Today, I have the REDMAGIC 9 Pro under review. This is a flagship gaming smartphone from Nubia – a subsidiary of ZTE, specializing in gaming and premium segment devices. The smartphone was announced in November last year. It has only reached the Ukrainian market now – sales started on April 14th. Among the main features, we can highlight: top-notch hardware, unique design, gorgeous display, advanced cooling system, and decent cameras. But these are not all the features of the REDMAGIC 9 Pro. Therefore, I suggest not to delay with the introduction and proceed directly to the review. Today, we will take a detailed look at this smartphone, run performance tests, find out how well the device handles games, see what the cameras are capable of, and check the battery life. And let’s start the review with a brief overview of the technical specifications.
Specifications of the Nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro
- Display: AMOLED; 6.8″; BOE Q9+; resolution 2480×1116; aspect ratio 20:9; 400 PPI; refresh rate up to 120 Hz; peak brightness 1600 nits; PWM 2160 Hz; screen-to-body ratio 93.7%; Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; 8 cores (2 cores of 2.27 GHz Cortex-A520 + 2 cores of 2.96 GHz Cortex-A720 + 3 cores of 3.15 GHz Cortex-A720 + 1 core of 3.3 GHz Cortex-X4); 4 nm process; Adreno 750 graphics
- Cooling system: ICE 13; active cooler 22000 rpm
- RAM and storage: 12/256 GB; 16/512 GB; type of RAM: LPDDR5X; type of storage: UFS 4.0
- Support for memory cards: no
- Rear camera: 3 lenses (primary, wide-angle, macro)
- Main lens: 50 megapixels; f/2.2; Samsung GN5 sensor; sensor size 1/1.57″; pixel size 1 μm; phase detection autofocus; optical image stabilization (OIS)
- Wide-angle lens: 50 megapixels; f/2.2; sensor size 1/2.76″; pixel size 0.64 μm; angle 122°
- Macro lens: 2 megapixels; f/2.4
- Video recording: 8K@30FPS, 4K@30/60FPS, 1080P@30/60FPS, 720P@30FPS
- Front camera: sub-screen; 16 megapixels; f/2.0; Omnivision OV16E1Q sensor; sensor size 1/2.8″; pixel size 1.12 μm. Video recording 1080P@30FPS, 720P@30FPS
- Audio: stereo speakers with DTS: X Ultra; mini-Jack 3.5
- Battery: 6500 mAh; 80W fast charging
- Operating system: Android 14
- Shell: REDMAGIC OS 9.0
- Communication standards: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
- eSIM support: no
- Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi 7; Bluetooth 5.3; NFC
- Geolocation services: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
- SIM card slot: dual (2×Nano-SIM)
- Sensors and gauges: proximity sensor; light sensor; accelerometer; gyroscope; electronic compass; fingerprint scanner (in display); touch triggers
- Dimensions: 163.98 × 76.35 × 8.90 mm
- Weight: 229 g
- Package contents: smartphone; case; 80 W charger; USB-C to USB-C cable; SIM tray eject tool; warranty card; user manual
Positioning and price
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro model is positioned as a flagship gaming smartphone. According to the concept, it is supposed to provide high performance in modern mobile games and enhance the gaming experience of gamers in general. To achieve this, the device is equipped with powerful hardware, an advanced cooling system, additional gaming triggers, and special software, which we will further examine in the review.
The device price varies depending on the installed RAM and storage capacity. Currently, there are three versions of the smartphone available, distinguished by their RAM and storage capacity, as well as color: Sleet 12/256 GB, Cyclone 16/512 GB, and Snowfall 16/512 GB. On the official REDMAGIC website, the price for the Sleet version is $649, while Cyclone and Snowfall are priced at $799. For European countries, the figures are the same but in euros – €649 and €799.
Package contents
The smartphone comes in a branded box made of thick cardboard. The packaging design is quite simple and laconic, which is atypical for a gaming smartphone. There’s a silver top cover with textured inscriptions and a black base with the main package.
The delivery set itself is standard:
- smartphone
- case
- 80 W charger
- USB-C – USB-C cable
- tool for removing the SIM tray
- warranty card
- user manual
The smartphone’s display comes with a protective film attached, so it can also be considered part of the package. The included case comes in the form of a plastic back cover with open sides. Most likely, this option was chosen to ensure nothing covers or obstructs access to the gaming triggers located on the right side of the smartphone.
