Compare between ZTE Nubia Red Magic 5S vs Xiaomi Black Shark 3S – Similar to last year’s ROG 2, Asus launched another tremendously surprising ROG 3 this year, and the newcomer Lenovo introduces its first gaming smartphone, known as the Legion Duel. In the second half of 2020, in addition to these big shots, there are few other companies, like Nubia and Xiaomi, who also produce smartphones focused on incredible gaming performance.
Nubia Red Magic 5S and Black Shark 3S both fall into this category where they can compete with each other. The most notable thing about these two phones is that they are modified versions of previous-generation devices released during the first half of this year.
Table of Contents
Comparison of ZTE Nubia Red Magic 5S vs Xiaomi Black Shark 3S
Design
The layout of Magic 5S looks much better than Shark 3S because of the glossy body finish in our opinion, but it depends on the user’s taste, which prefers. In addition to the magnificent design of the nubia Red Magic 5S, it has comparatively low weight, a slim body, and a built-in cooling fan, while its overall looks attract more.
Moreover, the texture layout is much better and elegant than the Black Shark 3S compact and robust design. While both the phones feature unique types of external accessory options with RGB lighting settings, they are great for gamers. Check out the advantages and disadvantages of Black Shark 3 Pro.
Display
If you want something that increases screen performance during a gaming session and provides ease of smoothness on the device, the Magic 5S can be considered as the perfect choice as it has a high refresh rate of 144Hz. In addition, a high rate of touch sensitivity is also incorporated in the pressure zone to enhance the air trigger module experience.
On the other hand, if you prefer better image quality and resolution, Shark 3S is a decent option. However, you must accept a lower refresh rate of 120Hz on the screen. Still, the HDR 10 helps a little however the screen has a thick chin at the bottom and top.
Memory and Performance
Both Shark 3S and Magic 5S phones come with a game-centric software interface that pairs up with the latest and most demanding Snapdragon 865 chipset, which provides flawless performance statistics for an enthusiastic gaming session.
The significant difference appears in the memory section, as the Nubia Red Magic 5S starts with 8 GB of RAM and goes up to 16 GB, and on the same contrary, the Black Shark 3S is capped to only 12 GB of RAM, while its storage does not extend beyond 256 GB internal storage.
Let us move on, the built-in fan reduces the heat and improvises long gaming sessions on the Red Magic 5S. In addition to the hardware configuration, they have presented an impressive Android 10 aesthetic adjustments.
Camera
In a typical gaming smartphone case, literally, no one expects a top-notch camera module, it is still quite surprising that both have a 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor as the main snapper on their respective triple camera plate. In spite of having 8K video recording on the Red Magic 5S.
The Black Shark 3S offers an incredible secondary camera setup, which can provide quite similar to mid-range segment quality images and videos with additional core features from Xiaomi. In terms of the selfie port, the Black Shark 3S becomes superior as it has a 20 MP camera on the front side, while the Nubia Magic 5S comes with just an 8 MP for a selfie.
Battery
There is a difference in battery capacity of 229 mAh between them, since the Nubia Magic 5S receives the support of 4500 mAh of 55 W fast charging and, on the other hand, the Black Shark 3S supplies a slightly larger battery of 4729 mAh powered by 65 W of fast charging.
Price
The starting price for the base model of Nubia Red Magic 5G is around $ 540, while the Xiaomi Black Shark costs over $ 700 for the 128 GB variant.
Specifications – ZTE Nubia Red Magic 5S vs Xiaomi Black Shark 3S
| Specifications | ZTE Nubia Red Magic 5S | Xiaomi Black Shark 3S |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G | Same |
| Announced | July 2020 | Same |
| Weight | 220 g | 222g |
| SIM | Dual SIM | Same |
| Size | 6.65 inches | 6.67 inches |
| Display | capacitive touchscreen AMOLED, 16M colors | Same |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass | No |
| OS | Android 10 and Redmagic 3.0 | Android 10 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+) | Same |
| CPU | Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 585) | Same |
| GPU | Adreno 650 | Same |
| Card slot | No | Same |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB and 16GB | 12GB |
| Internal | 128GB and 256GB | Same |
| Camera | 64MP, 8MP and 2MP | 64MP, 13MP and 2MP |
| Selfie | 8MP | 20MP |
| 3.5 mm jack | Yes | Same |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6 dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Same |
| Bluetooth | 5.1, A2DP, aptX, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive |
| GPS | Yes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS |
| Radio | No | Same |
| USB | 3.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector USB On-The-Go accessory connector | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
| Sensors | Under display Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Same |
| Battery | Li-Po 4500 mAh Fast charging 55W | Li-Po 4729 mAh Fast charging 65W Magnetic charging 18W |
| Battery | Silver and Pulse | Black and Crystal Blue |
| Expected Price | $ 540 (39,990 INR) | $ 700 (51,000 INR) |
Conclusion
comparison of ZTE Nubia Red Magic 5S vs Xiaomi Black Shark 3S – The Black Shark 3S has a few features but still has a better camera configuration. Although it doesn’t matter since smartphones made for games, the priority is performance, not the camera. The winner of the battle is sure the Nubia Red Magic 5S because it has a built-in cooling fan, better software, and hardware configuration with high-resolution frame rate, aerial shooting, and many other things that expand the gaming experience in multiple folds.
