The REDMAGIC 9 Pro: A Gaming Smartphone with a Twist

I bought this REDMAGIC with my own money, and therefore I have the freedom to tell you that these numbers are, I'll be generous and say, a little bit misleading.

When it comes to gaming smartphones, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro is one of the most powerful devices on the market. Its marketing campaign makes it very clear that it wants to be the most powerful gaming phone available, and in many ways, it delivers.

I've run stress tests on both phones, including the S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro, and OnePlus 12, and the REDMAGIC scores higher than any of them in terms of benchmarks. However, it's worth noting that these results may be skewed by the presence of an external cooler, which can give the phone a significant performance boost.

But how does the REDMAGIC perform in real-world gaming? I started with a stress test on both phones, running 3DMark Steel Nomad at 100% load for 20 minutes. The S24 Ultra burned only 11% of its battery during this time, while the REDMAGIC burned a whopping 18%. That's a significant difference, especially considering that the S24 has a much smaller battery to begin with.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Is it worth sacrificing battery life for more performance?" And my answer is, maybe. But it's worth noting that the REDMAGIC doesn't throttle its performance back like some other phones do when they start to get too hot. Instead, it just keeps running and pumping out power until something breaks.

Of course, this comes at a cost. When I'm running the phone at high temperatures, I can feel it getting incredibly warm. The frame of the phone gets so hot that I don't even want to touch it anymore. It's not just uncomfortable; it's also a safety concern.

So, is the REDMAGIC 9 Pro worth it? If you're looking for a gaming smartphone that can deliver top-notch performance and don't mind sacrificing some battery life, then yes, it's definitely worth considering. But if you're on a budget or prefer a phone that won't overheat itself to death, you may want to look elsewhere.

One of the things I will say is that REDMAGIC does allow for more customization when it comes to fan speed. They offer turbo mode and other options that can help keep temperatures under control, but at times it feels like they don't care about user comfort.

Outside of gaming, however, the REDMAGIC 9 Pro doesn't really stand out from other flagships on the market. It's a solid device with good cameras and fast charging, but it's not particularly innovative or groundbreaking in any way.

For context, when you look at the marketing for the REDMAGIC, it is very clear that they want this to be the most powerful gaming phone you can buy. And in many ways, it delivers. The experience is good. I will certainly say.

The fluidity of running this on like high settings and like you know 120 FPS or more. Like, this is good, this feels nice. That fan is spinning, and there's certainly airflow that goes through, but it's not loud. I've got the auto mode; you can manually set it to like turbo mode, but to me, even when the fans crank at 100%, it's not that loud.

For normal gaming, this is solid. But outside of the triggers, I'll say that this experience isn't really that different than something like using a Galaxy S24 where you really see the advantage of a gaming smartphone is in the benchmarks.

