a powerhouse Android gaming tablet

Within the smartphone world, RedMagic is synonymous with top-tier cellular gaming. It’s liable for one among this 12 months’s finest gaming telephones, the RedMagic 9S Professional, and now it’s increasing into the pill area with the RedMagic Nova. Nevertheless, it faces some stiff competitors, with Apple, Samsung, Honor, and extra all releasing new tablets in latest months.

Whereas it would appear to be some other pill from the surface, dig a bit deeper, and it’s clear why RedMagic isn’t shying away from taking up the massive names. It’s a efficiency beast, using probably the greatest Android processors to supply a gaming expertise that few can match on the $500 worth level whereas nonetheless providing many of the multitasking and video streaming options you need from an iPad equal. Nonetheless, the query stays: how does the Nova straight examine to the picks on our checklist of the very best gaming tablets? Let’s discover out.

Worth and availability

The RedMagic Nova gaming pill is now out there from the official RedMagic web site. You’ll be able to select from both the 256GB+12GB or 512GB+16GB configurations, beginning at $499 and $649, respectively. Whichever you go for, it is best to have greater than sufficient area to retailer a group of your favourite cellular video games. By way of colorways, it’s out there in simply Midnight, which is someplace between gray and black.

Specs

Listed here are the RedMagic Nova’s specs:

Options and software program

The RedMagic Nova runs on the model’s personal RedMagicOS Android 14 pores and skin, which is a superbly high quality little bit of software program. It’s not as simplified and useable as Apple’s iPad iOS, nevertheless it’s additionally not as clunky as among the different Android skins on the market. Its theming may be very gamer-centric, however you possibly can customise that within the settings if you’d like it to really feel much less such as you’re utilizing a 14-year-old boy’s pill.

By way of bloatware apps, there aren’t masses, however you continue to should do a little bit of upkeep when you’ve arrange the pill (and no matter you do, don’t conform to obtain all of the knock-off cellular video games once you first load it up). It’s not anyplace as egregious as among the examples of bloatware I’ve come throughout on telephones just like the Xiaomi 14T and Nubia Flip 5G, although, so I can hardly complain.

Transferring on to gaming-specific software program, there’s RedMagic’s Recreation House, which I’m already used to having spent a little bit of time with the RedMagic 9S Professional. With a sport open, all you need to do is pull the Recreation House overlay out from the left of the show, and also you’re good to go. From right here, you possibly can file gameplay, flip off notifications, or boot up purpose help, all with out taking your self away from the motion. There are many different Recreation House options, however the checklist is simply too lengthy for this text.

Recreation House is a good device, however I nonetheless suppose there may very well be just a few enhancements. For a begin, I’d fairly learn about my body charges than GPU or CPU efficiency, and the software program places these particulars entrance and heart. It’s additionally a bit advanced, and I can see avid gamers who aren’t too bothered in regards to the particulars simply avoiding it altogether fairly than threat the confusion of determining what all of the totally different buttons and settings do. I’m not saying it’s a foul factor to have a lot freedom to configure, nevertheless it won’t be user-friendly sufficient for some.

Design and audio

Purely by way of design, there’s not a lot that helps the Nova stand out when taking a look at its show. It’s not at all ugly, nevertheless it’s comparatively plain and serves as a reminder that manufacturers like RedMagic and Asus are abandoning these types of edgy designs you may affiliate with gaming tablets and telephones. There aren’t any splashes of crimson throughout the bezels, stick-on flames, or cases of the phrase ‘gamer’ in graffiti anyplace on the entrance of the factor. I just like the simplicity, nevertheless it may be a bit tame for some.

Yow will discover a barely attention-grabbing design characteristic on the rear, although. The pill has a clear part alongside the highest of the again cowl that appears like a window into the pill’s interior workings and cooling system. I say appears like as a result of there’s some trickery afoot, and also you’re not really taking a look at what you suppose you might be. Nonetheless, it’s good to see a model strive new issues with the pretty inflexible limitations of pill design, even if you happen to not often see it.

Whereas I’m eager on the Nova’s understated design, I want RedMagic had added the identical Recreation House button to the pad that you could find on the 9S Professional mobile phone. There’s one thing about flicking that change and going into the Recreation House overlay that will get you within the zone, nevertheless it’s not the identical right here. I’d additionally fairly like a 3.5mm jack, as I nonetheless personal a pair of dependable wired headphones for gaming, however I’ve had to make use of my lower-quality Bluetooth earbuds whereas testing.

With regards to audio, the Nova has a reasonably respectable set of audio system, and so they’re loud sufficient that you just don’t have to connect with a Bluetooth speaker if you happen to’re trying to hearken to music or stream a movie. The sound high quality isn’t wonderful, with some noticeable muddiness within the low-end in comparison with my 2021 iPad Mini, however contemplating the worth level, you possibly can’t have all the things, and I’d fairly discover the audio a bit flat than the visuals.

Show

The RedMagic Nova might need probably the greatest LCDs I’ve seen on a pill, even when it’s nonetheless a bit disappointing that it’s not OLED. I’ve acquired a Nintendo Swap OLED, a Steam Deck OLED, and my day-to-day cellphone is an Honor Magic6 Professional, with, you guessed it, an OLED show. All of those gadgets have made me a little bit of a display screen snob, however the Nova nonetheless impresses; there’s just a bit much less depth of coloration than you may get from a pill with an OLED.

The Nova’s 144Hz refresh charges aren’t simply greater than something we’ve seen from Apple’s iPad sequence but in addition beat out my Steam Deck, Swap, and Honor cellphone. Because of this whereas the on-screen colours won’t be fairly as vivid as these OLED gadgets, the in-game motion is as clean as clean will get, and I solely needed to play half an hour of Zenless Zone Zero to see this for myself. The soar from 120Hz to 144Hz isn’t massively noticeable, however if you happen to put the 2 facet by facet, you possibly can see that the upper refresh fee is a bit nicer on the attention.

