Article Contents
The RedMagic 8S Pro is the flagship smartphone produced by the Chinese gaming superpower. In addition to adding the letter S to the name of its predecessor, the RedMagic 8S Pro also features an updated CPU, a revamped design, and improved cooling. It is not a significant upgrade, but that is to be expected given that the RedMagic 8S Pro is a model that was updated in the middle of the year and is now an entirely new phone. Despite this, the RedMagic 8S Pro is now the model to acquire if you want a top-tier RedMagic phone, even though the differences between it and the previous model aren’t all that significant.
If you already own a RedMagic 8 Pro, it is not worth your time or money to trade it in for another one. And if you place a high importance on the quality of your photographs, you would be better off purchasing a flagship smartphone that is more typical. The latest iteration of RedMagic pulls out the company’s signature trick, which is to provide more computational power than one would anticipate for a price that is lower than one would anticipate.
Redmagic 8S Pro Specifications
The 8S Pro follows the Redmagic 8 Pro by only a short amount of time. While the new model does have a number of improvements over its predecessor, the corporation isn’t resting on its laurels.
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.8-inch FHD OLED (1116 x 2480) |
| Rear cameras | 50MP+8MP+2MP |
| Front camera | 16MP under-display camera |
| Battery | 6,000 mAh |
| RAM | 12GB/16GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB |
| Charging | 65W wired |
| Size | 6.4 x 3.0 x 0.37 inches (163.98 x 76.35 x 9.47mm) |
| Weight | 8.04 ounces (228 grams) |
| Software | Android 13 with RedMagic OS 8.0 |
Redmagic 8S Pro review: Design & Build
The RedMagic 8S Pro keeps the squared-off design with sharp corners that was introduced with the previous generation. This design was carried over to the new model. The weight, dimensions, and shape are practically identical, as are the positions of the various ports, buttons, and vents on each device. What is brand new, though, are the various color and treatment possibilities.
and the rear panel of this particular unit has a really interesting texture. The design is referred to as a 3D nano-etched design by RedMagic, and it makes me think of a vinyl record. When light shines on the phone’s grooves, there are reflections that shimmer along them, which give the appearance of circular rings emanating from the phone’s fan.
The appearance is not very flashy by the standards of gaming phones, but as soon as you launch a game, the light show begins. When the fan kicks on, the ring on the back panel has a translucent section that allows light from red, blue, green, and yellow LEDs to shine through when the fan is functioning. This came as a complete surprise to me because when it is switched off, it merely resembles an etched design. It has a very interesting effect.
Redmagic 8S Pro review: Screen & Speakers
The display is identical to the one seen on the 8 Pro, which means that it is an extremely good 6.8-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2480 x 1116 pixels. Since this is a gaming phone, it has the required minimum refresh rate of 120Hz (which is lower than several of its competitors, including Redmagic’s own 7), and it has a peak brightness that is rated at 1,300 nits.
After turning off the auto-brightness feature and increasing the brightness to its maximum level, I got a very acceptable 1141 nits out of my tests. The display accurately portrays the colors, and it has the level of clarity that is typical of phones priced higher in the upper middle of the spectrum. In addition to that, it has sufficient brightness to be readable even when exposed to direct sunlight. And that makes it an ideal setup for mobile gaming.
Redmagic 8S Pro review: Performance
The Redmagic 8S Pro’s operating power is very good. It has an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset that runs at 3.36GHz. At the time it came out, this was the latest and best chip available, and it is helped by a Red Core 2 gaming processor. The latter is there to handle audio processing, haptic reactions, and RGB lighting. The idea is that taking these jobs away from the main processor will free it up to do more important work.
Whether or not that actually works, the 8S Pro works well in everyday situations, even though it has some software problems that I’ll talk about later. Of course, it really shines when you play games with it. Putting on games like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9: Legends and playing them for a while was a lot of fun. Even on the top settings, the 8S Pro handled all the action smoothly.