The charger has a power output of 80 watts. The version I received came with an American plug. For the European region, the device is equipped with a charger featuring a standard European plug.
In addition to the basic package, on the official website, you can find and order branded accessories. Here you can find a case with an interesting design, screen protectors, branded gamepads, additional liquid cooling, and TWS headphones. Prices are, of course, not cheap, but quality branded accessories generally come at a cost.
Design, ergonomics, build quality
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro looks quite distinctive. It features a futuristic design, perfectly flat side edges and rear panel, a large bezel-less display, a Mech-style pattern, and RGB backlighting. The main highlight in the design is the small, flat, non-protruding cameras on the rear panel. Such a design is rarely seen in smartphones. Therefore, just by its design alone, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro will stand out significantly among the general mass of smartphones.
There are only three available colors: black Sleet, black-grey Cyclone with a golden pattern, and white Snowfall. The version I received for review is Cyclone, so I’ll be showcasing it further.
The front panel features a large 6.8-inch AMOLED display. The bezels are very thin. The front camera is under-display, so it’s barely visible. You can only notice the front camera on certain shades and at certain angles. A protective film is factory-installed on the display. The display itself is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The rear panel is perfectly flat. The only thing that slightly protrudes is the flash, but visually it’s hardly noticeable. You can only feel a small unevenness with your finger. The material covering the rear panel is glass. Like all glass, it tends to collect fingerprints and dust. However, due to the pattern and texture, this is not very noticeable, so it’s not critical. Just wiping the rear panel a few times makes the smartphone look neat again. Under the glass, there is a textured pattern. In my opinion, the stylistic resembles the theme of giant humanoid robots a bit.
The “09” inscription and the bottom opening under the cameras light up. By the way, the bottom opening is not one of the modules of the rear camera, as it might initially seem. There is a cooler for active cooling installed in that spot. It automatically activates during gaming sessions and certain applications.
The side edges of the smartphone are also perfectly flat. The corners are rounded, but the actual rounding is very small. Perhaps, this is another plus for the uniqueness of the REDMAGIC 9 Pro design. The material of the side insert is metal. The smartphone itself is quite thin – only 8.9 mm.
Let’s consider the arrangement of elements. There is nothing on the left side except for the cooler opening. On the right side, there are the power button, volume controls, another cooler opening, touch-sensitive gaming triggers on the sides, and a switch that activates the gaming space. The cooler opening lights up. The small strips on the gaming triggers also light up. We’ll take a closer look at the lighting, touch triggers, and gaming space mode a little later. For now, let’s continue examining the design and layout of the elements.
On the top edge of the smartphone, there is a speaker grille and a standard 3.5mm audio jack for headphones/headsets. On the bottom edge, you’ll find the SIM card tray, a USB-C port, and another speaker grille. The USB Type-C port is of version 3.2 and supports DisplayPort technology.
Лоток йде двосторонній — можна розмістити 2 карти формату nano-SIM. Підтримки карт пам’яті microSD немає.
The build quality is excellent; the smartphone’s body and the entire construction feel sturdy and solid. The device has a pleasant weight, weighing 229 grams. The materials are pleasant to the touch, especially the metal side insert. The slightly cool touch of metal, combined with perfectly flat edges, makes the smartphone very pleasant and comfortable to hold tactilely. The device is pleasant and comfortable to hold even just in the hands. In terms of ergonomics, there are no complaints. Despite its large dimensions (163.98×76.35×8.90 mm), the smartphone fits well in the hand and doesn’t slip. It’s easy for a large thumb to reach the volume controls and power button. Of course, reaching all the way to the top without readjusting the grip might be challenging. But, as mentioned, the device’s size is not small, and its primary focus is on gaming rather than compactness.
By the way, regarding tactile feedback, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro has a built-in vibrator motor that provides pleasant tactile feedback during certain actions. The level of vibration feedback is good. I believe it will even be noticeable when wearing thin gloves.
Now, a few words about the lighting. On the rear panel of the REDMAGIC 9 Pro, the “09” inscription and the opening above the cooler light up. On the right side, the cooler opening and the touch triggers are illuminated.
