Nubia RedMagic 8S Pro — A stylish and powerful gaming phone
The Nubia RedMagic 8S Pro in Midnight, Titanium and Aurora. Picture: Nubia.
Gaming phones have traditionally been packed with gamer-centric features, making them less suitable for everyday use. However, Nubia's RedMagic 8S Pro breaks that trend by offering a sleek and stylish handset that doubles as a high-performance mobile gaming device.
In contrast to the prevailing smartphone design trend of large rounded corners and bevelled edges, the RedMagic 8S Pro adopts a more practical and fashionable approach. It maximises the screen area with tiny rounded corners, while the flat sides and front glass add to its appeal. The second-generation under-display selfie camera is discreetly located at the top and centre, creating an uninterrupted display experience.
Although a faint circle marking the camera's position may be visible under certain lighting conditions, it's hardly noticeable. The display is impressive, with a screen-to-body ratio of 93.7% and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display is further protected by a pre-installed screen protector, which is always welcome and includes a transparent case.
The phone also features a convenient optical under-display fingerprint reader positioned towards the bottom for easy one-handed access. My review unit was the Platinum version which features a 3D nano etching for a sleek finish that looks stunning in the hand. It has a brushed metal look that adds a touch of style, with polished logos and writing exposed through stencilled areas.
The rear cameras and flash are vertically stacked at the top and centre, slightly raised on a flat back. Three variants are available: Midnight Black, Titanium and Aurora. The latter features a transparent back that showcases the fan and other internal components.
True to Nubia's gaming phone legacy, the RedMagic 8S Pro includes a dedicated red 'Game Space Centre' button on the right side. This is a shortcut to the Nubia games hub, where you can access your installed games and game-specific options.
The phone features top-notch 520Hz capacitive-touch shoulder triggers that can be configured for on-screen controls. To ensure optimal performance during extended gaming sessions, the 8S Pro incorporates Nubia's ICE 12.0 cooling system, which includes a composite graphene vapour chamber heat dissipation plate and a high-speed turbofan. The system effectively draws heat away from the internals and expels it through vents on the left and right edges. Additionally, the phone boasts dual stereo speakers on the top and bottom edges, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack conveniently located on the top right edge. The device also features Bluetooth 5.3, NFC for contactless payments and 5G.
The RedMagic 8S Pro sports a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2480px x 1116px and a 20:9 aspect ratio. It features a 120Hz refresh rate and a 960Hz touch sampling rate. The display offers three refresh rate options: 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. Including a 90Hz option is noteworthy, as it caters to users seeking a balance between smoothness and battery life. The display also supports LTPO refresh technology and optimises the 120Hz rate for energy efficiency as needed.
Although under-display cameras sacrifice image quality, the RedMagic 8S Pro compensates with a stunning, truly full-screen display. The screen has vibrant colours and various colour options within the display settings that you can change depending on your viewing content. It boasts excellent outdoor visibility and supports HDR video content with a peak brightness of up to 1300 nits.
The stereo loudspeakers deliver outstanding clarity, volume, and a wide soundstage which is great for movies but especially gaming. The bass isn’t particularly noteworthy, but it’s not surprising when you consider how thin the device is.
The phone supports DTS: X Ultra, enhancing sound quality and offering surround sound effects. With the 3.5mm headphone jack, you can enjoy a wired audio experience without needing a dongle, though Bluetooth headphones also provide satisfactory performance.
The RedMagic 8S Pro is powered by an overclocked version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with a CPU frequency from 3.2GHz to 3.35GHz while the GPU runs speeds from 680Mhz to 719MHz. Redmagic also says the RAM speeds are improved by 33%, and UFS 4.0 storage speeds are up 100% on the RedMagic 8 pro.
Depending on your chosen model, it has 12GB or 16GB (LPDDR5X) RAM and 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0 storage. Unfortunately, there is no microSD card support, but the SIM tray accommodates dual nano SIMs.
The RedMagic 8S Pro houses a 6000mAh dual-cell battery within its 9.47mm thick body. Nubia claims the included 65W power adapter can charge the phone from 0-100% in 35 minutes. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging, but this is a necessary compromise to facilitate the cooling system and a larger battery.
My benchmark tests, including 3DMark and Geekbench 6, showcased the phone's exceptional performance. The RedMagic 8S Pro outperformed even powerful phones like the iPhone 14 Pro Max in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme stress test, thanks to the efficiency of the ICE 12.0 cooling system, which helped keep the device cool throughout the 20 consecutive runs. The ICE 12.0 cooling system now features a new duct structure and cooling gel to keep temps even lower for those long gaming sessions.
