The RedMagic 9 Pro is the quickest and most powerful gaming phone

The RedMagic 9 Pro by Nubia was released earlier this year, most likely due to Qualcomm making its top-tier chipset available sooner than usual. In any case, Red Magic’s top-tier gaming smartphone for this year is already out, and it includes a bevy of significant changes. A worthwhile generational advance. The Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro offers exceptional gaming performance and battery life at an unimaginably low price. It’s a specialized tool, and not everyone will appreciate its aesthetics or UI. However, for any serious mobile gamer trying to maximize their bang-for-buck ratio, there is currently nothing better on the market.

The RedMagic 8S Pro was a small increase over the RedMagic 8 Pro, and given the 9 Pro’s ostensibly similar appearance, I believed we were in for more of the same. Fortunately, that is not the case; this model includes display improvements, a larger battery with faster charging, changes to the lighting system and software, a new ultra-wide camera, and more. Of course, I was eager to learn what it’s like to game, but I was also wondering about what it’s like to live with daily.

Previous RedMagic models had some annoying quirks and software flaws that made them difficult to deal with, but the last several devices have provided a lot smoother experience, and I hope this trend continues.

The RedMagic 9 Pro, like its predecessor, starts at £579 / $649 / €649, although this time the base model includes 256GB of storage rather than 128GB. It will be available for pre-order on December 27, 2023, with open sales beginning globally on January 3, 2024.

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RedMagic 9 Pro KEY FEATURES

The RedMagic 9 Pro is a steal at half the price of high-end gaming phones while providing nearly the same gaming performance. The bezel and notch-free front are excellent, as is the dead-flat back, but the next RedMagic phone should prioritize gamer comfort. The display has been a standout feature of recent RedMagic devices, with no notch or camera cut-out, and it’s even better on this edition, thanks to an improved brightness output of up to 1600 nits. As huge, fluid, and unhindered as ever, but with greater brilliance and vibrancy. One of the quickest phones on the market, capable of maintaining that performance for extended gaming sessions. The inclusion of OIS and an upgraded ultra-wide lens is good, but if you’re serious about photography, you shouldn’t buy this, and the selfie cam is a disgrace. Nubia’s modified Android UI has improved dramatically, yet it remains practical rather than good. However, the Game Space UI is a very useful tool for players. Nubia has gone even bigger with a 6,500mAh battery and 80W charging, allowing for a full day of vigorous gaming with reasonable ease.

REDMAGIC 9 PRO UNBOXING

The device arrives in regular packaging with the typical user instructions, a USB-A to USB-C connection for charging and data transmission, and a 65W wall charger.

Nubia also supplies a protective case. It is clear, so it doesn’t detract from the attractive appearance.

CAMERA

• Triple camera arrangement.
• Dual 50-megapixel sensors.
• Improved under-display selfie camera.

Cameras are sometimes a weak area in gaming-focused devices, and the RedMagic 9 Pro is no exception. However, there are a few major upgrades that enhance the overall experience of the most recent model.

On the back, you’ll find a triple camera array consisting of a 50MP primary sensor (Samsung GN5), a 50MP ultra-wide (Samsung JN1), and a well-hidden but still present 2MP macro snapper, which is the little lens adjacent to the flash unit. This macro camera has never been very useful to me, and its new placement suggests that RedMagic isn’t too proud of its accuracy either. In rare circumstances, it may still be useful, but I wouldn’t mind if the brand removed it.

The main sensor is the most competent, as expected, but the new ultra-wide is a significant advance over the 8MP sensor found on previous generations of RedMagic handsets.

It’s still an obvious step down in quality from the primary camera, especially when you zoom in and observe the muddier details, but it’s far more comparable. The color reproduction is quite comparable, which I always like to see, but there’s a little too much contrast and sharpening, making the photographs appear less appealing. Still, the ultra-wide lens is really useful, especially for photographing architecture or groups of people, and the quality here is adequate for most people’s needs.

The main camera is unchanged from the RedMagic 8S Pro, which isn’t a terrible thing. It can generate wonderful photographs in daylight and, when combined with the night mode, can shoot some fantastic night shots as well. The one thing to watch out for is motion blur, which is more common on this phone than on most current flagships.

You’ll also need to remember to off the RedMagic watermark, which is unfortunately enabled by default. The under-display selfie camera has been improved on this model, but don’t expect too much. As interesting as this technology is, it still falls well behind even the most unimpressive punch-hole selfie cameras.

RedMagic claims the new 16MP camera can record up to 30% more information than its predecessor, and while there is a noticeable increase, the same drawbacks remain. To avoid a washed-out image, the camera must use a lot of digital sharpening, which is not particularly appealing because it highlights all of your skin’s flaws.

On the good side, the camera is effectively camouflaged, and you have to look closely to discover the semi-transparent portion of the display. When it comes to video, both the ultra-wide and primary rear cameras can shoot at up to 4K@60fps with good digital stabilization. The main can go up to 8K@30fps, but that quality comes at the expense of picture stabilization, limiting its utility. The front camera can film at 1080p@30fps, but it looks dreadful. It’s good enough to be seen quite clearly on a video call, but I wouldn’t recommend using it for anything else.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

• Gorilla Glass 5 front and back, metal frame.
• Even flatter design than before.
• 520Hz capacitive shoulder buttons.
• Large 6.8-inch screen.
• FHD+ resolution with 120Hz refresh rate.