The illumination of the logo, triggers, and cooler can be turned off or customized to your liking. The lighting settings for the logo and triggers are available in the corresponding customization menu. Here, you can change the color, choose the effect, and adjust the conditions under which the illumination will be activated (calls, alarms, charging, notifications). There are not many colors available: only 7 basic colors to choose from. It’s not possible to set a custom color by adjusting the palette or specifying RGB values. There are also few effects, only three, namely, constant illumination, gentle breathing, and rapid flashing.
The settings for the cooler illumination are located in the cooling system menu. Here, you can choose the effect, color, or completely disable the illumination.
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention anything about the smartphone’s protection against dust, moisture, etc. That’s because the official specifications don’t mention anything about the body’s protection. Although this is quite an important aspect, it’s usually indicated. Based on this, one can assume that the device does not have dust and water resistance, and this should be taken into account when using the smartphone. However, I believe it should be fine with small droplets on the rear panel or screen. But if something gets into the cooling system openings, that could be an issue.
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Nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro Display
The model features a 6.8-inch AMOLED display manufactured by BOE using the new Q9+ material. This is a 10-bit display with a resolution of 2480×1116 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The claimed touch sampling rate is 960 Hz, with a boost to 2000 Hz, providing quick response to user actions. The claimed peak brightness is 1600 nits. The pixel density is 400 PPI. For those sensitive to flickering, a high PWM dimming frequency (2160 Hz) is provided for AMOLED displays.
The color reproduction is excellent – the display showcases vibrant colors and deep blacks. The contrast is spot on. HDR support is available as well.
The viewing angles are wide. The display remains legible from any angle, with no color distortion, contrast, or brightness changes observed.
In terms of image clarity, everything is excellent as well. Text, graphics, videos, and essentially any content on the REDMAGIC 9 Pro display look great. The brightness is also sufficient for comfortable use of the smartphone outdoors in sunny weather.
In terms of performance, the display performs admirably. It’s smooth, with good and fast response. It reacts precisely to all actions. In short – it’s comfortable and pleasant to use. The touchscreen recognizes 10 simultaneous touches, which is more than enough for all tasks a smartphone might face.
As for the display settings, most of them are quite standard. Brightness settings include manual and dynamic options. For the refresh rate, there are 4 modes: auto, 60 Hz, 90 Hz, and 120 Hz. I mostly used the smartphone with the automatic (dynamic) refresh rate, and it was more than sufficient for me. Everything was fast and smooth.
In the color settings, you can choose the color scheme and color temperature. Everything is straightforward here; there are no more advanced color settings available.
One interesting setting I can highlight is the Enhanced Display Mode option. This mode simply increases brightness, saturation, and contrast. However, this also leads to increased power consumption.
Another interesting feature that caught my eye is the “Small Screen Settings.” I couldn’t understand what it was at first, but then I realized that with these settings, you can change the color of the front camera’s circle indicator at different brightness levels. By default, the circle of the front camera on the display is hardly noticeable. However, with these settings, you can give it, for example, a greenish tint. Nevertheless, the front camera is still barely noticeable on the display. Therefore, not only is this setting somewhat confusing, but it also seems unnecessary.
There’s also a special reading mode that turns the screen black and white, resembling an e-book. This mode can be useful for those who read books on their smartphone. You can easily turn on the mode or select specific applications in which it will work.
There’s support for the Always On Display feature, which allows displaying limited information on the screen even when the smartphone is locked (in sleep mode). You can show the time, date, battery percentage, text, or image.
When it comes to customization settings, there’s plenty to explore: themes, animated wallpapers, icon styles, fonts, various animations, backlighting, and more. These settings offer endless possibilities for personalization, allowing users to tailor everything to their liking.
The fingerprint scanner on the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is under-display, meaning it’s built directly into the screen. By the way, fingerprint unlocking works without any issues. The fingerprint is recognized quickly, and there are some cool recognition animations as well.
Hardware, cooling and benchmarks
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro boasts top-notch hardware. The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. This is a flagship 8-core mobile chipset released last year. The core architecture includes: 2 cores at 2.27 GHz Cortex-A520 + 2 cores at 2.96 GHz Cortex-A720 + 3 cores at 3.15 GHz Cortex-A720 + 1 core at 3.3 GHz Cortex-X4. It’s built on a 4nm process. Handling graphics is the Adreno 750.
The device is equipped with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. Depending on the RAM and storage capacity, there are two versions of the smartphone: 12/256 GB (available only in Sleet color) and 16/512 GB (Cyclone, Snowfall). The storage demonstrates exceptional speed in both everyday tasks and synthetic tests. Below, I’ll add screenshots of tests from AnTuTu and PCMark.
