Great gaming hardware with challenging software

A typical gaming cellphone differentiates itself from different high-performance telephones by together with further gaming-specific options like energetic cooling and shoulder triggers. These are backed up by the most recent processors and the quickest shows. The Crimson Magic 6 has the whole lot you’d count on from a gaming cellphone together with the trade’s first 165Hz show — a major improve from the 144Hz show discovered within the Crimson Magic 5G. Is it the very best gaming cellphone to beat? Discover out in Android Authority‘s Crimson Magic 6 assessment.

About this Crimson Magic 6 assessment: I used the Crimson Magic 6 for 3 weeks working Android 11 and RedMagic OS 4.0 (construct NX669J_UNCommon_V4.12). The Crimson Magic 6 assessment unit was offered to Android Authority by Nubia. The assessment unit was the Chinese language model working the worldwide firmware. The CN model doesn’t help NFC, however the international model does. The CN model has the Tencent Video games emblem on the again, however the international model doesn’t. The CN model has a 66W charger within the field, however the international model ships with a 30W charger.

What you want to know concerning the Crimson Magic 6

• Crimson Magic 6 (12GB/128GB, Eclipse Black): $599/€599/£509
• Crimson Magic 6 Professional 16GB/256GB, Moon Silver): $699/€699/£599

The Crimson Magic 6 and Crimson Magic 6 Professional are the most recent gaming telephones from Crimson Magic — a sub-brand of the Shenzhen-based Nubia.

There are two fashions of the Crimson Magic 6, the usual model and the Professional model. The latter has extra RAM and extra storage. The Crimson Magic 6 is available in Eclipse Black with a glass again, whereas the Crimson Magic 6 Professional is Moon Silver and incorporates aviation-grade aluminum. Aside from these variations, the 2 variants are the identical. Within the field, you get the cellphone, a 30W charger, and a USB-C to USB-C cable.

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The Crimson Magic 6 and Crimson Magic 6 Professional will probably be accessible globally from April 15, with pre-orders opening on April 9. The telephones will probably be accessible in Asia-Pacific areas, Europe, Latin America, the Center East, and North America. Its principal rivals are gaming telephones just like the Asus ROG Telephone 5 and the Black Shark 4, in addition to inexpensive flagships just like the OnePlus 9 and Samsung Galaxy S21.

Is the Crimson Magic 6 good for gaming?

The Crimson Magic 6 ticks all the correct packing containers with regards to gaming. It has a Snapdragon 888 processor, a 6.8-inch Full HD show, and at the very least 12GB of RAM. Plus, there’s a 5,050mAh battery, energetic cooling through a built-in fan, capacitive shoulder buttons, and a devoted gaming launcher.

The Crimson Magic 6 boasts the trade’s first 165Hz show, which raises the Crimson Magic 6 above each different gaming cellphone on paper. For avid gamers, quicker is at all times higher. Together with the excessive refresh fee, the show incorporates 500Hz single-finger contact sampling and 360Hz multi-touch sampling. To guard the show, Nubia makes use of an unspecified grade of Corning Gorilla Glass.

Total, the AMOLED show is a giant plus level for this cellphone. The colours are good (it helps HDR 10+, DCI-P3) and the brightness is above common at a peak of 640 nits. Until you actually squint, you received’t discover that that is solely an FHD+ panel both. There are additionally settings to regulate the colour gamut and you may change between regular, vivid, pure, P3, and sRGB. The default is loads vivid. Personally, I believe that’s the proper selection.

The Crimson Magic 6 boasts the trade’s first 165Hz show. For avid gamers, quicker is at all times higher.

A 165Hz refresh fee is just not the one trade first for the Crimson Magic 6. It additionally features a CPHY-DSI interface that connects the Snapdragon 888 to the show. In line with Nubia, utilizing CPHY-DSI means the info is shipped twice as quick to the show whereas utilizing much less energy.

