In the world of mobile gaming, manufacturers are continually pushing the limits of technology to create devices that deliver unparalleled performance, vibrant displays, and cutting-edge features. Two of the most talked-about gaming smartphones in 2024 are the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro and the Lenovo Legion Phone 3, both designed to provide the ultimate mobile gaming experience. But which one comes out on top in this gaming showdown? Let’s dive into the key aspects of these two heavyweights and see which one delivers the best value, performance, and gaming experience.
1. Design and Build Quality: Which One Feels Better in Your Hands?
Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro: Sleek Yet Powerful
The Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro sports a modern, futuristic design aimed at gamers. The phone features a sleek aluminum frame with a matte finish, while the back has a sharp, angular look with dynamic RGB lighting around the camera module. The phone also offers magnetic pop-up triggers, which can be used for gaming controls, providing a more hands-on gaming experience.
At 9.5mm thick and weighing about 220g, the Black Shark 5 Pro feels comfortable to hold for long gaming sessions, though it’s a bit on the heavier side, which can be a trade-off for its powerful specs and enhanced cooling system.
Lenovo Legion Phone 3: Aggressive and Ergonomic
The Lenovo Legion Phone 3, on the other hand, is designed with the gamer in mind. The phone features an aggressive, angular design with a prominent Legion logo on the back and LED accents. It comes with a pop-up shoulder trigger and customizable lighting, which allows for additional gaming controls, enhancing the device's ergonomics. With a thickness of 9.9mm and a weight of around 239g, the Legion Phone 3 is also a bit bulkier, but its design is specifically crafted for those who prefer comfort during intense gaming sessions.
While both phones are heavy and gamer-focused in their design, the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro feels a bit more refined and subtle compared to the Lenovo Legion Phone 3, which leans heavily into a more bold and aggressive design aesthetic.
Verdict: Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro is slightly more refined, while the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 offers a more aggressive, gamer-centric look.
2. Display: Immersive Gaming Experience
Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro: Stunning AMOLED Panel
The Black Shark 5 Pro comes with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display featuring Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080) and a 144Hz refresh rate. With a 720Hz touch sampling rate, the display is incredibly responsive, offering minimal latency when gaming. The DCI-P3 color gamut ensures that the display has rich colors, while HDR10+ support makes games and media content more vibrant and lifelike.
This AMOLED display ensures that everything from fast-paced action sequences to visually stunning environments looks smooth and vibrant, giving mobile gamers an immersive visual experience. It’s ideal for games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, and Genshin Impact, where high refresh rates and vivid colors make all the difference.
Lenovo Legion Phone 3: Hyper-Responsive and High-Quality
The Lenovo Legion Phone 3 also features a 6.92-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution (2460 x 1080) and a 144Hz refresh rate. It boasts an impressive 720Hz touch sampling rate, ensuring ultra-responsive gameplay with minimal input lag. The HDR10+ support is also present, giving the Legion Phone 3’s display an edge in terms of brightness and color accuracy.
This larger screen makes the Legion Phone 3 slightly better for multitasking and split-screen gaming, especially in games that demand quick reactions, such as Mobile Legends or Call of Duty Mobile. With its high touch sampling rate and vibrant colors, it competes neck-and-neck with the Black Shark 5 Pro in terms of display quality.
Verdict: Both displays are incredibly close, but the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 has a slight edge in size, while the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro delivers outstanding color accuracy.
3. Performance: The Heart of Any Gaming Phone
Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Powerhouse
The Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. This powerful setup ensures smooth performance, even when handling the most demanding games and tasks. The Adreno 730 GPU takes care of all the graphics-intensive tasks, ensuring that your games run at the highest frame rates with no stutter or lag.
The phone also features a twin-turbo cooling system, which ensures that the device doesn’t overheat during extended gaming sessions. Whether you’re playing Battle Royale games or indulging in graphics-heavy titles, the Black Shark 5 Pro can handle it all without breaking a sweat.
