The Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro is the latest offering from the gaming-centric mobile device manufacturer, Nubia. Boasting significant upgrades over its predecessor, the Red Magic 8 Pro aims to take the crown as the ultimate gaming phone.
Packed with features such as shoulder triggers, a built-in cooling fan, and gaming-oriented software functionality, this phone appears to be tailored for serious gamers.
In this review, we’ll delve into the design, build, gaming performance, camera capabilities, and overall user experience to determine if the Red Magic 8 Pro lives up to its gaming aspirations.
Design and Build
Nubia’s Red Magic 8 Pro features a new squared-off rectangular design with a soft matte back that feels comfortable to the touch. The aluminum frame provides a good grip, giving the phone a sturdy and durable feel.
However, it is important to note that the Red Magic 8 Pro lacks official Ingress Protection, which sets it apart from competitors like Asus’s latest Rog phones. Another variant, the Red Magic 8 Pro Plus, offers a transparent back, faster charging, and more RAM and storage, but unfortunately, it is not available globally.
One key highlight of the Red Magic series is the built-in cooling fan. The Red Magic 8 Pro’s cooling fan is not visible on the back due to the lack of transparency but can be activated via a widget or settings. The fan runs at up to 20,000 RPM and aids in providing better sustained performance during gaming sessions. Though slightly noisy at maximum speed, the fan’s low power consumption makes it a valuable asset for gamers.
Gaming Features
The capacitive shoulder triggers on the Red Magic 8 Pro offer a superb 520 Hertz sampling rate and a 7.4-millisecond response time. While they are highly responsive and easy to map to on-screen gaming controls, they lack support for more advanced interactions like swipes. This feature is particularly useful for racing and shooting games, providing extra control for a seamless gaming experience.
Display
The Red Magic 8 Pro boasts a 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a resolution of 1116 x 2480 and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The high refresh rate ensures smooth swiping and scrolling, while the under-display selfie camera eliminates the need for a distracting cutout. The screen brightness measures up to 550 nits manually and can boost up to 820 nits in auto mode, ensuring excellent visibility even in bright conditions.
High Framerate Gaming
In testing high frame rate gaming, the Red Magic 8 Pro performed well with games that supported 120Hz display, going up to 90 FPS or 120 FPS in some titles. While game developers have not yet fully optimized for high frame rate gaming on Android, the Red Magic 8 Pro is ready to deliver a smooth gaming experience when supported.
Audio and Haptic Feedback
The Red Magic 8 Pro comes with stereo speakers and a headphone jack, providing excellent audio quality. The speakers scored well in loudness and overall sound quality, but slight distortion may occur at maximum volume. Additionally, the phone supports haptic feedback for an immersive gaming experience and an under-display fingerprint reader, which is snappy and reliable.
Software and Interface
The Red Magic 8 Pro runs on Red Magic OS 6, based on Android 13. The customized interface features game-related software functionalities, making it a hub for gamers. With features like Nubia Game Space, X Gravity for external device mapping, and game shorthand for quick references, the phone caters extensively to gamers’ needs. However, the navigation through the software may feel less intuitive due to some unlabeled symbols and Chinese text.
Connectivity and Performance
The Red Magic 8 Pro excels in connectivity and performance. With HDMI output and USB input support, connecting to external monitors is seamless, while the phone’s 256GB UFS 4.0 storage and 12GB LPDDR5X RAM contribute to a smoother and faster user experience.
Powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset built on a 4nm process, the phone outperforms its Android competitors and maintains stable performance during long gaming sessions, thanks to the enhanced thermal management.
Battery Life and Charging
The Red Magic 8 Pro features a large 6000mAh battery, offering impressive battery life with an endurance rating of 131 hours. The bundled 65W fast charger ensures rapid charging, taking the phone from 0 to 92 percent in just half an hour.
Camera Performance
The Red Magic 8 Pro sports a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro camera. Daylight image quality from the main camera is good, with true-to-life colors and sufficient detail. However, some graininess is noticeable when zooming in, and the dynamic range is only decent. The ultra-wide camera produces usable but unimpressive shots, while the macro camera delivers acceptable close-ups without significant detail.
Low-light photography from the main camera is decent, with acceptable colors and exposure. While the night mode enhances highlights and shadows, it may overprocess images. Unfortunately, no night mode is available for the ultra-wide camera, which struggles in low-light conditions, resulting in soft and blurry images.
The under-display selfie camera, though improved from previous models, still lacks quality compared to traditional front-facing cameras, offering soft and blurry images with low detail.
Video recording capabilities are excellent, with support for 8K at 30fps, delivering flagship-grade quality with plenty of detail and true-to-life colors. Electronic stabilization in 4K mode ensures smooth videos, but there seems to be an issue capturing videos with the ultra-wide camera.
- Shop On Amazon Using Our Links To Support Us:
- Amazon under $25:
- Amazon best sellers:
- Amazon most gifted:
Conclusion
The Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro proves to be a solid gaming phone, offering a brighter screen, better battery life, and superior performance than its predecessor. The enhanced camera capabilities are commendable, but there are some shortcomings, such as the subpar ultra-wide camera. Navigating through menus might be a bit challenging due to the language barrier in some cases.
Overall, the Red Magic 8 Pro stands as a top gaming phone with impressive gaming performance and additional features such as the built-in cooling fan. For those seeking a gaming-focused device, the Red Magic 8 Pro is worth considering as a recommended option.
