If gaming is your priority for a smartphone, the Nubia Redmagic 10 Pro is designed just for you. This large mobile gaming powerhouse offers impressive performance, a big high-quality display, and enough battery life to keep you gaming for days. It even includes a built-in fan for cooling, programmable buttons, and highly customizable gaming software. All of this is available at a relatively affordable starting price of $649 (£579) for the model with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage if you buy directly from Nubia.
There’s always a catch with aggressively priced phones. If you don’t mind the large, angular design, which isn’t very pocket-friendly, you might be concerned about the slightly awkward software, inconsistent camera performance, or the lack of wireless charging. But keep in mind that hardware like the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is usually found in much more expensive phones.
Gamer Chic
I tested the transparent RedMagic 10 Pro, which Nubia calls Moonlight. It has an eye-catching industrial design with thick metal framing and glass that lets you see some of the internals and RGB lighting that lights up when you play games. There are vents on both sides of the frame with a visible fan to keep the processor cool. This is helpful for longer gaming sessions, but it does make some noise, and you can sometimes feel the warm air coming out.
Nubia has added customizable capacitive-touch shoulder triggers on the top edges when you hold the Redmagic 10 Pro in landscape mode, along with a shiny, textured red switch that opens the gaming hub software by default. The rectangular shape and round power button remind me of Sony’s old Xperia design, but this phone is much larger and can be tricky to pull out of a jeans pocket. It measures 6.5 inches tall and 3 inches wide. The Redmagic 10 Pro is smooth and very slippery, and it has slid off tables, chairs, and my leg several times in the past couple of weeks. Surprisingly, the Gorilla Glass finish is still unscathed, but I worry about its long-term durability. It's probably best to use the clear case that comes in the box. With fan vents, limited water resistance is expected, and it won’t survive being submerged.
It's important to note that the entry-level Nubia Redmagic 10 Pro is only available in opaque black or white (Shadow or Lightspeed), and you have to pay more for the transparent models ($799), although you do get an upgrade to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. If you want the sci-fi gamer look, consider going for the transparent model.