The Red Magic brand of gaming phones first made a splash a few years ago thanks to ZTE’s sub-brand, Nubia. The gaming phone market has heated up quite a bit since then, so the phones have needed to get more and more competitive.
The Red Magic 6R (which stands for Racing, apparently) is taking that gaming phone trend in a more mainstream direction, however. Instead of doubling down on the Gamer aesthetic with more hard edges and RGB lighting, Nubia wanted a phone that could appeal to gaming enthusiasts but still look decent in just about anyone’s pocket.
So did they succeed? Let’s find out.
Design compromises
There’s no question that this is still a phone that you’ll want to play games on. From the front the phone looks pretty standard, with a notched display and some pretty thin bezels. Turn it around, and, well, things get a little more edgy. Literally.
The Red Magic 6R sports some flattened edges, which are presumably designed to make it easier to hold in landscape while you’re playing games. On the right edge of the phone you’ll find shoulder “buttons” that fill this feature out and give you some extra functionality while playing games, but we’ll go more into that later.
Otherwise you’re getting the regular power and volume buttons, plus a speaker and USB-C port on the bottom. No headphone jack here, which does seem like a strange omission for a gaming-centric device, but that’s par the course for phones these days.
The back of the phone stands out, albeit not quite as much as other gaming phones. There are striking patterns printed on the body of the phone, plus the tribal looking Red Magic logo along the bottom. The hard lines and silver aesthetic don’t quite look professional, but they don’t stand out too loudly, either.
The finish is a fingerprint magnet, though. Keep a soft cloth handy, or pick up a case if you’re worried about it. The camera bump is also pretty large, which might make for another point in the case column.
Display and audio
If you’re into media, the good news is this phone is a powerhouse. You’re getting a rich 6.67-inch OLED display that nails its contrast and deep black levels. You’ll also have the option to toggle up to a 144Hz refresh rate, which is a step down from some of Nubia’s other 165Hz but still a tick faster than what’s quickly becoming the industry standard 120Hz.
But that does kind of throw a catch into these “gaming” phones; lots of other regular phones are rocking high refresh rate displays these days, so that’s less of a standout feature. Even with the 6R opting for a slightly better refresh rate than, say, a Galaxy S21, the difference between 120Hz and 144Hz is tough to notice.
Gaming and performance
This is really where Nubia wants the Red Magic 6R to shine. With a Snapdragon 888 CPU and a whopping 12GB of RAM, this is some of the best hardware Android has to offer, and it doesn’t struggle.
We won’t talk much about regular usage, because browsing Facebook and jamming out to Spotify simply aren’t demanding enough for this kind of hardware. Gaming is the big selling point.
Unlike its bigger cousin, the Red Magic 6R is a slightly thinner phone with a smaller battery and less active cooling. When you’re going for something that doesn’t scream “gamer” you have to make some compromises, and these are the decisions Nubia went with.
The good news is that gaming performance is stellar. That Snapdragon CPU will chew through even the most graphically demanding titles, and the display looks great doing it. The phone gets a bit warm since it doesn’t have any active cooling, which is a downgrade from other Red Magic phones but fairly standard for a flagship smartphone, so take that how you will.
Battery life seems to hold up pretty well, but in daily usage going for the 120Hz refresh rate seems to be the sweet spot. Pushing 144Hz seems to dip the battery life without gaining much in the tradeoff. Trust me, you won’t see a huge jump between 120Hz and 144Hz.
Software and gaming tweaks
The Red Magic 6R does offer some pretty nifty gaming features, including a full launcher type interface called Game Space that stores all your games and lets you access everything on your phone with some additional tweaks and overlays. If you’re used to things like full console home screens, this will feel a little more familiar than an Android app drawer.
But the coolest part of this software is being able to use the overlay to quickly do things like change screen resolution, pull up Discord in a standalone window, change your brightness, and monitor stats like your CPU clock speed and FPS. There’s even things like Aim Assist, if you’re really into competitive gaming. It’s a little bit clunky, but cool nonetheless.
The rest of the software here is maybe a little less cool. There are a handful of typos throughout the UI, and this is one area where Nubia did not tone down the gamer aesthetic. There are lots of hard lines in the icon design and futuristic looking icons, and the settings menu looks much more in line with something you’d see in an ASUS motherboard than a regular Android phone.
The UX is fast, though, with zippy animations and pretty much no waiting or hanging when you’re doing anything. If you like speed, the 6R has it in spades.
Underwhelming camera
When looking at the camera, I think it’s important to remember that despite some other flagship hardware, the Red Magic 6R is still a sub-$600 phone and primarily wants to be a fast gaming companion, even if that comes at the cost of being well-rounded.
This is important, because you’re probably going to be underwhelmed by the camera compared to other Snapdragon 888 phones. It’s perfectly serviceable, but despite the addition of a depth sensing lens and four total cameras, it’s not best in class.
Low light shots are fine, if a bit grainy, and your regular photos will have a tendency to come out a little oversaturated thanks to some very aggressive AI compensation. The images pop, at least.
Worth it?
The Red Magic 6R sits in a very weird space, but it’s otherwise saved by its very affordable price tag. It’s not quite a gaming phone, since it ditches the active cooling fan and thicker design that typically define higher-end gaming phones. It still keeps its gaming software features, which helps it stand out, but it feels more like a slightly more gaming-friendly version of a regular old flagship than a real gaming phone.
However, it’s also easy to be had for less than $600, undercutting phones like the Galaxy S21 and even many OnePlus models. You’re getting some really beefy hardware for not a lot of money, and you can’t beat that refresh rate and fantastic screen for the price. You’ve just gotta live with a design that your friends might think is a little gaudy, but hey, at least your phone can play Call of Duty Mobile better than theirs, right?
Red Magic 6R | $599 | Amazon
