Redmagic 9 Pro Review: The Battery Beast

Nubia’s Redmagic 8 Pro and Redmagic 8S Pro were two of the most capable smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 now available, Nubia has introduced the REDMAGIC 9 Pro. Featuring top-end hardware, this smartphone packs a lot for its base price tag of less than $700.

I’ve been using the Redmagic 9 Pro for two weeks, and I confidently say it’s one of the best Android flagships in 2024. Yes, sure, there are a few drawbacks, but the Redmagic 9 Pro excels in handling demanding Android games and tasks without compromising on performance or battery life. To learn more about this smartphone, read my detailed Redmagic 9 Pro review below.

Price and Availability

The Redmagic 9 Pro starts at $649 for the base model with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage and goes up to $799 for the 16GB and 512GB variant. While most smartphones in 2024 are expected to see an increase in price, Nubia has kept the pricing the same as the predecessor series. The Redmagic 9 Pro will be available for pre-order starting December 27, 2023, and open sales will begin on January 3, 2024, on the company’s official website.

Design

If you’ve used a Nubia Redmagic 8 series phone before, the Redmagic 9 Pro won’t seem very different. It keeps the familiar straight-edged design from its predecessor, and for the Cyclone version, there’s the transparent design that shows off the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, along with the phone’s cooling fan and ICE cooling system. If you’re not a fan of the exposed design, the Redmagic 9 Pro is also available in Sleet (Black) and Snowfall (Silver) colors.

While the shape and overall dimensions haven’t changed much, Nubia has made some design tweaks that give the Redmagic 9 Pro a new feel. One noticeable change is that there’s no camera bump this time around. Nubia has gone for a flat back with the camera sensors behind the rear glass, and honestly, it feels amazing. It may be prone to scratches over time, especially without a case, but it ensures the phone sits flat on a table with no wobbling. It does, however, attract fingerprints, but Nubia includes a transparent case in the box for basic protection.

Another change from the previous generation is that the volume rockers have shifted to the right side. The Redmagic 9 Pro has the volume rockers on the right side, with the power button just below it. The power button is now a circular button, making it easier to distinguish from the volume buttons, and you can easily access both of them while gaming or watching content, reducing the risk of accidental shutdowns or volume adjustments.

Going around the rest of the phone, things have remained more or less the same. There’s a Game Switch button just below the power button and shoulder triggers on both the top and bottom ends of the right-hand side. The left side is now empty, except for the cooling vent. At the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C charging port, a microphone, and a speaker. On the top, there’s the 3.5mm headphone jack (yes, it’s still there), a microphone, and another speaker.

Now coming to back again, there are a few LEDs on the back that light up while gaming or when you receive notifications from specific apps (you can customize this in the settings. But, on the whole, I love the flat-back design of the Redmagic 9 Pro. It maintains a familiar feel from the previous generation but has evolved in a way that makes it easier and more practical to use — especially now that the phone has a bigger battery all while remaining the same size and dimensions.

Display

Now coming to the display of the Redmagic 9 Pro, and it has also remained almost the same as the previous generation. The 9 Pro features a big full-screen 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1600 nits, 300 nits higher than the previous generation. I said it in my last review, and I’ll say it again — I absolutely love the full-screen display that Redmagic continues to use. The under-display camera is hardly noticeable in day-to-day use, and you get the full 6.8-inch AMOLED panel, which is great for gaming, work, productivity, content consumption, and social media, even though it comes at the expense of selfie camera quality (more on that later).

The colors are accurate as always, and I love using the phone in the “Colorful” mode. One thing that was absent on the previous generation Redmagic 8 Pro and it’s still missing here is the HDR option in apps like Netflix. But, even without HDR, the Nubia Redmagic 9 Pro delivers one of the best display experiences among all Android smartphones. Whether you’re watching favorite movies or TV shows, scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, or, of course, gaming, you’ll thoroughly enjoy using this display.

Performance

The Nubia Redmagic 9 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and it’s really hard to make this smartphone sweat. Throw anything at this smartphone and it’ll handle it with ease. Whether you’re opening apps, loading games, editing photos, or scrolling through social media, it delivers a smooth experience, as expected from a flagship phone. In addition to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Redmagic 9 Pro packs a dedicated RED Core 2 gaming chip, which handles tasks like audio processing, haptic feedback, and RGB lighting.

