nubia REDMAGIC 6R Hands-on

Gaming smartphones are usually huge and chunky, and that’s understandable considering that these devices need space to house features such as shoulder triggers, cooling systems, and bigger batteries. But what if you want those gaming features in a slimmer package? That’s possible with the nubia REDMAGIC 6R. Check out our initial thoughts below.

One of the things that surprised us about the REDMAGIC 6R is its slim and light body. It only measures 7.8mm thin and weighs 186g – that’s the dimension of a typical smartphone.

It’s a premium device, which you’ll immediately notice that the moment you take it out of the box. It’s got a cool metal frame with antenna bands all around and recessed centers for better grip, Gorilla Glass 3 on the front, and glass at the back.

The REDMAGIC 6R is equipped with a large 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD resolution or 395ppi. In addition, it supports up to 144Hz refresh rate and a touch-sampling rate of 400Hz. For biometrics, it uses an in-screen fingerprint scanner.

Placed above the screen is the hole punch for the 16MP selfie camera and, in the bezel, the earpiece for calls.

At the top frame, we have a pinhole for the secondary microphone.

On the right are the metal buttons for the power/lock and volume. They’re solid and clicky but don’t rattle. Also found on this side are the pressure-sensitive shoulder trigger buttons with a 400Hz touch sampling rate.

Down below are the USB-C port, main microphone, card tray for dual-nano SIMs, and loudspeaker. Unfortunately, we don’t have dual speakers here.

At the back, we have a quad-camera module consisting of a 64MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, and 2MP depth, as well as the LED flash.

We also like the design at the back as it makes the phone look “high-tech” but not as intimidating as other gaming smartphones. In other words, it looks cool!

Powering the REDMAGIC 6R is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 with a 2.84GHz octa-core CPU, Adreno 660 GPU, up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, up to 256GB UFS 3.1, and 4,200mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging. For the software, it runs on REDMAGIC OS 4.0 based on Android 11. We ran AnTuTu v8, and we got a score of 835,308. Not bad!

When it comes to cooling, the REDMAGIC 6R doesn’t come with a fan, unlike other gaming smartphones, but an accessory is available as a separate purchase. However, it uses a multi-level cooling system that consists of graphene, vapor chamber cooling, thermally conductive gel, and superconducting foil, which works in tandem with the metal frame to dissipate heat. We’ll know about its thermals in our full review a week later.

The nubia REDMAGIC 6R is available on the global redmagic website. The 8GB + 128GB Cosmos model is priced at USD 499PHP 29,284INR 42,290EUR 475CNY 3,632, while the 12GB + 256GB Mercury is priced at USD 599PHP 35,153INR 50,765EUR 570CNY 4,360. Stay tuned for our full review.

nubia REDMAGIC 6R specs:
6.67-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080) AMOLED display
144Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling rate
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 2.84GHz octa-core CPU
Adreno 660 GPU
8GB, 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
128GB, 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
Quad rear cameras:
• 64MP (main)
• 8MP (ultrawide)
• 5MP (macro)
• 2MP (depth)
16MP front camera
5G, 4G LTE
Dual-SIM (nano)
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.2
A-GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo
NFC
Fingerprint scanner (in-display)
3.5mm audio jack
USB Type-C
Shoulder Triggers (400Hz touch sampling rate)
RedMagic OS 4.0 (based on Android 11)
4,200mAh battery w/ 55W fast charge
163.04 x 75.34 x 7.8mm
186g
Black, Silver, Blue, Yellow