Realme 13 Pro and RedMagic 9S Pro: A Comparison of Mid-Range and Gaming Smartphones

Realme 13 Pro Review - Pros and Cons, Verdict | MySmartPrice

Earlier this year, Realme launched the Realme 12 Pro, making waves with its premium design and amazing cameras. Fast forward six months, and they're back with the Realme 13 Pro. Like its older sibling, the Realme 13 Pro is all about the looks. Earlier, they teamed up with luxury watch designer Ollivier Savéo. This time, they've gone artsy, partnering with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to bring a Claude Monet-inspired colour scheme. But don't be fooled; the Realme 13 Pro isn't just a pretty face. Under the hood, it's packing the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset and a 3D VC Cooling System, among other goodies. At Rs 26,999, it's stepping into the ring with heavyweights like the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, Nothing Phone (2a), and Samsung Galaxy M55. So, the burning question: Is the Realme 13 Pro worth your hard-earned cash? Let's dive into the review and find out! The Realme 13 Pro will be available in three storage variants starting from August 6. You can purchase it on Realme's official website, Flipkart, and at retail outlets. Here's a look at the pricing. Design is one of the standout features of the Realme 13 Pro. The moment you hold it, the device feels unique and special, especially the back. The material, made of glass, adds to its premium feel. The build quality is solid, with no parts feeling loose or fragile. Despite this, the device doesn't feel heavy. Thanks to the curves on both the front and back, it looks and feels sleek. The camera island is similar to its predecessor, maintaining a familiar design language. Realme seems to follow the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" strategy here. The camera setup radiates elegance, featuring a golden circular ring that blends well with the device's colour. For this review, we have the "Monet Gold" option, which looks and feels absolutely stunning. Monet was a French painter known for his innovative approach to capturing light and atmosphere. This design is inspired by Monet's famous painting "The Golden Haystacks." Realme claims this design evokes a sense of comfort and vitality, and I agree. The phone feels smooth in hand, and the low-saturation colours are easy on the eyes, providing a more pleasing experience when using the phone without a case. Overall, if you're looking for a phone that looks premium, classy, and sleek, the Realme 13 Pro will surely impress you. It also comes with an IP65 rating, ensuring you don't have to worry about accidental drops while cleaning your fish tank. Let's address the second most important aspect of this device: cameras. The Realme 13 Pro features a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 f/1.88 primary sensor with OIS support. This setup offers impressive camera capabilities, regardless of lighting conditions. I took several photos on a cloudy day, and the results were quite good. The images had ample details, a balanced dynamic range, accurate colours, and controlled saturation. Indoor shots also turned out well, with sufficient detail and no oversaturation of colours -- a big plus, because this gives you more room for editing. The camera performs admirably at night, too. Photos taken in well-lit areas, such as streets with ample lighting from lamps, cars, or buildings, look beautiful. Furthermore, the Realme 13 Pro performs admirably in low-light photography. While noise is inevitable in such conditions due to the camera's increased sensitivity, the device captures images with acceptable detail. A commendable aspect is that the phone refrains from excessive noise reduction in post-processing, preserving image texture even though it might appear slightly grainy. Switching to the 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, I noticed a slight shift in colour tones -- nothing major, but the primary camera leans towards teal, while the ultrawide favours an orange tone. Despite this, the ultrawide camera maintains good detail. Portrait photography is another strong aspect of the Realme 13 Pro. Whether it's a busy mall background or a soothing restaurant backdrop, the device was spot on with edge detection. Portrait shots of moving objects were also captured well by the phone. Yes, there was some smoothness due to the movement of the subject. Apart from that, I am satisfied with the device's portrait camera capabilities. Even the background blur looks quite natural. I lowered the F stop to just f/1.4, and to my surprise, the result was terrific. Yes, the artificial blur is quite evident if you zoom in a little, but it's great for social media posts. The Realme 13 Pro has no dedicated telephoto sensor, but it provides up to 5x digital zooming capabilities. The photos taken with the 5x zoom do the job, as you will be able to recognise the person or read what's written on the billboard. But it will not produce pleasing images; there will be noise and a lack of detail. If you want to try out its telephoto capabilities, I think the 2x zoom is the sweet spot for the Realme 13 Pro's cameras. Along with the optics, Realme has also included a bunch of AI goodies for its camera department, such as an AI eraser and AI ultra-clear features, are good additions. The AI ultra-clear mode functions similarly to a standard sharpness enhancer, primarily boosting image detail and contrast. However, it's the AI eraser that impressed me. I tried removing some people from the image of the road, and