At Nubia, we are not patient and we are chaining together gaming smartphones at the same speed as the release of the new high-end SoCs from Qualcomm. If we skipped the RedMagic 8S Pro last fall, which was a simple update of the RedMagic 8 Pro, released 6 months before, we are now offering you the test of the new Redmagic 9 Pro, announced at the very end of 2023. It is arriving in France, it is powerful and its price remains reasonable.
The Redmagic 9 Pro is one of the very first smartphones that we are testing with the very recent high-end SoC from Qualcomm, namely the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. And of course, we expect a leap in terms of performance, but this year, even more so, given Qualcomm's announcements last October in order to compete with Apple not only in the smartphone market but also in computers. Otherwise, we find a design that is still oriented towards gaming, but more discreet and so much closer to what a consumer smartphone can be.
As a reminder, the target audience remains targeted, it is the one who knows exactly what they want, namely the best possible smartphone for gaming on the move. If we hesitate, for example, with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or a Xiaomi 13 Pro, we are clearly not the target. The RedMagic 9 Pro is aimed at those looking for the best possible smartphone for smartphone or cloud gaming. Here is our opinion on the RedMagic 9 Pro.
The Features of the RedMagic 9 Pro
As a reminder of the features, the RedMagic 9 Pro offers you:
| RedMagic 9 Pro | |
|---|---|
| Screen | - 6.8" True Full AMOLED flat screen - Camera under the screen - Full HD+ definition (1116x2480) - Density of 400ppp - Occupancy of 93.7% - 20:9 format - Gorilla Glass 5 - 120 Hz - HDR10+ - Max brightness: 1600nits - DCI-P3 - NTSC on 10-bit - Touch Sampling from 480Hz to 960Hz |
| SoC and GPU | - Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 - Adreno 740 - Red Core 2 - Magic GPU technology - ICE 13 cooling system - 22,000 RPM fan - Dual-Core Ice Dock optional |
| Memory | - 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM - Up to 6GB of Virtual RAM - 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage - No memory expansion |
| Colors | - Metal frame - Sleet finish (Black metal back) - Snowfall finish (Silver back) - Cyclone finish (Transparent glass back) - LED lighting on the integrated fan, the "9" and the side buttons |
| Camera | - Three cameras on the back: - Main wide-angle camera: Samsung GN5 50 Megapixels, F/1.88 - Ultra wide-angle camera: Samsung JN1 50 Megapixels, 120° (13mm), F/2.2 - Macro camera: 2 Megapixels, F/2.4 - Phase detection autofocus - Video recording up to 8K at 30fps and 4K at 60fps - Slow motion mode in 1080p at 240fps or 720p at 960fps - 3-axis electronic stabilization - Timelapse - Front camera under the screen with a 16 Megapixel sensor (2nd Generation) - Wide-angle lens with an aperture of F2.0 - Front video recording in 1080p at 60fps or 720p at 30fps |
| Battery | - 6500mAh - Fast charging up to 80W (100% in 35 minutes) - Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 |
| Connectivity | - 520Hz sensitive side buttons - Under-screen fingerprint reader - Bluetooth 5.3 - WiFi 7 - 5G - 2x nano-SIM - A-GPS+GLONASS, DNLA, Miracast (WiFi Direct), Google Cast - NFC - USB 3.0, USB Type-C - Video output up to 4K and 120fps - Barometer, Gyroscope, Accelerometer - Proximity and light sensor - Infrared port with heart rate monitor function |
| Audio | - Stereo speakers - DTS:X Ultra Surround Sound - Snapdragon Sound - 3.5mm jack - Dual Haptic Engine |
| Software | - Android 14 - RedMagic OS 9.0 |
| Size and Weight | - 163.98 x 76.35 x 8.9 mm - 229 g |
| Launch price | - Sleet (12GB + 256GB): 649 euros - Snowfall and Cyclone (16GB + 512GB): 749 euros |
| Availability date | - December 18, 2023 |
Gaming positioning obliges, the box of the RedMagic 9 Pro does like its predecessors and attracts the attention of the gamer by taking up the codes of the gaming universe. Afterwards, it remains a smartphone packaging but the decoration of the box leaves little doubt about the target of this new RedMagic. Inside, we find a fairly standard content with the smartphone, small booklets for a first handling and a small protective case, we find a USB cable as well as an 80W charger.
The RedMagic 9 Pro is available now at 649 euros for the 12+256GB version and 799 euros for the 16+512GB version.
Design, Screen and Audio
This year, Nubia did not try to reinvent itself since it was last year that the Chinese manufacturer did it! Indeed, for those who have not followed everything, exit the rounded design of gaming smartphones from a few years ago for a sharp and futuristic design. It's simple, we love it, especially with this full screen that allows you to enjoy the design of this RedMagic 9 Pro. So yes, we find some gaming elements like the small fan and the RGB lighting, it is much more discreet. When they are not working, we forget that the RedMagic 9 Pro is a gaming smartphone.
If the Silver and Cyclone versions are a little more flashy than the black version, we are surprised to see how discreet the RedMagic 9 Pro are enough to pass as an everyday smartphone. The screen edges remain thin, as does the chin, and we have the impression of having a premium smartphone even though it is classified as a high-end smartphone "only" given its price positioning.
