I typically query what precisely is a flagship cellphone. Some would argue {that a} top-tier silicon is the primary requisite. Others go for a extra holistic strategy that entails a quick display screen and massive digital camera sensors.
The boundaries, nonetheless, range wildly, relying on the model you’re chasing. Then there are mavericks like Pink Magic, which play within the outlier class of “gaming telephones.”
Asus is the large canine within the sport, however a beginning worth of $1,199 for the ROG Cellphone 9 Professional immediately killed the attraction for me. At that form of monetary hit, I can get a much more well-rounded cellphone just like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, the Google Pixel 9 Professional, or the iPhone 16 Professional.
Now, alongside comes the Pink Magic 10 Professional, providing Qualcomm’s greatest silicon and much more, all for simply $650. The ask is nearly unbelievable from the second you lay your eyes on the cellphone and undergo its expansive sheet of niceties.
The Pink Magic 10 Professional is a sight to behold
Even when this was not a typical “gamer-first” system, I can simply advocate this cellphone for extra causes than one. There are additionally a number of quirks, particularly one tied to software program longevity, that I’ll talk about later within the story.
The primary cellphone I attempted from the Nubia-backed model was the primary Pink Magic Cellphone in 2019. It had a stupendous, sloping steel chassis with an RGB strip working throughout the again. It appeared extra like a gizmo from sci-fi flicks and was an absolute pleasure to carry.
Within the years which have elapsed since, Pink Magic shifted to a glass and steel design, however not in the identical industrially bland style as mainstream gamers like Samsung and Apple. The Pink Magic 10 Professional, I consider, is the best design to come back out of the model’s labs to this point.
Regardless of the asking worth being decrease than that of the entry-level telephones from Google or Apple, Pink Magic has used aviation-grade aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass. And right here’s the very best half — there’s no digital camera hump or ring. It is a cellphone that may lie flat on its again.
All the again is degree regardless of becoming three cameras (two of them use a 50-megapixel sensor) and a 23,000 RPM bodily fan. It’s barely taller than the iPhone, however narrower and roughly as thick because the Apple flagship.
Oh, by the best way, the 50MP cameras on the again click on sharp photos, and the low-ight outcomes shocked me. Take a look:
The see-through aesthetics of the cellphone aren’t as gaudy because the LED-lined mess that’s the Nothing Cellphone collection. Sure, there’s the entire RGB shebang right here — it’s a gaming cellphone, in fact — however it has been completed tastefully.
The fan, X chip spotlight, and Pink Magic emblem within the decrease nook gentle up. There’s a crimson mode swap key on the aspect, breaking the all-black stylistic monotony. On the finish of the day, you definitely gained’t be mistaking this cellphone for the rest on the market.
There are a few different surprises, too. The Pink Magic 10 Professional serves up a 3.5mm headphone jack, too. Plus, an 80-watt GaN energy brick additionally comes within the field.
There are additionally two air vents on all sides. These air passage lanes for inside cooling additionally imply there isn’t any significant mud and water resistance on the Pink Magic 10 Professional. That’s the one weak spot within the cellphone’s armor, however you get a protecting case within the retail package deal.
Flip the cellphone over, and you’re going to get shocked once more. The bezels are uniform, and they’re simply 1.25mm, out-slimming the very best on the market. It appears to be like gorgeous in particular person, and I can’t assist flaunting it with brilliant wallpapers.
Additionally, discover that there’s no gap for the selfie digital camera on the entrance. The entrance digital camera is hidden beneath the display screen, and this time round, you may’t even discern it with the bare eye. It’s the results of sandwiching two show layers, which entails a 20-step coating course of and thrice as a lot time.
I’ve seen implementations of an under-display digital camera from Samsung and some different manufacturers, and it doesn’t all the time look nice. What we now have right here is just gorgeous and ends in an interrupted full-screen expertise. But, it’s not all present and glitz right here. There’s loads of progressive substance, too.
