Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro hands-on review: Even more bonkers

Prakhar Khanna
By

The Nubia RedMagic 7 was one of the first smartphones featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system on a chip to debut in the U.S. The Pro variant has now hit the shelves with the same processor, display, and camera, as well as a bunch of internal upgrades to help you game better. If you are someone who is in the market for a gaming smartphone, the RedMagic 7 Pro is here to grab your attention.

RedMagic 7 Pro design: It’s a looker

RedMagic 7 Pro cooling fan running.
Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

I consider gaming smartphones to push the limits of what a rectangular slab of a smartphone is capable of looking like. The RedMagic 7 Pro is no different.  My unit, dubbed the Supernova, features a transparent design at the back, while the front houses an under-display selfie shooter – both of which make it a unique proposition.

Recommended Videos

The transparent design at the back isn’t boring. It details the insides to keep things interesting. For instance, you’ll find things like the “20,000 RPM Max fan,” “AirInlet,” battery capacity, and other things printed inside the case. Like the RedMagic 7, the cooling fan is also visible here and the RGB lights kick in when it is turned on.

Related

With a flat frame and a curved back, the RedMagic 7 Pro is easy to hold for everyday tasks as well as gaming. It doesn’t sacrifice functionality or comfort (like a typical gaming phone might) as both go hand in hand.

On the front lies a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate (down from 165Hz on the RedMagic 7) and a 900Hz touch sampling rate (up from 720Hz from the vanilla variant). It has the same FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2400). The display looks even more gorgeous because there is no hole-punch cutout or a notch. The 16MP selfie camera sits inside the display, making it one smooth glass panel without any obstructions.

I enjoyed watching content on the RedMagic 7 Pro. The display is bright and colorful, with good color reproduction, which makes for a satisfying overall experience — whether it be gaming or just browsing through apps or streaming content. It gets bright enough to be viewed comfortably directly under the sun.

Incredible performance

RedMagic 7 Pro with charger and wire kept on table.
Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

The RedMagic 7 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, paired with 16GB/18GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB/512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. While the chipset is flagship-grade, it is known to get a bit warm during intensive tasks.

I ran Battlegrounds Mobile India (PUBG), Call of Duty: Mobile, and Asphalt 9. All of these games ran without any trouble. The smartphone was able to run BGMI at Extreme frame rate with UHD graphics. Not many smartphones are capable of doing it — even the Galaxy S22 Ultra faced hiccups running BGMI.

The gaming features don’t end at the top-of-the-line hardware. Nubia has put a dedicated Red Core 1 gaming chip inside the RedMagic 7 Pro. The chip basically helps to operate mobile gaming functions that aren’t directly related to graphics or higher frame rates like processing audio, RGB lighting, and haptic feedback. The cooling fan, paired with air vents. allowed me to play games for 30 minutes straight without the phone getting considerably warm.

There is also a red-accented switch that turns on the gaming mode, which brings up a carousel of games that you can switch between to select the game you want to play. The shoulder trigger buttons with a 500Hz touch sampling rate can also be configured from this menu.

As Adam Doud explained in his RedMagic 7 review, the shoulder triggers allow you to aim anywhere on the screen by simply dragging a target over the desired control in the game. You get seven different configurations that can be saved for each game. Moreover, there’s a plug-in library that can enhance your gaming experience.

While gaming, you can access the game control panel by swiping in from the bezel in either of the upper corners of the screen. The panel includes screen recorders, performance monitors, and a wealth of other functions. This is one of the most elaborate and feature-rich gaming modes I’ve ever used on a smartphone.

When you have exhausted your 500mAh dual-cell battery, it can be charged with the 65-watt GaN charger, which is bundled inside the box. It can be charged to over 50 percent in under 20 minutes. The charger can also be used to power up laptops, tablets, and battery packs.

The RedMagic 7 Pro runs RedMagic OS 5.0 based on Android 12. It doesn’t come with a whole lot of bloatware and features no app drawer by default. However, there is an option that lets you toggle the app drawer, so you can turn it on if you want apps to be arranged well. You can read Doud’s RedMagic 7 review for a deeper dive into the software.

Not everything is excellent

RedMagic 7 Pro cooling fan running.
Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

Most gaming phones aimto be a beast in the performance segment with confident hardware, while other things including the camera take a back seat. The RedMagic 7 Pro is no different. The optics seem like an afterthought. And I’ll have to reiterate what we mentioned in our RedMagic 7 review.

The pictures clicked via the 64MP primary camera in daylight are perfectly usable on social media. The camera is adequate in a well-lit environment. However, once the sun goes down or you enter a lowlight environment, it starts struggling. The 8MP ultrawide camera also struggles to capture detailed shots.

