TECH

Black Shark 2 Pro vs Vivo iQOO vs Nubia Red Magic 3

Gaming smartphones are slowly becoming a trend, and it is not a case given how important mobile gaming is becoming thanks to a lot of titles which are among the most played games out there. And let's not talk about cloud gaming which will soon become popular and it will allow playing demanding games for PC and consoles even on smartphones. A few days ago, a new generation of gaming phones started popping up: Asus launched the ROG Phone 2 and Xiaomi announced the Black Shark 2 Pro a few days ago. They are the world's first phones with the new Snapdragon 855+ chipset and that is why we decided to compare them with the other main gaming phones in the market. Today, it is the turn of the Black Shark 2 Pro which challenges Nubia Red Magic 3 and Vivo iQOO.

Design
No matter which phone you choose: you will get very nice gaming-centric aesthetics, but there is an important difference between Vivo iQOO and its rivals. The first has a traditional premium design just like most of the other high end phones, while Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro and Nubia Red Magic 3 have an aggressive gaming-centric design. Vivo iQOO still has LED lights on its back and it even features capacitive triggers, but if you are a real gamer and you want a totally appropriate design with even better gaming-centric features, you should either go for the Black Shark 2 Pro or the Nubia Red Magic 3. Given that I mostly care about having an elegant and compact design, I would choose the Vivo iQOO. But it is all about tastes.

Display
A wide diagonal of 6.65 inches, a high 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage and even a high 90 Hz refresh ratio: Nubia Red Magic 3 simply has an amazing display, especially for gaming lovers. The presence of a high refresh ratio makes me prefer this device over the Black Shark 2 Pro, but this does not mean it does not have a nice display as well, especially if we consider its 240Hz touch-sensing experience and its 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage. But note that it lacks at 90 Hz refresh ratio and it has a smaller panel. Vivo iQOO does not offer the best color reproduction and neither high responsiveness but unlike the Red Magic 3, it features an in-display fingerprint reader.

Specs & Software
The presence of the Snapdragon 855+ chipset makes the Black Shark 2 Pro the device with the highest performance (and not only in this trio, given that it recently obtained the highest AnTuTu score ever). In case you missed it, Snapdragon 855+ is an overclocked upgrade of the Snapdragon 855 which offers a higher clock frequency (2.96 GHz instead of 2.84 GHz) and 15 percent better graphics performances. However, do not underestimate the Nubia Red Magic 3 and its air cooling system which integrates a real fan running at 14,000 rpm: a perfect solution for long gaming sessions and hot weather.

Camera
The best camera seems to belong to the Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro: we are talking about a rear setup including a 48 MP main sensor and a secondary telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom. It provides the highest detail and it is also very versatile. Right after, we got the Vivo iQOO with its triple camera including an ultra wide sensor and a depth sensor.

Battery
Given its 5000 mAh capacity, the battery found on the Nubia Red Magic 3 lasts longer than both Black Shark 2 Pro and Vivo iQOO, despite the phone features a bigger display. 

	Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro	Vivo iQOO	Nubia Red Magic 3
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	163.6 x 75 x 8.8 mm, 205 grams	157.7 x 75.2 x 8.5 mm	171.7 x 78.5 x 9.7 mm, 215 grams
DISPLAY	6.39 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 403 ppi, AMOLED	6.41 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 402 ppi, AMOLED	6.65 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 388 ppi, AMOLED
PROCESSOR	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus, octa-core 2.96 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, octa-core 2.8 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, octa-core 2.84 GHz
MEMORY	8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 12 GB RAM, 128 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB	6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE	Android 9 Pie	Android 9 Pie, Funtouch OS	Android 9 Pie, Nubia Red Magic OS
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
CAMERA	Dual 48 + 12 MP f/1.8 and f/2.2 20 MP f/2.0 front camera	Triple 12 + 13 + 2 MP f/1.8 and f/2.4 12 MP front camera	48 MP f/1.7 16 MP f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY	4000 mAh, Fast Charging 27W	4000 mAh, Fast Charging 44W	5000 mAh, Fast Charging 18W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	Dual SIM slot	Dual SIM slot	Dual SIM slot

Price
Prices are similar: they start from € 450 / $ 500 and € 400 / $ 445 (respectively) for Black Shark 2 Pro and Vivo iQOO, while Nubia Red Magic 3 costs € 500 / $ 556. At the end of the day, despite Black Shark 2 Pro has the most powerful SoC, I prefer the Nubia Red Magic 3 due to its amazing cooling system, its higher refresh ratio, its wider display, and its bigger battery. But if you want a better camera and max performance, go for the Black Shark 2 Pro.

Michele Ingelido