In the RAM settings, there’s a feature to add virtual memory, which utilizes space on the storage. Available options range from 1 to 12 GB. Enabling this memory expansion feature will make the system and installed apps run faster. Although, even without this feature, the smartphone’s performance is excellent.
For powerful components like those in a gaming smartphone such as the REDMAGIC 9 Pro, effective cooling is essential. To prevent overheating, the smartphone is equipped with a vapor chamber measuring 10182 mm² and a built-in cooler capable of spinning up to 22000 revolutions per minute. Thanks to this cooling system, the device remains cool and maintains performance even under prolonged heavy loads.
It’s also worth noting that the smartphone utilizes the proprietary gaming chip Red Core R2 Pro, which optimizes sound quality, brightness, vibration, and certain other functions based on the user’s personal preferences.
In tests and benchmarks, the smartphone demonstrates phenomenal results. One could say that currently, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is the most powerful Android smartphone. If we look at the ranking of the popular benchmark AnTuTu on the official website, we’ll see that our smartphone confidently holds the first place, scoring 2,080,794 points. However, I, to be honest, have some doubts about the relevance of this ranking. So here’s another rating where our smartphone also leads with a score of 2,290,773 points. By the way, if we believe this rating, then the enhanced version, REDMAGIC 9 Pro Plus, which differs only in a larger RAM capacity, charging power, and battery capacity, delivers the same results.
My AnTuTu test result is, as they say, in the middle – 2,124,481 points.
I’ll provide the results from Geekbench 6, PCMark, 3DMark, AiTuTu Benchmark, and CPU Throttling Test below.
Nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro performance in games
Here we come to the most interesting part — game testing. But before diving into the actual gaming tests, let’s talk about the gaming hub — Game Space. It’s a special gaming hub accessed by a switch on the right side of the smartphone. This hub contains all the games installed on the smartphone, and you can optimize the system for them right there. In addition to various optimizations, Game Space offers plenty of additional gaming settings: touch response rate, control sensitivity, low latency for online gaming, game recording, streaming settings, synchronization with other devices, and much more. All game statistics, gameplay recordings, and screenshots are stored here. There’s even a virtual assistant called Mora, with whom you can interact in various ways (within limits, of course). In short, the hub is vast and rich in features. I won’t be able to cover everything in detail in this review — it requires a separate one. Let me show you what’s on the screenshots below instead.
Also, when games are launched, a side menu becomes available, where various optimizations and game settings can be adjusted. Among other things, there’s built-in performance monitoring, which shows the frames per second. This is what I’ll be using for game testing.
Diablo Immortal
All settings are set to maximum, except for the resolution, which is set to High. It doesn’t allow selecting the Ultra setting.
At these settings, the game on the smartphone maintains a stable 60 FPS. The gameplay is smooth and comfortable without any freezes. Meanwhile, the CPU setting in Game Space is set to Balance mode. In the same Game Space, you can select the mode of maximum performance — Diablo Mode. However, there’s no need for this game. Everything works perfectly fine as it is.
Wreckfest
This PC port is quite demanding on the smartphone’s hardware. All graphics settings are set to maximum. The CPU mode in Game Space is set to Balance.
At maximum settings, the game runs excellently. The minimum FPS was observed at the start, with many cars on screen, at 50 frames per second. During the race, the maximum FPS can reach over 90 frames. The average gameplay FPS ranges from 50 to 75 frames, depending on the number of objects on the screen. The game runs smoothly without any freezes. Enabling Diablo Mode increases FPS by an average of 5-10 frames.
Genshin Impact
Another demanding game under test. Graphics settings are at maximum. In Game Space, the performance mode is set to Balance.
With these settings, the game maintains a stable 60 frames per second even in crowded city areas with numerous objects and NPCs. The gameplay is smooth and comfortable, without any freezes or slowdowns. With the REDMAGIC 9 Pro, I finally got to enjoy Genshin Impact at maximum settings with a comfortable FPS.
Little Nightmares
Another PC port. Graphics settings are set to maximum – High. The frame rate limit is set to the maximum – 120 FPS. The mode in Game Space is Balance.
