REDMAGIC 9S Pro Review

The REDMAGIC 9S Pro builds on what made the original 9 such a great gaming phone. While the “S” often indicates slight improvements over what came before, REDMAGIC has still managed to push the envelope when it comes to performance, firmly positioning the 9S Pro as the fastest gaming phone around. Here is my review.

Oh, snap!

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 “Leading Version” processor is the star of the spec sheet. This is a “turbocharged” unit boasting CPU speeds of 3.4 GHz and GPU speeds of up to 1 GHz. More importantly to me, for a mobile device at least, is the improved energy efficiency, as that often means less heat and/or less battery drain. When it comes to gaming performance, you can expect enhanced performance by a few frames, in my testing across Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Mobile.

Other spec highlights include up to 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage, up to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, the improved ICE 13.5 cooling system with fan, a 6,500 mAh battery with 80 W fast-charging and pass-through support, and shoulder buttons that make playing shooter and racing games a dream.

Screens to die for

I continue to be blown away by REDMAGIC’s screens and the 9S Pro display is just as stunning as ever. The 6.8” AMOLED full-screen coverage (93.7% to be exact) makes all media, not just games, pop. When users are gaming, however, the 120 Hz refresh rate keeps games looking super smooth.

Let’s game

As expected, the RedMagic 9S Pro is a gaming powerhouse that easily plays all mobile games. Some might call it “too powerful,” but I say that it’s good to have that additional power to help future-proof the device for upcoming games that could be more demanding. Either way, I experienced no slowdown whatsoever while using the 9S Pro, so mobile gamers shouldn’t worry.

Game Space remains a great software addition that works well to catalog users’ games and settings. While users don’t have to use it, I’ve found it very useful for quickly tuning different game modes and profiles.

Ice cold

With great power can often come with great heat, but the 9S Pro makes a valiant effort to handle the buildup of warmth. The pass-through charging prevents the battery from getting too hot, and the built-in cooling works well with and without the fan enabled. For the most part, the 9S Pro remains warm but not uncomfortably so.

Two drawbacks

The two main drawbacks of the REDMAGIC 9S Pro are hidden beneath the big, beautiful screen, and they aren’t going to be issues for everyone. First, the under-display front camera. To allow for an uninterrupted full-screen experience, REDMAGIC has opted against a camera cutout or notch. I think this is the best choice for a gaming phone, but I still have to mention the reduced quality of the front-facing camera. If you’re a big selfie taker, then you may be underwhelmed.

The rear camera is very similar to the 9 Pro’s unit, delivering perfectly acceptable images. Once again, I’m very happy to see the perfectly flat back, with no ugly camera bumps. This is great for gripping the device while gaming.

The 9S Pro’s other pain point is the fingerprint sensor. Despite trying workarounds like registering multiple fingers to unlock the device, I found it bizarrely inconsistent. Thankfully, users can simply rely on unlocking the phone with their face, pattern, or code, which may be preferable anyway.

Disclosure: Review sample provided by REDMAGIC.