To get essentially the most from a excessive refresh fee show you want to play video games that help greater than the usual 60Hz refresh. Not all video games do. Nubia claims there are over 100 video games that help 165Hz together with Actual Racing and Useless Set off 2, however don’t count on to see a distinction on a regular basis as many video games on the Play Retailer nonetheless don’t help greater refresh charges. Additionally bear in mind to not confuse body fee with refresh fee, as these are two various things. If you wish to know extra, then I’ve a video that may assist.

The Crimson Magic 6 is unapologetically a gaming cellphone and as such gaming-centric options are vital. On the facet of the gadget is a small crimson change, which is used to activate Sport House — a devoted gaming UI that offers you quick access to your video games. Sport House additionally provides you controls for the fan, the LED lights, plus it means that you can configure the shoulder gaming buttons.

One of many Crimson Magic 6’s most helpful options is the pair of capacitive shoulder triggers. The intelligent factor about them is that they work nearly any sport; there isn’t a want for particular variations or further help from the sport makers. The best way they work is that you could map any level on the display to one of many triggers. These mappings may be saved on a per-game foundation, which means that after you arrange a sport, the Crimson Magic 6 will bear in mind the way you need the triggers to behave. In a sport like Asphalt 9, you press one a part of the display to float and one other to make use of your nitro. With the shoulder triggers, these may be mapped to the left and proper buttons as a way to play the sport largely with out touching the display.

Additionally learn: 15 greatest Android video games accessible proper now

As you’d count on from a gaming cellphone, the Crimson Magic 6 makes use of the most recent flagship processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 888. The CPU and GPU are perfect for enjoying the most recent processor-intensive video games. I examined out a variety of charting topping hits together with Genshin Affect, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Bullet Pressure, Fortnite, Name of Obligation Cell, and PUBG Cell. All of them carried out admirably.

For many who like benchmarks numbers, the Crimson Magic 6 maxed out the Sling Shot Excessive take a look at in 3DMark with the app reporting that the “Crimson Magic 6 is simply too highly effective for this take a look at,” although that is widespread throughout Snapdragon 888-powered gadgets. 3D Mark’s newest take a look at is named Wild Life. The Crimson Magic 6 scored 5,743 with a mean body fee of 34.4fps. For context, these are very comparable scores to the OnePlus 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S21.

As for uncooked CPU efficiency, the gadget scored 1,127 for Geekbench 5’s single-core exams, and three,627 for its multi-core take a look at. Once more, these are in the identical ballpark because the OnePlus 9 and Galaxy S21 collection.

As an attention-grabbing facet be aware, the Crimson Magic 5G routinely switched on the fan when working the 3D Mark, though it wasn’t in Sport Mode. That doesn’t occur for different apps or video games, which suggests the gadget detected the benchmark and reacted accordingly. Personally, I discover that somewhat bit disconcerting.

The aim of the built-in energetic cooling is to allow long-term sustained efficiency.

The aim of the built-in energetic cooling is to allow long-term sustained efficiency. Its effectiveness was questionable within the Crimson Magic 5G with solely a marginal enchancment in sustained efficiency with the fan working. Nonetheless, it appears to be far more useful to the Crimson Magic 6. I ran Geekbench and received the numbers above. I then did some intense 3D gaming for half-hour, with out the fan, after which I ran Geekbench once more. I noticed a 30% drop within the Geekbench single-core rating.

After letting the gadget cool absolutely, I did the identical factor once more however with the fan working at max. On the finish of the intensive 3D gaming, I noticed a drop of simply 1% with Geekbench. Sustained multi-core efficiency was additionally improved through the use of the fan. With out the fan, I noticed a 9% drop within the multi-core rating, whereas with the fan it was simply 2.5%.

How does the digital camera carry out?

Like its predecessor, the Crimson Magic 6 has a triple digital camera setup. Beforehand Nubia opted for a 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor, nevertheless this time the corporate has gone with the Samsung ISOCELL GW3 (the S5KGW3 particularly). The 64MP sensor is joined by an 8MP extremely wide-angle sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor.

