Nubia Red Magic Nova Review

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet is Nubia’s first gaming tablet to be sold worldwide. Nubia is well-known for its reasonably priced gaming phones. At an affordable price, this tablet is made to provide strong gaming performance.

With its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version processor, Nova handles high-end games smoothly on its 10.9-inch, 144Hz screen, although display isn’t absolute best on market. Gamers who use Bluetooth controller may miss having a built-in kickstand or case with a stand.

While tablet performs very well, our tests suggest it may throttle slightly during long gaming sessions but not enough to affect gameplay noticeably. Nubia’s Game Space app also makes it easy to fine-tune gaming settings, though its custom user interface could use some improvements.

Red Magic Nova Tablet is a solid option for those wanting a high-performing gaming tablet under $500/£500. It’s a promising start and we’re eager to see how Nubia continues to develop its gaming tablets.

Specs at a Glance:

• Display: 10.9-inch IPS LCD, 144Hz refresh rate, 1800x2880px resolution
• Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with Adreno 750 GPU
• Memory: Up to 24GB RAM, up to 1TB storage
• Battery: 10,100mAh, 80W fast charging
• Cameras: Rear 50MP, Front 20MP
• Build: Aluminum frame, built-in cooling fan, RGB lighting

Nubia Red Magic Nova Specification

Category	Details
📶 Network	No cellular connectivity
🖥️ Technology	–
🏗️ Body	Dimensions: 253.3 x 164.6 x 7.3 mm (9.97 x 6.48 x 0.29 in) Weight: 530 g (1.17 lb) Build: Glass front, aluminum frame, aluminum back
📱 SIM	No
✨ Special Features	RGB light on the back Built-in cooling fan (illuminated) Aviation-grade aluminum frame
🖥️ Display	Type: IPS LCD, 144Hz refresh rate, 550 nits brightness Size: 10.9 inches (~82.6% screen-to-body ratio) Resolution: 1800 x 2880 pixels (16:10) (~312 ppi)
📱 Platform	OS: Android 14 Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU: Octa-core (up to 3.4GHz) GPU: Adreno 750
💾 Memory	Card Slot: No Internal Storage: 256GB (12GB RAM), 512GB (16GB RAM), 1TB (24GB RAM) Storage Type: UFS 4.0
📸 Main Camera	Resolution: 50 MP (f/1.8, 26mm, wide) Features: LED flash, HDR, Panorama Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps
🤳 Selfie Camera	Resolution: 20 MP (f/2.0, 26mm, wide) Video: 1080p@30fps
🔊 Sound	Speakers: Stereo (4 speakers) 3.5mm Jack: No Snapdragon Sound
🔌 Connectivity	Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band Bluetooth: 5.4, A2DP, LE Positioning: No NFC: Yes (no payments) USB: Type-C 3.1 Gen2, video output, magnetic connector pins
🔐 Sensors	Fingerprint: Side-mounted Other Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
🔋 Battery	Type: 10100 mAh (non-removable) Charging: 80W wired (International model: 100% in 55 mins) / 120W wired (China model: 50% in 15 mins, 100% in 45 mins)
🎨 Miscellaneous	Colors: Cyclone, Snowfall, Midnight Price: Around 500 EUR
💡 Display Test	Max brightness: 517 nits
🔊 Loudspeaker Test	-23.9 LUFS (Very Good)
🔋 Battery Life	Active use: 10 hours 51 minutes

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet: Price and Availability

Price: Starts at $499/£439 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model.

Availability: Launched on October 16, 2024; high demand has caused stock shortages. It’s currently available for pre-order with restocks expected in November.

Nubia’s Red Magic brand is known for offering great value and Nova Tablet is no exception. Base model offers impressive gaming power for the price, while a premium version with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage is available for $649/£559.

For Android tablets, it’s hard to find this level of performance at such a low price. The OnePlus Pad 2 comes close with a similar processor and display but costs a bit more at £499. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 FE is priced similarly at £449 but lacks the gaming power of the Nova.