While there is no telephoto lens, you get the option to take photos at 2x, 5x, and 10x zoom. But the zoom functionality isn’t up to the task.

The story continues with the front camera. The under-display feature looks good on paper but you are let down by the functionality. The images clicked by the 16MP selfie shooter are noisy and grainy, especially in indoor lighting. I hope Nubia figures out a way to put cameras under the display while also maintaining the quality of photographs.

Overall, the cameras have a lot of room for improvement and I’ve used smartphones with better optics but worse gaming performance in the range.

Pricing and availability

RedMagic 7 Pro kept on its packaging on a table.
Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

The RedMagic 7 Pro is available for order starting April 27 from the official RedMagic website. It will sell all around the world, including much of Europe, North America, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East. The Supernova variant with 18GB RAM and 512GB storage will set you back at $899, while the Obsidian model with 16GB RAM and 256GB memory will cost you $799.

Is the RedMagic 7 Pro any good?

While there are many options at $899 (including the OnePlus 10 Pro, Pixel 6 Pro, and the iPhone 13) for traditional smartphones, there is hardly any gaming-focused smartphone. If you are a mobile gamer who wants to play games at the highest settings without any hiccups, the RedMagic 7 Pro is for you.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Prakhar Khanna
Prakhar Khanna
Mobile Writer
Prakhar writes news, reviews and features for Digital Trends. He is an independent tech journalist who has been a part of the…
The Honor Band 6 and Honor MagicBook Pro set for global release
honor band 6 magicbook pro ces 2021 news pink

Honor has announced the global availability of its Honor Band 6 fitness tracker and the Honor MagicBook Pro Windows laptop. Both devices have already launched in China, but the company has used CES 2021 as a platform to confirm the wider launch. While Honor is best known for its smartphones, the company’s smartwatches, other wearables, and laptops have become increasingly important to it, due to the U.S. government’s restrictions on Huawei.
Honor Band 6
The Honor Band 6 is the latest in a long line of simple, but highly effective fitness bands from Honor. This time the design has changed considerably compared to the Honor Band 5, and shares more with the recently released Honor Band ES. It has a 1.47-inch AMOLED touchscreen attached to a silicone band with a proper clasp, rather than a simple pin-and-eye system seen on most low-cost fitness bands.

It comes with 10 workout tracking modes, including running, cycling, rowing, and swimming. The Honor Band 6 is water-resistant to 50 meters, and can be used in the pool, when it will return data including SWOLF and stroke rates. Additionally, the heart rate sensor on the back of the band works when swimming too. Beyond activity tracking, the band will monitor sleep if worn overnight, keep track of stress levels, and menstrual cycles too. It has a blood oxygen monitor, which is most helpful for sleep tracking purposes.

Read more
Realme 7 Pro hands-on: A super-fast-charging bargain
realme 7 pro hands on features price photos release date back hand

Realme is a relative newcomer to smartphones, having only launched in Europe in mid-2019 following its debut in China the year before. But it has since built up a portfolio of well-priced phones. The latest is the Realme 7 and Realme 7 Pro, which now come to the U.K. and Europe after debuting in India this September.

I've been using the Realme 7 Pro for a few days, and it has a feature we don't see very often on phones at low prices: Very fast charging. Not charging that takes 90, or even 60, minutes -- I'm talking about charging that Realme says takes just 36 minutes. That's a big selling point, but can the 7 Pro overcome the software problems that have affected some of its previous devices, to make it really desirable?
Design
We'll talk about the battery shortly. Let's see the phone in more detail first. Rejoice, lovers of flat-screened phones, for the Realme 7 Pro’s 6.4-inch screen does not have a curve running down either side. Some will argue this makes it better for gaming and less likely to have edge recognition problems, while others will lament the less-modern design and how uncomfortable this can make gesture controls. It's mostly personal preference.

Read more
Oppo Reno 3 Pro hands-on review: Serious software upgrades
oppo reno 3 pro hands on features price photos release date

Oppo makes great hardware, but the company's software often leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve bemoaned it for a while, and I was often glad to swap the SIM out of an Oppo review phone once I was done evaluating it. Oppo has heard this criticism, and it’s changing course. Color OS 7, its latest user interface built on Android 10, looks promising, and the new Reno 3 Pro is the first Oppo phone I’ve used with it on board.

Here’s why it’s a serious improvement over previous Oppo software.
Color OS 7 is much improved
At first glance, the differences between Color OS 6 and Color OS 7 are subtle. It’s only when you start using the software that the improvements become obvious. It’s cleaner, more minimalist, and less needlessly colorful. It's more spacious, creating a modern, pleasant interface that works well but has just enough character to look sleek.

Read more