RedMagic 7 Evaluate: It is a Cellphone All About Velocity

Gaming telephones just like the Nubia RedMagic 7 aren’t attempting to compete with Samsung Galaxy gadgets or Google Pixel telephones. They as a substitute crank up the Android gaming expertise with specs that sound like they belong in a PC. The RedMagic 7 lets you max out video games for glorious responsiveness and efficiency.

Options just like the 6.8-inch 165Hz refresh price AMOLED display screen, 12GB of RAM and 65-watt charging speeds even have a profit past simply being massive numbers. They provide us a glimpse at options that may seemingly make their method over to extra mainstream telephones in coming years.

For the value — $629 (£529, which is roughly AU$940) — all of those options would possibly sound like a steal, however there are many explanation why this cellphone is not for most individuals, stemming primarily from tweaks to Android 12 that prioritize gaming efficiency over consumer expertise. The RedMagic additionally has a shorter software program replace cycle than different telephones at this value. And whereas a cooling fan is a typical function on many gaming telephones, the RedMagic 7 contains an inside one, which is significant to maintain the cellphone from overheating throughout intensive gameplay.

The RedMagic 7’s $629 beginning value contains 128GB of storage and 12GB of reminiscence — the latter already being a ridiculous quantity for a cellphone. The evaluation unit I examined is $799 and has 256GB of storage and an absurd 18GB of RAM. For perspective, the $800 Galaxy S22 has 8GB of RAM.

Somewhat bit Android, a bit bit Change

At first look, the RedMagic 7 looks as if every other Android 12 cellphone. You unlock it with an in-screen fingerprint sensor and are greeted with a skinned model of Android 12 that features themed widgets like a change for the interior cooling fan and a toggle for rapidly cranking the show’s refresh price from 60Hz as much as 165Hz.

Nonetheless, this RedMagic OS customization makes a lot of annoying default decisions that are not nice for informal customers. Fortunately, they are often switched off fairly simply. Apps are organized into a number of house screens like on iOS. To seek out the app drawer, you must flip it on in settings. When you set it up, you possibly can hold most apps there and set up those you need onto the house screens. 

The default web browser is NextWord, which is simple to modify to Chrome or Firefox. And I hope you work this out sooner than I did, however the cellphone places a RedMagic watermark on all of your photographs. After one other irritating journey to Settings I used to be capable of flip that off as properly. 

OS annoyances apart, this cellphone is clearly geared toward avid gamers. A purple bodily change on the top-left of the cellphone’s clear physique boots it right into a sport launcher. The aptly named Recreation Area appears extra just like the menus you discover on the Nintendo Change and routinely provides video games out of your app library.

Gaming mode makes a number of tweaks to the cellphone’s settings: It disables notifications, activates the fan and provides menus for fast entry to show refresh charges and processor efficiency. I set it as much as present the frames per second as I performed which helped decide which video games supported increased refresh charges.

On the suitable facet of the cellphone there is a fan exhaust and touch-sensitive areas that emulate shoulder buttons on a sport controller. You’ll be able to arrange the “buttons” to faucet particular areas of the display screen throughout gameplay — for example I coupled them to the shoot button in Apex Legends Cellular and on the Use and Report buttons in Amongst Us.

Gaming runs quick and generally sizzling

Together with the 165Hz show refresh price, the RedMagic 7 touts a “720Hz Multi-Finger Contact Sampling Charge” — their phrases. This refers to how responsive display screen faucets are whereas enjoying video games. In lieu of getting bodily buttons, having a cranked-up contact price for the display screen makes a whole lot of sense. I discovered it significantly useful for video games streamed from the Google Stadia cloud service.

Cloud gaming normally is infamous for lag below even the quickest of web connections, however with the RedMagic’s 720Hz contact price display screen I used to be nearly capable of create combos in Mortal Kombat 11. It additionally made it doable to play Marvel’s Avengers utilizing the touchscreen over the Stadia cloud. These video games are made for a bodily controller, so whereas it is not an excellent or aggressive strategy to play, it really works effective for a fast sport over good Wi-Fi.

What was extra fascinating have been the handful of video games that supported the 165Hz display screen refresh price. Mortal Kombat Cellular (separate from Mortal Kombat 11) cranks all the way in which as much as 165Hz, making all of the punches and battles look tremendous clean. However, Rayman Adventures, which helps 165Hz, runs at double or triple pace. I needed to flip the display screen refresh price right down to 60Hz to run at a standard pace.

Most video games nevertheless ran at 60 frames per second no matter what I set. Whereas Apex Legends Cellular appeared to high out at 60fps, the sport did let me max all of its settings out. Efficiency remained tremendous clean all through a 20-minute match, however I positively observed the cellphone was bodily sizzling to the touch. The RedMagic comes with a case that makes the warmth from gaming considerably extra tolerable.

Quick charging that I wish to see in additional telephones

The 65-watt GaN charger that is included with the cellphone is a severe perk. The twin 4,500-mAh double-cell battery can recharge from 0% to 98% in simply over half-hour. It is a cellphone you positively will not have to cost in a single day. Apparently sufficient when charging, an onscreen graphic reveals the share, and the cooling fan activates to dissipate any warmth.

Battery life was nice: I constantly bought by way of a whole day, even after I stored the display screen at 165Hz. Even on days the place I performed video games for an hour or so, I had 20% to 30% left by the night.