To get a performance boost beyond Nova Tablet, Apple’s iPad Air with M2 chip would be an option but it’s pricier at $599/£599 and it lacks Red Magic’s 144Hz display and gaming-focused cooling system.

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet: Design

Red Magic Nova Tablet has a classic tablet shape with a mostly metal body, flat edges and rounded corners. It’s 7.3mm thick and weighs 530g—solid but easy to hold.

On the back, it has a semi-transparent strip and RGB lighting on the cooling fan and “Red Magic” logo, adding a bit of gaming style. Power button on the side doubles as a fingerprint sensor and there’s also basic face recognition.

Nova Tablet doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which might be a letdown for some gamers. A built-in kickstand or included case with a stand would be helpful for controller users. Nubia plans to offer a case and stylus, but an integrated stand, like the one on the Nintendo Switch, would add convenience.

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet: Display

• Size: 10.9-inch IPS LCD with 2.8K resolution (1800 x 2880)
• Refresh Rate: 144Hz, good for smooth gaming
• Brightness: Peaks at 550 nits

With a sharp 10.9-inch screen and a high refresh rate of 144 Hz, Red Magic Nova Tablet is a responsive and smooth gaming device. Screen is not as large as some competitors like OnePlus Pad 2 or Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus which go above 12 inches.

While the display is clear, it doesn’t have deep colors of an OLED. Brightness reaches 550 nits, which is decent, though it could be brighter for better viewing in direct light.

Its four DTS-X Ultra Sound speakers produce strong, crisp sound, though not quite as good as that of an iPad.

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet: Performance

• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version (overclocked)
• RAM: 12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X
• Storage: 256GB or 512GB UFS 4.0

Red Magic Nova Tablet runs on one of the best mobile chips available, delivering top-tier performance similar to the latest Android phones. This makes it great for games like Genshin Impact on max settings.

For longer gaming sessions, it has a strong cooling system including a 20,000 RPM fan and nine-layer cooling. However, some performance dips were seen in extreme testing, with stability issues on longer tasks. Even with cooling, the tablet can get quite warm, similar to Nubia’s gaming phone.

In everyday gaming, though, it performs smoothly without noticeable frame rate drops, even in high-demand games after extended play.

Cameras: Tablet has a basic 50MP rear camera and a 20MP front camera, fine for video calls but not ideal for high-quality photos or videos.

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet: Software and Battery

Software:

• OS: Red Magic OS 9.5 on Android 14
• UI: Simple and functional, but a bit rough in design
• Gaming Features: Game Space app allows control over fan, CPU, and GPU settings, plus screen recording and sensitivity adjustments

Red Magic OS 9.5 tablet lacks polish while having a simple UI. It has several superfluous frills, such as sections for “Hot Apps” and “Hot Games,” and a news feed, which aren’t necessarily necessary. Fan speeds and screen sensitivity are only two of the convenient features that the Game Space app offers for personalizing the gaming experience.

Battery:

• Capacity: 10,100mAh
• Performance: Up to 10 hours with light use, but heavy gaming reduces battery faster
• Charging: 80W fast charging (0 to 100% in about an hour)

Tablet has a large 10,100mAh battery that can last a full day with light use but only around three to four hours with high-performance gaming. Fast charging with included 80W charger gets it to full in about an hour.

Pros and Cons of Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet

👍Pros	👎Cons
🏆 Great performance	❌ Basic, unattractive interface
🔋 Good battery and fast charging	⚠️ Minor stability issues
💲 Affordable price	🚫 No included case or stand

• Motorola Moto G84 review
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Is It the Best Android Phone?
• Infinix Zero 40 5G: A Hands-On Review of Features and Performance

Conclusion

Nubia Red Magic Nova Tablet brings a fresh option to gaming tablets, offering strong performance at a low price. It could improve on presentation and packaging and there are minor stability concerns, but overall, it’s a great value for a high-performance tablet.