RedMagic 6 DETAILED REVIEW - World's FIRST 165Hz Smartphone

Introduction RedMagic 6:

Hey there, RedMagic here. When I reviewed the RedMagic 5S last year, I thought it was a good option for anyone looking for a reasonably priced gaming phone. So let’s take a closer look at the new RedMagic6 and see how good it is this time around.

Like with most other gaming phones, the RedMagic6 has a gaming-inspired design with RGB lighting, and a logo that lights up. I know looks can be a little subjective, but I dig it. I would have preferred a matte finish, but I like the symmetrical-looking design on the back of the phone. The front of the phone still has a bit of bezel on the top and bottom, which I know doesn't look as sleek, but it makes the phone a bit easier to hold while gaming, and there is no camera cutout or a notch blocking in-game elements.

NETWORK	TECHNOLOGY	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
LAUNCH	ANNOUNCED STATUS	Available. Released 2021, March 11
BODY	DIMENSIONS WRIGHT BUILD SIM	169.9 x 77.2 x 9.7 mm (6.69 x 3.04 x 0.38 in) Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame Pressure-sensitive zones (400Hz touch-sensing)
DISPLAY	OS CHIPSET CPU GUP	Android 11, Redmagic 4.0 Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680)
MEMORY	CARD SLOT	NO 128GB 8GB RAM, 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM
MAIN CAMERA	TRIPLE	64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.0, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm 2 MP, (macro)
SELFIE CAMERA	SINGLE FEATURE VIDEO	8 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm HDR 1080p@30fps
FEATURES	SENSOR	Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

The display has 1 Billion Color of RedMagic 6:

The display is slightly taller this time around and seems to have much better-looking colors compared to its predecessor. Screen brightness is not the best I’ve seen, but it’s still decent enough for outdoor use. It has a higher refresh rate at 165Hz, and faster touch sampling rate, which makes it one of the smoothest and most responsive displays I've used so far.

I do feel like the refresh rate is a bit of an overkill since I don’t think the difference between this and a 120Hz is that big, and not many games can take advantage of it, but that slightly faster touch response does feel pretty nice. Anyway, the fingerprint sensor is under the display, and like most modern optical sensors, it is pretty fast and reliable.

Nubia Red Magic 6 Stereo Speakers:

The phone also has stereo speakers, and they are able to get quite loud. It is a little on the brighter side, so they might sound a little harsh at higher volumes, but it’s still pretty decent overall. The bottom speaker is a little louder compared to the top, but it’s not a massive difference.

It still has a headphone jack, which I think is a pretty important feature for a gaming phone. In my experience, even TWS earbuds with low-latency mode will still have a tiny bit of delay, so it’s nice to be able to just plug in earphones.

Performance of Nubia RedMagic 6:

In terms of performance, I don’t think I need to spend too much time talking about how fast it is since you can more or less tell from the specifications that it’s going to perform really well. But I do want to talk a bit about thermal performance because that is where the RedMagic 6 really shines.

Other than the usual thermal pad, vapor chamber cooling, and whatnot, it also has a built-in cooling fan that can keep the phone a little cooler while gaming, or when using fast charging. This is great because I feel like the Snapdragon888 seems to run quite a bit warmer compared to the 865 so that extra cooling is going to be even more useful this time around.

Of course, using the cooling fan and letting the processor run without throttling will consume more battery. But, if you’re just a casual gamer like I am, it’s more than good enough for a day of regular usage. I recorded the amount of battery drain while using the phone, and I tried out more games this time around since it’s a gaming phone.

Battery Performance of Nubia RedMagic 6:

So if you want some sort of reference, just pause the video now. The phone supports up to 66W charging but only comes with a 30W charger in the box. It is still able to fully charge the phone in just over 1 hour, so I don’t think it’s a big deal.

When it comes to software, it’s running Emagic OS 4.0 based on Android 11, and it’s a relatively okay user experience. It comes with almost no bloatware out of the box, the default keyboard is just Gboard, and it has a bunch of useful features built-in. The speed and responsiveness of the UI are pretty good too, thanks to the higher refresh rate.

