Redmagic 7S Pro review: Absolute power is not everything
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After the Redmagic 7 and Redmagic 7 Pro, here I am with the full review of the Redmagic 7S Pro. This particular gaming smartphone does not innovate too much compared to its predecessors but it does offer a new transparent color and a more efficient SoC. However, do these new improvements make it a credible alternative to the ROG Phone 6 Pro from Asus?
Good
- 120 Hz AMOLED screen with no bezels
- Cool transparent and backlit design
- High quality stereo speakers
- Unmatched performance without overheating
Bad
- Disappointing camera module
- Battery life is a little poor when going through intense game sessions
- No IP rating
- Unclear update policy
- Too similar to previous models
The Redmagic 7S Pro in brief
The Redmagic 7S Pro is a high-end gaming smartphone that is an improved version of the Redmagic 7 Pro that I reviewed. It has exactly the same specifications apart from a slightly different cooling system, an additional 18GB of RAM, a new transparent color and a new, more powerful SoC.
The Redmagic 7S Pro does not fundamentally reinvent the wheel this year. However, as incremental as its improvements may be, it offers a more accomplished and, above all, more affordable specs-to-price ratio than Asus' ROG Phone 6 Pro, the current champion of gaming smartphones in 2022.
The Redmagic 7S Pro will be available starting August 9. Those are your options:
- Redmagic 7S Pro in the color variant Mercury or Supernova with 18 GB RAM + 512 GB ROM: $899
- Redmagic 7S Pro in the color variant Obsidian with 12 GB RAM + 256 GB ROM: $729
You made your decision and will surely buy the Redmagic 7S Pro? Then don't miss this early bird offer from August 2 to August 8. You'll buy a $1 coupon and will receive a $30 discount once the phone is available on August 9.
Note: This review was conducted in partnership with the manufacturer, Nubia. Nubia has no control or influence over the editorial content or the review score.
Almost a twin
The Redmagic 7S Pro is almost identical to the Redmagic 7 Pro in terms of design. There is a transparent design at the back, RGB LEDs, haptic triggers, and the famous integrated fan in the rear. But the Redmagic 7S Pro does feature a new Mercury color scheme as well as an improved ICE 10.0 cooling system.
What I liked:
- Transparent design at the back
- Completely bezel-less screen
- Haptic triggers
- 3.5mm jack
What I disliked:
- Rather massive form factor
- No IP rating
- No microSD port
- Speaker locations along the sides
The Redmagic 7S Pro is a rather massive smartphone with dimensions that measure 166.27 x 77.1 x 9.98 mm and its weight of 235 g. It comes in three color choices. The Obsidian version arrives in classic opaque black, where the Supernova version that I reviewed arrived in black albeit with a transparent back, while the Mercury variant, the new color, is white and transparent, a bit like the Nothing Phone (1).
With this transparent back, we can see some of the components inside like the internal fan that spins at 20,000 rpm and lights up with RGB LEDs. There's also a metal plate that runs across the back from top to bottom and sports an urban camouflage pattern. This is one of the ten layers that make up the ICE 10.0 cooling system, which is supposed to lower the internal temperature of the smartphone by up to 3°C.
We have ventilation grills along the right edge and back, so you can say goodbye to any IP rating for waterproofing. The camera module does not stand out in relief. The aluminum frame has straight metallic edges and rounded corners., while the haptic triggers have a touch sampling rate of 520 Hz and a response time of 7.4 ms.
The screen of the Redmagic 7S Pro has a completely bezel-less screen that is free from notches or punch holes thanks to the selfie camera that remains hidden underneath the display. On the left edge is a small red switch a la OnePlus that lets you switch to the Game Space menu quickly.
Redmagic 7S Pro display
The screen of the Redmagic 7S Pro has the unique selling point of being completely bezel-free and devoid of notches or punch holes thanks to a selfie camera that remains hidden under the display.
What I liked:
- 120 Hz refresh rate
- 960 Hz touch sampling rate
- Very customizable colorimetry
- Almost 100% edge-free (no notch or punch)
What I disliked:
- -
I don't have anything that is new which needs to be said about the screen of the Redmagic 7S Pro because it is exactly the same as the Redmagic 7 Pro. We find the same 6.8-inch AMOLED panel with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, a Full HD+ resolution, and a touch sampling rate of up to 960 Hz.
The maximum brightness of 600 nits is just right to ensure good readability under all circumstances. The fact that there is no notch or punch hole camera and the screen has no chin or forehead allows for a good level of immersion when gaming. You can very subtly perceive the selfie camera, but I find it significantly better hidden than on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. If you don't stick your retina to the screen under bright light, the camera under the screen is imperceptible.
Runs hot with a cool head
The RedMagic 7S Pro is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. This is its main selling point. There is also the famous Red Core 1 dedicated gaming chip that handles haptic feedback, audio, and RGB lighting to offload the SoC.
What I liked:
- Best raw performance on the market
- Temperature control is equivalent to the ROG Phone 6 Pro
What I disliked:
- -
The SoC remains the main difference between the Redmagic 7S Pro and the Redmagic 7 Pro, which makes it stand out from the other two handsets in a stark manner. On paper, it does indeed fare better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Redmagic 7 Pro, and even scores better than the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro, which had its X mode enabled to boost performance.
| Redmagic 7S Pro | Redmagic 7 Pro | Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Wild Life | Too powerful | Too powerful | Too powerful |
| 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test |
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| Geekbench 5 |
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Single: 1,313 Multi: 4,147 |
On 3DMark's 20-minute Wild Life Stress Test benchmark, the Redmagic 7S Pro managed to maintain a 94.1% stability rate. The temperature reached 52 °C, but it was only in the very last loops of the test that the smartphone started to show signs of thermal throttling.
