Cell Phones

[Indiegogo]Nubia Red Magic - $399 USD - Headphone Jack + No Notch

  • Last Updated:
  • May 24th, 2018 6:02 pm
Sr. Member
May 29, 2008
828 posts
374 upvotes

[Indiegogo]Nubia Red Magic - $399 USD - Headphone Jack + No Notch

Current Indiegogo price: $399 USD
Regular price after the campaign: $519 USD
https://redmagic.gg/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/red- ... x/18690575

I was looking to get a new phone soon and I really didn't like most of the mainstream options. Everyone seems to love copying Apple (no headphone jack, notch), or they have a heavily customized android which is too far from stock android for my liking.

During my search, I came across this phone - the Nubia Red Magic. It is marketed as a gaming phone and it uses last year's Snapdragon 835. The specs are similar to the more expensive OnePlus 5T (128GB one). It has a headphone jack and NO NOTCH! The developers also said that they will support unlocking the bootloader and unlocking the bootloader will not void the warranty. There are 2 versions of the phone - One with their special Red Magic OS and one with stock Android 8.1.

The finalized version isn't available to be shipped yet (it is on Indiegogo). At the moment, they have a timeline of shipping the final version of the phone some time in July 2018. HOWEVER, that one they are shipping out then is not meant for North America. Apparently, that one may have trouble with 4G here. They are working on a North American version of the phone as well, and there is a perk on indiegogo to get a coupon that allows you to get the North American version at the $399 USD price from redmagic.gg when it is released. That perk also gives you a $50 off your next purchase coupon to redmagic.gg. I am not sure both coupon codes can be used at the same time for only the phone, but I am hoping they have a case for sale at that time anyway.

There is also a North America Early Testing perk, which allows you to get the non-North American version of the phone (again, has trouble with 4G here) with stock Android 8.1. They will swap out that early testing phone with the finalized North American version of the phone when it is released.

Specs:
Dimensions: 158.1*74.9*9.5(6.8) mm
Weight: 185g
Material: Anodized Aluminum
CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 (up to 2.45GHz)
GPU: Adreno 540 RAM: 8 GB LPDDR4X
Storage: 128 GB UFS2.1 2-LANE Ports: USB 2.0, Type-C, Dual nano-SIM slot, 3.5mm audio jack
Battery: 3800 mAh

DISPLAY
Size: 5.99 inches Full HD
Resolution: 1080P (1080 x 2160 pixels), 403ppi
Aspect Ratio: 18:9
Screen2.5D NEG T2X-1

REAR CAMERA
Sensor: Samsung 5K2X7SX
Megapixels: 24
Pizel Size: 0.9μm
Aperture: f/1.7
Video: 4K resolution at 30fps
Slow Motion: 720p videos at 120fps
Time-Lapse

FRONT CAMERA
Sensor: SK hynix HI-846
Megapixels: 8
Pizel Size: 1.12μm
Aperture: f/2.0
Video: 1080p resolution at 30fps

Some Pros of this phone:
  • Headphone Jack
  • No Notch
  • Stock android option available
  • Price for the specs
  • Unlockable bootloader, doesn't void warranty if unlocked
  • Responsive developers who actually listen to their customers (Yes, I actually did contact them)
  • 3800mAH battery

Downsides of this phone:
  • Kind of Heavy
  • Back of the phone that isn't flat and phone will rock if you try to use it while it is on resting on its back
  • No Face unlock
  • No NFC
  • No case available yet, but then again, the finalized version of the phone isn't available either

Overall, this seems like a very solid choice of a phone, especially given the current $399 USD (roughly $515 CAD as of May 9. 2018) price tag. Obviously, everyone has to weigh the pros and cons for themselves. For me, I've never used NFC on my phone other than to test it, but I used a headphone jack on it all the time.
Last edited by toomuchpie on May 9th, 2018 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
15 replies
Member
Apr 27, 2009
430 posts
320 upvotes
West Vancouver
Stay away from zte devices due to US government action ZTE has been banned from using any American technology, so it is closing down.
Jr. Member
Aug 23, 2017
109 posts
88 upvotes
Quebec
Randy6560 wrote: Stay away from zte devices due to US government action ZTE has been banned from using any American technology, so it is closing down.
Yeah, it appears to be game over for ZTE, they've ceased operations:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/201 ... shut-down/
One of the leading Chinese smartphone makers, ZTE, is shutting down global operations in the face of crippling sanctions levied by the US government. ZTE is China's number-two smartphone maker, and as recently as last year it was the number-four smartphone vendor in the US.

