Nubia RedMagic 7S Pro review: "A hardcore mobile player's dream"

Nubia has launched the RedMagic 7S Pro in another blindingly fast turnaround from its previous model, the RedMagic 7 Pro. What's the hurry? Well, the ZTE gaming division recently got their hands on the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and wanted to take it out for a spin. This is the first gaming phone to feature the latest CPU chip, and with accelerated cooling no less. That means it stands to offer one of the most powerful mobile gaming experiences on the market - and all for that characteristically affordable price tag. The cheapest model released internationally (12GB RAM and 256GB of storage) clocks in at just $729 / £669. 

The RedMagic 7S Pro is certainly one for the Play Store power users among us, clocking some incredible performance on a gorgeous display. However, a few UI shortcomings and mediocre cameras don't hold up against the wider smartphone market today. We put the $899 / £809 18GB RAM / 512GB storage model to the test over the course of three weeks to see just what RedMagic's latest device is capable of. 

RedMagic 7S Pro Design

Like the 7 Pro before it, the RedMagic 7S Pro manages to walk a fine line between the gamer aesthetic and a device you'd actually want to whip out your pocket. Don't get me wrong, this is still a chunky device, but the flat edges and slimline bezels work hard to disguise the true heft here. This still feels manageable to hold in one hand and carry around. The back panel treads this line as well, with the classic glossy translucent gray back, marked this time with a camo-flavored metal plate running along the spine of the device.

That print, alongside the spec shout-outs and RGB cooling fan show subtle hints of the 7S Pro's true gaming calling, but will still blend in with your other everyday tech if you're not too keen on a gaudy aesthetic. I noticed that the lettering underneath this shiny panel has also been toned down for the new release, further de-gamifying the design. 

You're still getting that all-important RGB here, though. The cooling fan still blazes its colors once a game kicks it into gear, and there's also a small RGB notification LED along the back as well. 

Once again, we've got a skinny bezel up top (above an under display selfie camera), and a slightly larger bezel at the bottom of the device. It's a strange choice, and one that - once noticed - can be a little irritating, but considering the slick design overall means it's far from a pain point.

Two 520Hz capacitive touch triggers sit along the right edge, alongside a volume rocker and lock button, meanwhile the left side sports the same Game Boost switch to launch the RedMagic's own game management software. Up top you've got a 3.5mm audio jack, and the bottom panel houses your USB-C charging port, and SIM tray.

RedMagic 7S Pro Features

The star of the RedMagic 7S Pro show is that Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, a CPU that we haven't seen in a gaming phone to date. Packing such a monstrous chip alongside a turbo cooling system and a 120Hz refresh rate AMOLED display means the power under the hood here is simply unrivalled. Not only that, but it positions the 7S Pro particularly well in terms of value for money as well. 

That's not all - that 6.8-inch display also ramps things up with a 960Hz touch sampling rate for super smooth input responses. At 600 nits, this isn't the brightest phone on the market - the 1200 nit brightness of the Asus ROG Phone 6 can attest to that. While I did find that weaker screen to be a slight hinderance on particularly sunny days, though, my general use wasn't effected. 

The 7 Pro's lack of front-facing speakers is still present in the new release, which means sound can feel a little off-kilter. However, they are still plenty loud (I forgot to switch off the default notification chime and suffered for it) even if some of the bassier tones are dropped in the process. 

COD Mobile and PUBG players will be particularly happy to see those capacitive touch triggers making their way to Nubia's gaming phones once again. The ultra-responsive pads make for an incredible mobile experience on the battlefield, allowing you to keep your thumbs free and control everything onscreen with excellent precision.

The Game Space tool has also made another appearance, allowing you to configure performance settings (set between three 'eco', 'balance', and 'rise' presets), set how far you want to push the Snapdragon Adreno GPU, balance sound and mic preferences, and choose your recording quality as well. The Game Space is one of RedMagic's secret weapons. Many gaming phones offer their own software straight from the off, but with such an easy navigational system, and the ability to launch games straight from the console-style menu is a real gem.

There are some caveats to this feature list though, as the 7S Pro is still missing some key features one might expect from a 2022 smartphone - namely IP splash resistance and expandable storage.

