1. Specifications Comparison
Here's a detailed comparison of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro and the ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro, focusing on practical implications:
Design
| Feature | Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro | ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro | Practical Impact |
|---|
| Dimensions | 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.5 mm | 164 x 76.4 x 8.9 mm | The Red Magic is slightly wider and thicker, potentially making it feel less comfortable in hand, especially for smaller hands. |
| Weight | 208g | 229g | The Mi 11 Pro is noticeably lighter, which could make a difference during extended use, and contribute to fatigue. |
Display
| Feature | Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro | ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro | Practical Impact |
|---|
| Size | 6.81" | 6.8" | Both displays are very similar in size, making it a minor difference for most users. |
| Resolution | 1440x3200 | 1116x2480 | The Mi 11 Pro has a much sharper display, leading to clearer text and images and more detail. |
| PPI | 515 | 400 | The Mi 11 Pro has a significantly higher pixel density, resulting in a more detailed and crisp display compared to the Red Magic 9S Pro. |
| Technology | AMOLED | AMOLED | Both phones offer vibrant colours, deep blacks, and high contrast ratios typical of AMOLED displays. |
| Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 120Hz | Both offer smooth scrolling and animations, ideal for gaming and media consumption. |
| Brightness | 1700 nits | 0 nits | The Mi 11 Pro's higher brightness provides vastly better visibility under direct sunlight. The provided specification of 0 nits for the Red Magic 9S Pro is unusual and likely incorrect, but without a specific value, we can only assume it has less brightness than the Mi 11 Pro. |
Performance
| Feature | Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro | ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro | Practical Impact |
|---|
| Chipset | Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) | The Red Magic 9S Pro's newer chipset is significantly more powerful and efficient, providing faster app loading, smoother multitasking, and better gaming performance. |
| AnTuTu Score | 854,267 | 2,369,542 | The Red Magic 9S Pro has vastly higher benchmark scores, which translate to a more responsive and snappier user experience, especially in demanding tasks like gaming. |
| GPU | Adreno 660 | Adreno 750 | The Red Magic 9S Pro's newer GPU offers substantially better graphics performance, leading to smoother gameplay and higher frame rates in graphics-intensive applications. |
Camera
| Feature | Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro | ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro | Practical Impact |
|---|
| Main Camera | 50MP (f/1.95, 1/1.12") | 50MP (f/1.88, 1/1.57") | The Mi 11 Pro has a larger sensor size, which may capture more light and detail, but it has a narrower aperture than the 9S Pro. |
| Selfie Camera | 20MP (f/2.3, 1/3.4") | 16MP (f/2.0, 1/3.06") | The 9S Pro has a wider aperture and larger sensor size for better low-light performance and depth of field than the Mi 11 Pro, despite the slightly lower megapixel count. |
| Wide Angle Camera | 13MP (f/2.2, 1/3.06") | 50MP (f/2.0, 1/2.76") | The Red Magic 9S Pro has a much higher resolution and wider aperture, leading to significantly better quality wide-angle shots than the Mi 11 Pro. |
| Macro Lens | N/A | 2MP (f/2.4, 1/5") | The Red Magic 9S Pro includes a dedicated macro lens for close-up shots, which the Mi 11 Pro lacks. |
| Telephoto Lens | 8MP (1/4.4") | N/A | The Mi 11 Pro offers telephoto capabilities with its 8MP lens, allowing for optical zoom, which the Red Magic lacks. |
| Video | Up to 8K@24fps with HDR, EIS | Up to 8K@30fps | Both phones record high-resolution video but with slight differences in frame rates and capabilities. |
| DxOMark Score | 124 (Mobile) | N/A | The Mi 11 Pro has a DxOMark score, offering an objective benchmark, but no information is available for the Red Magic 9S Pro for comparison. |
| Camera Features | OIS, Laser AF, PDAF, RAW | OIS, Gimbal, Under-display camera | The Mi 11 Pro has Laser AF and PDAF, and supports RAW image capture. The Red Magic has Gimbal and an under-display camera. Both have a range of features but vary in the type of stabilization offered. |
Battery
| Feature | Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro | ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro | Practical Impact |
|---|
| Capacity | 5000mAh | 6500mAh | The Red Magic 9S Pro's larger battery will likely result in longer battery life, meaning more time between charges. |
| Charging | 67W fast charging, 67W wireless charging, 10W reverse wireless charging | 80W fast charging | The Red Magic 9S Pro has faster wired charging, but the Mi 11 Pro supports wireless charging (both fast and reverse). |
| Battery Features | Reverse charging, wireless charging, non-removable | Non-removable | The Mi 11 Pro offers significantly more flexibility with charging options. |
2. Key Differences Analysis
Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro Advantages
- Sharper Display: Higher resolution and pixel density lead to crisper and more detailed visuals, which is excellent for reading and image viewing.
- Significantly Higher Display Brightness: Makes it better for outdoor use in bright sunlight.
- Wireless Charging: Both fast and reverse wireless charging capabilities add convenience.
