Nubia Redmagic Nova Review: Big Screen, Big Performance

Value When Reviewed

$499

Finest Costs At this time: Nubia Redmagic Nova

Nubia’s Redmagic model is synonymous with gaming smartphones. The corporate’s line of handsets has been featured many instances on this website, most of them gaining robust evaluations for his or her mix of efficiency and worth.

Now, the Redmagic model is showing on a bigger show with the discharge of the brand new Nova gaming pill. So, does the magic scale up? Right here’s the total Tech Advisor evaluate. 

Design & Construct

• Compact design
• Aluminium chassis
• Fingerprint sensor on the ability button

Fairly than going for an outsized building that might show unwieldy when enjoying video games, the Nova is a pleasantly compact 253.3 x 164.6 x 7.3 mm (9.97 x 6.48 x 0.29 in) and weighs in at a manageable 530g / 1.17lbs.

The body itself is an aerospace-grade aluminium shell, with controls across the edge for quantity and energy. The latter can be dwelling to the built-in fingerprint sensor to unlock the gadget. Every of the shorter edges has twin audio system, plus there’s a USB-C port for charging. 

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Turning the gadget round reveals a relatively uncommon plate alongside the highest fringe of the panel. That is the place you’ll discover a clear cowl that allows you to see the fan (together with its multi-colour LEDs which you can choose within the software program), the digicam module, elements of the interior cooling system, plus the Redmagic identify which additionally could be illuminated by the color LEDs.

That is much like what you’ll discover on the Redmagic 9S Professional and its forebears, and whereas it’s admittedly cool, the identical holds right here because it does there in that you just’ll by no means actually be capable of see the lights, as they’re all the time going through away from you. Nonetheless, they’re cool. 

The underside edge has the 5 steel pins that make up the magnetic connector with which you’ll be able to connect the optionally available Redmagic Nova Magnetic Keyboard, though that’s offered individually, as are the entire different equipment. These embrace a typical folio case, a devoted stylus, and a Redmagic gamepad to rework the gadget right into a kind of mini console. You do at the very least get a cable and 80W charger within the field, which is best than another producers. 

Alongside the highest fringe of the Nova, you’ll discover a small rounded rectangular space. That is the magnetic attachment for the stylus which additionally makes use of NFC. Nubia says a fast 1-minute cost for the stylus will get you two hours of writing time, which appears fairly respectable to me. 

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The aforementioned ICE 2.0 cooling system is a complete design, comprising 9-layers which embrace an under-screen aluminium panel, a superconducting copper foil space on the mainboard, a 3D warmth pipe such as you’d discover on a PC, an inside circulation duct, plus the 20,000RPM fan to push the air about. 

There’s no IP waterproof score talked about by Nubia, which might be because of the fan and air expulsion required to chill the circuitry, so don’t get the gadget moist. 

Following the custom of Henry Ford, you will get the Nova in a variety of colors, as long as they’re black (or Midnight). 

Display & Audio system

• 10.9-inch IPS show
• 144Hz refresh charge
• Quad audio system

The compact nature of the Nova pill is due largely to the ten.9-inch IPS LCD panel. This can be a excellent measurement for each enjoying video games handheld or with the gadget propped up on a desk and a Bluetooth controller linked.

It’s a good show too, with a 2880 x 1800 decision (16:10, 312ppi) maintaining issues clear and nicely outlined. The ultra-fast 144Hz refresh charge additionally ensures the whole lot is clean and detailed even when there are speedy adjustments occurring on the display screen – excellent for gaming. 

Response instances are speedy as nicely, with as much as 840Hz contact sampling charges. This made it straightforward to really feel accountable for issues in frantic gaming periods, because the Nova executed my instructions swiftly and with out error (the failures within the video games had been sadly all on me). 

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There are slim bezels across the fringe of the display screen, however this helps with unintentional touches as you have got someplace in your fingers to go when gripping the pill. It additionally means you don’t have any notches or punch holes within the show because the front-facing digicam is neatly ensconced within the higher bezel. 

