nubia Red Magic 3s review

Competition

If we were writing this a couple of years ago, the Red Magic 3s would have no direct competition because, at the time, only Razer was offering a gaming-centric phone and a pretty expensive one too. However, the mobile gaming market has come a long way since then,, and we now know what to look for. But not a lot has changed since our last review of the Red Magic 3, and the market situation remains pretty much the same. Although, we found two new phones worth entering the list.

Let's start with the direct rival from Xiaomi's camp - the Black Shark 2 Pro. Although we've only reviewed the older version with Snapdragon 855, the Pro variant offers the same upgrade to the vanilla version as the Red Magic 3s upgrades over the Red Magic 3. So similar user experience should be in place.

This also means that our view on the two hasn't changed either. The Black Shark 2 Pro is by no doubt the more sensible choice if you are looking for a more all-round smartphone experience in 2019. However, you will be missing on the active cooling system and the sweet 90Hz refresh rate screen. To our surprise, the former isn't one of those gimmicky features, and it lowers surface temperature by a bunch while extending the maximum performance period as in, the SoC doesn't throttle as early as the Black Shark 2 does, for example. And this time around, nubia's software isn't such a big issue if you don't count the messy translation and confusing menus here and there. Still, the Black Shark 2 Pro would definitely deliver better software experience of the two.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro • Asus ROG Phone II ZS660KL

Our next recommendation falls more into the premium segment. The Asus ROG Phone II is by far the best gaming-oriented phone you can get right now. But at almost twice the price. Higher-refresh rate screen (120Hz OLED), more sophisticated build, a big ecosystem with accessories, and considerably more polished gaming experience as a whole. It has those useful Air Triggers as well. It's needless to say that you are paying a price premium for all that.

OnePlus 7T • Realme X2 Pro

Another great all-rounder with 90Hz display is the recently released Realme X2 Pro. The phone is available in almost all markets in which nubia's contender is offered and when you match storage on both, the X2 Pro is still cheaper at €450. It's definitely worth considering as it offers good battery life, absurdly fast charging and snappy performance to fill up those 90 frames per second.

Verdict

It all boils down to how much you need a gaming phone and how much you are willing to spend on one because the nubia Red Magic 3s lacks in important departments like the camera and market-ready software. Clearly, this phone has been made with gaming in mind,, and everything else comes second.

Those issues aside, the handset's gaming capabilities are spot on - long battery life for those long gaming-infused commute hours, excellent price/performance ratio (one of the cheapest Snapdragon 855+-powered smartphones on the market) and nifty shoulder triggers that come in handy in many gaming titles on the Play Store. The sustained maximum performance and considerably cooler surface temperature during long gaming sessions is hard to challenge as well.

So if mobile gaming is your thing, the nubia Red Magic 3s is one of the sensible options on the market as long as you are willing to sacrifice an up-to-date camera setup and some of the small issues we had with the software.

Pros

• The touch triggers are awesome.
• Built-in active cooling fan is not too loud, provides good sustained performance and lowers surface temperature.
• Extra long battery life.
• The stereo loudspeaker setup sounds great.
• Excellent price/performance ratio.

Cons

• The capacitive triggers lack sensitivity and haptic feedback adjustment.
• No microSD card slot.
• No NFC.
• Every custom bit of software nubia put into the otherwise vanilla ROM is confusing and poorly translated.
• Camera setup isn't versatile and drags behind the competition in almost all regards.