With these settings, the game mostly runs at 60 FPS (it seems that there is a lock at 60 in the game). Occasionally, there are freezes – drops from 60 to 55 frames in a stable place. It may not seem like a big deal, but I must say that these freezes are noticeable and make gameplay less comfortable, even with a high FPS.
The situation improves when enabling the maximum performance mode in Game Space – Diablo Mode. Freezes practically disappear, and the game delivers a more stable 60 frames. Actually, this mode is exactly what is needed for such cases.
I didn’t test many games. Instead, I checked how well the smartphone handles demanding games in which I had problems on other devices (usually weaker ones). And I can say that the REDMAGIC 9 Pro copes with these games just excellently. For most games, the extreme performance mode – Diablo Mode – isn’t necessary. I only needed it in Little Nightmares.
With less demanding games like Asphalt 9 Legends, PUBG Mobile, Free Fire, and League of Legends: Wild Rift, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro handles them without any performance issues. In these games, you can expect:
- Asphalt 9 Legends — 60 FPS
- PUBG Mobile — 90 FPS
- Free Fire — 60 FPS
- League of Legends: Wild Rift — 120 FPS
It does get warm, and in some areas, quite noticeably. However, it doesn’t hinder gameplay – your hands won’t get burnt. The most important thing is that during long gaming sessions (about 2 hours), I didn’t notice any drop in performance. Conclusion: the cooling system does its job well.
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Nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro cameras
The smartphone features a triple camera setup, consisting of a primary lens, a wide-angle lens, and a macro lens. The primary lens utilizes the Samsung S5KGN5 sensor with a resolution of 50 MP, an aperture of f/2.2, and optical stabilization. The ultra-wide lens comes with a resolution of 50 MP, an aperture of f/2.2, and a 122° field of view. The macro lens has a resolution of 2 MP and an aperture of f/2.4.
The main camera can record video at 8K@30FPS, 4K@30/60FPS, 1080P@30/60FPS, and 720P@30FPS. Video stabilization is available only for 4K, 1080P, and 720P resolutions. HDR is also available only for the aforementioned resolutions but limited to 30 frames per second.
The front camera is under-display, practically invisible on the screen. It has a resolution of 16 MP with an aperture of f/2.0. The front camera can record video in 1080p and 720p, limited to 30 frames per second.
Application
The camera app on the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is mostly standard. The layout of elements, menus, and settings is familiar. The main modes are located in the bottom row, while settings for the selected mode and additional options are found at the top.
Available photo modes include: normal photo, professional mode, portrait, night, panorama, documents, macro, cloning, multi-exposure, light drawing, starry sky, effects factory, and full size. The mode for photos at maximum resolution (50 MP) is labeled as “full size,” while the standard photo mode captures images at 12 MP.
Video modes include: normal video, professional mode, slow-motion, and time-lapse. Slow-motion recording is available at 120 and 240 frames per second (fps). Time-lapse videos can be captured in 4K, 1080p, and 720p at 30 fps.
HDR is available for both photo and video shooting, although it may be unavailable for certain modes, such as 50 MP photo resolution or 60 fps video. The AI camera option is also included, offering various filters, effects, and decorations.
The zoom capability extends up to a maximum of 10x. The quality of photos taken with the zoom is quite typical for this type of camera. At low zoom levels (up to 2-3x), everything looks decent, but quality starts to noticeably degrade beyond that.
For the front camera, you have access to the same options, although some modes might be missing. For photos, you have: regular selfies, portrait mode, document photos, effects factory, and multi-exposure. Video recording with the front camera is only available in regular video mode.
The overall settings for the application and camera are quite standard, with only a basic minimum set. I’ll show everything that’s available in the screenshots below.
The app runs smoothly and without any issues. I personally didn’t notice any bugs during operation. Some modes were initially not very clear—what they were for and how they worked, like the starry sky mode. However, with time, everything became understandable.
Photos and videos on the main camera
In daylight conditions, the main camera captures sharp, vibrant, and striking shots. This is especially noticeable on a bright, sunny day: the camera accurately reproduces colors without distorting them or adding unnecessary contrast. As you can see in the images below, the shots have excellent color rendition and detail.
Full-resolution 50 MP images, at first glance, may not seem different from photos taken in the camera’s standard mode, but that’s not entirely true. Just zoom in on the shots, and you’ll see that even with significant magnification, they don’t lose their level of detail. It must be said that the photos below fully demonstrate this. However, it’s worth remembering that 50 MP frames will weigh significantly more, which isn’t always convenient. For example, if you decide to share them, they will take longer to upload and consequently occupy more memory on the smartphone.