New on the 8S Pro over the standard 8 Pro is the RGB lighting on the back of the small fan and side exhaust — a cool touch of class.
Gaming on the phone was a delight, with titles like Genshin Impact, Asphalt Legends, Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG Mobile, and Real Racing 3 providing smooth experiences. The phone never felt excessively hot, even when used with the included transparent plastic case.
Emulation software (AetherSX2 and Dolphin) also ran flawlessly, enabling retro gaming at double the resolution of the original games and even more in certain games.
The Game Space caters to pro gamers with its game-specific features, including a game reminder, fast stopwatch, and barrage message. The game reminder lets players set alarms for important in-game events, while the fast stopwatch helps track timings for buffs and cooldowns.
The barrage message displays notifications without interrupting the game, while the data dashboard showcases game performance, notable moments, and hand speed and movement complexity analysis.
The SuperBase plug-in library offers easy access to screenshots and text strategies. Moreover, the library includes a game auxiliary feature line, aiding gamers in judging attack range and optimising skill usage, along with the one-button move sequence for swift skill execution during battles.
The RedMagic Studio introduces a seamless screencasting feature that connects the RedMagic game device to a display device via the Type-C interface, eliminating the need for additional devices or software.
With almost zero latency and a smooth 120Hz wireless screencasting, the Studio function surpasses smartphone resolution limitations. You can cast 2K to 4K HD sources onto ultra-high-definition monitors or TVs. You can launch 4K ultra-high-definition videos directly through HDMI.
This works great, and you can use the phone as a remote control panel, enabling touch control on the large screen without disrupting regular device operations.
The RedMagic 8S Pro boasts a combination of fast charging and a 6000mAh battery, ensuring that it can be quickly recharged and provide ample usage time. While gaming will naturally consume more power, the 8S Pro's efficient 8 Gen 2 chipset and optimisations in Android 13 contribute to its impressive battery performance.
The phone offers a "Charge separation" option, which allows the charger to power the phone directly without charging the battery. This feature reduces additional heat generated during charging and can extend the battery's lifespan. I found this feature particularly useful while gaming with the phone plugged into a power bank or wall charger and using the passthrough charging feature on my mobile gaming controller.
By default, the fan turns on while charging to keep battery temperatures down, further promoting battery longevity, but you can also turn it on manually via a widget or in the settings.
The RedMagic 8S Pro is equipped with a triple rear camera system, featuring the same 50MP main shooter with an f/1.88 aperture (wide) and phase detect autofocus, an 8MP f/2.2 120˚ 13mm ultrawide lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens as found on the RedMagic 8 Pro. The selfie camera sports a 16MP sensor, capturing decent results in well-lit conditions, but it lacks detail, contrast, and colour reproduction.
The main camera performs well in good lighting and excels in night photography. Video recording supports up to 8K resolution for those interested in higher-quality videos. While the ultrawide camera doesn't match the main camera's performance, it still captures good photos and videos. The 2MP macro camera's low resolution limits its utility, but it incorporates a unique focus-peaking feature to achieve sharp focus. The feature-rich camera app includes a special "Camera-friendly" mode with 24 fun modes to explore.
Overall, the cameras are great but not exceptional. If you’re a big fan of taking selfies and like to game, you should look elsewhere.
The RedMagic 8S Pro has class-leading performance, exceptional gaming features, and sleek and stylish aesthetics. Its design doesn't overtly scream that it's a gamer-centric device, making it suitable for everyday use. The phone's performance is outstanding, excelling in benchmark tests and delivering flawless gaming experiences. Combining the overclocked 8 Gen 2 chipset, efficient cooling system, and impressive battery life ensures a top-tier gaming and overall usage experience.
The RedMagic 8 Pro was a powerhouse, and now the RedMagic 8S Pro takes it to the next level, but I wouldn’t recommend 8 Pro users to upgrade. However, if you’re in the market for one of the fastest phones and love playing the latest AAA games, I highly recommend the RedMagic 8S Pro.
For more details on the Nubia RedMagic 8S Pro Redmagic
RedMagic 8S Pro Midnight €649 (12GB RAM + 256GB Memory)
RedMagic 8S Pro Platinum €779 (16GB RAM + 512GB Memory)
RedMagic 8S Pro Aurora €799 (16GB RAM + 512GB Memory)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
