The REDMAGIC 8 Pro is a gaming phone that launched in China on December 26, 2022. It went on sale there two days later. Global sales began on February 2, 2023. The 12 GB / 256 GB model cost $649 in the US. In Europe, it started at €649. The phone has since been discontinued and replaced by the 8S Pro.
Design and display
The 8 Pro has a flat, square design with an aluminum frame and a glass back. It weighs 228 g and is 8.9 mm thick. A 20,000 rpm cooling fan with RGB lighting sits inside the body. Its open air vents mean the phone has no water or dust resistance rating.
Three finishes were sold. Matte has an opaque black back, while Void and Titanium use transparent backs that show the fan. Titanium arrived in April 2023 as a lighter color and does not use titanium metal. Outside China, Void and Titanium came only with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.
The 6.8-inch AMOLED screen has a resolution of 2480 x 1116 pixels and a 120 Hz refresh rate. Peak brightness reaches 1,300 nits, and Gorilla Glass 5 covers the panel. The selfie camera sits under the display, so there is no notch or punch hole. Two touch-sensitive shoulder triggers on the right edge work at 520 Hz.
Performance
The phone runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, an octa-core 4 nm chip. Its fastest core reaches 3.2 GHz, and the Adreno 740 GPU handles graphics. Memory options use LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. REDMAGIC adds its own Red Core 2 chip for the triggers, vibration and sound effects. The ICE 11.0 cooling system pairs the fan with a large vapor chamber. A graphene layer also sits under the screen.
Cameras
The rear setup has three cameras. The main camera uses a 50 MP Samsung GN5 sensor with an f/1.88 lens and no optical stabilization. It records video at up to 8K at 30 fps. An 8 MP ultrawide and a 2 MP macro camera complete the setup. The 16 MP under-display selfie camera records video at up to 1080p.
Battery and charging
The global 8 Pro has a 6,000 mAh battery and 65 W wired charging. A 65 W charger is included in the box. The China version has the same battery but charges at 80 W. There is no wireless charging.
Software and updates
The phone shipped with Android 13 and REDMAGIC OS 6.0. REDMAGIC did not publish a fixed update policy for this model. Other features include a 3.5 mm headphone jack, stereo speakers, NFC, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. An optical fingerprint reader sits under the display.
Should you buy the REDMAGIC 8 Pro?
The 8 Pro suits players who want a fan-cooled phone with shoulder triggers and a headphone jack. Its large battery also helps in long sessions. It is no longer produced, and REDMAGIC no longer sells it in its own stores. Buyers should also weigh the missing water resistance, the basic secondary cameras and the short update support. Its successor is the REDMAGIC 8S Pro.