Colors are heat and nicely balanced, with the Nova delivering a most brightness, in line with Nubia, of 550 nits. In my very own checks, the display screen managed simply over 500 nits, which is nice indoors however does wrestle a bit exterior. The reflective display screen additionally doesn’t assist issues, so that you won’t discover the Nova a completely cellular gaming platform in case you spend loads of time in strongly lit areas. 

You’ll be able to’t plug in headphones both, as there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack on the pill. This appears a bizarre omission, because the small Redmagic telephones nonetheless have the characteristic included and it’s a should if you wish to use many gaming headsets. There may be Bluetooth 5.4 although, which is a quick and steady methodology of wi-fi connection, so that you’re not with out choices. 

In fact, you’ll be able to depend on the built-in quad-speakers that are surprisingly good. They will get fairly loud earlier than starting to distort, and the sound is balanced throughout the frequency vary. They help DTS-X Extremely Sound with 3D audio, and it does make a distinction to the standard of the tones the Nova kicks out. 

The one draw back is that the audio system are positioned on the shorter sides of the pill, which can be the place your arms must be in case you’re holding the pill. So I did discover that the audio might lose a few of its high quality if I held too tight and lined them up.

Specs & Efficiency

• 3.2GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Main Model
• 12/16GB LDDR5X reminiscence
• 256/512GB UFS 4.0 storage

The Redmagic line has all the time been about efficiency over just about the whole lot else, and the Nova isn’t about to start out upsetting any applecarts. It comes with a 3.4Ghz Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Main Edge processor (that is the tweaked, quicker model of the usual Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), joined by both 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage and 12GB/16GB of LDDR5X reminiscence.

It’s a potent combine, because the Nova pill flies by way of life with out seemingly a care. Apps pop open immediately, and efficiency is usually clean and fast throughout the board. That is additionally true throughout gaming periods, as I didn’t discover the Nova struggled with something, even busy video games of graphics-heavy titles like Genshin Affect.

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This shouldn’t actually be a shock, because the pill is designed particularly for gaming and subsequently revels on this pursuit. The cooling system additionally works very nicely to maintain the Nova lukewarm more often than not, so I by no means anxious concerning the gadget overheating or changing into too toasty to carry. It’s a powerful and succesful gadget. 

Nubia Redmagic Nova benchmarks

Right here’s how the Nova fared towards its rivals in our customary efficiency benchmark checks.

Cameras

• 20Mp entrance digicam
• 50Mp rear digicam
• 4K/30fps video

Cameras on tablets stay one thing of a marmite situation for many individuals. Why on earth would you maintain up a honking large show to take images when you probably have a smartphone in your pocket? Likelihood is that the smaller gadget will even have higher cameras, because the lenses on the Nova are serviceable relatively than splendid. 

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The 50Mp rear module can get some good photographs if gentle is wealthy and the topics comparatively stationary. However something aside from that may be tough. Low gentle rapidly introduces grain, and focussing could be problematic at instances. It’s an identical state of affairs on the 20Mp front-facing digicam.

Sure, you’ll be able to rise up to 4K video, however that is solely at 30fps and doesn’t look that spectacular. The Nova does have cameras, and so they can take footage, however I wouldn’t suggest you employ them that usually. 

Listed here are a couple of examples of images taken with the Nova:

Battery Life & Charging

• 10,100mAh Twin-cell battery
• 80W quick charging
• 80W Charger included

The Nova comes outfitted with a big 10,100mAh battery, together with an 80W quick charger within the field. This can be a strong mixture.

I discovered I might get a great 4-5 hours of reasonable gaming out of the pill earlier than it wanted to be plugged in once more. Then, it’s solely round an hour to get that cell utterly refilled. When you haven’t bought that lengthy and must be again within the sport, then a 15-minute cost bought me to 39% and in half-hour the Nova replenished 70% of the battery. 

You’ll be able to in fact eke out extra life by decreasing display screen brightness and turning off another power-hungry apps and settings, however this may additionally make the expertise rather less immersive. 

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When not gaming, the Nova appeared completely happy to final all day, taking gentle web browsing, Netflix binging, and a spot of studying in its stride, with nonetheless somewhat left within the tank by bedtime. In our customary PCMark battery check, the Nova racked up 7 hours and 23 minutes, which is a good rating on this class. 

