In the house of NubiaWe are not patient and release gaming smartphones at the same pace as Qualcomm's new high-end SoCs. While last school year we omitted the RedMagic 8S Pro, which was a simple update of the RedMagic 8 Pro released six months earlier, today we offer you the review of the new Redmagic 9 Pro, the end of the year Announced in 2023, it arrives in France, is powerful and the price remains reasonable.
THE Redmagic 9 Pro is one of the very first smartphones that we test with the very latest high-end SoC Qualcommnamely that Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. And of course we expect a jump in performance, but even more so this year considering that Qualcomm announced last October that it would compete with Apple not only in the smartphone market but also in computers. Otherwise we find a design that is still gaming-focused, but more subtle and so much closer to what a consumer smartphone can be.
As a reminder: The target group is always in focus; they are the ones who know exactly what they want, namely the best possible smartphone for them Gaming in mobility. For example, if we hesitate with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or a Xiaomi 13 Pro, we are clearly not the target. The RedMagic 9 Pro is aimed at anyone looking for the best possible smartphone for smartphone or cloud gaming. Here is our opinion on it Red Magic 9 Pro.
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RedMagic 9 Pro features
To remember the characteristics that Red Magic 9 Pro offer you:
| Red Magic 9 Pro | |
|---|---|
| Screen | – 6.8-inch True Full AMOLED flat screen – Camera under the screen – Full HD+ resolution (1116 x 2480) – Density of 400 dpi – occupancy rate of 93.7% – Aspect ratio 20:9 -Gorilla Glass 5 – 120Hz – HDR10+ – Maximum brightness: 1600nits – DCI-P3 – NTSC on 10-bit – Touch sampling from 480 Hz to 960 Hz |
| SoC and GPU | – Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 – Adreno 740 -Red Core 2 – Magic GPU technology – ICE 13 cooling system – Fan with 22,000 rpm – Optional dual core ice dock |
| Memory | – 12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X RAM – Up to 6GB of virtual RAM – 256 GB or 512 GB storage in UFS 4.0 – No memory expansion |
| Colors | – Metal edging – Sleet finish (black metal back) – Snowfall finish (silver back) – Cyclone finish (back made of transparent glass) – LED lighting on the integrated fan, the “9” and the side buttons |
| camera | – Three cameras on the back: – Main wide-angle camera: Samsung GN5 with 50 megapixels, F/1.88 – Ultra wide angle camera: Samsung JN1 50 megapixels, 120° (13 mm), F/2.2 – Macro camera: 2 megapixels, F/2.4 – Phase detection autofocus – Front camera under the screen with 16 megapixel sensor (2nd generation) |
| battery | – 6500mAh – Fast charging up to 80W (100% in 35 minutes) – Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 |
| Connectivity | – 520 Hz sensitive side buttons – Fingerprint reader under the screen -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 120 fps – Barometer, gyroscope, accelerometer – Proximity and brightness sensor – Infrared port with heart rate monitor function |
| Audio | – Stereo speakers – DTS:X Ultra Surround Sound -Snapdragon sound – 3.5mm jack socket – Dual haptic motor |
| software | – Android 14 -RedMagic OS 9.0 |
| height and weight | – 163.98 x 76.35 x 8.9mm – 229g |
| Starting price | – Sleet (12GB + 256GB): 649 euros – Snowfall and Cyclone (16GB + 512GB): 749 euros |
| Availability date | – December 18, 2023 |
The gaming positioning obliges, the packaging of the RedMagic 9 Pro is similar to that of its predecessors and attracts the gamer's attention by echoing the codes of the gaming universe. After that, it remains smartphone packaging, but the decoration of the box leaves little doubt about the purpose of this new RedMagic. Inside we find quite classic content with the smartphone, small booklets for the first start and a small protective case, we find a USB cable and an 80W charger.
The RedMagic 9 Pro is now available for 649 euros for the 12+256GB version and 799 euros for the 16+512GB version.
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Design, screen and audio
This year Nubia did not try to reinvent itself, as the Chinese manufacturer already did so last year! If you haven't followed everything yet, you should leave behind the rounded design of the gaming smartphones of a few years ago and move towards a clear 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 RGB lighting to be much more discreet. If they don't work, we forget that the RedMagic 9 Pro is a gaming smartphone.
While the Silver and Cyclone versions are a little flashier than the black version, we're surprised at how discreet the RedMagic 9 Pro is to pass as an everyday smartphone. The screen edges remain just as thin as the chin and we have the impression of having a premium smartphone, although we “only” classify it as a high-end smartphone based on the price positioning.
