Razer, a famed brand for gaming laptops and accessories, might create a smartphone specifically targeting its hardcore gaming audience, according to several reports.
Currently, Razer is pining for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could lend it up to $5 billion in valuation — which will help fund the development of the phone, among other things.
Razer Plans To Make A Gaming Phone
As Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, the company's share sale will seek a $3 billion to $5 billion valuation, and that will help Razer have sufficient ammunition to develop new products. People privy to the matter said the company plans to file for an IPO around October this year.
Razer's potential venture into the smartphone industry might not surprise most; the company did acquire Nextbit earlier this year. It even said Nextbit would function as an independent company at the time of its acquisition, and Razer hasn't spoken much about it since.
How Can Razer Stand Out In A Space Full Of Heavy Hitters?
Given that the device would target Razer's audience of hardcore gamers, it stands to reason that Razer will brand the device under its own name instead of Nexbit. That way, gamers can recognize it for what it's truly for — a phone focused on powerful mobile gaming capabilities. But whether that alone is enough to help Razer kickstart a smartphone business remains a question, as the industry already appears difficult enough as it is with major players such as Apple, Samsung, and Huawei dominating the market at present.
The idea of a smartphone made by a company boasting an impressive array of powerful gaming laptops sounds incredibly promising, though. Smartphones are already pretty powerful, so it's interesting to see how Razer plans to approach this generation's smartphone power wars to elevate the state of mobile gaming.
What The Razer Phone Could Be
Perhaps the company will make a device that can stream PC games, like what the PlayStation Vita does for the PS4? We're just spitballing here, of course. Official word about the phone might not even surface until early 2018 given the planned IPO date.
Perhaps Razer could also equip the phone with a strong VR platform, although it may just as well adapt Oculus or Google Daydream for a much easier approach.
Specs are, of course, not available as of this time, because the Razer phone seems more of a concept than anything. But because this is looking to become a pretty powerful phone thanks to what company is making it, expect a stellar RAM and chipset pairing and possibly also a high-capacity battery to go with it.
Expect due coverage when we learn more, but for now, feel free to tell us what features you expect the Razer phone to have.
