RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet: A Powerful Android Experience

What’s old is new again. About five years into my tech reviewing journey, gaming tablets became a thing for about a year. Then they fizzled out faster than a cheap July 4th sparkler. But they’re back again, and if the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet is any indication, they’re better than ever. The 10.9-inch slate ($500 starting, $650 reviewed) has a lot of power under the hood thanks to an overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, which makes gaming an absolute joy. The display is bright and vivid, and the quad speakers pack a wallop without going overboard. The slate also has a bang-up pair of cameras if you want to snap a quick pic, stream, or video conference.

However, a slightly clunky user interface with a bunch of bloatware is a minor hurdle for some consumers to overcome. It would be nice if RedMagic bundled the keyboard and stylus with the tablet instead of requiring an additional purchase. But for gamers looking for a powerful tablet to take their mobile gaming to the next level, the RedMagic Nova is an excellent choice.

The RedMagic Nova comes in two flavors. The $499 (€478.50) model features 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The company sent me the $699 (€670.28) variant, which includes 16GB of RAM and doubles the storage capacity.

Explore the Innovative Design of the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet

Tablets often struggle with design limitations. While smartphones and laptops can bend, fold, and roll, tablets are typically just a flat slab of glass, accompanied by some plastic or metal. However, RedMagic attempts to break this mold with several striking embellishments on the dark gray anodized aluminum rear panel.

At the top of the panel (or the side, depending on the slate’s orientation), your eye is immediately drawn to the glowing RGB RedMagic logo. While the company speaks my multicolored love language, the more compelling aspect is the clear panel that showcases some of the tablet’s internals, including heat pipes and the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. According to RedMagic, this peekaboo window makes the Nova the world’s first transparent gaming tablet. It’s a cool design feature, but now I find myself wanting a full glass rear panel despite the impracticality.

Next to the window is the housing for the 50-megapixel rear camera. Unlike the window that lies flush with the metal back, the sensor housing protrudes slightly. This means the slate will never lie completely flat, which can be a bit annoying. RedMagic’s logo sits in the center of the panel, reminiscent of a late 90’s tramp stamp, striking a balance between playful and nostalgic.

The front of the tablet is constructed from glass, featuring a 10.9-inch display encircled by some rather thick bezels. The 20MP camera is positioned in the middle of the top (or right) bezel. Like the rear panel, the tablet’s sides are crafted from anodized aluminum, with a power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader located on the top left, along with the volume rocker just around the corner. The USB-C charging port is conveniently located in the center of the Nova’s right side, flanked by a pair of speakers. Finally, along the bottom, you will find a set of Pogo connectors for the optional magnetic keyboard ($109). Surprisingly, the tablet lacks an audio jack.

The Nova weighs 18.7 ounces (530 grams) and measures 11 x 7.4 x 1.89 inches (279 x 188 x 48 millimeters). For comparison, that’s larger than the current iPad mini model, which weighs 10.3 ounces (293g) and measures 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.25 inches (195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3 mm). It’s important to note that the iPad is a smaller tablet than the RedMagic overall.

Experience Stunning Visuals with the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet’s Display and Audio

It’s not OLED, but I’ll still take it. Taking my eyes off the Nova’s 10.9-inch, 2880 x 1800 LCD display was a challenge. The colors virtually leap off the screen with crisp, clear details. In fact, the details were so sharp during the “Exhibiting Forgiveness” trailer that I noticed the fiber pattern on a blank canvas and the paintbrush striations left as they touched said canvas. The display showcased the skin tones of actors André Holland, Andra Day, and John Earl Jelks exceptionally well. However, the colors were undoubtedly the highlight, whether it was the vibrant blues and violets in the paintings or the bright yellows and reds worn by some of the characters.

While you can watch movies, read comics, and check your social media accounts, this is primarily a gaming tablet. As such, the Nova’s games look stunning on its display, especially with its 144Hz refresh rate. The screen also boasts an 840Hz touch sampling rate if you prefer to use the touchscreen to play fast-paced FPS games instead of a Bluetooth controller. I had a fantastic experience questing around and defeating fantastical creatures in Wuthering Waves.

The tablet’s quad speakers deliver surprisingly loud sound—so loud that they could put a few ultraportable systems to shame. Even at maximum volume, the Nova produced warm, balanced audio whether I was streaming music from Spotify or Tidal. The dialogue and explosions from my mobile games also sounded impressive. My only complaint is the lack of bass, which is expected for a tablet of this size.

Navigate the User Interface and Software of the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet

Although the Nova runs on Android 14, it utilizes RedMagic OS 9.5. The design isn’t groundbreaking; the default skin features a series of grays and light blues aimed at creating a futuristic aesthetic. However, the lock and home screens are customizable, and RedMagic provides several themes to choose from. This is a positive aspect, but the presence of unnecessary bloatware apps under Hot Apps and Hot Games, a collection of 20 suggested apps, detracts from its functionality.