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Speaking of the screen, the RedMagic 9 Pro is just as good as its predecessor, but like all newer smartphones, the brightness has been revised and offers much more! . On the other hand, it remains below its competitors and with premium smartphones you have to see a difference. That's because we have something to compare it to and are sure that most of you won't have any daily discomfort. We would also have liked to have had Gorilla Glass Victus, but that won't be this year. Otherwise, we still have an AMOLED panel with Full HD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
The finish is good and if some prefer the Cyclone version for the more demanding gamer side, we liked the general design of our Sleet version (aka Silver). In addition, in both versions we find the ICE cooling system, which is equipped with even better heat dissipation control up to version 13. We find the 20,000 rpm fan, which activates when the device heats up too much. The outline is still metal and very well finished. On the left edge we find the two sensitive trigger buttons as well as a physical switch that starts the smartphone's gaming mode.
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And finally, as far as the audio part is concerned, it is not surprising that the RedMagic 9 Pro continues what its predecessors offered with the speakers and the support for DTS: the two speakers are present on the front and ensure good stereo quality. In retrospect, they are still speakers, but we can say that they are sufficient for short content on the Internet. We were finally happy to find a jack socket, always handy.
Android 14, performance and autonomy
The RedMagic 9 Pro features Android 14 with a RedMagic OS overlay. Unsurprisingly, the interface is quite close to what Android Stock offers in its usage. Above all, we don't notice any real revolutions compared to previous versions. Little by little the errors disappear, but it remains quite classic. Although we will notice fewer problems in the English language, the interface in Molière's language still has translation errors.
As for performance, we won't surprise you too much as the RedMagic 9 Pro features Qualcomm's new high-end SoC, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 internal storage. We will also note WiFi 7 to complete everything. And unsurprisingly, the results of the various benchmarks produce very high quality results! Overall, the benchmarks are obviously excellent. So whatever you use, the Snapdragon will handle the task without batting an eyelid. All games run very well regardless of refresh rate. We will once again see very noticeable resistance to throttling.
We also find the in-house processor, the Red Core 2, which is intended to take over certain tasks to free them from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Basically, it will not provide additional performance, but will manage functions that are not directly linked to graphics and performance. For example, the Red Core 2 will be able to manage audio, haptic feedback or even RGB effects. This gives the Snapdragon more resources to focus on games and/or demanding applications.
As with all its predecessors, there is a gaming application that can be launched while playing and allows you to manage notifications, calls or other small annoyances that you may encounter while playing. We can also manage the shortcuts, the two RedMagic triggers, the vibration level of the haptic motor or even push the smartphone to its limits in terms of performance. Note that RedMagic is a physical switch on the left edge of the smartphone that activates Gamer Mode. More practical.
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The smartphone heated up a bit when playing Street Fighter 4, Ninja Turtles, Diablo Immortals, Dead Cells and Wild Rifts, but that's not surprising as the new ICE cooling system does its job quite well. It goes without saying that you could hear the fan turning on and you need to use headphones to enjoy your games without hearing the fan. Unfortunately, in our tests we haven't experienced any really demanding games that would bring Qualcomm's latest SoCs to their knees.
And finally we come to the battery as it is a 6500mAh battery that weighs 229g. In daily use, and not surprisingly, if we had no doubts during a busy day, we could easily last two full days without paying attention. After that, as always, it will essentially depend on the user's applications, which may vary the autonomy, but we remain confident of having two days of peace.
Photo and video
Nubia's target group for these smartphones obviously remains gamers. This may go unnoticed by some, but Nubia continues to make efforts when it comes to photos and videos. Although 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 resolution of 50 megapixels, which will allow to “simulate” a telephoto lens through direct cropping . on the sensor. Always practical.
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In fact, we're not going to lie, the Redmagic 9 Pro is still not equipped to compete with photo-focused smartphones. On the other hand, the Redmagic 9 Pro with its Samsung GN5 sensor delivers very good photos under normal conditions. The ultra wide angle still lacks precision and is a bit soft. So it all depends on your daily photo and video needs. In low light we find the defects that are characteristic of manufacturers like Nubia, which do not have their own team dedicated to photography. We also note that this tendency results in quite a bit of smoothing, which can impact the level of detail. After that there is always progress and like last year we owe this mainly to Samsung's sensor but also to the treatments integrated in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
The front camera under the screen 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 pretty impressive combination for a full screen. As for the quality of the photos with the camera under the screen, we can say that it remains quite basic and has a quality that cannot really compete with the competition. On this point, we think Nubia is more focused on delivering a decent result in streaming than trying to revolutionize selfies.
Better than words, here's what the RedMagic 9 Pro can do in photos:
Photo gallery
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