Nevertheless, the Nova’s show isn’t excellent. Its bezels are a bit chunkier than I’d like. They’re not imposing, however I’ve seen equally priced tablets with extra display screen retail property, and that’s a reasonably necessary issue when it’s a gaming-specific gadget like this. I would like as a lot display screen as potential, particularly if I play one thing with tiny in-game textual content. Nonetheless, this isn’t an issue unique to this pill, and the bezels are simply as massive on Apple’s newly introduced iPad Mini.

It’s additionally price stating that with a peak brightness of 550 nits, you may wrestle utilizing the Nova in direct daylight, although I haven’t been capable of put this to the take a look at as I’m within the UK and it’s autumn, so it’s consistently gloomy. Oh nicely, all of the extra purpose to spend extra time gaming indoors. Poor me.

Efficiency

On condition that the RedMagic Nova is a gaming-specific pill, you’d hope this factor packs sufficient horsepower to make cellular gaming a delight. Excellent news; it does. That’s not a lot of a shock contemplating it’s packing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Main Model chipset, a juiced-up model of the processor powering 2024’s finest gaming telephones, together with the RedMagic 9S Professional.

When it’s time to check tablets and telephones, I typically use video games like Honkai Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero to see whether or not I can push a tool to its limits, as each are fairly performance-intensive, particularly if you happen to dial as much as 60fps gameplay. The Nova takes these video games in its stride, even in busy sequences with a number of characters on-screen. I doubt there’s a cellular sport on the market it may possibly’t deal with, and whereas I’ve not tried it myself, I’m positive it’s greater than possible a monster with regards to emulation, too.

Not solely is the Nova a efficiency beast, nevertheless it additionally makes use of some fairly refined cooling tech to make sure issues by no means get too sizzling to deal with. I’m not going to delve into the difficult particulars an excessive amount of right here, however the mixture of a robust inside fan and modern cooling tube means your arms by no means get toasty whereas gaming. Higher nonetheless, that fan by no means will get as loud as my Steam Deck OLED, which sometimes sounds prefer it’s readying for takeoff fairly than making an attempt to maintain up with the calls for of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Battery

The RedMagic Nova’s 10,100mAh battery is a blended bag, as when you can tinker with the settings to make gaming all day with out charging a chance, it drains battery faster in standby mode than some other Android pill I’ve used. It’s 2024, and I’m not used to turning issues off as soon as I’ve completed with them for the day, so I’d typically choose up the Nova the next morning with much less battery than I anticipated. Nonetheless, I’d fairly that than lose upwards of 30% battery in an hour whereas gaming, which isn’t an issue with the Nova.

By way of charging time, the RedMagic pill juices from flat again as much as 100% in just below an hour, offered you’re utilizing the charger from the field. You’ll be able to’t argue with these speeds, and it’s a lot faster than many Android pill and iPad equivalents, even Apple’s 2024 flagship iPad Professional. If, like me, you all the time overlook to place your gadget on cost till simply as you’re on the point of depart the home, a 25% increase from quarter-hour of charging is greater than optimum.

RedMagic Nova cameras

The RedMagic Nova’s cameras are okay, and that’s about as excited as I can get about them. The 20MP selfie digicam is strong sufficient for video calling, however if you happen to’re an enormous selfie-taker, I’d suggest utilizing your cellphone as a substitute. Selfies I’ve taken lack a bit definition, and when you might spend time modifying them, that isn’t actually what that is for.

On the again, the Nova has a 50MP lens, however don’t let that megapixel depend idiot you into considering this is identical type of digicam high quality you’d get on an Android flagship cellphone. Once more, it’s not an terrible digicam, and you may seize some respectable images if the lighting is right, nevertheless it’s nonetheless lower than the usual as one thing you’d get on a mid-range or flagship smartphone.

Do you have to purchase the RedMagic Nova gaming pill?

If you happen to’re searching for a pill for the categorical objective of gaming, I’d suggest the RedMagic Nova above all else. On simply the gaming expertise alone, you’d suppose this factor is way more costly than its $500 price ticket, beating out costlier tablets and smartphones within the efficiency division. Add to that the dearth of issues round thermals, and there’s little higher for a little bit of Honkai Star Rail, PUBG Cell, or Diablo Immortal. Choose your poison; the Nova can deal with it.

Nevertheless, if you happen to’re searching for a pill that doubles as a creativity station or selfie machine, there are higher choices. The identical goes for anybody searching for a pill only for a little bit of streaming. In that regard, it’s a bit like shopping for a supercar that you just’re solely ever going to make use of for choosing up groceries. Simply seize an inexpensive second-hand iPad and be performed with it.

Alternate options

If we haven’t bought you on the RedMagic Nova, take a look at our options for alternate options under.

iPad Air M2

Apple is the pill market chief for a purpose, and whereas the Nova may be the very best for gaming, the newest iPad Air takes the cake in virtually each different division. Its iPadOS software program is extra user-friendly, and its Apple Pencil compatibility makes it a greater possibility for anybody who needs to stability gaming with some creativity. The caveat is that it’s a bit costlier, however there’s nonetheless loads of worth for cash. If you would like the total lowdown, take a look at our iPad Air overview.

OnePlus Pad 2

If you happen to’re searching for extra of an all-rounder pill, the OnePlus Pad 2 is one other implausible possibility. Your alternative is right here easy: if you’d like one thing for gaming, go for the Nova, however if you happen to prefer to get artistic, go for the OnePlus Pad 2. Each are virtually precisely the identical worth and have related LCD screens and Snapdragon chipsets, so it would finally come all the way down to model allegiances.