Present, substance, after which some
The Pink Magic 10 Professional affords one of many nicest screens I’ve ever seen. This 6.85-inch OLED panel affords a peak brightness of two,000 nits. The refresh fee stands at 144Hz, whereas the moment contact sampling fee is 2,500Hz.
The result’s an amazingly responsive display screen that’s tailored for fast-paced motion video games. Lending a hand in that gaming endeavor are a pair of capacitive shoulder triggers with responsiveness figures of 520Hz. Remapping them for duties like reloading, firing, and peeking is fairly handy. You may as well assign particular in-game controls to gestures like tilt or rotate.
Utilizing these triggers nearly appears like dishonest in cell video games, as they provide a extra console-like really feel. For anybody reliant on the claw grip, these shoulder triggers are much more comfy and function wonderful inputs in comparison with awkwardly coping with cramped onscreen controls
On most events, I’m the one whom my buddies carry in shooter video games. However with these shoulder triggers, I can come out of battle royale rounds with some additional harm and a little bit of the quintessential gamer respect.
Speaking about video games, this cellphone is made for gaming above the rest. And it doesn’t disappoint. Qualcomm’s work with the customized Oryon cores aboard the Snapdragon 8 Elite has delivered some gorgeous outcomes, not simply by way of peak efficiency, but in addition stability and effectivity.
To high that off, Pink Magic has completed some spectacular thermal {hardware} engineering right here. The corporate tells Digital Tendencies that the Pink Magic 10 Professional is “the world’s first cellphone to characteristic a liquid steel cooling system.” Nonetheless, this isn’t liquid steel in the identical vein as desktop processors.
As a substitute, Pink Magic engineers have used an Indium alloy composite with potassium liquid steel medium, creating what one would roughly classify as a strong warmth sponge. It’s positioned between the fan and the vapor chamber cooling package. The warmth absorbed from the vapor chamber is fed to the fan.
On the ray-traced loop take a look at in 3D Mark Photo voltaic Bay, the Pink Magic topped the charts and even surpassed the MediaTek Dimensity 9400. Operating an artificial CPU stress workflow, the height CPU efficiency solely throttled right down to 90% of its peak worth, which is mighty spectacular.
The entire system makes an actual distinction, particularly while you’re eyeing lengthy gaming classes. After enjoying Zenless Zone Zero for about an hour on the Pink Magic 10 Professional, the temperature barely crossed the 104-degree Fahrenheit mark, whereas the iPhone 16 Professional climbed above the 115-degree Fahrenheit degree.
In half a dozen video games — together with titles like Name of Obligation: Cellular and Genshin Affect — the cellphone helps you to activate an in-house Body Price Increase tech that interpolates the efficiency from 60 fps to 120 fps and enhances the visuals to 2K decision. There are an entire bunch of plug-ins that give a significant edge in video games.
Now, you’re shopping for a cellphone just like the Pink Magic 10 Professional to play a whole lot of video games, and which means it wants a fittingly giant battery. On this one, you get a large 7,080mAh battery, and to go together with it, help for as much as 100W quick wired charging.
I acquired astounding mileage out of this battery with above-average utilization, simply ending my day with over half of the electrochemical juice nonetheless left within the financial institution. Even in the event you squeeze about 3 to 4 hours of graphics-intensive video games into the combo, you continue to gained’t need to hunt for a charger.
With the equipped 80W unit, you will get the cellphone charged midway in roughly quarter-hour and it takes little over 35 minutes for a full cost. These figures beat the Asus ROG Cellphone 9 Professional. Plus, there’s additionally a cutoff system that solely retains the lights on, however doesn’t provide any electrical energy to the battery.
There’s additionally a setting that robotically allows the fan to maintain the battery cool throughout charging. The one key omission right here is the dearth of reverse charging, regardless that the battery is giant sufficient to share some juice and nonetheless survive an entire day with ease. Wi-fi charging can be absent, however for the value, it’s acceptable, particularly when you’ve got 100W wired charging at your disposal.
