ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Compared 2 smartphones : ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro Manufactured in November, 2023, with display 6.8 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher battery capacity: 6500mAh vs 4252mAh
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Lighter design: 206g vs 229g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro and Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED OLED
Size 6.8 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1116x2480 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 400 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1600 nits 3000 nits
HDR support No Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 89.1 % 90.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
1013 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
sRGB gamut99.5 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)60 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164 mm (6.46 in) 150 mm (5.91 in)
Width 76.4 mm (3.01 in) 71.9 mm (2.83 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 8.75 mm (0.34 in)
Weight 229 g (8.08 oz) 206 g (7.27 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Cooling system Active fan n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Silver
- Blue
- Orange
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
89.1 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
90.4 %

Performance

Testing ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro and Apple iPhone 17 Pro In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 3300 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 2/2.27 (Cortex-A520)
- 2/2.96 (Cortex-A720)
- 3/3.15 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X4)
4/2.51 ()
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 750 n/a
GPU Cores 1536 n/a
GPU Frequency 903-1000 MHz n/a
FLOPS 2774 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
2298
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
7258
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
10805
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)22983720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)725810805
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
2128819
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
2146722
CPU475525519980
GPU896088787998
Memory416633391721
UX340573447023
NanoReview Score21288192146722

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz n/a
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 14 iOS 26
OS Size 25 GB n/a
UI Skin Redmagic OS 9 n/a

Battery

Volume 6500 mAh 4252 mAh
Max Charging Power 80 W 40 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (84% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 20 min)
Full Charge Time 0:42 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
29:26
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Web Browsing09:54 hn/a
Video Playback21:54 hn/a
Games08:25 hn/a
Standby Mode134 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 4x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 122 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/1.6
Focal lengthn/a24 mm
SensorSamsung GN5n/a
Sensor size1/1.571/1.28
Pixel size1 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a48 MP
Aperturen/af/2.8
Focal lengthn/a120 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55
Pixel sizen/a0.7 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensor size1/2.761/2.55
Pixel size0.64 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 4608x3456 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.9
Focal length n/a 23 mm
Sensor Omnivision OV16E1Q n/a
Sensor size 1/2.8 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
3G Bandsn/aUMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
91.7 dB
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced November, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date November, 2023 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 649 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1099
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included Yes 80 W No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 Pro the clear winner in this comparison.

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