it worked fine. The Realme 13 Pro's 32-megapixel front-facing camera performs well, too. It captures accurate skin tones and sharp details. The front camera's portrait mode also works satisfactorily, producing good results. The Realme 13 Pro draws power from the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, which also powers the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion and POCO X6. It will also face competition from the likes of Nothing Phone (2a), Samsung Galaxy M55, and more. Interestingly this is the same processor used in its bigger sibling the Realme 13 Pro Plus and last year's Realme 12 Pro Plus. If we go by the synthetic benchmarks, the Realme 13 Pro falls slightly behind the Nothing Phone (2a) but surpasses the Galaxy M55. Besides, it's pretty evident that it's not targeting a performance-centric audience. The Realme 13 Pro delivers excellent and fast everyday performance. It features LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, making multitasking and file transfers smooth and effortless. I also played Call of Duty: Mobile with 'High' graphics and 'Max' frame rates, and the experience was smooth. I didn't notice any major frame drop or stutter. I also played a couple of sessions of BGMI with 'HD' Quality and 'High' fps, and the experience was similar. It was all buttery smooth without any major hiccups. The device comes with the 3D vapour chamber cooling system, which is a nine-layer cooling system. Now, without going into the nitty-gritty of how it works, let's just say that it works fine and does its job. During my time with the device, I have never felt the phone become excessively hot. It did get slightly warm, but nothing concerning. The Realme 13 Pro runs on Realme UI 5.0, based on Android 14. The overall experience is just like any other Realme device. It does come with some pre-installed apps like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Netflix, but these are common apps that many users would download anyway, so it's not a major issue. However, there are some other apps and games like ReelShort and Block Blast that I find a bit annoying, but you can easily uninstall them. Apart from that, there are some Hot apps and Hot Games folders. Thankfully, there are no spammy notifications, so that's good. Realme promises two years of Android updates and three years of security updates for the Realme 13 Pro. This falls short compared to Samsung's promise of four years of Android and five years of security updates for the Galaxy M55. It also lags behind the Nothing Phone (2a), which offers three years of OS and four years of security updates. The Realme 13 Pro features a stunning 6.7-inch curved OLED panel on the front, with minimal and evenly distributed bezels, leaving no room for complaints. The 120Hz refresh rate ensures that day-to-day tasks and scrolling are smooth and snappy. The display produces accurate colours and deep blacks, making watching content an absolute joy. I watched a few episodes of The Boys, and the experience was amazing, even during dark scenes, where the display managed the visuals quite well. It also supports Widevine L1 so that you can watch HD and UHD videos on apps like Prime Video, Netflix, and more. Using the display indoors is fine, with adequate brightness at around 50%. However, outdoor visibility could have been better. Even at full brightness in cloudy weather, it feels insufficient, especially in dark mode. It's not unusable; you can still read and respond to messages. Besides, switching to light mode improves visibility noticeably. Regarding audio, the Realme 13 Pro is equipped with dual stereo speakers, and they are impressive. I listened to a couple of podcasts and could hear each word articulated clearly, even when the phone was at a short distance while I was working out. Watching YouTube videos delivers an immersive audio experience. The speakers are well-placed, ensuring they won't be blocked while playing games or watching videos horizontally. The Realme 13 Pro is powered by a robust 5200mAh battery, delivering outstanding performance. The same battery package can be found in its elder sibling. In my experience, a single charge lasted a day and a half with moderate use, including calling, watching YouTube videos, and playing casual games. Even with heavy usage, the device lasted an entire day with around 7 hours of screen-on time and still had 20% battery remaining by bedtime. This endurance is a significant advantage. We also ran the PCMark battery test on the device, which lasted 16 hours and 30 minutes. In terms of charging capabilities, the Realme 13 Pro supports 45W fast charging, which takes the device from 0 to 30% in just 10 minutes. It takes about one hour and five minutes to reach the 100% mark. At a starting price of Rs 26,999, the Realme 13 Pro may not lead the pack in the performance department, but it excels in many other aspects. It boasts a sleek design, excellent build quality, good camera capabilities, and impressive battery life with reliable charging. Alternatively, if you are looking for a smartphone with a cleaner software experience, the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is also a worthy contender. Besides, if the software support greatly matters to you, the Galaxy M55 is your only choice. It's the sole device in this price bracket that promises four years of OS updates and three years of security patches. Lastly, if you are looking for a phone with a transparent back, LED lights, and a fantastic UI experience, then you know it already: the Nothing Phone (2a) is the device for you.

