Qualcomm is gearing up to announce its next flagship silicon next month, the Snapdragon 8 Elite, but before that unveiling, we want to provide some impartial thoughts on the REDMAGIC 9S Pro, an Android gaming smartphone that is kitted out with the best-in-class hardware you could ask for, including the upgraded version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
The unit we got our hands on after scaling a boatload of import hurdles, retails for $899, making it decent if you compare the specifications on paper with other leading brands. Overall, the ‘price to performance’ ratio of the REDMAGIC 9S Pro gave us an unmatched surprise and made us conclude that Android flagships of this caliber do not necessarily have to be expensive, but there is certainly ample room for improvement.
The REDMAGIC 9S Pro is a ‘tanky’ piece of technology that is somewhat heavy, but will likely stand the test of time
What we really appreciate is the step that the company took is bucking the trend where technology behemoths like Samsung and Apple fail to provide crucial accessories. With the REDMAGIC 9S Pro, you get everything you could ask for, such as a cable with a notably thick wire, along with a power brick that delivers some meaningful wattage to pump up that large 6,500mAh cell in the shortest time possible. The plastic case bundled is more or less for aesthetics purposes because, in just a couple of days, it was riddled with scratches. Apart from that, a bevy of paperwork is present, but let us set that aside and appreciate the build quality.
For lack of a better word, the REDMAGIC 9S Pro is ‘tanky,’ and its design gives off a faint vibe from Samsung’s Galaxy Note series thanks to the sharper corners, minus the S-Pen, along with an aluminum frame that is as sturdy as some of those ludicrously pricey flagships. The rear side bears a unique look, with several printed labels, including the active ‘COOLING SYSTEM’ one, as if the company is insanely proud of these markings. In short, it looks as if the design team spared no expense in using premium materials to craft the smartphone because it screams high quality.
Daily driving the REDMAGIC 9S Pro is a breeze, but some software bugs and issues could have easily been avoided
In a nutshell, the REDMAGIC 9S Pro is one of the snappiest devices we have ever used, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 16GB RAM, and UFS 4.0 storage combination pretty much guaranteeing that no matter what you do on this smartphone, or how fast you do it, the flagship is keeping pace with you. The display uses AMOLED technology, and for a device with a 6.8-inch screen, the 2,480 x 1,116 resolution appears quite crisp. The company claims that the REDMAGIC 9S Pro can reach a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, and while we did not use any external equipment or app to test that out, the handset gets visibly bright outdoors.
The 120Hz refresh rate makes life so much simpler, and once you stumble into the Settings menu, you will be greeted with endless customization options, including one where you can adjust the refresh rate. To maximize battery life, we set this value to ‘Auto,’ though given the size of the battery, it likely would not have mattered if we let the REDMAGIC 9S Pro run at the maximum supported refresh rate of 120Hz. Aside from this, personalization options are plentiful, with the ‘Features’ menu providing an extra degree of convenience to improve user experience. These options let you tweak the sensitivity of the touch sensors to prevent erroneous touches.
You can also bring up extra functions based on various finger movements, and there is also an option to toggle the flashlight by shaking the REDMAGIC 9S Pro. Some of these options were useful, while others were just plain gimmicky, and we doubt that users will practice getting used to this interface, which goes against their muscle memory. One unique addition to the smartphone is the ‘Cooling fan’ and you can adjust its speed based on your preference. Unfortunately, we found this feature less useful because the phone would get slightly hot to the touch, but nothing that sizzled our palms or fingers.
Coming to the bugs, these can be ignored, but we still hoped that if some software optimizations were given priority over adding some features that users would quickly forget about, the experience would be pristine. For instance, messaging apps like WhatsApp include the option to unlock it using a fingerprint. However, even after registering your fingerprint, the input logo gets stuck on the screen, requiring a single press of the power button to turn off the display before it goes away.
There are also instances where we would swipe down to check out our notifications, and when we tapped on a message to continue, our touch inputs would not get registered, forcing us to resort to pressing the power button again. Also, during our time with the REDMAGIC 9S Pro, it has completely hung out on us a grand total of two times, which is acceptable, but we strongly recommend the guys in the quality control department give this area a thorough inspection before officially launching their next handset. Last but certainly not least, we had problems using the camera.
The camera app’s behavior was sporadic and often failed to initiate at times
Where gaming smartphones can often bring unrivaled performance to the table, these devices can definitely take a turn for the worst in other areas. Apart from taking a few test shots to personally examine the image quality, we could not provide impartial results in varying lighting conditions as the camera app would fail to start.
The surprising thing about this bug is that when we used our messaging app suite to send images or videos, the process was seamless; it is just that the camera app was giving us the most trouble. Since we continue to conduct various tests on the REDMAGIC 9S Pro, the camera side of things will have to wait. We have seen imaging results from other reviewers, and let us just conclude that there is much room for improvement.
Battery life outpaces the competition, making it an instant buy for those who want endurance over everything else
The 6,500mAh battery of the REDMAGIC 9S Pro is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of its strongest traits, and we cannot praise the company enough for taking this bold step to add a generously sized capacity. We have a ‘power user’ style of smartphone usage, where we are constantly bombarded with email notifications, X (formerly known as Twitter) alerts, messages, and a barrage of pings from Facebook Workplace. In short, our device is always busy, and always connected to Wi-Fi. Somehow, before we are done with the entire day and tuck ourselves into bed, we still have between 20-30 percent of juice left over.
During a bus commute that lasted more than 16 hours, the REDMAGIC 9S Pro was always connected to mobile data, managed to outlast the entire trip, and still had some battery remaining to call for a ride-hailing service. In short, getting nine hours of screen-on time is an easy task for this flagship. Where competing brands employ various software techniques that limit the chipset’s frequency to apps that reduce battery consumption just to squeeze out an extra hour, the REDMAGIC 9S Pro definitely one-ups the competition. If battery life is a ‘make or break’ affair for you, this smartphone will deliver above your expectations.
The battery supports up to 80W wired charging, which we confirmed when we used the included cable and plugged it into one of our GaN power bricks. The cool thing about this feature is that a unique animation plays on the home screen based on how much wattage is received by the REDMAGIC 9S Pro, so it is a nice touch.
Conclusion - Superb hardware that would make the REDMAGIC 9S Pro a 10/10 device, but the software hampered the experience
A Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 1TB of storage pretty much means that you are carrying notebook computing power in your pocket. The robust build quality will last you for years, even though we doubt that this model will receive any annual software updates, but it is still an excellent perk to have. The REDMAGIC 9S Pro will keep pace with your lightning-fast fingers and the truckloads of customization and gesture options will force you to get your tinkering juices flowing.
However, the total package is somewhat incomplete, and whatever bugs that were encountered that may or may not have been addressed prior to this smartphone’s release, it is the synergistic roles of hardware and software is what ultimately decides the user experience. Whatever name the company decides to name its Snapdragon 8 Elite flagship, we certainly hope our concerns are tackled. After all, which smartphone brand does not want to be successful in a cutthroat business?
If you are interested in getting the REDMAGIC 9S Pro, Amazon is running an attractive discount on the flagship, with this exact model sporting 16GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage, getting a $50 discount coupon, bringing its price down to $849. In terms of ‘price to performance,’ that is a stellar deal and one that you should not miss out on.
