RedMagic 9 Professional – Evaluation

I’ve needed to get my fingers on the RedMagic 9 Professional since I first noticed it up for launch on the finish of final 12 months. Throughout my time at MWC 24 earlier this 12 months, I used to be in a position to get an opportunity to get some hands-on time with the RedMagic 9 Professional and this confirmed that I needed to search out out extra. After some exchanging of emails, I now have stated telephone in my possession and it’s time to overview it. So with out additional delay let’s dive into the overview under.

Design

Here’s a temporary unboxing video showcasing the telephone.

This is likely one of the largest issues with regards to a gaming telephone and the RedMagic 9 Professional (hereafter known as the 9 Professional). The telephone has some very particular gaming cues. Time to take the tour across the gadget ranging from the highest edge.

On the highest of the gadget, we discover one of many side-firing audio system together with an IR blaster for controlling IR-equipped units. Along with that is one thing that may be a little bit of a rarity as of late, a 3.5mm headset jack is sitting up there on the highest. We additionally discover one of many pinhole mics and among the many antenna line breaks.

Transferring across the right-hand facet we’ve got rather a lot occurring so let’s go from the perimeters in. On the perimeters, we’ve got the RGB shoulder set off buttons which could be configured inside video games. The RGB lighting could be set in several modes from the software program which we are going to cowl extra in a while. The set off buttons assist as much as 520hz contact detection making them very responsive to be used in video games. Subsequent, we’ve got one finish of the fan channel, I imagine that is the exhaust vent however I might be unsuitable. Subsequent, we’ve got the quantity rocker swap which has good suggestions and is distinctive when in comparison with the sleep/wake/energy swap. The following factor right here is once more a touch on the gaming focus of this telephone as we’ve got a devoted house mode slider swap. by transferring this swap in the direction of to energy key then the telephone will enter into its gaming mode the place you will have all of the toggles from numerous software-led capabilities. I’ll cowl these extra later within the gaming part of this overview. The very last thing of notice right here is the presence of one other pinhole mic.

On the underside fringe of the telephone is one other one of many side-firing audio system one other pinhole microphone and the USB 3.2, Kind-C with DisplayPort performance, for plugging into an exterior show. This port may even assist fascharing in case you use the proper charger and the telephone will cost at as much as 80W giving a fairly good 0 to full cost time of underneath 35 minutes. We even have a twin SIM card slot.

Transferring round to the left-hand facet of the telephone other than the same old antenna break we’ve got obtained the opposite finish for the fan channel which I feel is the consumption finish.

On the rear, we’ve got obtained a good quantity of issues occurring alongside some graphical exuberance Within the high right-hand nook we’ve got a reference to this being the ninth Era of RedMagic telephones with a 09 that may illuminate when the telephone is in gaming mode. Coming down from his however sticking to the right-hand facet we’ve got the “Win Extra Video games” textual content written on the rear panel with the Redmagic Brand on the very backside proper. On the left-hand facet on the backside edge, there’s once more some textual content outing the telephone model title REDMAGIC after which as you progress up the telephone there are extra textual content references this time underneath the digital camera array we’ve got Ice Cooling System written across the center part. above that is the place issues get a bit extra attention-grabbing. we’ve got what seems to be to be three digital camera modules in a vertical stack, nonetheless, this isn’t the case. The underside of the stack is a really small however highly effective fan. This fan will spin at a velocity of as much as 22,000 RPM and is absolutely customisable with RGB as nicely becoming into the gaming telephone vibe very properly. The fan could be fairly loud when it’s working at max capability however in regular use, it’s barely audible over the background noise.. I’ve obtained is about to be one more often than not. I’ll hear it ramp as much as full velocity if I’ve it quick charging however in any other case it would simply spin away pulling chilly air via the cooling chamber for me.

Above the fan, we’ve got two digital camera sensors that are each 50mp sensors one being an ultra-wide and the opposite being the conventional facet ratio. I imagine that the decrease of the 2 cameras has additionally obtained an OIS which is a primary for a digital camera on a RedMagic gaming telephone. Each cameras function a 7-element lens and the sensors are from Samsung producer. However that isn’t all as we even have a further 2MP sensor off to the facet sitting under the twin LED flash. This digital camera is there to select up the macro photographs duties as you’ll count on on this form of set-up. Above the 2MP Macro digital camera is a Dul LED flash gentle which may even pull double responsibility as a torch if required.

