Introduction
It is no easy task to keep track of things in the gaming area. You have to constantly find new models with the latest hardware to stay relevant. Therefore, the new nubia Red Magic 8 Pro is released only five months after the Red Magic 7S Pro. The new model is expected to pack the latest and greatest chipset Qualcomm has to offer – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. But there’s more to it than a simple hardware update.
The Red Magic 8 Pro features a new boxy design, a new Red Magic logo and improvements in a few key areas such as the screen that is now higher resolution and brighter and a larger 6,000 mAh battery.
ZTE nubia Red Magic 8 Pro specifications at a glance:
- Body: 164.0×76.4×8.9mm, 228g; Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame; Pressure sensitive zones (520Hz touch sensitive), Built-in cooling fan, Aviation aluminum mid-frame.
- Screen: 6.80″ AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 1300 nits (peak), 1116x2480px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 400ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550 Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
- OS/Software: Android 13, Redmagic OS 6.
- Rear camera: wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.57″, 1.0 µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120 degrees, 13 mm, 1/4.0″, 1.12 µm; Macro: 2MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 16 MP, (wide), under display.
- Video recording: Rear camera: [email protected], [email protected]/60fps, [email protected]/60/120/240fps; Front camera: [email protected]/60fps.
- Battery: 6000mAh; 65W cable, PD3.0, 100% in 35 min (advertised).
- Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); 3.5 mm jack; stereo speakers.
Everything about the Red Magic 8 Pro is designed around a single purpose – gaming. From the revised internal cooling system to the dedicated Red Core 2 gaming chip meant to handle certain functions and offload them from the main chipset.
Before we get into any of that, however, we need to clarify a few things regarding the Red Magic 8 series. At the time of writing this review, two Red Magic 8 models exist – Red Magic 8 Pro and Pro+. The most important difference between the two relates to battery and charging.
The top-of-the-line Pro+ model gets a blistering 165W peak charging speed and a smaller 5,000mAh battery to accommodate it. It is the only variant available with a transparent back cover and RGB lighting on the internal fan, up to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. However, the Pro+ is unlikely to be released outside of China.
The Red Magic 8 Pro that we have for review gets a 6,000mAh battery and a matte black finish on the back. Its charging is limited to an 80W peak on the Chinese model and a 65W peak on the international one. The device we have for review is a matte black, 12GB, plus 256GB, 6,000mAh and 65W international charging.
With all that cleared up, let’s start by taking a look at the phone’s retail package.
Unboxing
The Nubia Red Magic 8 Pro comes in your standard two-piece cardboard box. It is thick, sturdy and has a metallic finish with nice silver accents. We really like the geometric shapes and the overall color. The inside of the box is splattered with all sorts of “gamer-y” graphics and drawings.
In terms of accessories, our device came with a very compact 65W PD+PPS USB Type-C GaN charger in the box along with a thick red Type-C to Type-C cable.
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Also in the box is a transparent hard snap-on case for the phone. The case doesn’t really cover most of the device’s sides, but is still appreciated as an added bonus.