I'm going to start a stress test on both phones, and we'll talk a little bit about the performance that you're gonna get.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is not a sponsored videoon the REDMAGIC 9S Pro.Because if you're like me,you've seen ads and adsand ads for this phoneall over the place.Instead I said, no thank you sponsorship.And yes, I will instead give you $900,and buy one for myself.Because I'm incredibly curious.Is anyone really meant to buya gaming phone in 2024?I mean, I get it.A few years ago,when like the first Razer Phone came out,there's a real sales pitchto buy a gaming phone,but fast forward to today,and any reasonable flagshipis gonna have the exact same chip.It's gonna have vapor chamber cooling,a big battery.And the problem is that,typically gaming phoneshave major downsides.You're gonna have subpar cameras,poor software support,a huge chunky build.So today, let's take a look at thisREDMAGIC 9S Pro,which has taken over my subscription feed,to see is this actually worth it.Now, while I did pay $900 for this phone,I will say that you can get it cheaperif you buy it directlyfrom the REDMAGIC site.So I bought on Amazon,and for some reason on Amazon,it is a $100 more expensive than it ison the REDMAGIC site.Okay.I'm so curious.I've seen so many ads of this thing,it looks kind of cool.This is Cyclone colorwayand it supposedly has a transparent back.It does feel pretty nice.We've got a headphone jack on top.Oh my god, a headphone jack?All right.Wait a minute.I was about to like make fun of this thingfor being all dumb and stuff,but actually, that's pretty good.Let me give you some of the sales pitchon why supposedly this makes sense.So one of the first things they claimis that it is cheaperthan a traditional flagship phone,and that is true.So this is the $800 versionon the REDMAGIC site.You can get a $650 version,which just has less RAM and less storage.It also has active cooling.So if you look on the side here,you'll see a little vent.So apparently there's avery tiny 22,000 RPM fanthat will help to cool off the device.In fact, you actually can see itslightly on the inside of this side.Oh, actually no,I think, wait.Oh, I thought that was a camera.That's actually the fan itself.Oh.That's actually kind of a cool design.So you actually can see two cameras,and you got the the fan, which spins.Well, the other pitch is battery life.So this has a quite enormous6500mAh battery.I will say that's just cool.That's just a significantly bigger batterythan pretty much anyregular flagship out there.I am completely unsureof what to think about this.So we do have a case in the boxas well as well, the REDMAGIC girl.She looks like she's gonna mess you up.And a power brick.A power brick in a phone?What?Sit down.It's 2017 all over again.Have you heard aboutthe latest REDMAGIC phone?- Oh my gosh.That actually looks kind of sick. (laughs)Hit the fan button.(chuckles)Fan lights up.(laughs)- That is crazy.So there's a featurethat I've not tried yet.I was waiting for you.- Okay.- Give me a hand with it.- All right.- Okay, so hit Super Base.- Okay.- And then press on Mora.- Oh god, I already knowwhere this is going.- I don't know what this is,but it wants me to choosemy identity for Mora.- Oh my gosh.Okay.- I mean normally yougo on the Play Store,and seek this out,but this just comes with your...- Hello.- Hi.(laughs)Okay.- Oh no.No.- Oh, you got different skins.- Here's the thumbnail one.Okay, all right. (laughs)All right, that's enough.That's enough of that.All right.Have fun with your REDMAGIC.I will grab this phonewhen you are done with it.- For obvious reasons.- For very obvious reasons.- Earthquake.Hurry up, Commander.So I've been using the REDMAGICfor a little bit and I'vegot a lot of thoughts.But first and foremost,let's actually play some gamesbecause that's reallywhat this is designed for,not games with Mora.Sorry, Mora,- That's not allowed.- Okay, anyway.One of the advantages of a gaming phonespecifically with this REDMAGIC is thatit does have the triggers on the top,which is nicebecause you don't alwaysneed a controller.I'm gonna jump into COD Mobile,which is one of I thinkthe better games todemonstrate how this works.Now the way these triggers work,you just have to swipe in from the side,and you can enable it via the gaming mode.And what happens is,they essentially will tap buttonson the screen for you.So it really just emulatesif you just like touch the bottom leftor bottom right,you can kind of adjust it.The advantage there is that,certainly for like gamesthat have like shooting involved,it's a lot easierbecause you don't have tomove your thumbs as much.You can actually use it a little bitlike a regular controller.So you can see here with the triggers,if I tap left,it's going down to my sight,and if I tap right, I can shoot.The experience is goodI will certainly say.The fluidity of running this on likehigh settings and likeyou know, 120 FPS or more.Like, this is good,this feels nice.If I can say some positive thingsabout this first,this is a gaming phone,and it does feel good as a gaming phone.You know, like yes,it's a little bit onthe bigger chunkier sidewhen it's in your pocket,but when you hold it in your hands,it feels nice.That fan is spinning,and