A belief funding, above all else
Pink Magic has been promoting telephones internationally for over half a decade now, however to this point, it has adopted a web-based international gross sales pipeline. The shortage of an on-ground outreach footprint and after-sales help channel would make any purchaser do a double-take earlier than handing over their hard-earned money.
In case of any harm, you must ship the Pink Magic 10 Professional over to the model’s workplace and bear the delivery prices, along with the mandatory restore and substitute work. Pink Magic doesn’t formally promote restore elements, however you will discover resellers hawking them on platforms like Alibaba.
A wholesome few Pink Magic homeowners have imported the elements and acquired their cellphone fastened at an area store or did it themselves. The previous is the safer route. In India’s nationwide capital, New Delhi, I talked to a few electronics retailers, they usually have been keen to deal with the half sourcing and restore on my behalf, however the identical can’t be stated of most different cities.
The opposite conundrum is the software program replace scenario. Pink Magic is simply promising one 12 months of OS upgrades (up until Android 16, which is already out for Pixels as a developer beta) and safety updates for 3 years. That’s unhealthy. Actually unhealthy.
Sure, you probably gained’t be working right into a scenario the place a sport calls for the most recent model of Android to run. Furthermore, Android 16 won’t be devastatingly outdated within the subsequent few years, so most of your apps and video games will run simply positive.
In case you are, nonetheless, eyeing the most recent shiny methods of Android, then you don’t have any choice however to put in a customized ROM. Sadly, the 12 months 2024 hasn’t been nice for customized ROMs.
On the coronary heart of the tussle is the Play Integrity API, which lets an app verify whether or not it runs on a real Android system and in a safe software program atmosphere. Proper now, it’s flagging unlocked bootloaders and rooted gadgets — primarily something that hasn’t handed the usual Google GMS certification.
Earlier this 12 months, customers of the two-factor authentication app Authy found that it’s going to now not help telephones working a customized ROM. Why? “If it’s not an official OS, we now have to imagine it’s unhealthy,” defined Shawn Wilden, who works on Google’s Android {hardware} safety crew.
Which means the primary set of apps to run into points with customized ROMs can be banking apps, wallets, or different delicate situations. Earlier this 12 months, customers reported that Google was blocking RCS messaging on rooted gadgets or these working customized ROMs.
Not all people agrees with Google’s strategy. “Play Integrity API is predicated on lies,” the makers of Graphene OS wrote on Mastodon. There are a number of “repair” modules to deal with the Play Integrity fingerprinting, however as per stories, Google has additionally began “mass banning” them.
Pound for pound, an absolute ace
With a lot occurring within the customized ROM group, the actual query is the way you deal with the Pink Magic 10 Professional as soon as it goes previous the Android 16 lifeline or the three-year safety replace promise. Do you improve your cellphone then?
It’s a $650 funding, because the very minimal. Do you merely flip it right into a handheld gaming console that may deal with 120 fps casting to a big display screen in wired and wi-fi mode? Yeah, this cellphone does that basically nicely, and so does its pill sibling. It’s not a foul choice, given the Pink Magic 10 Professional’s major attraction.
It doesn’t take a lot to see the outrageous degree of {hardware} packed into this system, for almost half of what established manufacturers would take out of your pockets. The silicon is top-notch, and with it comes a unbelievable design, quick reminiscence, a beautiful show, console-like triggers, one humongous battery, lightning-fast charging, and a reliable pair of cameras.
Is it a flagship, although? I’d say sure. Is it worth? Unbeatable, I reckon. Nothing even comes shut. The one undoing is the model’s standing as a minor participant and the infrastructure challenges that include that established order. When you can ignore that, this cellphone will depart you mesmerized in additional methods than one. Simply don’t overlook to wipe it clear occasionally.
The Pink Magic 10 Professional can be accessible beginning December 12.
