Stuff UK – September 2019

TESTED NUBIA RED MAGIC 3

The first phone with an internal cooling fan wants

to blow gamers away with fancy hardware and

pretty lights – that’s enough to get our attention

QThe Red Magic 3 is a gaming

device first and a phone second.

The slider switch at the side

doesn’t turn on vibration mode;

it activates dedicated gaming

software. The panels on the right

that look like fingerprint sensors

are touch-sensitive shoulder

controls, and the grilles on the

back and side hint at the cooling

fan hidden underneath.

QThe skinny display bezels mean

it’s not a nightmare to hold, but

it’s tall enough to poke out of a

pocket. More ‘phone-like’ features

include a single rear camera and

fingerprint sensor.

QThe better-than-HD OLED

panel also has HDR10 and is a

genuine step up for a sub-£450

phone. A 90Hz refresh rate really

makes a difference: everything

seems so much smoother, you’ll

never go back to 60Hz again.

QA Snapdragon 855 CPU, 8GB of

RAM and a 5000mAh battery in a

phone this cheap are astonishing

specs. Temperatures don’t exactly

plummet when the fan is maxed,

but it should help with longer

gaming sessions.

QNubia’s take on Android 9.0 Pie

is quite hands-off. The biggest

addition is Game Space, which

contains your installed titles

and personalisation settings,

and blocks notifications. And in

between gaming sessions? Well,

the 48MP Sony rear sensor snaps

a decent picture.

With the power to play just about anything on mobile, a gorgeous 90Hz screen,

built-in shoulder buttons and official controller accessories, not many phones can

beat the Red Magic 3 when it comes to gaming. Throw in excellent battery life and

a competent camera, and it starts to look like phenomenal value for money – but the

looks are divisive and it’s missing a few key features that would make it truly great.

A phone that’s

guaranteed to

scratch your

gaming itch

Tom Morgan

Fanned on the run

STUFF SAYS A proper performance bargain for dedicated mobile gamers ++++,

Screen 6.65in 2340x1080 OLED

Processor Snapdragon 855

RAM 8GB OS Android 9

Cameras 48MP rear, 16MP front

Battery 5000mAh Storage 128GB

Dimensions: 172x79x9.7mm, 215g

Q Switched on

There’s also an accessory port

where you can plug in an official

controller that turns this phone

into a miniature Switch-alike. The

twin speakers are decently loud,

but headphones are still the way

forward and there is a 3.5mm port.

Q Reddy player one

Who decided red and black was

the official colour scheme of

gaming hardware? Nubia has duly

stuck to it, with angular details

on the rear. It’s here you’ll find

customisable LEDs that flash

for notifications and in games.

£419 / stuff.tv/RedMagic3

Tech specs

The play’s

the thing

It’s all about gaming

performance: every

game we tried ran

smoothly at the

highest detail

settings.