The ultra-wide mode of the camera has an impressive look. Much will, of course, depend on what you are shooting and under what conditions, but as you can see, in good daylight weather, panoramic landscapes come out very attractively. Pay attention to the clouds, the tree canopies, slightly curved in a spherical shape: they have excellent detail, despite the fact that usually, ultra-wide shots often grain and reduce image quality. Here, this is hardly noticeable, so it’s a definite plus.
As mentioned earlier, the zoom here is decent, but only for slight magnification—up to 2-3x maximum. Anything beyond that significantly loses detail, the image becomes blurry, and grainy. Overall, if you don’t have an urgent need to scrutinize what’s happening in the windows of apartments on the other side of the river, the zoom can be considered quite decent, nothing particularly different from similar modes in less expensive smartphones.
Good, detailed shots in macro mode only come out when your hands are steady and there’s sufficient light. In other cases, it’s the same issue as with other modules I’ve encountered in smartphones: slight blurring, graininess, and defocusing if the proper distance to the objects isn’t maintained. Macro is weak, but if you put in some effort and spend some time framing shots, you can get decent photos from it.
I must say, I’ve never been a fan of panorama mode on Android smartphones because it’s usually quite challenging and awkward to handle. The frame often gets disrupted, resulting in jagged images. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this mode here: even though I didn’t try to keep my hands perfectly steady and rotated the smartphone at different speeds, the photos turned out quite decent—clear, coherent, with excellent color reproduction and detail. For this, I give a thumbs up to the panorama mode and move on.
The portrait mode during the day doesn’t stand out in any particular way: in auto mode, it still heavily blurs the shots, unnecessarily adds brightness, and distorts colors into unnatural hues. I’ve encountered this issue several times during smartphone reviews. Of course, you can tweak the aperture a bit, reduce the lighting level in the frame, but until you manage to capture a somewhat decent shot with all these adjustments, you’re likely to get frustrated.
However, I unexpectedly liked the night portrait mode. The camera adds subdued shading, effectively blurs light sources, resulting in soft light dispersion in the frame. The photos turn out very atmospheric, much more interesting than if you were to just take a picture of a person or object with the main camera without additional modes.
I must note that overall, I preferred the evening shots more than the daytime ones. While it was clear from the start that the daytime shots would be of good quality, I found experimenting with the evening shots more intriguing. As I suspected, the nighttime shots came out sharp and saturated: they excellently delineate both light and dark areas without losing detail. Of course, the camera tends to brighten the dark sky, almost to a bluish hue, but with proper focusing and adjusting the brightness slider, you can achieve the desired result. The evening photos are charming and atmospheric, see for yourself.
I still don’t quite get the appeal of the night mode on smartphones, but here it surpassed all possible limits. This setting brightens the photos so much that they look as if they were taken during the day. However, this special evening flair of light and shadows is lost, giving the impression that every element of the scene is lit by an invisible spotlight… Although some shots in Night Mode have an interesting look, I would still use it only in special cases. Note that in the evening, this mode activates automatically, so pay attention if you want to take a regular nighttime photo in auto mode.
The main camera captures video well. The footage is of good quality both during the day and in the evening. To illustrate, I recorded several examples during the day and at night in different resolutions. For myself, I marked 4K@60FPS as the optimal option. Overall, all videos at 60 frames per second look good; somehow, 30 frames per second don’t seem as appealing.
8K@30FPS, daytime shooting
4K@30FPS, daytime shooting
4K@60FPS, daytime shooting
8K@30FPS, evening shooting
4K@30FPS, evening shooting
4K@60FPS, evening shooting
Photos and videos on the front camera
The front camera here is a bit weak – it’s immediately noticeable in the photos below and in comparison with the vibrant shots taken with the main camera. These images were taken under the same conditions as the main camera. However, the colors appear noticeably paler, less contrasty, and there are questions about the details. However, you can tweak the photos during post-processing by applying a couple of filters or playing with the settings. I didn’t do this so that you could see how the front camera captures images in their original state.
The situation with videos on the front camera is similar to that with photos. Take a look at the examples of recorded videos, and you’ll see for yourself.