The digital camera expertise is decidedly common. Total, the digital camera suite on the Crimson Magic 6 is usable, however pictures typically look uninteresting and lack colour vibrance. When you prioritize gaming over pictures, then you’ll be simply effective.

See additionally: The very best price range digital camera telephones you should buy

Nonetheless, the true situation with the Crimson Magic 6’s digital camera suite is Crimson Magic’s digital camera app. To begin, the UI lacks an apparent toggle to change to ultra-wide mode. That is an odd omission, contemplating the ultra-wide mode makes use of its personal sensor and lens. As an alternative, the ultra-wide toggle is hidden away within the Professional mode. This was the identical with the Crimson Magic 5G, and it’s weird that it hasn’t been addressed but. It’s particularly odd as a result of Nubia did embrace a toggle for zoom (as much as 10x) though there isn’t a devoted telephoto lens — it’s all simply digital zoom. You possibly can try the zoom leads to the comparability gallery beneath.

Macro mode can also be squirreled away, this time underneath the Household sub-menu. The macro digital camera itself doesn’t have autofocus and the decision means picture element received’t maintain up if you happen to crop in. Elsewhere within the Household part, additionally, you will discover different digital camera features like MultiExposure, LightDraw, Star Path, Time Lapse, Panoramic, Clone, and far more.

The Crimson Magic 6 consists of help for 8K video recording at 30fps, in addition to 4K or 1080p at as much as 60fps. You possibly can decide between H.264, H.265, and HDR10 for the encoder.

When you prioritize gaming over pictures, then the Crimson Magic 6 digital camera will probably be effective. For everybody else, it is decidedly common.

The entrance digital camera is an affordable 8MP shooter. Portrait mode is on the market, but it surely doesn’t really add a blurred background so it’s pointless. There’s additionally a magnificence mode, although most will need to preserve this disabled as a result of aggressive smoothing utilized to pores and skin.

If you wish to see the photographs above at their full decision then you will discover them right here.

How is the battery life?

To assist avid gamers get essentially the most on-screen time, Nubia has included a 5,050mAh battery, plus quick charging. The cellphone helps charging as much as 66W, however solely a 30W charger is included within the field. In line with Nubia, you’ll be able to cost the Crimson Magic 6 from 0 to 100% in 43 minutes utilizing a 66W charger. Utilizing the equipped 30W charger I used to be in a position to cost from 1% to 100% in a single hour. The battery reached 50% in 22 minutes and 80% in 36 minutes.

If you need greater than 30W charging then any high-power USB-C PD, and even higher nonetheless USB-C PD PPS charger will work. I examined it on my PinePower Desktop charger, which helps 60W USB-C PD, and the gadget began charging at 33W. For the total 66W you’ll need a USB-C PD PPS charger.

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I examined enjoying 3D video games, since that’s the entire level of the Crimson Magic 6, and I discovered that you’re going to get round 4 hours of gaming from one cost. That’s 25% per hour. In case you are a heavy gamer it’s value noting this quantity. On the different finish of the dimensions, you’ll be able to watch 19 hours of YouTube on one cost.

Assuming your common day is not only about gaming then you’re going to get a full day trip of the battery, however simply control the battery degree if you happen to do indulge in additional than an hour or two of 3D mayhem.

What concerning the software program?

The software program is the weakest factor concerning the Crimson Magic 6. However let’s begin with the positives.

Crimson Magic OS 4.0 is predicated on Android 11, so you’re getting the most recent model of Android on the time of the gadget’s launch. The Crimson Magic OS 4.0 pores and skin has a number of options to help the gaming {hardware}. I’ve already talked about the devoted Sport House and the shoulder triggers. Nonetheless, there’s additionally help for recording video clips throughout gameplay, manually setting the display refresh fee (60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 165Hz), configuring the sunshine strip on the again of the gadget, and a facet menu with fast entry to varied instruments and apps.