RedMagic 9S Pro Review

The $649 RedMagic 9S Pro is a gaming phone through and through. A specialized Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with up to 16GB of RAM is at the heart of the handset, while fans and a vapor chamber help keep things cool. It's an excellent value overall if you want to play the latest mobile games, though we were hoping to see even more improvements over the RedMagic 9 Pro ($649), such as an IP rating and a longer-term commitment to software updates. If gaming isn't your top priority, you're better off with the more well-rounded Google Pixel 8, which offers full protection against dust and water, better cameras, and seven years of software support for $699. Design: Unapologetically Boxy The RedMagic 9S Pro features the same squared-off edges and flat surfaces as the 9 Pro. It measures 6.46 by 3.01 by 0.37 inches (HWD), making it slightly taller and thicker than the older model (6.45 by 3.01 by 0.35 inches), though both weigh a somewhat hefty 8.08 ounces. For comparison, the $1,499.99 Asus ROG Phone 8 measures 6.45 by 3.02 by 0.35 inches and weighs 7.94 ounces, while the $299 Nuu B30 Pro comes in at 6.37 by 2.92 by 0.35 inches and 6.88 ounces. Yes, gaming phones are generally quite large. A speaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack are on the top edge. The right side features two capacitive shoulder buttons with 520Hz touch sampling rates, a fan grille, a volume rocker, a power button, and a physical switch for launching the phone's Game Lobby software. The left rail is bare except for another fan grille, while the bottom houses a SIM tray, a USB-C (3.2) port, and a speaker grille. The phone accepts two physical nano SIM cards but not eSIMs. You don't get a microSD card slot for expanding the storage. For biometric security, a reliable fingerprint sensor is built into the bottom of the screen. Face Unlock is also an option via the inconspicuous front-facing camera at the top of the display, though this method is less secure. The front has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection, the frame is metal, and the back panel is made of an unspecified glass. The RedMagic 9S Pro doesn't have a camera bump; its back is completely flat. The two camera lenses are on the left side of the rear panel, just above a window with a fan and LEDs that light up when the fan is on. The back also features RGB lights under the 9S text, which you can customize to show different colors at different times. Neither the RedMagic 9S Pro nor the 9 Pro have an IP rating, so you shouldn't expose it to the elements. For comparison, both the Asus ROG Phone 8 and Google Pixel 8 have an IP68 rating, which means they are essentially waterproof. RedMagic includes a basic transparent case that protects the back, corners, top, and bottom of the phone, though it leaves the long edges bare. Color options depend on the device configuration. Models with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage cost $649 and come in Frost (white) or Sleet (black). Variants with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage go for $799 and are available in Cyclone (transparent black) or Snowfall (silver). I tested the Cyclone model. Display: Big, Fast, and Bright The phone's 6.8-inch screen has a resolution of 2,480 by 1,116 pixels, a 60-to-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits. Games and other content look excellent, with vibrant colors and clarity. The screen is easy to see indoors and in most outdoor scenarios. The budget-friendly Nuu B30 Pro 5G features a similar 6.7-inch screen with a resolution of 2,400 by 1,080 pixels and the same refresh rate, but its brightness tops out at just 550 nits. Meanwhile, the Asus ROG Phone 8's 6.78-inch display (also 2,400 by 1,080 pixels) gets bright enough to easily overcome harsh sunlight at dazzling 2,500 nits. The Pixel 8's screen is notably smaller at 6.2 inches but is still nice and sharp with a resolution of 2,400 by 1,080 pixels. The 9S Pro's panel has a maximum touch sampling response rate of 2,000Hz, with an average of 960Hz (the latter is the maximum sampling rate of the 9 Pro). All input on the 9S Pro registers instantly, which makes the phone feel responsive and is essential for gaming. For comparison, the Asus ROG Phone 8 offers a 720Hz touch sampling rate, which is great but not quite at the same level. Performance: Easily Handles Everything The RedMagic 9S Pro uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version processor with a maximum CPU clock speed of 3.4GHz. Other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 variants, like those in the RedMagic 9 Pro and Asus ROG Phone 8, top out at a slightly lower 3.3GHz clock speed. