Razer is a huge brand name in the gaming space with a wide range of devices ranging from laptops to keyboards, headsets and more.
Razer announced its flagship phone in 2017, but here in Australia it didn't launch until mid-2018. There are now additional models to choose from.
What to consider when choosing a Razer Phone
Razer products are chiefly aimed at gamers who want the very best performance, so it should be no surprise that its phones follow the same principle. Each Razer phone comes with premium features with an emphasis on speed and graphics.
All Razer Phone models to date come with 64GB of internal storage. As is common with every other smartphone, you don't quite get 64GB of storage to play with, because the underlying Android operating system takes a small chunk of that space. You can expand the storage with a microSD card of up to 2TB capacity. This is particularly useful for storing all those beefy 3D games that the phone is designed for.
The Razer Phone 2 (the latest model at the time of writing) features a 5.72 inch 1440p display, which isn't as high as some other flagship phones. It's an LCD display with a claimed 120Hz refresh rate, which is its core selling point against smartphone displays with a lower refresh rate. (That's not just a feature that should help gamers, as a faster refresh rate also allows for smoother video playback.)
The Razer Phone range is currently only available on an outright basis from a number of online and real world retailers in Australia with a suggested price of $1,249.
The Razer Phone 2 follows the current premium phone trend of omitting the headphone jack directly on the phone. Razer's contention is that it's been able to pack in more battery power by skipping out on a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. However, you do get a USB-C headphone adaptor, with its own inbuilt DAC for higher quality audio through wired headphones, in the box.
Razer's approach to locking down your precious data and keeping it secure is a relatively simple one, with a side-mounted fingerprint reader built into the handset. That's a design note that Sony used to use on its handsets, although more recent offerings have switched it to the back.
If biometric ID isn't your favourite option, the usual range of Android PIN and passcode options are available and you'll need to set one of those as the fallback against a fingerprint scan anyway.
In the premium space where the Razer Phone plays, camera quality is a key differentiator, although at least on paper, it's one area where Razer's phone simply keeps up with the competition, rather than standing out. What you get are twin 12MP sensors at the rear, one of which is wide-angle (similar to LG's approach), while the front sensor weighs in at 8MP.
The speed you'll see on a specific handset is subject to a wide number of variables, including your network of choice, the quality of the connection you're able to get in your particular area and then the actual usage when you're testing. However, it all starts with the underlying technology in a given handset, which sets a hard limit on how fast it can go. The Razer Phone is a Category 9 LTE handset, which means it should be a capable performer, but not the fastest premium phone in network terms to speak of. To learn more about the practical impact these categories can have on your mobile Internet experience, read our guide to Network Category speeds.
Wireless charging is a feature you'll find in many premium handsets, including the Razer Phone 2. It's absent from the older Razer Phone model, however. (Head on over to our list of smartphones that support wireless charging to compare your current options.)
Razer Phones are also compatible with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0. That means that when using the right charger, you can get the Razer Phone from 0% charge to 50% in just 30 minutes. Bearing in mind that it's packing a 4,000mAh battery, that's quite an achievement!
Battery life is very subjective, because quite how much you use your phone – and what you use it for – will determine how long it lasts before giving up. Still, Razer backs its only phone with a hefty 4,000mAh battery. Combine that with a smaller display screen than many premium handsets and there's enough power there to last most users a day with ease. In our own testing, the Razer Phone 2 lasted 497 minutes of intensive use which is pretty good for a flagship smartphone of this size.
With two-thirds of our planet covered by water, not to mention those pesky rainclouds (or the ever-present possibility of a soft drink or coffee spill), liquids and smartphones are a pairing that seem almost inevitable. Water resistance, especially IP-rated water resistance is a seriously desirable feature in a premium flagship phone.
The latest Razer Phone has an IP67 water resistance rating. This means it is dust proof and can be immersed in water up to 1m in depth for 30 minutes.
Razer's pedigree is in high-performance gaming and its pitch for the Razer Phone is that it continues that tradition with a best-of-breed approach to screen, speakers and processor.
When the original model launched in late 2017, Razer could tick off every one of those fields, with impressive inbuilt speakers and that unique 120Mhz refresh LCD display. Its use of a Snapdragon 835 also put it in top-shelf company, but since then we've seen the emergence of Snapdragon 845-based phones, as well as other silicon approaches such as Huawei's Kirin processors or Samsung's Exynos efforts.
That doesn't mean that the Razer Phone is a slouch by any estimation, merely that it's perhaps not the fastest phone that you can buy at this price point. With that said, the Razer Phone 2 does features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 CPU. If you want the very best performance, go with the latest model.
Looking for a Razer Phone on a plan?
Razer is not currently available on a plan from any of Australia's major telcos. This means you will need to shoulder the cost of the handset on an outright basis. Having done that, you'll then be able to enjoy your brand new Razer Phone with any prepaid or postpaid SIM-only plan of your choosing.
That can actually be a great way to save money over the medium to long term, because by not being tethered to a provider for 24 months, you can save serious money.
Here's what you could get for just $50 per month on a postpaid SIM-only plan to pair up with a Razer Phone:
A multi-award winning journalist, Alex has written about consumer technology for over 20 years. He has written and edited for virtually every Australian tech publication including Gizmodo, CNET, PC Magazine, Kotaku and more. He has also been the Editor of Gizmodo Australia, PC Mag Australia, CNET.com.au and the Tech and Telco section at Finder. Alex has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a serious passion for retro gaming.
Fast, comfortable and durable, the Razer Gigantus V2 makes a strong case for investing in a premium mouse pad.
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