Speaking of the screen, the RedMagic 9 Pro does as well as its predecessor but as is the case with all recent smartphones, the brightness has been revised and offers much more! . On the other hand, it remains below its competitors and we must see a difference with premium smartphones. Now, it is because we have something to compare and we are sure that most of you will not have any discomfort on a daily basis. We would also have liked to have Gorilla Glass Victus but it will not be for this year. Otherwise, we still have an AMOLED panel with a Full HD + definition and a refresh rate of 120Hz.
The finish is good and if some prefer the Cyclone version for the more insistent gamer side, we liked the general design of our Sleet version (aka Silver). Moreover, on both versions, we find the ICE cooling system which goes to version 13 with even better management of heat dissipation. We find the 20,000RPM fan which will activate when the device heats up too much. The outline is still made of metal and of very good quality. We find the two sensitive trigger buttons as well as a physical switch on the left edge which will be used to launch the smartphone's Game mode.
And finally, for the audio part, unsurprisingly, the RedMagic 9 Pro takes up what its predecessors offered with speakers and support for DTS: X Ultra. The two speakers are present on the front to ensure good stereo. Afterwards, they are still speakers but we can say that it is sufficient for short content on the internet. Finally, we were happy to find a jack plug, always practical.
Android 14, Performance and Battery Life
The RedMagic 9 Pro ships with Android 14 with a RedMagic OS overlay. Unsurprisingly, the user interface remains quite close to what Android Stock offers in its use. But above all, we do not note any real revolutions compared to previous versions. Little by little, the bugs disappear but it remains quite classic. While there are fewer problems in English, the user interface in the language of Molière still has translation bugs.
On the performance side, we won't surprise you too much since the RedMagic 9 Pro offers the new high-end Qualcomm SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, LPDDR5x RAM and internal memory in UFS 4.0. We will also note the WiFi 7 to complete the whole thing. And unsurprisingly, the results of the various benchmarks offer very high-flying results! Overall, the benchmarks are obviously excellent. So, whatever your uses, the Snapdragon will come out without batting an eyelid. All the games run very well, regardless of the refresh rate. We will once again note a very appreciable resistance to throttling.
We also find the in-house processor, the Red Core 2, which will take care of certain specific tasks to free them from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Basically, it will not provide additional power but will manage functions that are not directly related to graphics and performance. The Red Core 2 will be able to manage, for example, audio, haptic feedback or RGB effects. This allows the Snapdragon to have more resources to focus on games and/or demanding applications.
Like all its predecessors, we find an application dedicated to games that can be launched during a game and which will allow you to manage notifications, calls or other small annoyances when you are entitled to have them when you play. You can also manage shortcuts, the two triggers of the RedMagic, the vibration level of the haptic motor or even push the smartphone to its limits in terms of power. Note that on the RedMagic, it is a physical switch on the left edge of the smartphone that will activate the gamer mode. More practical.
In the uses around Street Fighter 4, Ninja Turtles, Diablo Immortals, Dead Cells or Wild Rifts, the smartphone heated up a little but nothing surprising, the new ICE cooling system does its job rather well. Needless to say that we could hear the fan start up and we will have to use headphones to enjoy our games without hearing the fan. In our tests, unfortunately, we have not yet had really demanding games to bring the latest Qualcomm SoCs to their knees.
And finally, we end on the battery since we are talking about a 6500mAh battery and this, with a weight of 229g. In daily use, and unsurprisingly, if we had no doubts for a full day loaded, we were able to quietly last two full days and this, without paying attention. Afterwards, as always, it will depend mainly on the user's applications that can vary the autonomy but we remain confident to have two days quietly.
Photo and Video
Nubia's target for these smartphones obviously remains gamers. So, this may go unnoticed by some but in photo and video, Nubia continues to make efforts. Even if we still find a photo block with essentially two main cameras, including the main camera with the same sensor as last year, the Samsung GN5 with its 50 Megapixel resolution, which will allow to "simulate" a telephoto by cropping directly on the sensor. Still practical.
In reality, let's not lie to ourselves, the Redmagic 9 Pro is still not equipped to compete with photo-oriented smartphones. On the other hand, with its Samsung GN5 sensor, the Redmagic 9 Pro offers very good quality photos in normal conditions. The ultra wide-angle still lacks precision and is a little soft. Everything will therefore depend on its requirements in photo and video on a daily basis. In low light conditions, we find the defects that characterize manufacturers like Nubia who do not have a team dedicated to photography. Also, we find this tendency to have a fairly significant smoothing which can affect the level of details. Afterwards, there is always progress and like last year, we owe it mainly to the Samsung sensor already but also to the integrated treatments with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
On the side of the front camera under the screen, it is still superbly integrated and almost invisible to the naked eye. And with this new screen with non-curved and super thin edges, we have a fairly impressive combo for a full screen. For the quality of the photos with the camera under the screen, we will say that it remains fairly basic with a quality that does not really compete with the competitors. On this point, we think that Nubia has focused more on offering a decent result in streaming than trying to revolutionize selfies.
Better than words, here is what the RedMagic 9 Pro can do in photos:
Photo Gallery
0 Comments