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chip of the $799.99 Samsung Galaxy S24 also clocks in at 3.4GHz. Otherwise, the RedMagic 9S Pro uses LPDDR5x memory and features UFS 4.0 flash storage, both of which are the latest specs for phones and make for fast performance. RedMagic says the 9S Pro has the largest vapor chamber on the market and that it can cool the CPU core temperature by up to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). Meanwhile, its Ice 13.5 Magic Cooling System can drop overall phone temperatures up to 19.5 degrees Celsius (67 degrees Fahrenheit). Lower temperatures lead to faster clock speeds for longer periods of time. Generally, the RedMagic 9S Pro's real-world performance feels lightning-quick: Launching and switching apps works instantaneously. That said, I couldn't tell much of a difference compared with the older 9 Pro. On Geekbench 6, a suite of tests that quantifies raw computing power, the RedMagic 9S Pro scored 2,213 on the single-core test and 6,934 on the multi-core test. The 9 Pro actually did slightly better, with results of 2,263 and 7,187. The Asus ROG Phone 8 performed similarly (2,236 and 7,000), while the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max came out on top (2,928 and 7,268). On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which measures general mobile tasks, the 9S Pro scored 20,571. This is about the same as the 9 Pro (20,782) and the ROG Phone 8 (20,833). To evaluate graphics performance, I ran the GFXBench High Tier Aztec Ruins test at a resolution of 2,480 by 1,116 pixels. The 9S Pro produced 60 frames per second (fps), which matched the RedMagic 9. Meanwhile, the Asus ROG Phone 8 pushed a much better 108fps at a similar resolution. We test real-life gaming performance with Genshin Impact, a notoriously resource-intensive game. Even at the highest settings and 60fps, the RedMagic 9S Pro had no issues. Animations were smooth and fluid, and the phone didn't skip a frame or slow down with multiple enemies on screen. Wildly panning and tilting the camera wasn't a problem either. Throughout my tests, the RedMagic 9S Pro never felt hot and rarely even became warm to the touch. Battery: Long-Lasting and Fast-Charging The RedMagic 9S Pro houses a massive 6,500mAh battery (the same as the 9 Pro) that's capable of fast wired charging at up to 80W. The phone doesn't support wireless charging like the Pixel 8 or Galaxy S24, however. I appreciate that RedMagic includes a USB-C-to-USB-C cable and the 80W charging brick in the box. In our battery rundown test, in which we stream a 1080p video at full brightness, the RedMagic 9S Pro lasted for over 15 hours. This is in line with the 9 Pro. Meanwhile, the Asus ROG Phone 8 managed 12 hours and 55 minutes with its smaller 5,500mAh battery. The Galaxy S24's 4,000mAh cell kept it going for 13 hours and 5 minutes in this scenario. The Pixel 8 definitely lags a bit here, with just 10 hours and 20 minutes of battery life. With the included charger, the RedMagic 9S Pro went from a 0% to 100% charge in just 55 minutes. A 15-minute charge brought it up to 17%, while a 30-minute session took it to 62%. The 9 Pro managed a full recharge in just 45 minutes, while the Asus ROG Phone 8 took 50 minutes with its included 65W charger. If fast charging is your thing, nothing beats the OnePlus 12, which powers up from empty in just 38 minutes. The phone packs a novel Charge SEP mode, which lets you power your phone via the USB-C cable without actually charging the battery. This is a great way to game while ensuring long-term battery health. When I connected it to T-Mobile's 5G network in New York City, the phone reached a maximum download speed of 196Mbps and a top upload speed of 19.2Mbps. For comparison, the Asus ROG Phone 8, which supports the same forms of 5G, performed better with download speeds of 328Mbps and upload speeds of 35.1Mbps. Using a Wi-Fi 6 access point, the RedMagic 9S Pro hit peak speeds of 452Mbps down and 16.7Mbps up. In this scenario, the ROG Phone 8 was slightly slower at 375Mbps down and 16.4Mbps up. At the farthest location from the access point in my apartment, the 9S Pro's download and upload speeds dropped to 24.8Mbps and 