As the mobile games market continues to grow, dedicated gaming handsets are rapidly increasing in popularity.
These devices are more than capable as regular smartphones, but come with a few features specifically designed to enhance the gaming experience. While the likes of Asus and Razer are leading the way, Nubia’s Red Magic sub-brand has has managed to successfully muscle in on this burgeoning sector.
With the Red Magic 5G, it looks to take this to the next level. The 6.65in AMOLED display comes sporting a staggering 144Hz refresh rate, higher than nearly all its rivals. Graphic-intensive gaming is one of the few things that really test phones to their limits, so to have this level of refresh rate to call on is highly impressive.
This should be helped by the inclusion of the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865 processor, which manufacturer Qualcomm describes as being able to support ‘desktop level gaming features’.
The other big feature here is an advanced active air cooling system. A spinning fan and heat-sink chamber work together to reduce core temperature by up to 18°C, meaning the phone is able to support long gaming sessions.
This should also help to ensure the device doesn’t overheat when taking advantage of the staggering 55W wired charging, just short of Oppo’s class-leading 65W speeds. There’s no wireless charging here, but a 4500mAh battery means you won’t need to connect to the power very often.
We’ve got this far down the article without mentioning cameras, reflecting the fact that they often take a back seat on gaming phones. The Red Magic 5G comes with a triple rear setup, although the 64Mp main and 8Mp ultrawide is supplemented by 2Mp macro lens as opposed to a dedicated telephoto.
On the front, you’ll get an 8Mp selfie camera, which also supports face unlock. However, you’ll probably prefer using the optical in-display fingerprint scanner, which Nubia has brought to the Red Magic line for the first time.
Also, you might have guessed it – this phone comes with 5G. The latest cellular technology should allow for enhanced gaming experiences while out and about. There’s even a 3.5mm headphone jack here, so there really are very few compromises.
Gaming phones are typically on the more colourful end of the spectrum, and the Red Magic 5G is no different. In addition to Black, the Mars Red and Cyber Neon models should turn a few heads.
All these high-end specs suggest this phone would come with a price tag to match, so it’s refreshing to see it undercut almost all flagships. While we only have Chinese pricing currently, current conversion rates suggest the 8GB RAM/128GB storage baseline model for just £430/US$540, while the high-end 16GB/256GB option will set you back £570/US$710.
While we can’t be sure until we see the phone for ourselves, it looks like the Red Magic 5G will be able to compete with the best gaming phones on the market. Expect more coverage as we approach an expected April global launch.
Related stories for further reading
Author: Anyron Copeman, Senior Staff Writer
As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.