RedMagic 7S Pro Performance

The RedMagic 7S Pro cannot be faulted for its performance. This thing is blazingly fast, and can hold its nerve against even the most audacious of high settings in the most demanding games. That Snapdragon processor is certainly pulling its weight here, but there's no denying that the turbo cooling system is doing a lot of the heavy lifting as well. I still felt the 7S Pro warming up when pushed to its limits, but you'd never tell from the onscreen action. Hectic PUBG rounds were running just as smoothly as a good old game of Candy Crush, and Magic: The Gathering Arena never stuttered once even when there was a ludicrously full board to contend with. 

Those fans will hiss at you when starting up, and I did prefer to plug in during longer sessions to keep the fairly harsh white noise out. However, they ensure the 7S Pro holds its nerve during situations that would floor other devices.

It's in the numbers that this performance really shows itself. 3D Mark's Wild Life Extreme clocked in an excellent 2,818 score, while the Wild Life Extreme Stress Test manages to hold a similar rating with 99.3% stability across 20 loops. Meanwhile, the device was simply too powerful for Slingshot Extreme benchmarks, tanking the software's own scoring system. This is truly next level stuff, and by far the most powerful gaming phone I've had my hands on.

RedMagic 7S Pro Cameras

While you'll be blazing through leaderboards on the RedMagic 7S Pro, you won't quite be making any photography competitions. The camera system on this device remains unchanged from that of the 7 Pro, and it's still decidedly meh. Of course, nobody buys a gaming phone for its state of the art lenses, and the standard everyday shots you'll pick up here will suit a casual Instagram account just fine. However, if you're after an all-in-one camera and gaming powerhouse this isn't it - and we're not even sure such a holy grail exists yet. 

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As it stands, the 64MP main wide lens will offer up a solid image in good lighting, with a nice amount of detail and an intelligent exposure balance. Once the sun sets, though, there's a noticeable degree of fuzz entering the picture. Five years ago, such low-light and Night Mode shots may have been impressive, but they can't hold up to even cheaper non-gaming devices in 2022.

I found the ultrawide lens to be the worst of the bunch. Colors seem to go haywire and the exposure feels out of whack when using straight out the box. Detail is, as expected, reduced here as well. I did, however, find better results from that 2MP macro lens, and was pleasantly surprised with the level of detail on offer.

The front-facing under-display camera also leaves a lot to be desired. It's perfectly serviceable for the odd FaceTime, but you might be let down if needing to capture a particularly impressive moment.

RedMagic 7S Pro Battery

Interestingly, the 7S Pro only comes with a 5,000mAh battery which is surprising considering we've consistently seen 6,000mAh from Asus over the last few years. However, such a cell beats out the previous RedMagic 7 by 500mAh and still holds its own for a full day's work in the real world. During a standard day of around 3-4 hours of screen on time, I was still finishing up with a little over half the battery left. Of course, pushing this thing to its limits will change that, but I was still able to get a few solid hours of high settings gameplay here before having to plug in. 

Should you buy the RedMagic 7S Pro?

The RedMagic 7S Pro is a hardcore mobile player's dream. Offering outstanding performance, a slick design, and some neat gaming-oriented features on top, there's very little to dissuade mobile gaming aficionados here. The day to day UI experience is a little lacking over competitors - the homescreen menu, for example, is still a mess of unnecessary gadgets and there are a few translation bug bears to get over as well. However, if you're after a gaming-first device you really can't do much better than this. 

How we tested the RedMagic 7S Pro

I used the RedMagic 7S Pro as my daily driver over the course of three weeks, comparing experience and performance against the iPhone 13 Pro in-hand and against notes and findings from the RedMagic 7 Pro. I tested performance during everyday play of Magic The Gathering: Arena, COD Mobile, and PUBG, while also stress testing the system using 3D Mark's Wild Life Extreme and Slingshot Extreme benchmarks. 

You can find out more about how we make our recommendations in our full GamesRadar Hardware Policy. 

After more mobile gaming options? We're rounding up the best gaming tablets and the best gaming laptops for big-screen endeavours. For a pair of thumbsticks, though, be sure to check out our guide to the best mobile controllers on the market.