Redmagic 9 Pro launches internationally, bringing Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to mobile gamers
Nubia's mobile gaming brand, Redmagic (stylised as REDMAGIC), announced the official launch of the Redmagic 9 Pro. The phone combines hardware components and software perks designed solely for excellence in mobile gaming, such as eating chicken dinners, topping the frag count, having dual-digit KDAs, and what have you.
Flagship chipset maxed out for mobile gaming
Redmagic 9 Pro packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the 2024 flagship Qualcomm mobile platform made for 2024 premium-tier smartphones. When compared to its predecessor (Redmagic 8 Pro and its SD8G2 chip), the new phone offers up to 32% and 34% increases in CPU and GPU performance, respectively.
The chipset is also paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS4.0 storage, some of the latest (if not the latest) and the fastest memory available to consumer smartphones.
Further boosting its gaming performance is a proprietary Red Core 2 gaming chip by Redmagic that reduces CPU and GPU power consumption by 34% and 38%, respectively.
Thermal management tricks on the Redmagic 9 Pro include its ICE 13 cooling system, a 10-layer heat management array with two-layer extra-large vapour chambers (total surface 10,182mm2), a 4dB-quiet turbofan with 22,000RPM ultra-thin blades, a shark fin inlet, an energy-efficient coil, and a metal cover to dissipate heat. In true gamer opulence, the cooling system has customisable RGB fluorescent colours for its fans.
This doesn't yet include the other cooling components, like an under-screen copper foil, graphene layer, its mid-frame, a relocated camera for better heat management, and all the different copper foils around its internals. Redmagic said its entire system can lower the device temperature by up to 18°C.
Display and audio to match
Redmagic 9 Pro uses a 6.9-inch BOE Q9+ flat screen (AMOLED) with 2,480 x 1,116 pixels resolution (Full HD+). It has a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 960Hz for input responsiveness. It also features a 16MP under-display camera so that the panel has zero distractions.
Beyond gaming, it's also rated with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space and protected using Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Supported audio comes from its dual speakers with DTS:X Ultra certification, which offers gaming-specific spatial audio tuning.
The phone runs on a reskinned Android 14 called Redmagic OS 9.0, and powers it all with a 6,500mAh battery capacity that supports 80W wired fast charging (adapter included). Other perks include dual nano-SIM card slots, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB-C port (USB 3.2), Wi-Fi 7, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.3.
Naturally, its games-specific tuning would mean it has sacrifices in other areas. The triple rear camera array offers a 50MP main (Samsung GN5 sensor), 50MP ultra-wide, and 2MP macro. The official websitedid not state if it had any IP-rated water or dust resistance or indicated wireless charging.
Redmagic 9 Pro pricing and availability
Redmagic 9 Pro is available online, and it ships to Singapore. Pre-orders begin on 27 December 2023, with open sales starting on 3 January 2024. The phone comes with the following configurations and prices:
| RAM + Storage | Colourway | Official RRP (USD) | Convert to SGD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16GB RAM + 256GB storage | Sleet | US$649 | ~S$864.46 |
| 16GB RAM + 512GB storage | Snowfall | US$799 | ~S$1,064.26 |
| 16GB RAM + 512GB storage | Cyclone | US$799 | ~S$1,064.26 |
In our view, you're looking at a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phone for around a thousand dollars, which is pretty goodvalue even for non-gamers. That's assuming you can look past the lack of IP ratings or wireless charging.
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