nubia Red Magic 8S Pro review

Design and ergonomics

The new nubia Red Magic 8S Pro borrows the 8 Pro's design with just a couple of changes. For instance, the LED-illuminated cooling fan is no longer limited to the more expensive Plus version, so the standard 8S Pro also has RGB lighting. The material finishes, and color schemes are different, too. The new 8S Pro has a Midnight Black, Platinum and Aurora colorways, with the latter being a semi-transparent back cover.

Anyway, we have the Platinum version, which looks awesome. It has that industrial vibe to it, and it's basically a huge, brushed slab of metal. The ergonomics remain unchanged - flat side frame, sharp corners and edges, and flat front and back. The Platinum version doesn't seem to be fingerprint friendly, and it remains clean to the naked eye.

While it's nice to look at, it's not the easiest phone to handle. It's a big device with a huge 6.8-inch display, sharp edges and a relatively slippery metal chassis. Then again, it makes sense when holding it horizontally during gameplay. It feels secure and comfortable to hold during gaming.

Speaking of, the right side accommodates two pressure-sensitive shoulder triggers with 520Hz polling rate and 7.4ms response time. There's also the physical switch for entering the gaming mode, which nubia calls Game Space. More on that later.

The right side is also home to the exhaust vent for the cooling fan and the power button. On the left, we have the air intake and the volume rocker. The bottom houses the USB-C connector, and the main speaker grille, whereas the top has the other speaker grille and the 3.5mm audio jack.

nubia Red Magic 8S Pro

Around the front, the Red Magic 8S Pro impresses with an uninterrupted full-screen display and razor-thin bezels all-around. All bezels look symmetrical, while the under-display selfie camera can't be noticed at all.

nubia Red Magic 8S Pro

In terms of overall aesthetics, the Red Magic 8S Pro in Platinum is quite different from before. The styling is very neutral with the subtle RGB LED-illuminated piece next to the cooling fan giving it away.

Even the camera design is pretty simple - just three lenses sticking out from the back. So if you are not a fan of the usual gamer aesthetics, the Platinum colorway is probably your best bet.