- Telephoto Lens: Offers optical zoom capabilities, useful for capturing distant subjects.
- Established Camera Performance: A scored DxOMark camera providing an objective comparison point.
- Heart Rate Sensor: An additional biometric sensor provides health-related data.
ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro Advantages
- Superior Performance: The newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset offers a significant performance boost in demanding tasks.
- Larger Battery: Provides longer battery life and is advantageous for heavy users.
- Faster Wired Charging: Charges faster for a quicker top-up of the larger battery.
- Better Wide-Angle Camera: Higher resolution and wider aperture for improved wide-angle shots.
- Macro Lens: Offers an extra lens for close-up shots.
- Gimbal Stabilization: Provides additional video recording stabilization
- Under-Display Camera: Provides a full-screen experience with a less visible selfie camera.
- Wi-Fi 7 Support: Offers faster speeds and lower latency on compatible networks, providing better performance.
- More RAM: Available with up to 16GB of RAM, which enables better multi-tasking and less application reloading.
- Newer Android OS: Comes with a more updated operating system out of the box
Trade-offs
- Mi 11 Pro: Loses out in terms of raw processing power, battery capacity, camera performance (wide angle). It is also an older device.
- Red Magic 9S Pro: Loses out in display sharpness and brightness, lacks wireless charging, and telephoto capabilities. No DxOMark score was provided for the camera performance.
3. User Profiles & Recommendations
Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro
- Ideal User: Users who value a high-quality display, a versatile camera setup including zoom and good wireless charging, and who need an established and well-reviewed overall camera performance.
- Use Cases:
- Content Consumption: Enjoying high-resolution videos, browsing through crisp images, and reading detailed text.
- Outdoor Use: Easily viewing the screen in bright sunlight.
- Photography Enthusiasts: Capturing high-quality images with versatile zoom capabilities and wireless charging on the go.
- General use: Users who appreciate a more balanced device suitable for a wide range of everyday use cases.
ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
- Ideal User: Gamers and power users who prioritize raw performance, battery life, and a good wide-angle lens.
- Use Cases:
- Mobile Gaming: Playing graphically demanding games at high frame rates with a long battery.
- Power Users: Heavy multitaskers who require consistent performance and long battery life.
- Photography: Capturing wide-angle landscapes and close-up shots.
- Video Creation: Recording video with additional stabilization capabilities.
Price-to-Value Ratio
- The Mi 11 Pro is an older device and may be found at a lower price than its launch, offering good value if you can find it at a decent discount.
- The Red Magic 9S Pro will likely be priced higher than the Mi 11 Pro but offers greater performance, a larger battery, a better wide-angle camera, an under-display camera, and much faster charging, making it a good choice for those that value these features.
4. Decision Framework
Key Questions to Consider
- What is your primary use case? (Gaming, photography, media consumption, or general use)
- How important is battery life, wireless charging, and having a telephoto lens?
- How much do you value display sharpness, high display brightness, raw performance and cutting-edge specifications?
Scenario-Based Recommendations
- Scenario 1: Heavy mobile gamer
- Recommendation: ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro. Its superior performance, larger battery, and dedicated gaming features make it the obvious choice.
- Scenario 2: Photography enthusiast needing a versatile camera with good zoom
- Recommendation: Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro. Its versatile camera system, particularly the telephoto lens, and its established reputation in photo quality are good features for this use case.
- Scenario 3: User who needs a reliable phone for daily use with a very good display, high screen brightness and is not a gamer
- Recommendation: Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro. Its higher resolution display and superior brightness will be beneficial.
- Scenario 4: Power user looking for the best performance, best battery, and latest features
- Recommendation: ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro. Its cutting-edge specs, larger battery, more RAM, and faster charging provide an excellent experience for those pushing a phone to its limits.
My Choice
I would choose the ZTE nubia Red Magic 9S Pro.
Here's why:
- Performance: As someone who uses their phone for various intensive tasks, the significantly faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is a major advantage. The difference in benchmark scores between the two devices is too significant to ignore.
- Battery Life: With my type of usage I would heavily benefit from the 6500mAh of the 9S Pro, this is something I value.
- Future-Proofing: The newer chipset, WiFi 7, and up-to-date Android OS gives it more longevity than the Mi 11 Pro, which is an older device.
- Wide-Angle Camera: The 50MP wide-angle on the Red Magic is much better than the 13MP from the Mi 11 Pro. This would be useful in travel and landscape photography.
- Feature Set: The gimble, under-display camera, and more RAM are all features that would provide a better overall experience for me.
While I do value the higher resolution screen and brightness of the Mi 11 Pro, the raw performance, larger battery, and extra features of the Red Magic are more important for my needs. I would sacrifice a higher resolution screen and potentially less brightness, to benefit from the raw power of the Red Magic. Wireless charging is nice, but not crucial for me, as the included 80W fast charging is more than sufficient for my needs. While a DxOmark score of a camera provides an objective reference, for this case the overall feature-set and hardware would be more important for me than a score. I would prefer a great wide-angle and more powerful hardware.
