Introduction

Since delving into reviewing laptops, mobile gaming has become something I am more focused on as of late, as opposed to traditional PC gaming. I even find myself playing some mobile games on my PC thanks to emulator apps on PCs and laptops. Not only that, but phones these days can be decent emulators for older "retro" consoles too, allowing those fond of "retro" gaming to get that fix while on the go, or just simply untethered from a traditional screen. But what about a phone that's "built for gaming"? What if being a phone comes second?



The REDMAGIC 7 is nubia's latest gaming-focused Android-based phone and just might be one of the fastest gaming phones available right at this very moment. Be that as it may, the REDMAGIC 7 does things in a clever way and boasts several features that let it stand out from other gaming-focused phones from popular brands, such as ASUS, Lenovo, and Razer. The first thing that might stand out for many is the "RGB fan" that helps keep this phone cool. Yes, that is right, this phone has a little fan inside, and that fan quietly spins up to a rather impressive 20,000 RPM.

Boasting some truly impressive specifications, the model I have here has 18 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, while two other models with less RAM and storage are available as well depending on where on the globe you are. Running Android 12 as the base, the RedMagic 5.0 OS is a fresh update from nubia, on our global version of the phone that packs that weird 18 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The 4 nm SnapDragon 8 Gen1 octa-core CPU boosts up to 3 GHz, while a rather small 4500 mAh battery keeps it juiced. More specifications are below:

Unboxing

The REDMAGIC 7 comes in a pretty fancy box with a combination of action-focused art panels on each surface. I can't help think that it's a box for something other than a gaming-oriented phone, like a card game. The art is nice and really shows that thought was put into this box and the first experience you get with this product.


Inside the box, we find a rubberized sleeve with cutouts, a USB 3.0 Type-C cable, and 65 W GaN US charger. There is also a SIM tool and some paperwork inside the box.

A Close Look

Remember that this REDMAGIC 7 is a phone for gaming, and its features as such focus on giving us gamers added gaming features that are useful and easy to use, such as the shoulder touch panels. The 720 Hz touch-polling for the main screen is fast, and combined with the dual shoulder panels, makes for gaming experiences that are fully customizable.


The REDMAGIC 7 allows you to drag and drop where each 500 Hz shoulder panel emulates part of the screen, creating some interesting options for most games. Add ADS and trigger buttons for FPS games or a gas and a brake button for driving games, leaving your thumbs free for greater in-game movement or other commands and you've got an ultra-responsive gaming device with built-in triggers, which really makes this REDMAGIC 7 stand out. The provided case has cutouts for the triggers and other important bits, and really adds a nice feel to the phone, too.


This isn't REDMAGIC's first phone, either, if that "7" didn't point out the obvious, and do not be confused: this is first and foremost a gaming device and was designed as such. The red button on the side that might make for a "silent mode" on other phones here on the REDMAGIC 7 enables a gaming mode that pushes everything else out of focus and puts gaming and the added abilities this phone has for it front and center.


There are also a decent number of "plug-ins" you can add to each app on your phone from within this gaming space, and you have the ability to tweak performance to favor battery life if you would like, or have it blazing fast and churning the juice away.


We find a 64 MP camera in the middle of the back, with three separate lenses and a flash down below. The secondary lenses are 8 MP and 2 MP, respectively, with varied aperture angles. For video capabilities, we get 8K at 30 FPS and 4K at both 30 FPS and 60 FPS.


Next to the camera array is the small fan that lights up in "RGB" when used. nubia calls the entire cooling solution "ICE8.0 Cooling," and it includes more than just the fan. There are layers of stuff all packaged nicely to work with the fan you can see some of through the glass back. I'm not completely sure the fan is needed, but given it does put out a fair amount of air, which is felt, it can't be doing any harm. Fortunately, there are easily accessible controls for this fan, so you can turn it on or off as you want. There are several vents associated with the fan and its airflow. One vent right next to the fan seems to act as an exhaust.


There is a vent at the middle of the REDMAGIC 7's back, and a third opposite the very first. These two last vents operate as intakes and lessen the overall tone of the fan spinning.


This phone supports dual SIM cards and has a headphone jack; the SIM tray has a gasket and sits on the bottom next to the USB 3.0 Type-C port. The headphone jack sits on the other end, at the top.