Almost everyone who bought a gaming setup bought it because of its power. They wanted faster refresh rates, more frames per second, peripherals designed to help them ingame, and more. Many owners of these setups, including myself, are proud of how cool and powerful their setups are. However, what if I told you that there was a phone as powerful as most setups? No, I'm not joking - the Nubia RedMagic 5G packs features like a 144hz screen, liquid cooled components, and more.
"Gaming phones" have been around for a while, but the Nubia RedMagic 5G is one of the first to pack close to as much power as an actual PC. Additionally, it has features especially designed for gaming, so even users of other powerful phones such as the Razer Phone 2 or iPhone 11 may be at a disadvantage. Some of these are built-in touch triggers, a gaming mode where components are overclocked, 5G capabilities, and even a gaming port (more on that later).
Firstly, we need to get into how beastly this phone actually is. Despite being as thin as the famously skinny iPhone, this thing is packing 8gb of RAM, matching many PCs in the $700-$800 range. It also has 128gb of RAM (like, my PC doesn't even have that much RAM!), which will allow you to download tons of games as well as take many photos, and a 144hz screen. Phones, once thought of as machines that sacrificed maneuverability for portability, are now getting 144hz screens, signifying that they are now thought of as performance machines. The resolution of the screen is 1080x2340, which is somewhere around 1080p. For a 6.65 inch screen (half an inch bigger than iPhone 11), that's pretty great! This phone is also designed for such performance, Nubia even included an active liquid cooling system for the CPU. This allows you to take your phone even further, driving demanding games or large file folders. Additionally, this phone has a dedicated vent in the side to help keep component temperatures lower, which is also a sign of how hard the components are working.
There are other ways this phone is especially designed for gaming. The touch triggers are meant for playing mobile shooters such as Fortnite or Call of Duty Mobile, and can be reassigned in the game's HUD. There is also a "game boost switch", which activates gaming mode. In gaming mode, all components are pushed to the limit, and the cooling systems also go into overdrive. Lastly, there is a gaming port, which is just a electric connection. This is so that the phone can connect to Nubia's RedMagic Dock.
The dock, when bought in a combo with the phone, is $90. You can keep it on your desk, where it can give your hands a rest, as well as deliver power and ethernet. Phones have also been left out in the gaming conversation because they were not capable of a stable ethernet connection, but now that has changed.
However, even with the powerful internals, gaming-friendly features, and ability for sturdy connection, this is still a phone. It's still much more enjoyable to game on a 22+ inch screen, much easier on your eyes, and for most people, a mouse and keyboard still give you more control. So, it is difficult to imagine why this is better than a gaming laptop. Nevertheless, if you are a super light traveler and want to game, this phone could be your portable desktop.