Nubia’s REDMAGIC line is one of the most powerful and popular options when it comes to phones designed with gaming in mind. Several generations into it, the series details and features continue to push the boundaries of what is possible.
The REDMAGIC 7S Pro arrives this summer as an alternative or compliment to the 7 and 7 Pro. Save for a few tweaks, it’s very similar to the REDMAGIC 7S Pro.
The key changes here include a more powerful processor, more RAM, a bigger battery and a slightly different cooling system. Oh, and there’s also a new clear color.
Design
In terms of overall design, the new model is similar to the REDMAGIC 7 Pro. That means it has the same transparent back, integrated fan, RGB LEDs and haptic triggers. Aside from the new Mercury color, you’d be forgiven for not seeing a physical difference.
The REDMAGIC 7S Pro is a very large device with a 6.8-inch AMOLED display. But that’s what gamers want and want to immerse themselves in. Not only is the screen large, but it’s also nicely rounded. Unspecified specs include a 120Hz refresh rate, 960Hz touch sample rate, 1,080×2,400 pixel resolution and 600 nits brightness.
Games look incredible on the phone, but so do videos and photos. Everything is bright, clear and smooth as silk. And since there’s no notch or hole-punch front-facing camera, things seamlessly extend to all edges of the screen.
That’s not to say there’s no front-facing selfie camera, but it’s hidden under the display. Look hard enough and you’ll notice where it is, but otherwise you’ll quickly forget it’s there.
Design-wise, the REDMAGIC 7S Pro ticks the same boxes as the 7 and 7 Pro as it has a unique look. The transparent surfaces create an interesting look and the LED lights highlight things in a way reminiscent of a gaming PC or a room dedicated to games.
REDMAGIC 7S Pro has two shoulder triggers for games, headphone jack and turbo fans for cooling. I like having a headphone jack in my devices to begin with, but it makes more sense for gaming. There’s no lag to worry about when plugged directly into the phone.
As for the fan and cooling system, it automatically turns on to keep the phone warm or cool during extended gaming sessions. As you know, heat is one of your worst enemies when it comes to performance.
Software
REDMAGIC 7S Pro runs Nubian’s custom Red Magic OS (v5.5) based on Android 12. There is no commitment on any updates from Nubia but I hope that Android 13 will eventually make its way to the phone.
As I found with REDMAGIC 7, the software and user experience can be off-putting or frustrating at first. Considering I’m a big fan of clean UI and barebones Android build, it takes some tweaking and tweaking to get it to my liking.
Realizing that this is a phone built with gaming in mind, it feels like this in use. Most of the things you see and interact with are designed to show or hint at game features and settings.
The interface feels built for users who want to get into games and spend most of their time there. For example, the game space gives players control over performance and customization. I find it inviting to tinker with the options and the more time I spend customizing the experience the more I understand its purpose.
There are tons of widgets and shortcuts sprinkled across your home screen, some of which are there by default. If you want to track stats and performance, you’ll appreciate them. But I removed them and rearranged them because I thought the layout was messy. Anyone looking to keep track of references and squeeze hardware for everything will appreciate what’s on offer.
The way REDMAGIC OS handles the app drawer has really bugged me, and I can’t wait to enable the traditional drawer and access apps faster. If you plan to use your REDMAGIC 7S Pro for general phone needs, you might want to spend some time in the early days getting things the way you want them.
Performance
How does one begin to address performance issues with a device you’ve only spent a few weeks on? Of course, the full suite of apps and games isn’t installed yet, and there’s no real way to tell how long it will last.
Suffice it to say, my time with the REDMAGIC 7 was a pleasant one with no signs of lag, slowdown, or performance issues.
On paper, the REDMAGIC 7S Pro doesn’t match the REDMAGIC 7’s refresh rate and brightness, but I couldn’t tell the difference. I have no doubt that others do; But the screen was buttery and a joy to watch.