A couple of issues to notice concerning the again cowl is that that is extremely slippy regardless of there being a texture to the glass panel which signifies that except that is on a flat floor it would slip off issues and make its strategy to the bottom rather a lot. There’s a clip-on shard plastic case included within the field however this does little to negate these inevitable tumbles. You can even purchase a further case from the RedMagic retailer however I can’t see this serving to this case a lot additional. I’ve combated this by buying a pores and skin for the rear panel which give simply sufficient grip to cease is sliding away from me on a regular basis.

Transferring across the the entrance of the telephone is the place we’ve got the show together with the digital camera however we are going to come again to that in a second. The show itself is basically giant and the panel underneath the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 floor is maxed out as a lot as doable. The display screen is a 6.8 inches FHD+ panel and it’s of the AMOLED selection. It has a brightness of as much as 1600nits with a color accuracy of △E＜1. The Display-to-body ratio is 93.7% which is likely one of the highest I’ve used just lately, and it has a decision of 2480 x 1116 with a PPI of 400. The panel has a refresh charge of as much as 120 hz (this may be adjusted in software program). There are a pair extra gaming-specific stats as nicely that I have to share and these are that the Prompt contact sampling charge is 2,000Hz, with an general sampling charge of as much as 960Hz multitouch. I presume that these are supposed to point out that it’s going to decide up on detections of enter rather a lot faster in fast-paced video games.

Properly, that concludes our tour of the gadget’s exterior. However as with all telephones, we additionally want to research what’s underneath the pores and skin of the telephone, within the {hardware} part.

{Hardware}

Firstly here’s a specs desk as there’s lot of stuff occurring right here.

I’m going to give attention to the facets that may take this from a daily telephone to start a gaming hone as all the opposite {hardware} could be very generally seen on most high-end telephones as of late, there are nonetheless some exceptions to this which I’ll cowl in a while in my overview.

As it is a gaming telephone let’s begin with the cooling system as that is the actual headline grabber for this telephone. As you may see from the specs sheet above the 9 Professional has obtained fairly an elaborate system in place for cooling which is a mixture of each warmth dissipation foils and thermal pastes and energetic cooling through the cooling fan itself. The fan is a really small element as it’s smaller than the diameter of a 5-pence coin. That being stated it is extremely intricately constructed because it has 59 0.1mm fan blades which can be able to as much as 22,000rpm to tug air into the cooling duct. As it is possible for you to to think about this cooling duct is the place the primary warmth dissipation occurs with the elements which can be producing the warmth being positioned near the cooling duct. The picture under reveals the varied components in additional element.

You’ll be able to see from the above picture that the Snapdarogn 8 Gen 3 Chip is positioned on the underside of the cooling channel to offer the optimum publicity to the airflow being managed by the fan. Along with this, there’s an in depth space of thermally conductive materials on the midframe to assist cease any warmth coming via the show from the motherboard. All of which means that the *gen 3 Chip can run at increased temp fro longer which means that it will possibly push extra calculations via. This in flip will imply quicker processing of information, faster video rendering and most significantly for patrons of this telephone a greater gaming expertise with increased body charges being supplied within the recreation with extra fluid movement traits and so forth. There’s nonetheless one very minor draw back to this and that’s that when you’ve got the fan cranked as much as max it’s audible.

I’ve recorded this small clip to offer you an thought of the distinction between the fan on and off. I used to be utilizing the telephone plugged in while taking part in Asphalt 9 within the mode referred to as Diablo Mode which is when every thing it maxed out and the processor and GPU are each working at full energy.

Hopefully, that may show my level, Please bear in mind although that this was an excessive state of affairs and the fan just isn’t usually fairly as noticeable throughout regular gaming use, it might be simply cancelled out with a pair of headphones or by the sound from the sport itself, I solely carry this as much as be thorough. subsequent up we’ve got the shoulder triggers that are a standout function of the 9 Professional.