The new ICE 13 cooling system and the physical cooling fan do help in sustaining performance over extended periods. I played all the high-end games on this phone, including popular titles like Battlegrounds Mobile India (Indian version of PUBG Mobile), the new GTA trilogy by Netflix, and the performance was always butter smooth.

Graphics loaded quickly, and the smartphone effortlessly handled the highest graphics settings without overheating, thanks to the efficient cooling system and fan. The proficiency of the cooling system is especially visible during the benchmark testing, opening which spins up the fans to the full. As seen below, the Redmagic 9 Pro performs considerably well over extended use when compared to the IQOO 12, another smartphone powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Benchmark Test

Now, let’s talk about the software on the Redmagic 9 Pro. It comes with Android 14 right out of the box, and it’s layered with Nubia’s own Redmagic 9.0 skin on top, which offers plenty of customization options. Just like the previous model, you can personalize almost every aspect of the phone, such as the Always-on display screen, fingerprint animation, LED colors on the back, app icons, fonts, and more. Nubia has also incorporated the lock screen customization features from Android 14, allowing you to choose the clock styles that suit your preference.

Furthermore, just like its predecessor, the Redmagic 9 Pro has a physical Game Space button on the side. Pressing this button takes you to a dedicated gaming dashboard. You can add all the games on your device to this Game Space and launch them with just a toggle of a button. Within the Game Space, you can also configure the touch sampling rate, boost chipset performance, configure shoulder triggers, and do much more. There’s also a plugin library that adds game-specific features to enhance your gaming experience.

Battery Life

Now coming to one of the standout features of the Redmagic 9 Pro – the battery life. The Redmagic 9 Pro boasts a huge 6,500 mAh battery — yes you read that right — that supports 80W fast USB-C charging. No matter what I threw at it, I was not able to kill this smartphone in a single day. My daily use usually involves things like light gaming, a few phone calls, extensive scrolling on social media, a lot of texting and email, and taking a few pictures here and there. If your usage is anything like mine, you’ll absolutely adore the Redmagic 9 Pro.

The Redmagic 9 Pro will easily last you a day on full charge and even if, somehow, you manage to deplete it in one day — which, trust me, is nearly impossible thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the large battery, and Nubia’s optimization — you can quickly top it using the bundled charger in the box. The best part? You can fully recharge this smartphone in just about 35 minutes, and then you won’t have to worry about it for the next two days. This is hands down the best battery experience I’ve ever had with a smartphone. If you decide to buy this smartphone solely for its exceptional battery life, I’ll give you a big thumbs up – it’s truly amazing!

Camera

Cameras have never been a strong suit of Redmagic smartphones, and that remains true for the Redmagic 9 Pro. The Redmagic 9 Pro features a triple-camera setup containing a 50MP sensor with PDAF and OIS, a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro lens. On the front, there’s a 16MP under-display selfie camera.

The primary camera performance here is on par with the previous generation. It works decently well for outdoor photography in good lighting conditions but struggles in artificial light. The phone captures accurate colors, but more often than not, they appear slightly washed out. Additionally, tapping to focus can sometimes lead to overexposure, resulting in a lot of white noise in the photos. While the 50MP ultra-wide lens is an improvement over the previous model, it still doesn’t quite match up with the quality of cameras found in iPhones or Samsung Galaxy phones — but then you don’t expect camera prowess from a gaming phone anyway.

As for the under-display 16MP camera, it leaves much to be desired. Despite all the technology Nubia has put in, it struggles to capture clear shots, often producing blurry images with noticeable white noise. It’s alright for occasional video calls and stuff, but that’s about it. Nevertheless, the primary focus here is on delivering a full-screen gaming experience, and in that regard, Nubia succeeds admirably.

Should you buy the Redmagic 9 Pro?

So, should you buy the Redmagic 9 Pro? Well, if you’re looking to purchase an Android smartphone with the latest Qualcomm chipset, the Redmagic 9 Pro is a great pick — all without breaking the bank. It packs powerful hardware, runs on the latest Android version, and has some amazing customization and gaming features that make using this smartphone a great experience.

While the selfie camera could be better, this phone does it at the cost of providing outstanding full-screen experience, which is perfect for everyday tasks. If the camera isn’t your priority and you want a great device with top-notch multimedia experience, exceptional battery life, and outstanding performance, the Redmagic 9 Pro should be your top pick.