Redmagic Nova Gaming Tablet Review Mobile Gaming Growth

Games require big screens. Android supports large screen devices such as tablets. Gamers want the highest possible performance. Nubia has integrated these ideas into the Redmagic Nova gaming tablet.

Red Magic Nova’s Android Heart

First, I’d like to acknowledge that the Nova tablet has Android at its core. It comes with all the benefits of the Android ecosystem and unlocks a huge number of games. It also means you have everything you need, including a variety of media and streaming services, office applications, and organizational tools.

You can also get performance benefits if needed. The Nova tablet is tuned for gaming, and thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, it means it’s one of the fastest and most powerful Android tablets available. It’s also a mid-cycle “leading” version of the 8 Gen 3, with increased clock speeds to give it a little more oomph. Depending on the version you get, the 512 GB version can have up to 16 GB of RAM (256/12 versions are also available).

Daily tablet use also benefits from being tailored for gaming. The display runs at 144Hz with 2.8K resolution and comes with a 10,100mAh battery and active cooling to reduce temperatures under load.

Restrictions

There are some caveats to all of this. The first is that it’s a Wi-Fi only device and doesn’t have a cellular option. It’s safe to assume that you’ll own a phone alongside the Nova and also have access to a hotspot, but that means you’ll be locked into a two-device solution or dependent on public infrastructure.

The other thing is the camera. High-end smartphones put a lot of emphasis on the camera, but in gaming smartphones and tablets, the camera is one area that is sacrificed. The Nova tablet’s camera is no slouch, but it’s not great either. Which phone do you carry around as a hotspot? Use it for important photos.

If this sounds like a bigger version of the RedMagic 9S Po, I agree. Why not? If you can offer a larger screen and beneficial form factor on a hardware platform that’s already tailored for gaming, go for it.

Tuning performance in game space

At the core of Redmagic’s gaming experience is Game Space. You can set it as your default home app or call it from your notification bar. If you plan to use the Nova Gaming Tablet as a dedicated gaming device, we recommend the former. You can access your games directly and adjust your tablet settings with per-game settings.

How does Redmagic Nova actually work?

Unsurprisingly, it works incredibly well in games with small ranges. The recently released Balatro for Android is a great example. A roguelike deck builder card game. It’s quite addictive and doesn’t involve much more than tapping cards and making decisions. There is no need to use all the extra power inside the Nova. There’s no need for fast display refresh or high-touch sampling.

However, the larger screen makes it easier to play games while sitting. The graphics are larger and sharper (especially to older eyes). And it works really well. It feels more comfortable than playing on the small screen of your smartphone.

Arcade-style games that rely on touchscreen input are popular, but the large size of tablets can make them unwieldy depending on the location of the controls.

A lot of that relies on smart developers allowing touch controls to work on larger screens. In many arcade games, this means having two virtual sticks pick up where your thumb rests, rather than a specific hotspot. Note that while this is pretty much an accepted standard for most games, older titles may not be as compliant.

One thing I’ve discovered to improve gaming on the Nova tablet is to use an external controller (in my case 8BitDo’s SN30). This eliminates the hassle of needing fine motor controls on a touchscreen to control everything you need in a game. Again, most modern games have an option to use a controller. If not, you can use Game Spaces to map controller keys to part of the display to mimic a tap or slide.

Please note that some popular online games may recognize this last option as a cheat mechanism and may not allow you to play with it enabled.

I’d like to point out that another, almost core, use of the Nova tablet is game streaming. Like many gamers, I have purchased several games through the Steam Store. Some of its stores allow you to stream games from your host PC to a remote device…in this case, this includes Steam’s Android app Steam Link. This allows you to stream your games directly to the Nova’s display and use the on-screen touch-based controller, or like me, work with a physical controller.

Should you put aside your big, bulky gaming desktop or laptop and play on a lightweight tablet? Assuming you have the bandwidth at home or while traveling, this is a great experience.

Ready, Player 1

Let’s be honest. There aren’t that many gaming tablets available, and I think it’s a relatively niche field. Still, that didn’t stop RedMagic from offering the equivalent of a gaming smartphone. This is, broadly speaking, the RedMagic 9S Pro, a solid high-end gaming smartphone. I would seriously consider buying this along with a physical controller, but if you’re interested in that combination, the Redmagic Nova tablet shouldn’t disappoint.

Well, this is the Nubia Redmagic 9S Pro gaming smartphone review.