nubia Red Magic 7 Pro review

Introduction and specs

Just like last year, the new Red Magic 7 series from nubia comes in two flavors - standard and Pro. We already reviewed the vanilla model, so we know what to expect from the higher tier. After all, the two phones are fairly similar, with only a couple of marginal differences. Or maybe not so marginal?

Perhaps one of the most notable advantages of the 7 Pro over its non-Pro sibling is the battery. The 7 Pro adds an extra 500 mAh over the 4,500 mAh but still uses a 65W PD 3.0 charger. That applies to the Global market. The Chinese counterpart gets a speedier 135W-capable brick.

Then we have the UD selfie camera, which has helped a bigger screen-to-body ratio, and it's a novelty only a few smartphones on the market have. ZTE has a history with this type of approach, releasing the world's first commercially available UD camera. However, the screen diagonal has remained 6.8," and the refresh rate has gone down from 165Hz to 120Hz. Arguably, this wouldn't be an issue as there are hardly any games that can take advantage of such a fast refresh rate.

ZTE nubia Red Magic 7 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 166.3x77.1x10.0mm, 235g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back, aluminum frame; Pressure sensitive zones (500Hz touch-sensing), Built-in cooling fan, Aviation aluminum middle frame.
• Display: 6.80" AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, 600 nits, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 387ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 18GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 12, Redmagic 5.0.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.97", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 13mm, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8", 1.22µm, under display.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps; Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 65W - Global, Fast charging 135W, 100% in 15 min (advertised) - China, Power Delivery 3.0.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; 3.5mm jack.

Of course, the chassis is slightly different, but the design language is familiar, and so is the rest of the hardware. All of the iconic Red Magic features that make the series stand out are here as well. That includes the built-in cooling fan, which, although it may sound gimmicky at first, it's pretty helpful for sustained performance. An important aspect of every gaming phone.

If you are wondering whether the vanilla option is more sensible at about €630 starting price compared to the €799 Red Magic 7 Pro, continue reading as we try to answer that question in the following pages. Either way, the Pro option is still pretty competitive for the feature set.

Unboxing the ZTE nubia Red Magic 7 Pro

The box is identical to the one holding the standard version and contains the same things - user manuals, the 65W Power Delivery 3.0 charger and a corresponding USB-C to USB-C cable.

The transparent silicone case is also at hand, which is nice because it won't fully conceal the design.