Redmagic 8S Pro review: Cameras
Since the photos are the same as the last phone, there isn’t much to do here. The best thing about the phone is the main camera. It uses a tried-and-true Samsung GN5 sensor that can take good pictures, especially in daylight. RedMagic’s picture processing, on the other hand, is a step behind that of more popular brands, so the HDR effect and color processing aren’t as good.
Still, the main camera is probably good enough for most people to use. It works better in low light than I thought it would, but you’ll need to watch out for motion fuzz. As usual, you’ll need to remember to turn off the marking, which is still on by default, which is annoying.
Battery Life & Charging
Inside of this phone, RedMagic was able to fit a battery with a capacity of 6,000 mAh. Needless to say, it is quite the capacity, and if you add to the equation that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is there as well… well, you’re getting a really attractive combination for battery life when you look at it that way. RedMagic has, without a doubt, incorporated some of its very own optimizations, and as a result, the device has an exceptional battery life.
Even if you aren’t exactly a light user, as long as you’re not gaming on this device, the battery on this phone should last you for two days. I won’t go into precise screen-on times because this is a gaming phone, and the gaming aspect will, of course, have a significant impact on the phone’s battery life. But I will say that the battery life should be good.
During my tests, the phone lasted until the end of the day despite the fact that I played a lot of games on it. It is possible to completely deplete the battery in a single day, but only if you have a strong desire to do so and are consistently using the phone to play games that require a lot of graphic processing power. This is true of every smartphone.
To get to the point, the RedMagic 8S Pro provides some of the finest battery life figures we’ve ever seen, at least in terms of the performance of high-end smartphones. Of course, we are not taking into account Oukitel’s insane 10,000mAh battery telephones in our calculations. I’ll even go as far as to suggest that this might have the best battery life of any Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phone; at the very least, it’s on par with the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series.
Redmagic 8S Pro review: Software
The software was the aspect of this phone that initially sparked the greatest curiosity for me when it was delivered to the office. Because its predecessor, the RedMagic 8 Pro, which was succeeded by the RedMagic 8S Pro, had some software-related faults (also known as bugs), I was curious about what we’ll receive this time around. To my utter astonishment, RedMagic has truly ironed out all of the bugs, and now RedMagic OS 8 is a pleasure to deal with. When it comes to testing gaming phones, I always make it a point to use them as ordinary devices first, just to get a sense for how they work, before moving on to testing their gaming capabilities. In that aspect, it performed quite admirably.
RedMagic removed several unnecessary components from the earlier version of the software and improved the overall user experience with the new release. Don’t get me wrong: it’s not the standard Android experience or anything like that, but the functionality is excellent. Everything has a somewhat more refined feel to it. Even while it has a more stock Android appearance, there are still a ton of features that you may explore, particularly personalization tools.
Price & Availability
The RedMagic 8S Pro is now available for purchase, with the entry-level 12GB/256GB edition being priced at $649/£579 and the top-of-the-line 16GB/512GB version beginning at $799/£689. This is the same pricing as the debut of the RedMagic 8 Pro.
Verdict
Even if you’re a bit of a Genshin addict, the Red Magic 8S Pro is an amazing powerhouse that’s perfect for gaming all afternoon long. The only real downside is that the camera quality isn’t exactly top-notch, but other than that, it has some extremely interesting technology and very few drawbacks. To tell the truth, though, nobody is going to purchase this item because of the cameras. You’re going to get it because it’s a powerhouse in every sense of the word and it’s more affordable than other comparable phones, like the ROG Phone. In general, it’s a good option for people who enjoy gaming on their phones.
Redmagic 8S Pro review: The good and The bad
Its high performance, excellent battery life, and sleek new appearance all contributed to my positive impression of the RedMagic 8 Pro.
The Good
- Super-powered chipset
- Excellent battery
The Bad
- No software support guarantee
Questions and Answers
The RedMagic 5G is a real phone for playing games. The best Snapdragon 865 is great, and it comes with a 144Hz screen, active cooling, at least 8GB of RAM, and hardware shoulder buttons. But the software could be better, and it’s not clear how many changes it will get over time.
In Chinese culture, the color red is famous because it means luck, joy, and happiness. In traditional Chinese color symbolism, it also stands for happiness, energy, and fertility.