Google’s apps and companies are absolutely supported on the Crimson Magic 6 and also you get the Play Retailer, YouTube, Chrome, Pictures, Google Drive, and Gmail all pre-installed. Apart from Google’s app, you get a small number of instruments and utilities like a file supervisor, clock, calculator, and so forth. All the conventional stuff. Total the extent of bloat is low with the one superfluous app promoting Nubia’s equipment for the Crimson Magic collection.

One among my gripes concerning the Crimson Magic 5G was that you simply couldn’t management the fan exterior of Sport House — now you’ll be able to! Thanks, Nubia. Additionally, there was beforehand no strategy to present the battery proportion subsequent to the battery icon. Once more, fastened. But it surely isn’t all roses and candy lavender.

For starters, you’ll be able to’t change the default launcher. Whereas for some individuals that’s irrelevant, for others it’s a deal-breaker. Altering the launcher is without doubt one of the elementary freedoms that Android customers have in comparison with iOS customers. It additionally implies that Velocity Check G received’t run on the Crimson Magic 6, which is a disgrace because it might have been one of many quickest telephones of 2021.

The inclusion of a 165Hz show is a giant plus for the Crimson Magic 6, and the power to manually change between refresh charges is nice. Nubia claims that the software program permits for adaptive adjustment among the many 4 completely different ranges, however I didn’t see it occurring. For some cause the setting is saved underneath a sub-menu known as Good sport, not the core displany menu. It’s an identical case for the 165Hz setting, which is accessed through a notification drawer toggle. It’s all very complicated.

Crimson Magic’s observe report with updates is not nice and Crimson Magic OS 4.0 nonetheless wants plenty of work.

There may be additionally the query of updates. I’ve at all times been involved concerning the quantity and frequency of safety updates from Nubia. Trying again on the Crimson Magic 3S and the Crimson Magic 5G, they did get some updates. The final one was November 2020, when each gadgets received patched. I’m scripting this in April 2021. So far as I can see, not one of the earlier gadgets ever received a serious Android replace. My guess is that the Crimson Magic 6 will stay solely on Android 11.

After which there are the bugs. Let me begin by saying that I received my assessment unit earlier than the gadget goes on sale globally and that Nubia is upfront that the software program in my take a look at unit isn’t the ultimate construct. Regardless of this, primarily based on my expertise with different Crimson Magic telephones, I’ve a nagging general impression that the ultimate model may very well be equally unstable and inconsistent.

The Crimson Magic 6’s software program is healthier than on earlier iterations of this collection, and gaming-specific options like Sport House and the customizable triggers earn it some bonus factors. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re on the lookout for a cellphone that provides an important pores and skin for day-to-day use, then the Crimson Magic 6 isn’t the cellphone for you.

The rest?

• Underneath-display fingerprint reader: To be blunt, the under-display fingerprint reader on the RedMagic 5G was horrible. Nonetheless, the comfortable information is that the reader on the Crimson Magic 6 is nice. No points, no issues, no frustration. It simply works!
• Audio: The Crimson Magic 6 has two audio system, providing a real stereo expertise. The earpiece doubles as a speaker, it’s front-firing. It’s joined by a downward-firing speaker on the underside. The excellent news is that there’s a headphone jack. It’s on the highest edge. I examined the stereo separation utilizing a type of take a look at movies on YouTube that performs music by way of the left after which proper speaker, and I used to be impressed. Because of this if you happen to watch YouTube or Netflix whereas holding the gadget in your hand, you need to take pleasure in some good stereo results. However, as is commonly the case, utilizing headphones might be extra well mannered, and can ship the very best general expertise.
• No IP ranking: Don’t take this cellphone for a dip because it doesn’t have an official IP ranking for water and dirt safety. That is pretty widespread for gaming telephones, however there are some telephones on the $600 mark that do have official safety scores.
• Wi-Fi 6E: The Crimson Magic 6 helps Wi-Fi 6E — the most recent and quickest Wi-Fi commonplace and has entry to the 6GHz spectrum. That is nice information for avid gamers who need the quickest connections and is a uncommon function at this value level.