In short, my impressions after shooting photos and videos on the REDMAGIC 9 Pro: It’s far from being a top-tier camera phone, but the cameras are quite decent. If you rely solely on automatic settings, the device will do everything for you, adjusting color correction, improving lighting, adding contrast, blurring the background, etc.
Also, it’s worth noting again that the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is primarily a gaming smartphone. This means that the emphasis was placed on performance and other gaming aspects rather than on the cameras.
Sound
The smartphone is equipped with stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra support, providing quality surround sound. The speakers are loud, delivering clear sound with noticeable bass. The sound quality is particularly pleasing in games—you can clearly hear not only the main sounds but also the spatial surroundings. Movies, regular YouTube videos also sound good on the REDMAGIC 9 Pro. Overall, even listening to music directly from the smartphone speakers is comfortable.
Communications and wireless technologies
The smartphone supports all cellular networks: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G. The supported bands and standards are as follows:
- 2G GSM: 2/3/5/8
- 3G WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/6/8/19
- 3G CDMA: BC0
- 4G TD-LTE: B34/B38/39/40/41/42
- 4G FDD-LTE: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28A/B28B/B66/
- 5G NSA: n41/n78/n77/n38/n7/n40
- 5G SA: n38/n40/n41/n78/n1/n77(3600M-4100M)/n28/n3/n7/n8/n20/n5/n66/n2/n26/
The smartphone features Wi-Fi 7 (802.11b/g/n/ac/ax/be) and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connections. It also includes NFC for contactless payments. The supported location services include GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, and QZSS. I didn’t encounter any issues with connectivity or wireless connections throughout the testing period.
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Software
The smartphone runs on Android 14 with its proprietary REDMAGIC OS 9.0 shell. The shell is not bad: it’s fast, mostly intuitive, and looks pretty good. The layout of the menus and settings is familiar – when switching from another shell (another smartphone), you will not have any difficulty finding or configuring anything.
There aren’t many pre-installed apps. It includes the standard set from Google and a couple of proprietary apps: a browser, Goper, and Mora. As for unnecessary third-party apps, I only noticed Booking, but it can be easily removed. There are no apps like Netflix, Amazon, TikTok, Facebook, or Spotify pre-installed, which is a huge plus for the REDMAGIC 9 Pro.
Another plus is that in REDMAGIC OS 9.0, there are no built-in ads or annoying notifications from proprietary apps. In other words, the OS is clean.
Among other pleasant features, I would highlight the multitude of customization options and visual tuning of the system. Here, you can customize fonts, icons, wallpapers, various animations, effects, and more to your liking.
Navigation within the system is standard: either through the use of three buttons or familiar gestures. Unlocking methods are also standard: PIN code, pattern unlock, password, fingerprint, and face unlock. Unlocking via fingerprint and facial recognition works quickly and accurately.
Nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro battery life
The smartphone is equipped with a 6500 mAh battery. It comes with an 80W fast charger. With the included charger, the smartphone charges from 0 to 45% in 15 minutes, to 80% in 30 minutes, and achieves a full charge of 100% in approximately 40 minutes.
The Work 3.0 Battery Life test from PCMark showed that with active continuous usage, the smartphone can last for 13 hours and 5 minutes on a single charge.
In typical daily usage scenarios (calls, internet, messaging, camera, etc.), the smartphone can easily last 1.5-2 days, depending on usage intensity. In gaming mode, with active cooling and backlighting, battery life will be significantly reduced. However, it’s still sufficient for a full gaming session in the evening. For example, after 2 hours of continuous gaming in Genshin Impact, my battery depleted by 40%.
Conclusions
Summing up, it can be said that the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is one of the best gaming smartphones on the market right now. Its top rankings in performance tests speak for themselves. The smartphone boasts high performance and some unique features to enhance the gaming experience. Its design is also noteworthy, being quite unique by today’s standards. Where else will you find cameras that don’t protrude? The display is fantastic as well. While it may lag behind some flagships in terms of peak brightness, it’s more than sufficient for its primary purpose, gaming. The battery life of the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is good, and its build quality, materials, and ergonomics are top-notch. In fact, I’ve already covered these aspects at the beginning of the review.
And are there no drawbacks to the smartphone at all? There are, but it’s more of a compromise. I’m referring to the cameras, especially the front-facing one. The main camera of the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is decent, but not outstanding. However, considering that the emphasis in a gaming smartphone is primarily on gaming, there’s less concern about the cameras.
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