Given that the Nova is primarily a gaming tablet, it makes sense that there’s software designed to enhance the gaming experience. Game Space is the main app for this purpose, aggregating all installed games and allowing you to launch them from within the app. In the Game Lobby, users can adjust settings such as touch sampling rate, smoothness, edge accidental touch protection, as well as CPU and GPU performance profiles, and display settings.

If you navigate to Game Base, you can check out the tablet’s preinstalled plugins and see which games can utilize them. Features like key remapping and free display customization to adjust screen ratios for landscape and portrait modes are available here. This is also where you can customize Mora, RedMagic’s AI assistant. In addition to altering her appearance, users can explore her various actions. When enabled, Mora acts as a guide in Game Space and can also be used throughout the tablet to interact with notifications and system alerts, such as low battery warnings. While Game Space is user-friendly, it can be somewhat challenging to locate. I had to search through the quick settings menu in the notifications shade to find it.

RedMagic has committed to at least one Android OS update, ensuring that the Nova should upgrade to Android 15. The company will also provide up to two years of security updates. While this may not match the longevity offered by Samsung or Apple for their devices, it’s certainly better than having no updates at all.

Unleash Gaming Potential with the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet’s Performance

The Nova derives its power from the 3.4-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8th Gen 3 Leading Version processor, an overclocked variant of the original SoC. This additional performance, combined with 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, allowed the Nova to seamlessly handle a staggering 50 open Google Chrome tabs, light photo edits in Adobe Photoshop Express, and several open Google Docs without breaking a sweat. More importantly, paired with its Adreno 750 GPU, the tablet consistently delivered fast, smooth gameplay on every demanding game I threw at it, including Dead Cells, Zenless Zone Zero, and Alien Isolation.

I ran a few benchmarks to evaluate the Nova’s performance, and I must say, I was quite impressed. On Geekbench 6, the slate achieved a single-core score of 2,208 and a multi-core score of 6,422. When I ran the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light benchmark, which tests the GPU, the tablet returned a respectable score of 1,743.

When the Nova is under heavy load, it activates its internal 20,000-rpm fan to maintain optimal cooling. According to RedMagic, the Nova is the world’s first gaming tablet featuring an integrated turbo fan and 3D heat pipe. I spent two hours battling my way through Dead Cells. At the beginning of my play session, the middle of the back panel measured a cool 78 degrees Fahrenheit (26.5 degrees Celsius) with the fan engaged. After two hours, the temperature rose to 91 degrees (32.7 degrees). It was warm but not uncomfortably so.

Capture Stunning Moments with RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet’s Cameras

The Nova features dual cameras: a 50MP rear camera and a 20MP front camera. Both cameras capture impressive photos and can handle any video conferencing or streaming needs you may have. They even include modes similar to those found on smartphones, such as Time-lapse, Panorama, and Slow Motion. Regardless of which camera I used, I was genuinely impressed with the color reproduction and detail.

The myriad colors in my locs appeared vibrant in the selfie shots, accurately reflecting my skin tone without washing it out. The camera captured the exact mustard yellow of the can in the background. In a photo of my friend holding an Astro Bot plushie, the green wall and his shirt were both rendered beautifully. The detail was sharp enough to make out some of the words on the tag when zoomed in with minimal blurring.

Speaking of detail, check out these pictures of my puppies on my sofa. Not only can you see the sheen of their beautiful fur, but you can also make out individual hairs. The intricate details in my sectional’s fabric panel are also clearly visible.

Maximize Productivity with RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet Battery Life

I squeezed an impressive 12 hours and 18 minutes out of the Nova’s 10,100mAh battery while the tablet played a 24-hour video at 50% brightness. However, that time was significantly shorter when I started gaming; I only managed 3 hours and 29 minutes playing Wuthering Waves before it was time to reach for the charger.

Speaking of the charger, it’s becoming increasingly rare to see one shipped with a smartphone these days, let alone a tablet. RedMagic includes an 80W charger with the slate, and the company estimates it takes just 55 minutes to charge the tablet from 0 to 100%.

Final Thoughts on the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet: A Gamer’s Delight

I’m typically not a fan of tablets. More specifically, I’ve often questioned their necessity, especially when smartphones are now capable of unfolding or sporting nearly 8-inch displays. However, despite my usual hesitance, I must admit that the RedMagic Nova has left a positive impression on me. Tramp stamp of a logo aside, I appreciate the design, particularly the transparent window and RGB features. Even after several hours of gameplay, I encountered minimal slowdown. While the screen isn’t OLED, it delivers vibrant colors; coupled with the impressive quad speakers, you’re in for an audiovisual treat. Depending on your usage, you can also expect solid battery life.

The user interface may require some adjustment, and I wish the accessories were included with the tablet purchase. Overall, the RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet stands out as a great choice for gamers or anyone looking for an alternative tablet that neither Apple nor Samsung offers.

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