Nubia Red Magic review: Locked and loaded but falls short of target

A phone that gets gaming right is likely to be a good phone otherwise, too. Intelligent design, powerful processing, detailed graphics, sharp display, lasting battery and good audio are just some of the gaming essentials — features that smartphone enthusiasts enjoy across usage patterns.

Nubia’s Red Magic is one of the few phones available in India with a gaming DNA. ASUS ROG phone is the other. But how does a gaming phone make for an exclusive purchase when so many other phones can match up to its specifications? It’s simple: a gaming phone ought to be better at the essentials.

Design

It all, of course, starts with the design, which means colours, accents and dimensions that make a phone stand out. The Nubia Red Magic is perfectly rectangular, without a droopy notch that sometimes feels like a blot on the screen during play. The thick borders around the screen are old-fashioned and almost practical. Most of the gaming has the phone tilted in landscape mode and edges mean your thumbs won’t block the screen. But I still feel the top and the bottom borders are just a little too thick.