Home Phone comparison ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro and Apple iPhone 17 - Which is better?

ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro vs Apple iPhone 17

84 out 100
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
VS
92 out 100
Apple iPhone 17
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
Apple iPhone 17

Compared 2 smartphones : ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro Manufactured in July, 2024, with display 6.8 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, vs Apple iPhone 17, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher battery capacity: 6500mAh vs 3692mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 229g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.3
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro and Apple iPhone 17
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
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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
Smartphones:
Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
vs
Apple iPhone 17

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 Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes
Max brightness 1600 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes, Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate 960 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.1 % 91.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
1058 nits
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164 mm (6.46 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 76.4 mm (3.01 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 229 g (8.08 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Cooling system Active fan n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Silver		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
89.1 %
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %

Performance

Testing ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro and Apple iPhone 17 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Apple A19
Max Frequency 3400 MHz 4100 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2) n/a
Architecture - 2/2.27 (Cortex-A520)
- 2/2.96 (Cortex-A720)
- 3/3.15 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X4)		 n/a
Process TSMC n/a
Transistor Size 4 nm n/a
Neural Processor Hexagon n/a
Graphics Adreno 750 n/a
GPU Cores 1536 n/a
GPU Frequency 1000 MHz n/a
FLOPS 2774 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
2311
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
7337
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)23113720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)733710589
Geekbench Compute (GPU)16416n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
2087925
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
CPU456515510193
GPU962086792974
Memory338175367866
UX331149445645
NanoReview Score20879252116678

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB		 8 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
UI Skin Redmagic OS 9.5 n/a

Battery

Volume 6500 mAh 3692 mAh
Max Charging Power 80 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (85% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 0:41 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 9S Pro
28:42
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Web Browsing10:09 hn/a
Video Playback20:20 hn/a
Games08:04 hn/a
Standby Mode132 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
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 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Depth: 2 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.88f/1.6
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
SensorSamsung GN5n/a
Sensor size1/1.571/1.56
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
SensorSamsung S5KJN1n/a
Sensor size1/2.761/2.55
Pixel size0.64 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 4608x3456 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.9
Focal length n/a 23 mm
Sensor Omnivision OV16A1Q 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 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 n/a Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced July, 2024 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date July, 2024 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 649 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
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

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