As far as gaming phones go, the Red Magic 9 Pro looks great, but it’s not the most comfortable to hold for long amounts of time. Make no mistake, this is still a large, heavy phone, measuring 8.9mm thick – half a millimeter thinner than the 8S Pro – and weighing 229 grams.

Both metrics are at the upper limit of what is acceptable for typical phone users, but they are fairly realistic in the context of a gaming phone. With none of the ROG Phone 7 series’ curves, it may weigh a little more after a long gaming session.

This year, the RedMagic 9 Pro blocky, flat-surfaced design is accented by an almost entirely flat back. The camera module has been moved to the side and positioned beneath the transparent rear cover, which may be the first practical application for such an attractive choice. It’s a pleasingly clean appearance if slightly marred by the flash peeping through.

My model comes in the Snowfall colorway, which is essentially off-white with a semi-transparent rear that hints at some of the components inside. Cyclone performs the same trick but with black as the underlying color, whilst Sleet is a named plain black entry model. There is, of course, RGB lighting around the fan, under the ’09’ sticker, and now beneath the capacitive shoulder button controls along the right side. Except lighting, the sensors appear to have remained constant since the 8s Pro.

They offer a fast 520Hz reaction rate and are compatible with Nubia’s gaming UI, allowing you to assign game controls to them. They’re especially useful in shooters like CoD Mobile and PUBG Mobile, where they may be set to aim and shoot. The volume and power buttons, which are pleasingly circular, as well as a special Game Boost Switch, are located on the right-hand edge, which is a little overcrowded. Flip this to enter Game Space mode, where you can start games and adjust performance and interface features to enhance your gaming experience.

The flat side frame is built of metal, and the display is once again protected with Gorilla Glass 5. This isn’t the newest or hardest material available, but sacrifices have to be made somewhere to meet that pricing threshold. The lack of an IP rating for water and dust resistance is another example of a compromise.

Unlike the Asus ROG Phone line, the phone only has one USB-C connector on the bottom, but it does have a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top. The phone’s front impresses visually, with reduced bezels and an under-display selfie camera creating a nearly all-screen experience. It’s not a particularly gamer-friendly feature, either, with less space to grip the phone and plenty of room for erroneous presses. It also means that the speaker grilles have been relocated to the top and bottom borders, which is unsuitable for landscape gaming.

Like its predecessor, the RedMagic 9 Pro features a big 6.8-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2480 x 1116 and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The latter specification isn’t the fastest on the gaming phone market, but given how few games offer frame rates above 120Hz, it’s not a major issue.

This is not the same as the RedMagic 8S Pro display, though. Nubia has moved to BOE’s Q9+ luminescent material, which produces a more powerful output. To achieve a slightly more natural look, I had to turn down the color mode to ‘Soft’ from the ‘Colorful’ default and past the medium ‘Standard’ option. This new material appears to give the Red Magic 9 Pro a little more brightness. Nubia claims a maximum brightness of 1,600nits, up 300nits from the 8S Pro. With auto-brightness turned off, I measured the 9 Pro at 445 nits, which is approximately 100 nits higher than its predecessor.

While it may not be the sharpest or most detailed display on the market, the Red Magic 9 Pro’s screen is a fantastic gaming platform. It’s large, flat, fairly bright, and lacks a distracting notch that gets in the middle of the action.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

• One of the first phones on the market featuring a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.
• 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
• 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

Any concessions made in the design and camera of the RedMagic 9 Pro were intended to achieve this goal: to provide as much gaming power as possible at mid-market pricing.

On that front, the RedMagic 9 Pro is an undeniable success. Nubia has shifted to the most advanced chip available, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, together with either 12 or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM.

This is the same chip that will power the vast majority of flagship phones in 2024, and it performs as expected. The typical CPU and GPU benchmark tests show a noticeable if not seismic, performance improvement over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 from 2023.

It competes closely with the iPhone 15 Pro and its A17 Pro. Apple’s latest chip appears to have a clear single-core CPU performance advantage, but the $649 / £579 RedMagic 9 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 takes its fair share of GPU rounds.

Raw processing power is great, but it’s just half of the story when it comes to gaming phones like these. The Red Magic 9 Pro’s level of continuous performance is very impressive.

Running a handful of the 3DMark Extreme tests, which run 20 consecutive minute-long demanding graphical tests, the Red Magic 9 Pro achieved nearly perfect stability. That is, the average loop score was surprisingly steady. Non-gaming phones typically score between 70 and 80% in terms of stability, owing to their tendency to drastically throttle the processor after the first loop.

The distinction comes down to cooling. Nubia has improved the RedMagic 9 Pro ten-layer ICE 13.0 Cooling System to add a real fan that activates when you start a game.

It’s a little noisy, but it allows you to run games like Genshin Impact or Diablo Immortal on the maximum settings at a consistent 60fps without dropping frames mid-session.

Buy it if...

• Unique, flat, and high-quality design.
• The UD selfie camera is inconspicuous despite its large and fast 120Hz OLED panel.
• Exceptional battery life and fast charging.
• There are many gaming-related features, such as pressure-sensitive shoulder triggers.
• A versatile and well-executed external display and peripheral gaming experience.
• Stereo speakers produce a pleasant sound.
• Finally, we have a decent ultrawide camera.
• Feature-rich Redmagic OS 9.

Don't buy it if…

• In comparison to prior generations, the cooling solution performs poorly.
• The display is not particularly brilliant and does not support HDR video.
• The software still has terrible English translations from Chinese.
• Ultrawide and selfie cameras are still quite unimpressive.

FULL SPECIFICATION