The Nubia Red Magic Mars gaming-oriented smartphone is officially available for purchase in the U.S., Canada, and across Europe starting today. As yet only two of the three configurations are available including the “Essential” and “Superior” while the “Conqueror” edition promising 10GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage will arrive at a later date, with more information to be “announced soon.”
Originally unveiled last November, the Nubia Red Magic Mars was further showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and became available for pre-order in the United States at the beginning of this month.
The Essential variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage costs $399, €399 or £359, whereas the Superior model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard memory is launching for $449, €449, £409. But despite its moniker, the Nubia Red Magic Mars is presently available only in Black while the Red flavor is out of stock.
The third model labeled “Conqueror” will launch at a later date featuring a limited camo finish. Then again, the OEM also sells dbrand Red Magic Black Camo skins on the official online store for €10 or the regional equivalent.
The exterior design screams “gaming device” especially since it has an LED RGB strip running across the back panel. Of course, this is just an “e-sport-inspired” aesthetic feature as the OEM calls it, so gaming enthusiasts who don’t necessarily believe in the power of RGB lighting and its contributions to better performance will likely look at other feature the phone has to offer.
The Nubia Red Magic Mars boasts superior heat dissipation compared to non-gaming smartphones through the implementation of an “industry-first” hybrid cooling system based on advanced vapor cooling and four passive air chambers.
The device has built-in capacitive shoulder buttons which can be custom-mapped by the user and features a hardware switch for enabling the Red Magic Game Space, i.e. a customized gaming-oriented dashboard where users can quick-launch Android games. The dashboard also promises to improve gaming performance through a “high-performance mode” and by automatically minimizing background applications.
Furthermore, the phone promises 4D vibrations for improved feedback and immersion, but as yet PUBG and Knives Out are the only two games supporting the feature.
As far as raw hardware components go, the Nubia Red Magic Mars is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chipset featuring an Adreno 630 graphics processor. It features a 6-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2,160 by 1,080 pixels and is powered by a 3,800mAh battery supporting Quick Charge.
A couple of stereo speakers are backed by DTS 7.1 surround sound and the device also offers Smart PA amplification for cinematic sound. But it should be noted that the two speakers are not firing in the same direction towards the user, with one of them being located on the phone’s lower edge.
The back of the device accommodates a single 16MP main camera along with an LED flash and a fingerprint sensor, as well as four vents for the aforementioned passive air chambers. The outer shell itself is crafted from a “unique metal allow” according to the OEM, and this further contributes to better heat dissipation.
As of today, the Nubia Red Magic Mars can be purchased from the official Red Magic online store in the U.S., Canada, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.