Lenovo Legion Phone 3: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus Beast
Like the Black Shark 5 Pro, the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, offering top-of-the-line performance. This powerhouse is paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage, ensuring that there’s more than enough memory and space for even the largest games. The Adreno 730 GPU gives the Legion Phone 3 excellent graphical capabilities, providing fluid gameplay in any situation.
The Legion Phone 3 also includes DualX cooling technology, which combines liquid cooling and a high-performance vapor chamber to keep the phone’s temperature in check, even during long gaming sessions. The optimized thermal performance makes this phone a great option for those who play high-end games on a regular basis.
Verdict: Both phones feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, but the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 offers more RAM options, which could be beneficial for power users who need to multitask while gaming.
4. Battery and Charging: Staying Powered for Long Gaming Sessions
Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro: Big Battery and Fast Charging
The Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro comes with a 4,650mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than what some of its competitors offer. However, it still manages to deliver impressive battery life, capable of supporting 6-8 hours of continuous gaming, depending on the intensity of your sessions. The phone supports 120W fast charging, meaning you can charge the phone from 0 to 100% in just 15-20 minutes, which is incredibly convenient for users who don’t want to wait long to get back to their games.
Lenovo Legion Phone 3: Massive Battery with Turbo Charging
The Lenovo Legion Phone 3 is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery, providing a larger capacity for extended gaming sessions. With 90W fast charging, it can charge the battery from 0 to 100% in around 30 minutes, which is slightly slower than the Black Shark 5 Pro but still very fast. The additional battery capacity ensures that gamers can play for longer periods without needing to worry about running out of power, even during intense sessions.
Verdict: The Lenovo Legion Phone 3 offers a larger battery, but the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro beats it in terms of charging speed with 120W fast charging.
5. Gaming Features: Extra Controls for the Win
Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro: Magnetic Triggers and Game Mode
The Black Shark 5 Pro offers magnetic pop-up triggers on the sides of the device, which can be used for additional gaming controls, allowing users to map them to specific in-game actions. This feature provides a more immersive gaming experience, especially for competitive gamers. Additionally, the Black Shark 5 Pro comes with a Shark Space gaming mode that optimizes the phone’s performance by closing unnecessary apps and adjusting settings for better graphics and gameplay.
Lenovo Legion Phone 3: Shoulder Triggers and Legion Arena
The Lenovo Legion Phone 3 features pop-up shoulder triggers that provide tactile feedback, which can be mapped to specific in-game controls, similar to the Black Shark 5 Pro. The phone also includes the Legion Arena app, which is a gaming hub that allows users to control all their gaming settings, from performance optimization to game-specific tweaks. The app also offers a unique gaming experience with instant access to features like FPS counters and system health monitoring.
Verdict: Both phones provide excellent gaming controls, but the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 offers more customization with its Legion Arena app, making it a bit more versatile.
Conclusion: Which Phone Wins the Gaming Showdown?
Both the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro and Lenovo Legion Phone 3 are exceptional gaming smartphones that excel in different areas. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Performance: Both devices have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chip, but the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 edges out with more RAM options.
- Display: Both phones feature AMOLED displays with 144Hz refresh rates, but the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 offers a larger screen, making it better for multitasking.
- Battery: The Lenovo Legion Phone 3 offers a larger battery, but the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro wins in charging speed with its 120W fast charging.
- Gaming Features: The Lenovo Legion Phone 3 has more customizable features with its Legion Arena, but the Black Shark 5 Pro provides excellent magnetic triggers.
In the end, your choice between the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro and Lenovo Legion Phone 3 depends on your preferences. If you prefer a faster-charging phone with sleek design and excellent performance, the Black Shark 5 Pro is a fantastic choice. However, if you prioritize a larger display, a more customizable gaming experience, and slightly better battery life, the Lenovo Legion Phone 3 is an excellent option.
No matter which one you choose, both phones offer a superb mobile gaming experience that will satisfy even the most demanding gamming.