This is undoubtedly linked to the efficiency of its internal fan. If we were to compare its performance in this Wild Life Stress Test benchmark to that of the ROG Phone 6 Pro with its internal fan, it is almost identical. But you have to take into account that the external fan of the ROG Phone 6 Pro is much bigger than the internal fan of the Redmagic 7S Pro.
So it's a real piece of work that Redmagic has achieved in this aspect. If I had used the measurements of the ROG Phone 6 Pro without its fan (available in my full review), the Redmagic 7S Pro would have won the match hands down.
I spy with my little under-display eye...
The Redmagic 7S Pro packs a triple rear camera module with a 64 MP main lens, an 8 MP ultra wide-angle lens, and a 2 MP macro lens, while the selfie camera remains hidden under the screen, offering an 8 MP resolution.
What I liked:
- Decent daytime photos with the main lens
- Video shooting up to 8K resolution
What I disliked:
- Not enough effort for a good photo experience
- Disappointing low-light rendering
- Inferior quality of selfies, surely attributed to the under-display camera
This is exactly the same camera module and lenses as on the Redmagic 7 Pro. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and its superior computing power does not really improve the overall camera experience, which remains frankly run-of-the-mill.
During the day, the primary lens manages to shoot photos in more or less a correct manner, although I find the colorimetry to be rather bland with a limited level of detail. With the ultra wide-angle lens, the 8 MP resolution is too low for my preference and the images lack sharpness. When zooming with the primary lens, the smoothing is far too aggressive.
The quality of selfies also leaves a bit to be desired. If I wanted to be mean, I would say that we have the impression of having snapped a photo behind a plexiglass plate. I know that "under-display camera" technology is still evolving in 2022, but the results are hardly usable.
When it comes to videos, the Redmagic 7 Pro is capable of recording in 4K and 1080p at 60 FPS with the rear camera module. We can go up to 8K (30 FPS) but, without stabilization, the rendering is more than questionable in terms of relevance.
Battery performance
The Redmagic S7 Pro features a 5,000 mAh dual cell battery that accepts 65 Watts of wired fast charging.
What I liked:
- Decent battery life, but nothing more
- Efficient fast charging
- Charger os included in the box
What I disliked:
- No wireless charging support
- No USB-C port at the side
Again, there is nothing new under the sun here. The large 5,000 mAh battery more or less holds up well to the power expenditure of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 but it does not excel, either.
When running the PC Mark benchmark, the Redmagic 7S Pro took 10:46 hours to fall below the 20% remaining battery life mark. Personally, I consider the battery life of a device to be very good with 15 to 16 hours at the minimum. It is good between 13 and 15 hours, and decent between 10 and 13 hours. Anything that is below 10 hours, I would consider as poor.
The Redmagic 7S Pro does not shine with its battery life and is very far in terms of performance behind the ROG Phone 6 Pro and its 19 hours of battery life (armed with a 6,000 mAh battery).
The smartphone accepts fast wired charging at 65 Watts. It took 6 minutes to go from 0 to 25% battery life, and 13 minutes to go from 25 to 66%. In short, you can fully charge it in less than an hour without any problems. The USB-C fast charger is actually included in the box.
Technical specifications
| Redmagic 7 Pro | Redmagic 7S Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Product | ||
| Image |
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| Dimensions & Weight | 166.27 x 77.1 x 9.98 mm | 235 g | 166.27 x 77.1 x 9.98 mm | 235 g |
| Screen | 6.8-inch AMOLED | Full HD+ | 120Hz refresh rate | 960Hz touch rate | completely bezel-less | 6.8-inch AMOLED | Full HD+ | 120 Hz refresh rate | 960 Hz touch sampling rate | completely bezel-less |
| Memory |
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| CPU & GPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + Adreno 730 + Red Core 1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 + Adreno 730 + Red Core 1 |
| Interface | Redgmagic OS 5.0 based on Android 12 | Redgmagic OS 5.5 based on Android 12 |
| Photo |
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| Video |
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| Battery | 5,000 mAh dual cell | 65 watt quick charge wired | no wireless charging | Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 | 5,000 mAh dual-cell battery | 65 watt fast charging wired | no wireless charging | Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 |
| Audio | 2 DTS (Digital Theater System) certified stereo speakers | 3.5 mm jack | 2 DTS (Digital Theater System) certified stereo speakers | 3.5 mm jack |
| Price | Supernova 16/512 GB version: $899 | Obsidian 16/256 GB version: $799 | - |
Conclusion
The Redmagic is the most powerful gaming smartphone in 2022. It is more powerful than the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro and manages the temperature as well as it does without the need for an external fan that is sold separately. It is also significantly cheaper than the ROG Phone 6 Pro which costs a whopping $1,300 plus.
But, for all that it comes with, the Redmagic 7S Pro is not the best gaming smartphone in my opinion. The smartphone lacks balance with an ordinary camera configuration, a slightly inadequate battery capacity, and some missing design elements like water resistance.
What I would like to criticize Redmagic for is how they offer 4 almost identical models with the Redmagic 7, Redmagic 7 Pro, Redmagic 7S, and Redmagic 7S Pro. These four models have the same screen and the same camera module. The only difference being the Pro variants having an under-display selfie camera. The smartphones don't stand out enough. I find that the catalog becomes a little too confusing or rather that the choice becomes superfluous as the different options are so similar.
However, the fact remains that Redmagic is the manufacturer that produces the most efficient smartphones in terms of performance while remaining far more affordable than its competitors. As always, if it is the performance that determines your purchase, you will not be disappointed with the Redmagic 7S Pro. As for the rest of a gaming smartphone's aspects, I expected more effort and less "recycling" from the manufacturer.
