Whenever someone mentioned a gaming phone in the past, I always thought it was just a gimmick. Even non-gaming phones can be considered gaming phones because all it takes is having a powerful processor, graphics chip, and RAM. However, as time goes by, I can definitely see the potential and requirements to make a phone truly deserving of the “gaming phone” title.
Apart from the beefy, powerful specs, the phone also needs to have a big, gorgeous display with high refresh rates for the smoothest gameplay. It also needs effective heat dissipation because mobile gamers have all experienced their phones getting ridiculously hot while gaming on a flagship phone.
These are REDMAGIC phones’ specialties. The latest REDMAGIC 9 Pro, which I have here for review, has all those features and more, without the cost of a flagship phone.
REDMAGIC 9 PRO REVIEW – UNBOXING AND PACKAGING CONTENTS 
REDMAGIC 9 PRO REVIEW – DESIGN AND FEATURES 
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro features a very sleek design with a flat rear (no camera bumps) and a glassy look and feel. Every inch of the phone looks very solid and premium, even on both sides where the buttons and ports are. There are even cool lightings that a gamer would be joyful about. While these lightings don’t offer any upgraded experience, they serve as visual indicators and also mesmerise the phone owner at the same time (and yes, you can change the colours too).
There are three colour variants of the phone: Snowfall, Cyclone, and Sleet. All look really good, with my review unit being the Snowfall.
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset for fast and seamless multitasking with speeds up to 3.3 GHz, Adreno GPU, and 12-16GB of RAM (depending on the model—the Snowfall comes with 16GB). It also has 512GB of storage, giving you plenty of space to install modern games.
For the display, the phone features a 6.8-inch FHD (2480 x 1116 resolution) AMOLED BOE Q9+ luminescent screen with a 93.7% screen-to-body ratio. The screen can go very bright (1600 nits max brightness) and has really nice colour saturation and sharpness. Thanks to this big screen, gaming on the REDMAGIC 9 Pro gives you a fuller experience compared to smaller phones. Not to mention that the screen has a really, really good refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which is kind of crazy as this is usually reserved for big gaming monitors.
It’s quite a massive phone, and even though it only weighs around 229 grams, you will feel it if you are coming from smaller phones. Considering that the device has fans and a big battery capacity (6,500mAh), it’s actually a marvel to keep the weight down. If you compare it to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it weighs 221 grams, which is not far behind. Sure, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has big lenses and an awesome camera system, but if you play games more than taking photos, you’ll appreciate the REDMAGIC 9 Pro more.
Speaking of fans, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro comes with a 22,000 RPM high-speed turbofan in its ICE 13 Multi-Dimensional Cooling System. Its cooling system, if you read the specs in detail, is nothing trivial: under-screen graphene, copper foils, 3D Ice Step Dual Pump VC, high thermal materials, and more to keep the heat down (while pushing it away). Under System Settings, you can set the fan to always go full blast when turned on, and I’d recommend enabling this option if you game a lot.
REDMAGIC 9 PRO REVIEW – GAMING EXPERIENCE
While playing Wuthering Waves with the highest graphic settings and set to 30fps (the game warns my phone might overheat if I opt for 60fps unless I cranked the other settings down), I could hear the full force of the fan kicking in. Note that the noise level is not the same as when you are running your PC fans at full throttle. You can barely hear and feel it unless you place the grills next to your ears. It’s really good to know that the fan is not a gimmick, but actually pushes the air out and tries to keep the heat away.
Don’t expect a cool device here though if you are playing graphically-demanding games like Wuthering Waves or Genshin Impact. You can still feel the phone getting warm, but it doesn’t get as hot as my iPhone 15 Pro when I played the same game. Meaning, the ICE 13 Multi-Dimensional Cooling System really works here. The device does get warm but never too hot and uncomfortable, unlike when I’m playing Wuthering Waves with my iPhone 15 Pro. So, massive tick here for the team.
While playing the games I tested, I never encountered any freezes or lags from the system. The gameplay has always been smooth, and I really like that the phone doesn’t feel like it’s burning when I play for hours.
And oh, I was also amazed the first time I heard the sound coming from the phone. It sounds really good. According to the specs, this phone features two 1115K speakers and 5 magnetic sound units that deliver high-fidelity audio that’s certified by DTS: X ULTRA. The bass sounds tinny though and almost non-existent, but the audio overall sounds pretty clear and bright.
So how to conclude my gaming experience? Great display? Check. Great performance? Check. Great heat dissipation? Check. Great sound? Check.
As a bonus, the phone has a dedicated toggle switch to activate RedMagic Game Lobby. Here, you can see a list of your installed games and have advanced, specific options per game. For example, you can set the processor to maximum performance whenever you play Genshin Impact, automatically turn the fan on, etc. It’s a nice addition for sure.
REDMAGIC 9 PRO REVIEW – CAMERA
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro is a gaming phone, so one shouldn’t judge its camera system because, well, it’s not really built for that (and the price would go significantly higher). It has a rear camera system with OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) and a front camera for taking selfies and doing video calls. The main camera can take decent shots for sure but you don’t want to compare them with flagship phones.
The camera struggles a little bit when the sun is high in the sky and it sometimes overbright photos (both during daylight and low-lit situations). Unlike the Pixel phones or iPhones, you can pretty much get great results in a lot of conditions thanks to Google and Apple’s advanced computational photography. For social media sharing and storing memories however, the phone does a great job.
Here are some photos taken by REDMAGIC 9 Pro:
REDMAGIC 9 PRO REVIEW CONCLUSION 
The nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro impresses as a true gaming phone with its powerful specs, effective cooling system, and high-refresh-rate display, making it a compelling choice for mobile gamers. While its camera system is not on par with flagship phones, its gaming performance, sound quality, and added features like the RedMagic Game Lobby make it a strong contender in the gaming phone market.
It’s running REDMAGIC OS 9.0 based on Android 14.0 and I like the little touch here and there, such as the animations when you get into the Game Lobby, or even plugging your device that triggers the 80W Quick Charge (yes, the phone even supports 80W – which is insane).
Should you be getting this phone than an Android flagship phone like a Google Pixel? It’s a hard choice but it depends on what you use your phone most. If playing games is your answer, then well, you won’t be disappointed with the REDMAGIC 9 Pro for sure – especially if you are playing games that support 120Hz refresh rate.
The REDMAGIC 9 Pro retails for US$799 (for the Snowfall model) and is available in Australia. Also at Amazon.
Disclosure: REDMAGIC 9 Pro review sample was supplied for reviewing