Crimson Magic 6 specs

Worth and competitors

The Crimson Magic 6 isn’t the one gaming cellphone available on the market, there are others. This consists of the present king, the Asus ROG Telephone 5. The 2 gadgets have comparable options just like the Snapdragon 888, superior cooling options, and excessive refresh fee shows. The ROG Telephone provides as much as 512GB of storage, and as much as 18GB of RAM, plus one of many largest batteries available on the market at 6,000mAh. There are literally three completely different fashions within the ROG 5 Telephone lineup: the Asus ROG Telephone 5, the ROG Telephone 5 Professional, and the ROG Telephone 5 Final. All three share the identical entrance display and shoulder buttons (Air Triggers 5), with minor spec boosts for RAM and storage as you progress up the ladder.

When you aren’t impressed by shoulder triggers and energetic cooling, however you continue to desire a gadget with the most recent Snapdragon processor and a excessive refresh fee show then you’ve got fairly a number of choices together with the OnePlus 9, which has a set 120Hz show, or the OnePlus 9 Professional, which has an adaptive 120Hz show. Each gadgets have the Snapdragon 888 and include as much as 12GB of RAM.

Additionally learn: The very best telephones for gaming

When you don’t just like the look of the OnePlus 9 collection, then what concerning the Samsung Galaxy S21 vary? All of the S21 fashions have adaptive 120Hz shows and at the very least 8GB of RAM, with the top-of-the-line mannequin, the Galaxy S21 Extremely, that includes a 6.8-inch AMOLED WQHD+ show at 120Hz with as much as 16GB of RAM.

However allow us to not overlook the value variations. The Asus, OnePlus, and Samsung gadgets I discussed are considerably dearer than the Crimson Magic 6. It will absolutely be a major issue for many individuals when making an attempt to decide on. Are the weaknesses of the Crimson Magic 6 acceptable contemplating the value? Or to place it the opposite approach round, are the upper costs of the competitors justifiable? That can all rely on how a lot you need energy on a price range over different flagship qualities resembling a succesful digital camera system and a top quality software program expertise.

Crimson Magic 6 assessment: The decision

There are many optimistic issues to say concerning the Crimson Magic 6. The trade’s first 165Hz show means the Crimson Magic 6 is at the very least one step forward of the competitors. The energetic cooling has moved from simply being a gimmick or advertising trick to one thing really helpful. Then on prime of that, you’ve got the Snapdragon 888, the gaming triggers, a big battery with quick charging, 8K video, a headphone jack, and naturally help for 5G (sub-6GHz solely).

Whereas the digital camera is uninteresting and common, the audio setup is sweet and there’s a headphone jack, one thing that may not be taken without any consideration and an actual boon for avid gamers. The battery is an efficient measurement, however heavy gaming can use it up shortly. Fortunately the quick charging will assist there.

If the lure of gaming triggers, energetic cooling, the value, and a 165Hz show outweighs your considerations over safety updates then the Crimson Magic 6 may very well be the cellphone for you.

However, a smartphone wants good software program to enrich the {hardware}. The Crimson Magic 6 doesn’t allow you to change the launcher, one thing I think about a breach of contract between Android OEMs and Android customers. It’s additionally buggy and full of inconsistencies. After which there’s a fear over software program updates and future upgrades.

These destructive factors should be tempered by the value. At $599 for the bottom mannequin, you’re getting plenty of cellphone for lower than you’d pay for a ROG Telephone 5, Galaxy S21, OnePlus 9, Xiaomi Mi 11, or simply about any Snapdragon 888 cellphone. So, if the lure of gaming triggers, energetic cooling, a 165Hz show, and the modest value outweighs considerations over safety and the opportunity of an Android improve, and also you don’t thoughts preventing by way of UI points and residing with a mediocre digital camera, then the Crimson Magic 6 may very well be the gaming cellphone for you.