A go-to tablet for Android gaming
The RedMagic Nova (starting at $499) offers a top-flight Android gaming experience at a reasonable price. With a powerful Snapdragon processor, plenty of memory, and an efficient cooling system, you can focus on your game with the confidence that the tablet won’t let you down mid-action. We like its hearty speakers and dedicated gaming tools, though its screen could be brighter and its battery life longer. If you’re looking for a dedicated Android gaming tablet, the RedMagic Nova will help you level up in your favorite titles. If you want an Android tablet that provides a more balanced experience, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ (starting at $599.99) is our Editors’ Choice thanks to its productivity tools and longer battery life.Design: A High-End Feel
The RedMagic Nova comes in black and looks simple from the front but not from the rear. While the screen and uniform bezel dominate the front, the back panel and frame are made from an anodized aluminum unibody shell, which gives the tablet a refined look and feel. Unusually, the rear surface features a transparent section made of lens-grade glass that provides a window to its internal fan. Like many gaming products, the Nova has a glowing, light-up logo centered on the rear panel. The RGB light shines through the RedMagic logo, where it can serve notifications or dance along with a song. It also illuminates the fan above. You can customize when and how the lights appear.
Measuring 6.48 by 9.97 by 0.29 inches (HWD) and weighing 1.17 pounds, the Nova is a compact tablet with a dense feel. For comparison, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is larger and heavier (11.24 by 7.30 by 0.26 inches, 1.4 pounds).
When held in landscape orientation, a combined power button/fingerprint sensor is on the left short side of the Nova within a small divot in the frame. The divot guides your finger to the correct position for reading your fingerprint, which works consistently regardless of orientation. A volume rocker is at the top left of the long side, and the user-facing camera is centered above the screen. The bottom edge features pogo-pins and two attachment points for optional accessories. All buttons had good travel and satisfying clicks. There are four speakers, with two on each short side. The USB-C port (3.1 Gen 2) for charging and data transfer is on the right short edge.
The Nova does not have an IP rating and is not dust or waterproof. The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ features an IP68 rating, making it fully dustproof and waterproof. Display: Sharp and Fast
The RedMagic tablet features a 10.9-inch IPS LCD at a resolution of 2,880 by 1,800 pixels in a 16:10 aspect ratio with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. This makes it sharp and fast, which is vital for gaming. The colors look vibrant and the animations are smooth, though the blacks are slightly washed out due to the LCD tech. An OLED would generate deeper blacks.
The display’s maximum brightness is 550 nits. It looks good indoors, but the cover glass is highly reflective and not bright enough to overcome direct sunlight. The LCD has an 840Hz touch sampling rate, which means touch input is registered more or less instantly—another key feature for gaming. In testing, the screen responded lightning-quick to every finger press, which made it feel speedy.
For comparison, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ features a 12.4-inch LCD with a lower resolution (2,560 by 1,600 pixels) and a lower refresh rate (90Hz), though it is slightly brighter at 600 nits. Performance: Game On
The RedMagic Nova is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version. This variant of Qualcomm’s flagship processor has a slightly faster clock speed than the off-the-shelf chip, running at a max of 3.4GHz rather than 3.3GHz. There are two configurations available: 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage ($499) or 16GB of RAM with 512GB of storage ($649). I tested the latter model.