• Shoulder set off buttons,

Not like some gaming telephones that provide generic shoulder buttons, the  9 Professional’s triggers are constructed for severe players. You’ll be able to map particular in-game actions to every set off, providing you with extra management over your gameplay. Think about utilizing them for aiming and firing in shooters, or activating skills and spells in MOBA video games – all whereas holding your thumbs free for motion and different on-screen controls. This frees up useful display screen house and permits for extra pure and intuitive management schemes. The 9 Professional doesn’t simply supply fundamental buttons; these triggers boast excessive accuracy and a satisfying tactile response. This implies your in-game actions will register exactly whenever you press the triggers, minimizing any lag or missed inputs. Not everybody has the identical finger stress. The 9 Professional understands this and lets you fine-tune the sensitivity of the triggers. This fashion, you may set them to activate precisely whenever you need them to, decreasing unintentional presses throughout intense gaming moments. The shoulder triggers profit from the telephone’s extremely excessive contact sampling charge of 520Hz. This interprets to near-instantaneous responses whenever you press the triggers, additional enhancing the sensation of exact management and minimizing any perceivable delay between your motion and the in-game response. You can even have the buttons pull double responsibility as they are going to work as notifications LEDS whenever you get an occasion it’s good to be notified about.

The 9 Professional’s shoulder triggers are extra than simply buttons; they’re customizable instruments designed to offer you a big edge in cellular gaming by offering a extra exact and responsive management expertise.

Cellular players will seemingly be impressed by the 9 Professional’s show, which boasts a mixture of options designed to ship an distinctive gaming expertise. The telephone’s giant 6.8-inch AMOLED display screen gives ample house to get pleasure from even probably the most visually advanced video games, whereas the sharp 2480 x 1160 decision ensures crisp and detailed visuals. Not like some shows that use LCD expertise, AMOLED shows are recognized for his or her wealthy colors and deep blacks, making a extra immersive and vibrant gaming ambiance. Nonetheless, the true energy of the 9 Professional for gaming lies in its refresh charge and contact response. The 120Hz refresh charge means the display screen refreshes the picture 120 occasions per second, leading to noticeably smoother visuals. This can be a important benefit in fast-paced video games like shooters or racing titles, the place each body counts and a clean refresh charge can provide you a aggressive edge. To enhance the excessive refresh charge, the 9 Professional boasts an extremely responsive contact display screen with a 2000Hz prompt contact sampling charge and a 960Hz common contact sampling charge. In layman’s phrases, this implies the telephone can acknowledge your contact instructions near-instantaneously, minimizing enter lag. With minimal delay between your contact and the corresponding motion on display screen, you may react quicker and extra exactly in-game. Additional enhancing the immersive expertise is the telephone’s under-display digital camera. Not like some telephones with notches or punch-holes that intrude on the viewing space, the 9 Professional retains the show uninterrupted. This lets you get pleasure from a very fullscreen view with none obstructions whereas gaming, maximizing your immersion in your recreation, though in actuality I barely seen the digital camera on my different telephones so this is able to not be a serious distinction to me based mostly on my expertise. Brightness is one other essential issue for cellular players, and the 9 Professional seems well-suited for numerous lighting circumstances. Whereas precise specs could fluctuate, some sources declare the display screen can attain a outstanding 1600 nits in HDR mode. This implies you may comfortably play video games outdoor on a shiny day or in a dimly lit room with out compromising on the visuals. The 9 Professional’s show presents a compelling possibility for players in search of a big, clear, clean, and responsive expertise with minimal distractions. The telephone’s mixture of a high-resolution AMOLED show, a quick refresh charge, an ultra-responsive contact display screen, and an under-display digital camera creates a function set particularly tailor-made to reinforce your cellular gaming expertise.

The 9 Professional’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor throws down the gauntlet for clean and visually spectacular cellular gaming. This cutting-edge chip boasts important efficiency enhancements over its predecessors, translating to noticeably smoother gameplay in even probably the most graphically demanding titles. This interprets to a aggressive edge, particularly in fast-paced video games the place split-second reactions are the distinction between victory and defeat. Not like some telephones that battle to keep up peak efficiency throughout prolonged gaming classes, the 9 Professional takes a special method. Its sturdy cooling system particularly addresses this concern by stopping the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from throttling. This ensures you may get pleasure from uninterrupted gameplay with constant body charges, permitting you to give attention to the sport and never on thermal limitations. The advantages of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 lengthen past uncooked energy. It really works in good concord with the 9 Professional’s 120Hz show. By enabling the telephone to render graphics at excessive body charges that match the show’s refresh charge, the processor unlocks the show’s full potential. This interprets to a buttery clean and graphically immersive gaming expertise, making each in-game motion really feel extremely responsive. Think about completely rendered explosions and lightning-fast character actions coming to life with minimal lag – that’s the type of visible constancy the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 120Hz show mixture can ship. However the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 isn’t nearly brute power. It boasts some thrilling options that cater particularly to cellular players. One such function is the Snapdragon Sport Tremendous Decision. This expertise can upscale the visuals of cellular video games to a powerful near-8K high quality when linked to a high-resolution monitor via RedMagic Studio. This takes cellular gaming visuals to an entire new degree, providing an unprecedented degree of element and sharpness that may additional deepen your immersion within the recreation world. Think about taking part in your favorite cellular video games on a big monitor with visuals that rival high-end consoles – that’s the potential of Snapdragon Sport Tremendous Decision.