Software program

• Android 14 
• Redmagic OS 9.5
• Solely two years of safety updates

The Nova pill comes with Android 14, though it’s buried beneath the Redmagic OS 9.5 overlay. There’s a good quantity of customisation choices obtainable, with a choice of themes and icon packs included, all of which might make a huge effect on the appear and feel of the gadget. Desire a futuristic aesthetic? That’s straightforward to realize. Desire a easy vanilla Android flavour? There’s that too. 

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You’ll know that this isn’t simply Android although, as you encounter translation errors right here and there, plus the information feed that you just open by swiping proper on the House display screen is fairly horrible. With the Google model you get helpful tales by which you is perhaps genuinely , on Redmagic it feels very random and low high quality. 

However, the software program works easily and I didn’t actually encounter any crashes or issues. It’s not the prettiest, however it will get the job executed. The phrase practical involves thoughts. 

One Redmagic staple is Sport Area. That is the devoted software program suite that permits you to change varied settings – akin to when the fan comes on, CPU and GPU efficiency, stage of contact sensitivity, put in video games and tweaks for in-game controls and choices.

On the Redmagic telephones, there’s a devoted button to open Sport Area, however that is curiously lacking on the Nova pill. As an alternative, you’ll be able to entry Sport Area by swiping in from either side of the show when in a sport. It’s a incredible addition for severe avid gamers a cornerstone of the Redmagic expertise. 

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One draw back on the software program entrance is that Nubia has advised me that the Nova will solely obtain one Android model improve and safety updates will solely final for 2 years.

The latter is especially disappointing because it implies that the pill will probably develop into unsafe to make use of as soon as the updates are discontinued. Two years just isn’t an extended lifespan for a tool today, particularly when rival tablets provide considerably longer help. 

Value & Availability

The Redmagic Nova is obtainable straight from the Redmagic web site, the place it begins at £439 within the UK or $499 within the US. That will get you 12GB of RAM and 256GB of inside storage, although you’ll be able to step as much as £559/$649 for the 16GB/512GB variant.

There aren’t many gaming tablets in the marketplace for the time being. One notable mannequin is the Lenovo Legion Tab (Gen 2) which contains a 12GB/256GB complement, however solely a 3.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Nonetheless, the £400/$699 price ticket that it frequently sells for does soften the blow. 

Whereas not a devoted gaming pill, the Honor MagicPad 2 does characteristic a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for round £500, and naturally, there’s all the time the 11-inch iPad Air (2024) which options a variety of sport titles and the spectacular M1 chipset for the asking worth of £599/$599.

Any premium pill ought to present a strong platform for cellular gaming, you’ll be able to check out our greatest pill information for some wonderful choices. 

Must you purchase the Pink Magic Nova?

The Nova has loads of issues going for it. Efficiency is spectacular, the audio is sweet, and the compact design feels sturdy and sturdy. Battery life is middling, though it’s additionally quick to recharge.

General, it’s an important gaming pill, arguably the very best Android one presently obtainable, plus it isn’t costly for what it’s. 

The one disadvantage, and it’s a reasonably large one, is the dearth of promised software program help. If Nubia holds to what it has said, then the Nova might be rendered out of date in solely two years, which is way too brief a lifespan for a product pretty much as good as this. 

Specs

• Android 14 
• Pink Magic OS 9.5
• 10.9-inch IPS show, 144Hz refresh charge, 2880 x 1800 pixels, 312ppi, 16:10 ratio
• Quad audio system
• 3.4GHz Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Main Model
• 12GB/16GB LDDR5X reminiscence
• 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0
• ICE 2.0 cooling system
• 20Mp f/2.0 entrance digicam
• 50Mp f/1.8 rear digicam
• Embedded Fingerprint sensor in Energy button
• WiFi 6
• NFC (no funds help)
• Bluetooth 5.4
• USB-C charging port
• 10,100mAh Twin-cell battery
• 80W quick charging (charger included)
• 253.3 x 164.6 x 7.3 mm (9.97 x 6.48 x 0.29 in)
• 530 g (1.17 lb)