Nubia RedMagic 10S Pro Smartphone Review: Top hardware for a fast-paced gamer

The RedMagic 10S Pro is a powerful smartphone for anyone on the lookout for fast hardware and enjoys gaming. With its responsive display and additional sensor buttons, it offers real added value in these areas. 

There are no cutouts in the display for the selfie camera, which lends to an uninterrupted viewing experience; the rear cameras sit absolutely flush with the body as well — neither of which can be found on any other competitor in this price range.

The fast Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version nominally makes the Nubia RedMagic 10S Pro the fastest smartphone. However, it is often unable to exploit this advantage as the 10S Pro cannot always cope with the heat generated despite the fan being active. Moreover, the surface temperatures can rise quite high.

A few compromises also have to be made in everyday use, as the RedMagic 10S Pro does not support eSIM or wireless charging. Although the update cycle has been extended, it is still not optimal, and the cameras are only in the mid-range.

The tested variant of the Nubia RedMagic 10S Pro can be purchased for $799 directly from the manufacturer’s online store, which also stocks other color and memory variants. 

Alternatively, the 10S Pro can also be had from Amazon DE and Amazon US.

The RedMagic 10S Pro is an upgrade of the RedMagic 10 Pro and offers a faster SoC, RAM and internal memory as well as nominally more powerful camera sensors.

It starts at an RRP of 649 euros for the entry-level model with 12/256 GB and climbs up to 999 euros for the model with 24 GB RAM and 1 TB internal storage.

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

The RedMagic 10S Pro once again uses the bezel design of its predecessor and comes in three new color options: Nightfall, Dusk, and Moonlight. The workmanship is of a high quality, and the phone impresses with narrow display edges although it creaks slightly when twisted. 

The cameras are located under the rear glass cover, so there is no camera bump. Unfortunately, the gaming phone is neither dustproof nor waterproof and only comes with an IP54 certification.

The onboard features are impressive. The RedMagic 10S Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version, with a higher peak clock rate for both the CPU and GPU than the standard variant. 

In addition, there is state-of-the-art UFS 4.1 storage, LPDDR5T RAM, and USB 3.2 Gen2 connectivity — that’s as good as it gets in these areas at the moment. There are also two sensor buttons that can be used for control in games.

The integrated fan can be optionally activated, but it hardly makes any difference. With noise levels up to 44 dB(A), the fan can get quite loud.

The RedMagic 10S Pro offers good communication hardware that includes 5G and Wi-Fi 7, but the voice quality is only average and there is no eSIM support. The linear vibration motor provides crisp feedback, and an optical fingerprint sensor is available for biometric security.

      Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro       Nubia RedMagic 10S Pro       Xiaomi 15       Samsung Galaxy S25       DIN A6 {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_350273’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_355044’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_355044’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_344699’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_344699’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_344751’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_344751’).checked = false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_a6’).forEach(element => {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_a6’).checked = false;return false;” title=”hide all”>❌

The RedMagic 10S Pro comes with Google’s Android 15 and RedMagicOS 10.5. In the EU and the UK, the update period is extended to five years (three years, otherwise), which is still below the EU requirements. At the time of testing, the security updates were up to date as of May 1, 2025.

The outer packaging contains a lot of plastic and RedMagic does not provide any information on sustainability. In the EU energy label the battery is indicated as replaceable, but this cannot be done by the user as Nubia offers neither suitable spare parts nor instructions.

The front camera of the RedMagic 10S Pro is located under the display, allowing an uninterrupted view of the content. However, the quality is rather mediocre, with many details drowning in a coarse sea of pixels while the photos are highly saturated.

Although the rear lenses offer high resolutions for the most part, the image quality here is rather mediocre and at the level of a mid-range smartphone. Zoom shots are not good even at low magnification levels and a 10x zoom is already the end of the line.

Videos are recorded on the front camera in full HD 30 fps. The main camera on the back allows recordings in 8K 30 fps and 4k 60 fps among others.

The 6.85-inch AMOLED display of the RedMagic 10S Pro has a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz and a multi-touch sampling rate of up to 960 Hz. The resolution is high, ensuring an appealing pixel density. The factory color calibration is impressive as well.

The brightness of the panel is high but does not come close to the top values of the competition. The minimum luminosity is also slightly higher.

The display flickers at a basic frequency of 120 Hz, but also uses high-frequency PWM dimming, which flickers at 2,083 Hz at minimum display brightness and should therefore be comparatively easy on the eyes.

* … smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Screen flickering / PWM detected	120 Hz Amplitude: 13.92 % Secondary Frequency: 2083 Hz
The display backlight flickers at 120 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 120 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8301 (minimum: 5 – maximum: 343500) Hz was measured.

Display Response Times

↔    Response Time Black to White
1 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.49 ms rise
	↘ 0.5135 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 3 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.4 ms).
↔    Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
1.08 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.468 ms rise
	↘ 0.609 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 3 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32 ms).

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 53.5 °C / 128 F, compared to the average of 32.9 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 55 °C / 131 F, compared to the average of 35.2 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 247 °C for the class Smartphone.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 53.4 °C / 128 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.6 °C / 87 F, compared to the device average of 32.9 °C / 91 F.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2040.843.62530.126.83126.726.24027.828.95035.930.46328.329.78028.825.110027.325.612517.237.816016.347.120014.74425012.85431513.254.940012.655.950012.356.863012.263.480012.168.8100012.374.3125012.376160012.176.620001280.2250012.278.131501380.6400013.180.4500013.178.1630013.573.9800013.472.21000013.467.21250013.566.11600013.356.8SPL2589.1N0.671.2median 13.1median 68.8Delta1.71132.429.633.833.217.833.321.232.530.427.724.332.215.33916.844.714.153.913.457.113.15613.556.813.463.711.760.211.366.410.371.710.475.412.779.811.678.412.77913.881.114.379.713.78012.676.613.479.113.378.513.376.213.569.213.662.31450.225.190.10.683.5median 13.4median 75.40.79.7hearing rangehide median Pink Noise

Battery Runtime

The Nubia RedMagic 10S Pro is heavily specialized in gaming and has a strong feature set for this. In everyday use, however, we miss a few functions such as a higher IP certification, eSIM support, and wireless charging. The update supply is also not optimal.

Total Sustainability Score: 38.5%

Transparency

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

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Editor of the original article: Daniel Schmidt – Managing Editor Mobile – 682 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2013

As a child I was fascinated by my Commodore 16, and this sparked my enthusiasm for computers. Using my first modem, I surfed the BTX videotext system and later the World Wide Web. I have always been captivated by the latest technologies, and this is especially true for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. I’ve been part of the Notebookcheck team since 2013 and have also on occasion written for Notebookinfo.de, and I’m looking forward to testing new innovations for our readers. I like to spend my spare time indulging in photography and barbecues and being with my family.

Translator: Ninh Ngoc Duy – Editorial Assistant – 597207 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2008

My main responsibility as an editorial assistant is maintaining the Library section, which aggregates reviews from other publications and channels. In addition, my daily breakfast is Notebookcheck’s long list of new content, which I comb through to select the most interesting topics for translation from English to French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch.”