It’s vital to contemplate some potential trade-offs, nonetheless. Highly effective processors just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 can drain battery life quicker. Whereas the 9 Professional packs a big battery of 6500mAh, prolonged high-performance gaming classes would possibly require extra frequent charging to maintain you powered up all through the day. Moreover, not all video games could also be absolutely optimized to leverage the complete potential of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 simply but. Nonetheless, that is prone to change over time as each recreation builders and Qualcomm launch updates that enhance compatibility and efficiency for this cutting-edge cellular chipset. With ongoing optimization, the  9 Professional with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor has the potential to be a future-proof possibility for cellular players who prioritize clean efficiency, excessive body charges, and assist for modern options.

Digital camera

The 9 Professional could be a gaming powerhouse, however it doesn’t neglect to seize these profitable moments. Let’s delve into what this telephone can do within the digital camera division, A triple-camera system graces the again, with the 50MP most important sensor taking the lead. This Samsung GN5 sensor with an f/1.9 aperture excels in shiny environments, guaranteeing crisp and vibrant images – good for commemorating victories, adventures, or informal hangouts. A giant improve from earlier fashions is the 50MP ultrawide digital camera with an f/2.2 aperture (courtesy of a Samsung JN1 sensor). Now you may seize these sprawling landscapes or guarantee everybody matches in for epic group selfies. Rounding out the trio is a 2MP macro digital camera for these attention-grabbing close-up textures or tiny objects begging to be photographed. The 9 Professional shines with regards to daylight pictures. The principle sensor delivers sharp photographs with correct colors, making it best for out of doors gaming classes or sightseeing. Nonetheless, low-light efficiency could be a little bit of a problem. Images would possibly present extra noise (grain) and lowered particulars in darker environments. If low-light prowess is a precedence, you would possibly wish to discover different choices. Similar to most smartphones, the 9 Professional makes use of digital zoom to amplify photographs. Bear in mind, extreme zooming can considerably cut back picture high quality and introduce blur. Sticking to the telephone’s native zoom vary will guarantee sharper outcomes. The telephone boasts a close to bezel-less look due to the under-display selfie digital camera. Whereas handy for informal selfies or video calls, the under-display expertise won’t ship the identical degree of element and sharpness because the rear cameras – a trade-off for the modern design.

Total, the RedMagic 9 Professional’s digital camera prioritizes usability over professional-grade pictures. It delivers good picture high quality in well-lit circumstances and gives versatility with the ultrawide and macro choices. When you’re a gamer who desires a telephone that captures on a regular basis moments with no need the most effective low-light digital camera, the RedMagic 9 Professional is a succesful selection. However severe cellular photographers would possibly crave a telephone with extra superior digital camera options.

Listed here are some pattern photographs that I’ve taken on the digital camera to offer you an thought of what the digital camera can do.

All in all in daylight the photographs are fairly good. 

right here si a pattern of the video recording (this was recorded at 1080p at 60fps however has been downsampled to permit it to be shared through WordPress)

There’s a good bit of digital camera wobble occurring right here as I don’t suppose the stabilization is the most effective however as you may see I used to be strolling whereas capturing this clip.

Lastly listed here are some samples of how the digital camera performs in low gentle

Software program

The 9 Professional avoids cluttering the person interface with pointless software program, holding issues clear. Nonetheless, it caters to players with a devoted gaming mode activated by a purple slider on the telephone’s facet. This gaming mode offers a central hub to customise and fine-tune numerous settings to optimize your gaming expertise. I’ve included some photographs of the gaming mode UI under to offer you an thought of what it will possibly do. 