In a sense, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the 7S Pro is better than the regular REDMAGIC 7. Do I see a difference in performance? Not in the games I’ve played, I’m sure the new processor is more powerful and more efficient. If you’re the type who likes to read benchmark tests and do in-depth comparisons of phones, I’d suggest taking Notebookcheck over the two.
If you had told me a few years ago that I would try a phone with 18 GB of RAM, you would have laughed. However, here we are in Fall 2022 with an octa-core processor clocked at up to 3.2GHz with 18GB of LPDDR5 memory. I hate to sound harsh, but I can’t imagine needing more than a phone. At least not for years.
I’m not a hardcore mobile gamer but I appreciate some of the choices that gaming phone manufacturers make. Shoulder buttons are a great addition to some titles and help blur the line between phone and game controller.
I like REDMAGIC’s cooling system for its phones as it is not only useful but also fun to look at. There is a metal plate running most of the length of the back with a gray urban camera pattern. What’s more, there are ventilation grills on the back and sides to help keep things cool.
Then there is the ICE 10.0 cooling system, which consists of ten layers of 20,000RPM fan, as well as a vapor chamber, high-temperature copper foil, thermal gel and other components that light up. An upgrade from the standard REDMAGIC 7, it is reported to lower the phone’s internal temperature by up to 3°C (~5°F).
I’m of the opinion that top-end smartphones should employ both a fingerprint reader and facial recognition. For some reason, the selected devices do not have both. The REDMAGIC 7S Pro comes with an in-display fingerprint reader which is fast and reliable. Same goes for face unlock which uses that hidden front camera to unlock things quickly.
REDMAGIC 7S Pro comes with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging. Performance-wise, I found the battery to last as long as I expected. Depending on how many games you play in a day and the type of game you play, you might want to go a whole day without paying.
It takes more than five minutes to go from 0 to 25% battery life and maybe ten minutes to hit the halfway mark. You will have no problem fully charging it in less than an hour.
There is no wireless charging in the phone and the USB Type-C port is located at the bottom. It would be nice to have an extra port on the side so that gamers can enjoy gaming while connected to a power source.
The REDMAGIC 7S Pro has the same rear camera setup as the REDMAGIC 7. So I say, if you want a killer combo, don’t buy the phone.
The primary rear camera is a 64-megapixel unit that produces decent photos. It’s more than passable, and if you do a little post-shoot processing, you’ll get great results that are social media and timeline worthy.
Dynamic range was generally impressive, but exposure was sometimes too high. That said, quick sharing to your favorite editing app can make things look pretty good. The 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and 2-megapixel macro sensor are okay, but don’t seem to hold the same level of detail.
The front camera has dropped from 8 megapixels to 16 megapixels, but I haven’t seen double the performance. It’s good enough for my needs and I don’t think the target user will care much. Still, you can tell that images are taken from the camera under the display.
Summary
The REDMAGIC 7S Pro is one hell of a phone and easily one of the most powerful on the market. When it comes to gaming phones, it’s also cheaper than what you’ll get from the Asus ROG line of phones.
Realizing that the phone leans heavily towards gaming, I can still appreciate a more balanced experience. The camera is average and the software can be a little frustrating for casual users. But with that in mind, I don’t think there will be many coming to the REDMAGIC 7S Pro for either reason.
Even with its lackluster performance, I really like the battery life and charging speed. I also appreciate the 3.5mm headphone jack.
One of the trade-offs with the cooling system (ventilation grills) is that it does not allow any waterproofing. That’s not a deal breaker for me, but it might be for someone else.
If it were up to me, I might slow down the rate at which the REDMAGIC line introduces new models. Between the 7, 7 Pro and 7S Pro, three remarkably similar phones are being offered.
You can buy the 7S Pro and other REDMAGIC phones in three colors on the handset maker’s website.
- Obsidian with 12GB/512GB storage – $729
- Supernova with 18GB/512GB storage – $899
- Mercury with 18GB/512GB storage – $899
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