFS 3.1 storage standards as opposed to UFS 3.0 on the Black Shark 3 Pro. While all these three phones are absolute performance beast, the Black Shark 3 Pro is the best of the best, primarily because of its improved cooling solution. However, getting anything done on any of these three phones is going to be a walk in the park.

Display

While the displays on all these three phones are pretty impressive, the iQOO 3 5G doesn't quite live up to its competitors. Both the Black Shark 3 Pro and ROG Phone II have a high refresh rate and a high touch-sampling rate.

However, we have to have a winner, and that honour goes to the Black Shark 3 Pro. Yes, its refresh rate is lower at 90Hz, but the Black Shark 3 Pro has opted for a higher touch sampling rate, a brighter display and more importantly, higher resolution.

Camera

We've only tested the camera on the Asus ROG Phone 2 and found it to be the best camera of a gaming smartphone in 2019. But, we are in 2020 and the iQOO 3 5G and Black Shark 3 Pro make worthy advisories. While we prefer the 64-megapixel primary sensor on the Black Shark 3 Pro over the 48-megapixel sensor on the other two devices, the iQOO 3 5G has what looks like a more complete camera setup, in line with flagships of 2020.

However, it is still too early to tell, and for now, we'll just have to call it a three-way tie. It's worth noting that the ROG Phone 2 has a really good primary sensor and front camera and could give the OnePlus 7T a run for its money.

Battery

In terms of sheer battery size, Asus is undoubtedly the clear winner here. However, charging on the ROG Phone 2 pales in comparison to charging on the Black Shark 3 Pro and iQOO 3 5G, the former is said to be able to charge that 5,000 mAh battery in just 38 minutes, which is quite literally unbelievable.

Additionally, Black Shark also offers magnetic charging to prevent cables from disrupting your gaming experience. However, when it comes to battery and charging, the iQOO 3 5G reigns supreme as the QHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate is going to take a severe toll on the Black Shark 3 Pro's battery life.

Software

When it comes to software, we're going to have to go with Asus. Both the Black Shark 3 Pro and iQOO 3 5G have their own software skins over Android 10 and they are quite impressive with excellent customizations and a smooth interface.

However, nothing beats Asus' Zen UI, which offers a near-stock Android experience. While you can switch to the gaming-centric ROG UI, we prefer having the option to choose a clean interface rather than a gaming-heavy UI.

Verdict

While you can buy the iQOO 3 5G and ROG Phone 2 in India, the Black Shark 3 Pro has only just arrived in China. We expect the Black Shark 3 Pro to be priced higher than the other two smartphones on this list. Keeping that in mind, the ROG Phone 2 offers a decent overall combination of performance, software, optics, display, and battery life.

The Black Shark 3 Pro, on the other hand, has the best performance, display, camera-setup (on paper), and charging capabilities of any of the three smartphones, only falling short on the software front. However, it might just be the highest priced device on the list as well.

The iQOO 3 5G leaves a lot to be desired with its display, which is an area that cannot be overlooked when gaming. For now, the Black Shark 3 Pro's super-fast charging, performance, display, and design make it the best gaming smartphone in our view.