One of many choices which you could get whenever you get the 9Pro is the Shadow Blade 2 gamepad (pictured under), nonetheless, I used to be not in a position to get one in all these despatched out as a part of the overview package so I sadly don’t have one. I do nonetheless have the following neatest thing which is the GameSir Galileo G8. This truly the very same unit because the Shadow Blade 2. While you mix the 2 you may then get an analogous expertise to one thing just like the Razer Edge Wifi nonetheless that is extra highly effective because of the higher chipset

Shadow Blade 2 Gamepad

The inclusion of the gamepad made this such an attention-grabbing prospect for me once I first tried this, at MWC again in February. Now while the Galileo G8 just isn’t utterly arrange accurately to work with the 9 Professional out of the field I’ve discovered that for probably the most half, it would work with the video games I’ve been testing it with. I’ve obtained some photos under to indicate you what it seem like under.

The above image reveals that the 9 Professional is in gaming mode, which is activated primarily by the toggle swap on the facet of the unit. Inside the is software program you may change numerous totally different settings on your in recreation expertise. I’ve discovered that utilizing “Diablo Mode” offers you all the facility whenever you want it. Nonetheless, that being stated I’ve not been capable of finding a recreation that runs at something increased than 60FPS but. On this Sport suite, you can even arrange particular particulars for a recreation. So for instance, if I needed my recreation to run on the Highest efficiency then I can set this up on a per-game foundation by enhancing the “Dice” settings for that recreation. I also can change the way in which the sport will trying by altering the “present” mode which is able to change how the colors are displayed within the recreation which can assist with the gameplay expertise.

The in-game menu is accessible through a double swipe within the high proper or left-hand nook. The menu on the left-hand facet is all the varied Plugins which you could implement on the video games if you want too. On the right-hand facet, you will have different controls reminiscent of turning on the RGB LED results, blocking calls throughout gaming and so forth. It’s pretty intuitive and straightforward to make use of the right-hand menu however the one for the plug-ins could be adjusted in additional element if required, in case you have been a gamer and you actually needed to benefit from the additional instruments then I’m certain that there can be loads to dig into right here. I’ve solely actually seemed over it however I’ve not delved a lot additional than that.

aside from the Gaming mode we’re introduced with a really clear model of Android 14 albeit with the Redmagic UI on high of it. I like how they haven’t messed round an excessive amount of with the UI other than the elevated icon dimension which is all too frequent on something aside from a Pixel as of late. When it comes to updates I’ve not had a firmware replace since I acquired the telephone nonetheless I’ve had a Play programs replace which is at present on the March 24 model, nonetheless, the Safety replace remains to be on October 23 so this isn’t nice however I’ve seen worse. I don’t know the way typically and ceaselessly these updates will probably be delivered to the telephone because it tends to be the case that as an alternative of issuing an replace the telephone is outdated by the following mannequin model. Whether or not this would be the case with the 9 Professional solely time will inform.

Conclusion

So do you have to purchase a RedMagic 9 Professional? Properly, that actually depends upon the place your priorities lie. if you’d like what is likely one of the strongest telephones available on the market for gaming at present then for the bang on your cash then I might say it is a good possibility, particularly whenever you issue worth into the combination. For a beginning worth of £579.00 as reviewed, you aren’t going to search out one other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powered telephone for something near that worth. to get the identical form of footprint you would wish to contemplate one thing just like the ROG Cellphone 8 which is at present retailing for £949.00 for the equal spec.

If the digital camera is the primary focus for you then I might suggest trying elsewhere as this isn’t the most effective digital camera available on the market, dont get me unsuitable it’s good once more when factoring within the worth however there are higher choices on the market the just lately launched Pixel 8a would truly be a greater various for close to the identical worth (£559) for the 256GB model. 

If you need the most effective of each worlds, then perhaps take into account one of many Samsung Galaxy S 24 Line up as they offer nice gaming efficiency and are additionally backed by some implausible assist from Samsung relating to software program updates. they may even supply a adequate gaming expertise.

You may additionally want to look into the sister model for this telephone which is Nubia (they’re each operated by ZTE) as they’ve a really compelling camera-focused model of the Redmagic 9 Professional within the type of the Nubia Z60 Extremely however this provides a few hundred kilos to the asking worth for the higher optics.

I’ve completely loved my time with the RedMagic 9 Professional however for now I’m going to be hanging it up for my day by day driver and returning to my Pixel 8 Professional, I’ll nonetheless dig it again out for some gaming classes when i need that customisable gaming expertise handy.