there's certainlyairflow that goes through,but it's not loud.I've got on the auto mode,you can manually set itto like turbo mode, but to me,even when the fans crank at 100%,it's not that loud.For normal gaming, this is solid.But outside of the triggers,I'll say that this experience isn't reallythat differentthan something like using a Galaxy S24where you really see the advantageof a gaming smartphoneis in the benchmarks.So I'm going to start a stress teston both phones,and we'll talk a little bit aboutthe performance that you're gonna get.So for context, when youlook at the marketingfor the REDMAGIC,it is very clear that they want thisto be the most powerfulgaming phone you can buy.And if you look at the benchmarks,you actually will seethat that is largely true.So we've run this REDMAGICagainst few other phones,mostly the S24 Ultra,but also like the iPhone 15 Pro,and the OnePlus 12.And this does score higherthan any of those other phones,generally speaking.Let me remind you my friends,this is not a sponsored video.I bought this REDMAGIC with my own money,and therefore I havethe freedom to tell youthat these numbers are,I'll be generous and say,a little bit misleading.So with our S24strapped to the REDMAGIC Cooler 5 Pro,what you're gonna see here is thatan external cooler will get youalmost the exact same score.So one of the things I will say,is that they allow,like when the REDMAGIC is really cranking,yes it has a fan.Yes, that is able tokeep the processor cool,but the frame of the phonegets incredibly hot to the point wherewhen you're running this benchmarkfor like 10 minutes,it's like hotter than I want to touch.Like it is incredibly, incredibly warm,and that's like thewhole frame of the phonein the back.Like it just,it feels like REDMAGIC don't care aboutthe skin temperatures.They don't care about youbeing able to touch it.They just let that thing run.Whereas with the S24 Ultra,I'm running it with a cooler right now,but even without the cooler,it never gets that hot.They just throttle the performance backbefore it gets uncomfortable.Then you might think thatwith a 65 00mAh battery,that you would get great battery lifewith the REDMAGIC.And that's largely true,except when you really tax it.So if you are running something like this,which is the 3DMarkSteel Nomad stress test,it is a 20 minute full100% load on the phone.The S24 in that 20 minutesburns 11% of its battery,but the REDMAGIC burns 18%and keep in mind,that's 18% of a much larger batteryto begin with.It's really clear that to get that,you know, 10, 11, 12,13% extra performancewhen it comes to 3DMark,they're throwinga lot more power at between the LEDs,the fan, and just cranking voltagethrough that Snapdragon.Now, I wanna put a littlecaveat on all of this.We're talking benchmarks right now.No game pushes these phones this hard.They just don't, right?I mean, this is an incrediblygraphically demanding game.You're getting like 12 FPSlike the phones are absolutely doingeverything they can,but I do think it's just worth consideringthat to get that absolute max performanceout of the REDMAGIC,there is some major downsides.You might see the number and go,"Oh, it's 30% faster in Antutu."But like sure,and it also gonna burn your hands,and your battery's gonna drain fasterthan an S24 Ultra.So is that worth it?When you look at theREDMAGIC as a gaming phone,there's a lot to break down.First up, we've gottatalk about that displaybecause honestly it is pretty solid.We're looking at a 6.8 inch OLED panelthat's bright.Get up to 1,600 nits,and has pretty minimal bezels,especially for a gaming phone.Now, it might only havea 120 hertz refresh rate,which sure you could easily point outthat the ROG Phone 8,has a 165 hertz display.Here's the thing, in real world usage,that difference ispretty much non-existent.Now I will say that the LEDsthat are in the triggers are kind of neat,but it's like cool for like five minutes.I just don't wantto draw any unnecessary attentionto my waifu gaming phone.(laughs and giggles)- Captain.Stop, stop.- I surrendered.- I surrendered.You have some hand sanitizer?I don't know the last timeI cringed this hard in a video, it was,but it was at least a few weeks ago.It's been maybe even a month or two.- Was that an earthquake?Ooh.It was just a Captain's prank.- Moving on.Where was I?Performance, benchmarks, numbers.Yes, yes, yes.Okay.Other things I'm maybenot like a huge fan of,I don't like the power buttonmostly because it's really tiny,and it's tucked rightabove the gaming slider,which takes some getting used to.More often than not,I find myselfwhen I'm trying to unlock the phone,finding the slider andthen moving my finger up,like it just feels alittle bit unnecessary.Now on the audio front,it is nice to find a headphone jack.It's a very pleasant surprise in 2024.That being said, I would've likedto also see a second USB-C port,like the ROG Phone,but that's not too bad.The main thing is,well, it does have quite good speakersso they get plenty loud.There's a good amount ofseparation and clarity.But the problemis that because the grills are so small,and the kind of oddly shaped,I find myself that mosttime when I'm gaming,my fingers are coveringone or both of the speakers,which just feels like a little bitof