Android 11 Based Nubia RedMagic 6:

However, because the phone will automatically adjust the refresh rate depending on the app that is running, I noticed that apps like Instagram and Chrome are limited to just 60Hz, even though they would benefit from having a higher refresh rate. The good news is, if you use other browsers like Chrome Beta, it is able to run at 90Hz, and according to my own test, there isn’t really a big difference in terms of battery consumption.

But for Instagram, there isn’t really an alternative. So if you really want smoother scrolling, the only option is to lock the refresh rate in developer options. There are a few other minor annoyances around the software too like the slightly off translations around the UI, not being able to change the grid layout for the app drawer, and gesture navigation not working well with third-party launchers.

Personally, things like the translation don’t really bother me too much, and I’m okay with not using an app drawer. But I really hope that they can fix the third-party launcher issue, as well as the lower refresh rate for certain apps. Let’s move on to the gaming-related features. It has a physical toggle that activates the game Space feature, and it houses all of the gaming-related features and settings.

Gaming Experience of Nubia RedMagic 6:

Other than the basic stuff like adjusting performance, quick access to messaging apps, blocking notifications, and screen recording, it has more advanced features as well. It is able to power the phone straight from the charger without going through the battery, thus avoiding the extra heat that usually comes with charging. It has the ability to make the crosshair a bit more prominent which is useful for FPS games.

It can invert the colors of the display so enemies are easier to spot in games like PUBG. But the most interesting feature for me is still the capacitive shoulder buttons. They can be programmed to an on-screen element, which is quite useful for FPS games because it reduces the need to move my thumb around too much.

It is also useful for emulators as well, for obvious reasons. Even for games like Mobile Legends, I can use it to make buying items or checking enemy stats a little easier. Another interesting feature would be the ability to set up macros. I can program a set of actions that can be replicated with a single tap. I can also use the shoulder buttons to activate this feature.

For example, in Mobile Legends, I can program it to replicate the action of me selling an item, and then buying the Immortality item. I know this action probably isn’t the best example, but I think this macro feature has potential.

Camera Performance of Nubia RedMagic 6 With HDR Support:

That said, I wanted to try using this feature for games that require a bit of grinding, but like on the RedMagic 5S, it will execute the actions at a much faster speed, so it doesn’t really work as well for those types of usage.

Moving on to camera performance, the main camera is probably the only one that I think is somewhat decent. HDR processing works well enough for the most part, and image processing looks decent. It doesn’t really do as well in low light, but there is a huge improvement over the RedMagic 5S when it comes to Night mode.

However, it’s not always the most reliable since it lacks OIS, and autofocus is sometimes a bit off. The other cameras on the phone are all below average looking to me. The ultra-wide-angle camera can only be accessed in Pro mode for some reason, so there is no Night mode or any sort of HDR processing. Even in good lighting, it still looks a little soft. The macro camera isn’t particularly useful since I can get better-looking shots using digital zoom.

Nubia RedMagic 6

The front camera has no HDR mode as well, so it only works well when the lighting condition is just right, and in low light, it looks pretty bad. Anyway, I’ve uploaded everything I took with the phone at original resolution, so just check out the link in the video description below if you want to take a closer look.

All in all, even though I don’t really game as much, I still found the RedMagic 6 to be a pretty enjoyable device to use. Because a lot of the features that make it a good gaming phone also make it great for media consumption. Of course, it has some compromises when it comes to camera performance, software support isn’t that great, and it’s missing features like water resistance and wireless charging.

But it’s more or less the same when it comes to other gaming phones as well. At least with the RedMagic 6, I think it's a little easier to accept those compromises because of its lower price tag. At just 599 USD, it’s one of the cheapest gaming phones that you can get right now with Snapdragon 888.

It offers actual improvements when it comes to the gaming experience, and because of the improved cooling, it will outperform regular smartphones with the same chipset. Of course, if gaming is not a priority for you at all, there are better options out there for sure. But if you’re looking for a phone that can improve your gaming experience, I think the RedMagic 6 is a great option.