The successor to the gaming-focused Razer Phone will be officially announced at IFA 2018 in late August, French outlet FrAndroid reported Friday, citing an insider familiar with the matter. The Android flagship will supposedly be introduced after the first day of the Berlin, Germany-based trade show — August 31st — and launch simultaneously with the final, consumer-ready version of Project Linda, Razer’s phone-to-PC solution debuted at the latest iteration of the Consumer Electronics Show last week. The same source claims the Project Linda demo showcased at CES 2018 was developed in only a month, suggesting Razer was looking to gauge consumer reactions before deciding whether to greenlight the gadget for commercialization. Following relatively successful demonstrations in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company is understood to have approved the device and is now refining it before further testing takes place later this year.
No specifics about the Razer Phone 2 have been provided by the report, but the main selling points of the original device are unlikely to be scrapped by its successor. The list of unique features of the Razer Phone includes a 5.7-inch IGZO IPS display with a refresh rate of 120Hz that’s unprecedented in the mobile industry. While the volume of Android games that presently support it isn’t high, with such titles being counted in low dozens, an increasing number of developers have been adding support for the feature in recent weeks and more are expected to follow suit. Quick Charge 4.0 capabilities were also part of the original Razer Phone package and should make a return with its successor, much like a custom version of the Nova Launcher and Dolby Atmos-ready dual stereo speakers supported by THX-certified amplifiers.
While Razer already signaled its intention to follow up on the first smartphone in its history, the company wasn’t expected to do so nine months after the announcement of its first such product. With phone makers usually opting for annual refreshes of their offerings, it’s possible the Razer Phone 2 will only be introduced in early September but won’t become available for purchase in a matter of weeks like the previous phablet was. Instead, the Razer Phone 2 may still start retailing in November, i.e. a year after its predecessor hit the market.