an oversight.Performance wise, the REDMAGIC 9S Prois definitely packingsome serious hardwarewith the slightly overclocked Snapdragon8 Gen 3 inside pairedwith 16 gigabytes of RAMin my model.Although the base model does haveonly 12 gigs of RAM,but boy does it feel like REDMAGICare really pushing thischip to its limits.It's like they looked at the ideaof the you know,you look in the dictionaryfor like thermal throttlingand safeguards and go,"Nah, nah, nah, we don't need any of that."Now, to be fair,I don't wanna oversell the battery asbeing bad or anything like that.If you are a little bit more conservativewith your settings,and not just doingbenchmarks all the time,you can easily get a full day of usewith some moderate gaming,and when you do need to charge upthe 80 watt charging is legit.Still though, I just can'thelp shake the feelingthat REDMAGIC are playing a little fast,and loose with power management.It's great for benchmark numbers,and mostly avoiding throttling.It does a good job, but you just,it's hot, man.It just feels likethey're cranking this chipbeyond it's sort of ideal window.Now let's talk aboutthe real elephant in the room,the software.It's, what's the word?Not great.It's ah, okay.Here's the thing.Like I don't want to unfairly point outsome of the smaller thingsthat don't matter, right?Like of course there are some rough edges,and things like typosthat are pretty much everywhere,including one that I could not forgive,screenshot it so you can see it.They couldn't decide on howto capitalize their own REDMAGIC branding.Like there's like one line,it's like a lowercase M,and then just...Imagine Samsung just spellingrandomly in one of their settings.Sam, space, sung.I would return it on the spot,but the real kicker isthe update situation.According to REDMAGIC t hemselves,and I quote,"We do regular updatesevery one to two monthsfor two plus yearswith at least one Android OS update.Let me reiterate.They promised a minimumof one major update in 2024,when Samsung are out herepromising seven years of not just updates,but full Android OS updatesfor the S24 lineup.To me, this is unacceptable.Full stop.It's like REDMAGIC, they're stuck in 2015while the rest of theindustry has moved on.Now, I guess you could arguethat hardcore gamersdon't care about updates,but like we're talking aboutlike security patches,bug fixes, new features.I mean, even if they do give youthe full two plus yearsthat they may be able to reach,and that's not for full updates.Just like for like software updatesfor like the small things like security,this stuff matterswhen you want to use it as a daily driver.I mean, you're spending a lot of moneyon this phone.I want it to actually get updatesin a timely fashionfor more than a year or two.That's just, that's not okay.You also won't be surprised to learnthat the cameras are passable, I guess?It's just clear that they've cut cornersfor budget's sake here.Now, while the mainshooter isn't terrible,it is a clear step downfrom what you would expectwith a proper flagship such as the S24.What's weird is that they've chosen to gowith an under display front facing camera,which as I'm sure youcan see is not great.Especially we have like lights aroundvery like smeary and halo-y,and for the gaming phone,I get that you don't wanna have likebig bezels and whatnot,but it just feels like a strange choicebecause who doesn't wantto use the front facingcamera on their phone?Like I feel that's likea very normal thing.For context, this iswhat the front facing camera looks likeon the S24 Ultra.Like it is night and day better.Like there's a lot of problemsI've got with the REDMAGIC,as I'm sure you're hearing,but the cameras are certainlyone of the bigger sacrifices.Look how much better this looks.All of this brings me to my biggest issuewith the entire honestlyconcept of gaming phones in 2024.It's not 2017 anymore, my friends.We have the excellentdedicated handheld PCsthat aren't limited tojust playing mobile games,and Mora.There's the Steam Deck,the ROG Ally, the Legion Go.These are all gettingbetter and more affordableall the time.The idea of your phonebeing the everything device,it's tempting, like I get it,but at what cost?The REDMAGIC 9S Pro,and really gaming phones in general,they feel like a solution to methat it's a problemthat doesn't really exist anymore.I mean, don't get me wrong,it's a capable device,but in a world where our normal phonesare getting more powerful by the day,are great for gaming,do so many other things,and if you care about gaming that much,dedicated handhelds are more accessiblethan ever.It just feels so difficultto justify these compromises.If you really care about mobile gaming,personally, I just thinkyou're better off buyinga more well-roundedflagship that is good at everything,and then buy a clip on cooler,a controller or a batterybank from time to time.Or well, I don't know.Here's a radical idea.Grab yourself a Nokia 3310,buy a Steam Deck and go out,and live your best life.Because I think it's hilarious.I think the idea of a digital nomadgoing out into the wildernesswith a Nokia 3310 and a Steam Deck,leaving the trappingsof modern society behindsounds like a great idea.Don't see a video next week,that's where I went.(upbeat instrumental music)