The RedMagic 5S is the latest gaming-focused Android phone with a 144Hz display on the global market. If this concept sounds familiar, it is because the device is in fact a late-year refresh of an original 2020 release, the 5G from the same brand. Both products feature the Snapdragon 865 SoC and 8-12GB RAM options, and have little else to distinguish them.
Nubia - the OEM behind the increasingly familiar RedMagic gaming brand - has therefore contrived some upgrades for the 5S refresh. For example, it, like the 5G, has pressure-sensitive shoulder triggers on its sides, although its touch-sampling rate is now 320Hz as opposed to 300Hz in its immediate predecessor.
RedMagic also claims it has "Trinity" cooling; however, in practice this means it has a new, optional Ice Dock accessory in addition to the spinning fan and liquid cooling also seen in the 5G. This attachment is, like the Black Shark equivalent, almost watch-like in its appearance and clamps onto the back of the new RedMagic phone in order to draw heat away from it during strenuous activity.
This 5S is now up for pre-order on RedMagic's international website. It starts at US$579 for a SKU with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and the refresh's new Sonic Silver colorway. Those who want a completely new 12GB RAM phone with this name, however, only get the option of a Pulse (or Cyber Neon, from the original Chinese launch) dual-color style.
The Ice Dock can also be ordered separately with the phone at a price of $44.90. However, those who can cope with only early-year gaming flagship specs could also still look at the 8GB RedMagic 5G. It is on sale on the same site for $569, or $10 off its original price. The 5S will start shipping from September 2, 2020, whereas the 5G might ship from now.