One other neat trick is you possibly can energy the cellphone straight from the facility adapter, skipping the battery. This could assist the battery in the end last more, since when accessible the cellphone will not want to attract energy straight from it always. And through gaming, this may cut back the quantity of warmth the cellphone offers off.

I hope different telephones undertake these power-charging options. A 30-minute charging time means the cellphone can totally cost up whilst you bathe and dress within the morning.

Pictures and software program help take a again seat

The cellphone has a 64-megapixel essential digicam, an 8-megapixel ultrawide digicam and 2-megapixel depth sensor. The RedMagic can deal with most daytime images conditions, however it is not going to win any awards for its photographs.

When it comes to picture high quality, photographs I took at a New York Mets sport have been on par with decrease priced telephones just like the Moto G Stylus 5G. Pictures taken outdoor in daylight typically seemed good, whereas decrease gentle conditions have been harder. 

The cellphone’s Night time mode helps convey out just a few extra further particulars, specializing in topics just like the indicators on the Mets’ stadium, however it’s not fairly as detailed as different telephones on this value vary. In order for you a cellphone that takes nice photographs, I like to recommend trying on the $599 Pixel 6 or the $700 Galaxy S21 FE.

The 8-megapixel front-facing digicam is disappointing, even for livestreaming. Selfie photographs are simply OK. The front-facing digicam is not one thing I would use to broadcast on Twitch. With gaming and livestreaming so interconnected, it might be good if the RedMagic 7 might perform as a starter machine in direction of that.

Software program help on the RedMagic 7 is not nice. RedMagic says that its merchandise are inclined to get one main replace with a “upkeep interval” that lasts between one and a half to 2 years.

Geekbench v.5.0 single-core

Asus ROG Cellphone 5 Final

Geekbench v.5.0 multicore

Asus ROG Cellphone 5 Final

Severe Android avid gamers solely

The RedMagic 7 is not for most individuals, neither is it supposed to be. In case you are a aggressive gamer who actually needs a completely screaming refresh price, and does not thoughts a built-in cooling fan, then this cellphone is actually an choice for you. Simply perceive the software program replace tradeoffs and all of the defaults you will in all probability wish to change out of the field.

However most different folks ought to look elsewhere for a day by day driver cellphone. Households contemplating the RedMagic as an alternative choice to a Change can be higher off shopping for a Nintendo Change and a cheaper cellphone.

Nubia RedMagic 7 vs. Nubia RedMagic 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S22 vs. Google Pixel 6

	Nubia RedMagic 7	Nubia RedMagic 6	Samsung Galaxy S22	Google Pixel 6
Show dimension, decision, refresh price	6.8-inch; 2,400×1,080 pixels; 165Hz	6.8-inch OLED; 2,400×1,080 pixels; 165Hz refresh price; HDR10, 500Hz single touchrate	6.1-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 120Hz	6.4-inch OLED; 2,400×1,080 pixels; 60 or 90Hz
Pixel density	387 ppi	387 ppi	425 ppi	411 ppi
Dimensions (Inches)	6.7 x 3.1 x 0.4 in.	6.69 x 3.04 x 0.38 in.	5.7 x 2.8 x 0.3 in.	6.2 x 2.9 x 0.4 in.
Dimensions (Millimeters)	170.57 x 78.33 x 9.5 mm	169.86 x 77.19 x 9.7mm	146 x 70.6 x 7.6 mm	158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)	7.58 oz.; 215g	7.76 oz.; 220g	167g (168g for mmWave mannequin)	7.3 oz.; 207g
Cellular software program	Android 12	Android 11	Android 12	Android 12
Digicam	64-megapixel (essential), 8-megapixel (ultrawide), 2-megapixel (depth)	64-megapixel (vast), 8-megapixel (ultrawide), 2-megapixel (depth)	50-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)	50-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel ultrawide
Entrance-facing digicam	8-megapixel	8-megapixel	10-megapixel	8-megapixel
Video seize	8K at 30fps, 4K at 60fps	8K	8K at 24 fps	4K 30, 60fps (rear), 1,080p 30fps (entrance)
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Google Tensor
RAM/Storage	12GB/128GB, 18GB/256GB	12GB/128GB	8GB RAM + 128GB 8GB RAM + 256GB	8GB/128GB, 256GB
Expandable storage	No	None	None	No
Battery/Charger	4,500 mAh	5,050 mAh	3,700 mAh (25W wired charging)	4,614 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	In-display	In-display	In-display	In-display
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	Sure	Sure	None	No
Particular options	720Hz multitouch sampling price	5G, 66W quick charging, 400Hz contact delicate facet buttons, RGB lighting and brand, Recreation Area {hardware} change, Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, dual-SIM	5G (mmw/sub 6), 120Hz show, IP68 score, 25W wired charging, 15W wi-fi charging	5G sub 6 (some service fashions even have 5G mmWave) help, Wi-Fi 6E, 30W quick charging, Magic Eraser, Movement mode, Actual Tone, Face Unblur, Cinematic Pan, 5 years OS and safety updates, IP68 score for mud and water resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus (entrance), Gorilla Glass 6 (again)
Worth off-contract (USD)	$629	$599	$800	$599 (128GB)
Worth (GBP)	£529	£509	£769	£599
Worth (AUD)	Converts to AU$940	Converts to AU$900	AU$1,149	AU$999