The Redmagic 9s Pro And 9s Pro+ Have Launched; The 9s Pro+ Is The Most Powerful Android Phone Ever
Nubia has unveiled its Redmagic 9s Pro and 9s Pro+. In case you’re wondering, there is no Redmagic 9s phone since these devices are specced by default to a level that befits the word “Pro”. If you like plenty of performance and you’re very serious about your mobile gaming, you’re going to love these phones. Trust me.
The Design
The Redmagic 9s Pro and 9s Pro+ essentially share a design, and it’s a design that I like very much for multiple reasons. First of all, both of these devices have no camera bump whatsoever, which is rare these days. They also have no notch or camera cutout of any kind since Redmagic opted for an under-display unit for this exact reason. Plus, you get a flat frame and perfect corners. It’s an extremely angular device, but I like it a lot.
Plus, that’s without talking about the mechanical-looking design on the back. The devices are available in four colorways: Snowfall and Cyclone, which have transparent backs; and Sleet and Frost. However, these are all variations of black, white, or grey. There doesn’t seem to be an IP rating here, so be careful with trips to the pool or beach.
The Screen
When it comes to the display, I’m sure no one is surprised to hear that all the specifications are high-end. After all, what’s a good gaming phone without a good screen? Both the 9s Pro and 9s Pro+ have the same display. It’s a 6.8-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,600 nits of brightness. It has a 960 Hz touch sampling rate, which means it’ll pick up your taps and presses as quick as possible.
The Chipset And Memory
Both models run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version. In case you’re confused as to what that means, it’s an overclocked version of Qualcomm’s top chip with an improved CPU clock speed of 3.4GHz and a GPU clock of 1GHz, providing even more power since these Redmagic devices have the thermal management systems to handle it.
The Redmagic 9s Pro comes with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, while the Redmagic 9s Pro+ comes in two variants: a 16/512GB version and an absolutely insane 24GB/1TB option. It’s no surprise that the Pro+ has the highest AnTuTu score ever with that kind of power in it.
The Battery And Charging
The Redmagic 9s Pro is the vanilla device, if either of them can truly be considered vanilla. Oddly, it comes with a much larger battery, at 6,500 mAh. The Redmagic 9s Pro has to make do with a 5,500 mAh cell.
However, the 9s Pro loses out in the charging department, if 80W can be considered losing out. The 9s Pro+ more than doubles the charging speed to 165W, which will get you a full charge in about 15 minutes. You won’t need to wait too long before getting right back into your gaming sessions.
Quite uniquely, when plugged in, the phones have the option to entirely bypass the battery and run on AC power alone, which helps keep your battery healthier and also reduces heat generation.
The Camera
Truth be told, you shouldn’t be buying a gaming phone if cameras are a major priority of yours. For instance, to maximize the viewing experience, you don’t get a traditional selfie camera. Instead, you get a 16MP under-display unit. Considering where the tech is at the moment, don’t expect stellar quality. However, Redmagic says this is the fifth generation of this tech, so while it won’t match up to a regular selfie camera, it should be relatively okay.
On the back, you get two cameras: a 50MP primary with OIS and a 50MP ultrawide. Again, there’s no camera bump here, which I’m a huge fan of since that’s relatively rare these days.
Other Hardware
In other hardware departments on this phone, you get Wi-Fi 7, an IR blaster, USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, and DisplayPort. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack (but no expandable storage because who needs that when you can get 1TB?
The Gaming-Focused Features
Now, there’s a lot in the Redmagic 9s Pro and 9s Pro+ that relates to gaming, unsurprisingly. For instance, the thermal management is superb. Not only is there an actual 22,000 RPM fan built into the smartphone — of which you can customize its RGB lighting — but there’s also the new ICE 13.5 cooling system with frost cooling gel, which supposedly allows for a 19.5°C drop in the core temperature of the processor.
There’s a “super linear motor” in the phone that contributes to vibrations and sounds, and the new motor in this model is said to increase the vibration intensity by 38%. You also get 520Hz shoulder triggers which are now 90% larger and easier to activate.
Pricing And Availability
For now, the Redmagic 9s Pro and 9s Pro+ are available in China, though a global launch is certainly on the horizon, at which time international pricing information will be clear.
The Redmagic 9s Pro starts at CNY 3,800 (~$520) while the Redmagic 9s Pro+ starts at CNY 5,800 (~$800).