"The major operating activities of the Company have ceased," ZTE wrote (PDF) in a Wednesday announcement to stock market traders in Hong Kong.

ZTE's business became untenable after a US government order banned American companies from exporting technology to the Chinese smartphone maker. ZTE is heavily dependent on US-made components, especially Qualcomm chips and Google's Android software stack.
I wouldn't touch their phones now, unless you can get one really cheap, as for support or warranty you're on your own.
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Nov 28, 2013
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Oakville
Randy6560 wrote: Stay away from zte devices due to US government action ZTE has been banned from using any American technology, so it is closing down.
Just to clarify - it's due to ZTE conspiring to sell American technology to Iran and North Korea, which is why they got smacked down.

Interesting that the IndieGogo campaign is still alive. Maybe they have enough stock of parts on hand to finish this up, and that's it? (Or maybe it's just that they haven't gotten around to shutting it down yet).
Deal Fanatic
May 18, 2009
7863 posts
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Richmond Hill
isn't ZTE moving on to MediaTek chips on an emergency basis?
Sr. Member
May 29, 2008
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Ok, apparently Nubia isn't actually owned my ZTE anymore (since 2015), although ZTE still has a stake in them. So I guess that they are safe from the ban?
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toomuchpie wrote: Ok, apparently Nubia isn't actually owned my ZTE anymore (since 2015), although ZTE still has a stake in them. So I guess that they are safe from the ban?
I looked that up as well - they still own 49.97% of the company, so *technically* Nubia isn't owned by them, but it's an interesting distinction.
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Aaaand of course, ZTE has been saved thanks to Donald Trump being literally the most corrupt person alive.
Sr. Member
May 29, 2008
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wearysky wrote: Aaaand of course, ZTE has been saved thanks to Donald Trump being literally the most corrupt person alive.
OK but Nubia is no longer majority owned by ZTE anyway. Surely, there is a more appropriate place to post this.
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toomuchpie wrote: OK but Nubia is no longer majority owned by ZTE anyway. Surely, there is a more appropriate place to post this.
They still own 49.97% of the company - if they folded, it would have been extremely relevant to the future of this phone.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 13, 2009
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wearysky wrote: Just to clarify - it's due to ZTE conspiring to sell American technology to Iran and North Korea, which is why they got smacked down.
:rolleyes:

Conspiring? What about all the other companies that sell to Iran...
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bhrm wrote: :rolleyes:

Conspiring? What about all the other companies that sell to Iran...
What other companies would those be, exactly? They've also been investigating Huawei, for example, for suspicion of violating the same sanctions.
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wearysky wrote: What other companies would those be, exactly? They've also been investigating Huawei, for example, for suspicion of violating the same sanctions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_d ... nt_in_Iran

Tons of companies in Iran, US tends to pick a pickle when convenient.

Qualcomm and Google would lose a huge chunk of revenue if that happened, but it's the uncertainty that's killing ZTE.
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bhrm wrote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_d ... nt_in_Iran

Tons of companies in Iran, US tends to pick a pickle when convenient.

Qualcomm and Google would lose a huge chunk of revenue if that happened, but it's the uncertainty that's killing ZTE.
"Companies doing business in Iran" is not the same as "companies violating sanctions by selling US-origin goods to Iran" - doing business at *all* in Iran isn't illegal. But the sanctions in place are very specific about the *kinds* of business one can do. And it's going to be even worse now that the US has reneged on the nuclear deal.
Sr. Member
May 29, 2008
828 posts
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Carbooja wrote: some of the ZTE's have built in malware:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/24/some- ... -built-in/
Ok, but as far as I know, Nubia and ZTE are separate entities.

Anyway, the developers fully support unlocking the bootloader of this phone and you can flash it with whatever you want. Problem solved?

I made this thread to give hope to others who don't like the way that the design of phones is progressing.

Not a single post in this thread shows any interest in this phone. It is just everyone bashing ZTE and telling others not to buy. I happen to think it's a good deal and my 5 year old phone is showing its age. I will gladly take my chances with this phone with a headphone jack and no notch, despite not being interested in gaming on it.

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