0.68Mbps, respectively. The ROG Phone 8 maintained 235Mbps down and 8.69Mbps up in the same spot. Call quality is good. In testing, I left a voicemail with a television running in the background. My voice sounded clear on the other end, and the earpiece did a good job of removing background audio. The earpiece speaker hit 70.3dB, while the speakerphone reached 67.7dB. Generally, I find audio at or above 70dB easy to hear in spaces with moderately loud background noise, so I would have preferred more volume here. The phone's stereo speakers sound relatively full for music playback. They reached a maximum volume of 93.8dB when I played Metallica's "Enter Sandman." Low bass notes like those in The Knife's "Silent Shout" are difficult to hear unless you are close to the phone. I suggest getting a pair of wired or Bluetooth headphones for the best audio. Cameras: Not the Main Draw On the back, the phone has a 50MP f/1.9 main camera with optical image stabilization and a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera. Both rear cameras use pixel binning to produce 12.5MP pictures by default. Colors are inconsistent between the two. The main imager produces photos with slightly washed-out colors. It generally preserves detail in good lighting, though darker areas and shadows can appear muddy. The ultra-wide camera takes darker images with even less detail. RedMagic applies distortion correction to final images, though the results still look unnatural. The 16MP f/2.0 camera under the front display works in a pinch, but it struggles with clarity. Images also showcase vignetting and ghosting. A portrait mode is available, but it hardly appears to create the portrait effect at all. The rear cameras' video capture tops out at 8K30. Though the details are good, the colors in recordings appear oversaturated. Camera movement causes videos to look wobbly. Color tones are more accurate at 4K60, though still slightly oversaturated. The front-facing camera produces hazy video with muddy colors -- you should avoid using it for video. Software: Limited Updates, But Gamer-Friendly Tweaks The 9S Pro ships with Android 14 and RedMagic OS 9.5.5 atop it. RedMagic promises software updates every two months for the first six months. After that, updates are set for every three months for somewhere between the next 18 and 24 months. For comparison, the Asus ROG Phone 8 gets two years of major updates and four years of security patches. Meanwhile, the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 each get seven years of OS and security fixes. Further, there are no special AI features here like you get with the Pixel and Galaxy phones. RedMagic can do better here. Since this is a gaming phone, lots of customization options are available. Pushing the red textured switch toward the top of the phone launches Game Lobby. The phone automatically adds your games here, though you can manually add apps as well. This also serves as a home for your gaming screenshots and videos. Tapping the Energy Cube icon brings up granular controls for touch sampling, performance, GPU settings, and more. The Super Base section houses the Plugin Library, which has 18 default options. Selecting a plug-in reveals its function and which games work with it. For example, the 4D Vibrate plug-in vibrates your screen depending on the game. It works with titles like Asphalt 9 and PUBG. Super Base is also the home of Mora, a mascot that can take the form of a person or a cat. Mora can live on your home screen and will audibly or visually react to your actions. If you go into Mora's settings, you can mute it on particular Wi-Fi networks or when you are on mobile data. I don't find this feature compelling, but to each their own. When playing a game, you can swipe from the right side to call up a dashboard. Then, you can record your screen, see your CPU and GPU clock speed, change the display orientation, and more. Verdict: A Great Midrange Gaming Phone The RedMagic 9S Pro's powerful processor, ample amounts of RAM, and effective cooling technology make it an outstanding gaming phone at a compelling price. We wish it had some protection against the elements, sharper cameras, and better long-term software support, but you won't find a better gaming handset for the price. That said, if gaming isn't important to you, the Google Pixel 8 is more appealing overall thanks to its longer software support window, more advanced cameras, handy AI features, and superior durability.