nubia Red Magic 9 Pro review

Design and ergonomics

The Red Magic 9 Pro comes with a newly designed chassis, one that's a blend between the 8/8S Pro and the 7/7S Pro. It has the blocky structure of the 8 Pro, but the back is once again glass with elements suggesting the glass is transparent.

We are not going to lie, we liked how the slab of metal felt and looked like in the last two generations. It gave the 8 Pro/8S Pro that distinctive look and we believe many users liked it too.

Having said that, the 9 Pro still looks and feels pretty premium. The glass back is likely just regular glass, as nubia doesn't mention Corning or any other reputable brand. The handset comes in Black, Black/Transparent and Silver variants and we obviously have the Black/Transparent one. It's not entirely transparent, though, but the screws and the entire plate put together a transparent-like, industrial look.

The best thing about the new design is probably the camera module. It's completely flush and sits behind the glass panel, so the back of the device is almost perfectly flat. There's just a small protrusion of the LED flash, which elevates the camera island area just a little so it doesn't scratch when placing the handset on its back. Clever! Moreover, nubia moved the cameras from the center to the upper-left corner. Keep in mind that the bottom ring is actually an LED strip around the cooling fan, which you can see through the glass.

Not many things light up - just the aforementioned LED ring around the cooling fan, the "generation 09" inscription next to the camera island and the shoulder triggers on the side frame.

Speaking of, nubia says it's aviation-grade aluminum. It feels quite nice and the sharp edges are smooth enough to the touch. The two glass sheets meet the side frame without forming any awkward ridges. The phone is really well built.

The right side of the frame is a bit overcrowded as it holds not just the touch-sensitive shoulder triggers, but also the hardware switch for the Gaming Space Center, the power button and the volume rocker.

The power button is now round, sits pretty close to the bottom and the volume rocker naturally falls under the thumb, so it takes some time to get used to not pressing the volume key. We like the circular design of the power button, though, as it makes it easier to distinguish when reaching for it.

nubia Red Magic 9 Pro

Two vent openings for the cooling fan sit across each other on the side frame, you can see some of the LEDs shining through the grilles.

nubia Red Magic 9 Pro

The bottom houses the SIM card tray, USB-C connector and the loudspeaker grille. The top holds the 3.5mm audio jack, the second speaker grille, and, interestingly enough, an IR blaster.

Going around the frame, we noticed three microphones. That's because you will cover the bottom microphone with your hand when in landscape orientation. The additional microphone is located on the right side of the frame, just below the Game Space switch.

The front is business as usual. A 6.8-inch full-screen display sits behind an unnamed glass sheet. It's surrounded by thin and symmetrical bezels while the selfie camera is once again under the display. This tech has advanced enough to make it virtually impossible to spot.

While we like the design and the ergonomics are pretty nice for gaming purposes, there's no denying that the 9 Pro is a big and hefty device. It weighs in at 229 grams and is nearly 9mm thick. But with all that hardware, cooling and an impressive 6,500 mAh battery, it's no surprise.

As before, the main drawback is the lack of ingress protection, though this is also understandable given the active cooling system.