More than two years ago there was no such thing as a smartphone for gaming. However, it is now a long time ago, in the Reiwa era, a category called "gaming smartphone" has been created. Even Asus and Xiaomi are putting out (new products coming soon). As for Razer, there are two types. Do you need that? On the other hand, the OnePlus 7 Pro's smooth screen with a refresh rate (Hz) of 90Hz is also installed in other smartphones, but when it comes to gaming smartphones, it is a screen that is cited. I was. These smartphones had a big impact on expanding the category of gaming smartphones. For Nubia Red Magic 3, it may be a situation that can not be pulled out. To be honest, I'm not very happy to hear that the next generation of OnePlus will have a fan. However, at this price with such added features, is this the best gaming smartphone?
Seriously, the Red Magic 3 has everything a gamer could want in a gaming phone. It has a large 6.65-inch screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz, stereo speakers, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, 8GB of memory, 128GB of storage, and of course the RGB lights on the back. A black and red color theme that appeals to the aesthetic sense of gamers, and has a slightly aggressive triangle motif on the back.
What is this? : 6.65 inch gaming smartphone
Price: From $480 (Japanese domestic price: 68,000 yen [excluding tax])
What I Like: Cool design, RGB lights on the back, high specs, battery life, price, lots of fun features!
What I don't like: Not waterproof. No NFC, no wireless charging, slow security patch support, software and user interface takes a while to get used to, stereo speakers sound unbalanced.
Rectangular and easy to grip
Like the Razer Phone 2, the Red Magic 3 has powerful stereo speakers, but unlike the angular Razer, it has smooth, rounded corners. The shape makes it easy to hold while playing games. The Red Magic 3 has bezels on the top and bottom of the screen, but it's smaller than the Razer Phone 2's bezel, and the bezel and screen are well balanced, giving it an outstanding look and feel.
The screen is a 6.65-inch AMOLED (2340 X 1080), and the back is made of metal and solid. Red Magic 3 is an absolute gaming smartphone. Side by side with the Galaxy Note 9 and OnePlus 66 Pro, the Red Magic 3 is much bigger. But its thick body packs a lot of features. The Red Magic 3 has a SIM tray for adding a microSD and a headphone jack. The highlight is the built-in active cooling fan, just like a PC.
The cooling fan is... unfortunately a decoration
The idea of attaching a fan to your phone is pretty crazy, but it's not a bad idea when you think about it. The heat generated by your phone affects its performance. As anyone who has played the mobile version of PUBG knows, it gets pretty hot. It would make sense to install a fan in your phone if it really does have a cooling effect.
In order to measure the effect, I conducted a stress test comparing using the phone with the fan on at full blast and not using it at all. We ran 3DMark's Slingshot Extreme graphics test 10 times in a row to see if it could hold up to intense gameplay. The result was... unfortunately, the fans seemed to be little more than decorations.
First, in 10 "Slingshot Extreme" tests without a fan, the Red Magic 3 scored 5051 points. On the other hand, when the fan is fully opened, 5255 points. Not even 5% difference. It's safe to say the difference is negligible (Red Magic 3 gives a score of 6354 after a cold boot). After a lot of testing, I noticed that my hands didn't get sweaty after starting up and playing a few games. If there's one thing you get from the Red Magic 3 when you're gaming, it's the whine of this little "hand dryer."
Gaming Mode Button
The Red Magic 3's built-in cooling fan isn't just for gaming. Nubia Red Magic 3 has a gaming mode. Mode switching is a solid physical switch. I thought the slider on the side of the terminal was a switch for muting or locking like OnePlus. But instead, by flipping this switch, a game-specific user interface that gathers game apps together appears. It also has special functions such as checking the system information of the current device. Turn on Reg Magic's gaming mode to see information such as device temperature, CPU clock speed, and data connection.
Shortcuts for screenshots are useful, as well as the ability to block incoming messages, turn the fan on and off, and 4D Shock, which allows you to feel vibrations in some games. Unfortunately, only 4 types are currently supported: PUBG Mobile, Knives Out, Asphalt 9, and QQ Speed...
What I like most about the UI is the two buttons that you can put your index fingers on when holding the Red Magic 3 sideways. These two buttons can be key mapped and function as "LR buttons". Perfect for battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG, the touch controls are customizable for the game you're playing, and the possibilities are endless.
However, it will take some time to get used to these functions and buttons. Turning on gaming mode feels overwhelming. The RGB lights on the rear of the Red Magic 3 also have a myriad of settings, which can also be changed in Game Mode (and Android settings as well).
Software should be improved
My only gripe is the Red Magic 3 software. The OS comes with Android 9, but it often freezes and crashes and is not comfortable to use. It is an extremely inconvenient level because you have to close the application and restart it. Honestly, it's not a petty complaint. I don't think there should be such a problem. On top of that, the Google Android security patch on the system is still in March, even though a new system update is scheduled for the end of June.
Battery is Superb
The saving grace is Red Magic's battery life. In the battery test, it hit a record of 13 hours and 15 minutes, beating the Razer Phone 2's 9 hours and 45 minutes. It even beats ROG's 12 hours and 57 minutes.
Camera performance is inferior to other flagships, but not bad
Red Magic 3's camera has 48 million pixels. Image quality is good despite being a single lens. In recent years, smartphones often have multiple lenses, which is why it is new. In daylight, the Red Magic 3's images were sharp (albeit unmatched by the competition), and at night it had better white balance than the Galaxy S10. All in all, the Red Magic 3's camera's image quality pales in comparison to flagships from Apple, Samsung, and Google. However, since the main is a gaming smartphone, even if it is inferior, it will not be a problem. Quite expected.
The price is shocking
But the shocking thing is the Red Magic 3's $480 price tag. It's $300 cheaper than the Razer Phone 2 and $400 cheaper than the Asus ROG, but it has better specs and longer battery life. Colorful lights and game functions are also fulfilling. Moreover, there is also a high-spec high-end model, which has 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage. The camouflage pattern is cool, and you can attach a controller and dock as an option.
The only thing I regret is the software. I would like security updates to be timely. But for gamers looking for a solid gaming phone, the Red Magic 3 is irresistible.
Summary
・Red Magic 3 has a dedicated game mode switch. There is also a built-in cooling fan to keep hot gamers cool. Of course, it also comes with RGB lights, which are essential for gamers.
・Red Magic 3 has a lot of gaming functions, but no wireless charging. No NFC, no waterproofing.
・The 6.65-inch AMOLED screen and thick metal back are sturdy.
・The Red Magic 3's stereo speakers aren't well balanced, and Wi-Fi is 802.11ac only.
Nubia Red Magic 3 is also sold in Japan, but at the time of article publication, it is said that it has not acquired the technical suit. Using this product in Japan may violate the Radio Law, so we do not recommend purchasing it.