RedMagic 11 Pro review: storms the mobile gaming market with some of the highest benchmark scores I've seen

I have a lot of respect for Nubia's RedMagic gaming phones. They're historically some of the most powerful on the market, but don't command flagship-level price tags. That's a potent combination that's put these devices among the best gaming phones for years now, and the RedMagic 11 Pro is the final boss.

With the turbo-charged Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at the helm, a cooling system that leaps away from the troubles I had with the previous handset, and that gorgeous OLED panel, this is a real ROG Phone killer.

It starts at $699 for a 12GB RAM / 256GB storage option, with the more balanced 16GB RAM / 512GB version stepping up to $799. Still, that's the same price as Apple's cheapest iPhone 17 with innards that will suit mobile gamers much better.

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Design

RedMagic phones spent a few years following the crowd, but the 11 Pro firmly steps back out of the box these handsets often fall into. While the RedMagic 9S Pro and RedMagic 10S Pro served up more muted aesthetics, we're back to industrial vibes only here. There are three options to choose from: the matte black Cryo, mostly black Nightfreeze, and silver Subzero (my test device).

There's also a giant window into the liquid cooling system on the back. As in, you can see the liquid actually working its magic.

I thought it was a strange screen at first, but a little more research reveals that the blue circle stamped on the back panel is actually a visible cooling system. You won't find that on a Samsung.

It's the kind of aesthetic you should come to expect from the RedMagic 11 Pro. A (now customizable) RGB fan, touch capacitive triggers along the top, and a corrugated silver back panel should tell you this is a gaming-first device instantly. That's not going to suit those after a more subdued experience, but it's certainly bold enough to pique the interest of Google Play Store power users.

The device itself is a little chunkier than recent mainstream releases from the likes of Apple and OnePlus. At 8.9mm thick without the supplied case, it's got an extra millimeter on the iPhone 17 and 0.8mm extra thickness compared to the OnePlus 15. It's still one of RedMagic's slimmer releases, though.

Those sides are constructed of aluminum, with a sturdy transparent cover across the back panel as well. A 3.5mm audio jack sits in the top right corner, matched by the USB-C charging port on the bottom. Meanwhile, the right flank houses your trigger pads as well as lock and volume buttons. Two RGB vents are split across each side as well.

The speaker is located on the right side of the bottom panel, nicely distanced from a natural landscape grip so that sound still punches through without muffling.

Display

The RedMagic 11 Pro benefits from an almost edge-to-edge AMOLED panel running at a nippy 144Hz with a densely packed 1216 x 2688 resolution. That's a little slower than the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, which clocks in at 165Hz, but considering fewer games actually reach those heights value is on RedMagic's side here.

The panel itself is incredibly crisp and super vibrant, helped no doubt by a blinding brightness level and solid 431 pixel density.

That pop is most keenly felt on cooler tones, with blues and greens holding a little more power than reds and oranges, but I'm glad to see nothing's too overblown here. It doesn't quite feel as impactful as the OLED display on the RedMagic Astra gaming tablet, though.

Cameras

The RedMagic 11 Pro holds its own in the camera arena, though it bears repeating that there's always going to be a disparity between gaming and mainstream device quality.

We've got two 50MP rear cameras on the rear, one wide and another ultrawide, with no telephoto option. That's your first sacrifice compared to Apple and Samsung's more expensive options. However, these back lenses still produce some nice shots, even if RedMagic's own software tends to pump up the vibrancy.

I'm personally a fan of the end result, though those looking for more neutral photographs can tone the settings down as well. The ultrawide lens still suffers in low-light conditions, but overall, things are perfectly Instagrammable.

The system also uses an under-display selfie camera, almost impossible to see under the main panel. RedMagic has come a long way in this tech, but it's still miles away from the lenses on offer elsewhere. A 16MP lens still captures enough light to keep images shining bright, but software additions seem to add an extra layer of smoothing that feels unnatural in the final result.

Software

Like previous iterations, the 11 Pro runs on RedMagic's own software, built on top of Android. This time around, we've got RedMagic OS 11 running on Android 16, and things are looking pretty good.

I remember the old times of dodgy translations, awkward bugs, and bizarre messages, but we're well past that now. Everything here feels smooth, intuitive, and easily customizable. You've got your usual bloatware on here, but it's pretty quick to delete.

Gemini is on board as an AI assistant, as well as the brand's own RedMagic AI+, which can be used to create your own wallpapers and adjust your images. The big gun here, though, is GameSpace.

Anyone who has used a RedMagic phone before will be well versed with this program. It's instantly accessible via a small red toggle on the side and provides a home screen for all your installed games, screenshots, and quick-access settings.

Gaming

It's safe to say RedMagic is putting that Snapdragon chipset to work.

The 11 Pro has, once again, topped my benchmark tests with eye-watering 3D Mark scores stretching across Wild Life Extreme, Solar Bay, and Steel Nomad. An on-the-nose 8,000 score in the first test puts last year's 10S Pro on the back-foot and keeps the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro out of commission as well. Similarly, Solar Bay sees performance gains of 14.3% between the two most recent RedMagic models.

That translates to a seamless experience in everything I've tested the RedMagic 11 Pro in so far. Heavier games like Genshin Impact keep steady framerates even with busy screens, and the heaviest of board states weren't even enough to make the 11 Pro stutter in MTG Arena. Google Play Store blockbusters and emulation classics run incredibly well here.

The touch capacitive triggers keep the thumbs free in shooters like PUBG and Call of Duty Mobile as well, offering a super responsive and impressively intuitive control scheme that you won't find on more mainstream devices.

Things can get a little steamy still, though I only neared uncomfortable temperatures when putting the 11 Pro through its paces with Wild Life Extreme's Stress Test. Even at those temperatures, though, the system still maintained an 80% stability score, so that cooling is certainly pulling its weight. Everything stayed warm but manageable in regular gameplay.

Battery

A 7,500mAh battery powers the entire device, with wireless charging. That's a big deal; gaming phones rarely offer cable-free charges. In fact, this is the first I've tested with the feature baked in. You'll still want a cable to juice up faster, with up to 80W wired fast charging, though you won't need to every day.

That massive battery capacity translates to just over two full days of casual use on a single charge. That's mostly locked, save for the odd YouTube video, podcast, half an hour to an hour of gaming, emails, WhatsApp, and social scrolling.

In pure gaming tests, it lasted for longer than I could feasibly test in one sitting. You won't need to worry about powering down halfway through a session with this in your hand.

Should you buy the RedMagic 11 Pro?

This is both a simple and complicated answer. If you're after the best performing gaming phone I've tested so far, with a battery life to back it up and a display set to impress, this should absolutely be at the top of your shopping list. The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro brings its own case customization options and a faster refresh rate, but its internal power can't keep up, and it's more expensive at MSRP. The 11 Pro also outperforms its predecessor with a far better cooling system to boot.

However, at the time of writing, the RedMagic 11 Pro is a little tricky to get your hands on. The handset is still rolling out across the US and UK so, while it will ultimately be available in more recognizable stores, options right now are limited.

As soon as this thing hits the shelves in a more consistent manner, you can bet it's going straight to the top of my recommendations list.

How I tested the RedMagic 11 Pro

I spent a month using the RedMagic 11 Pro as my daily driver, while also testing against the RedMagic 10S Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. In that time I primarily played PUBG, Call of Duty Mobile, MTG Arena, and Genshin Impact. I also performed synthetic benchmarks across 3D Mark's Wild Life Extreme, Solar Bay, and Steel Nomad tests, with three runs in the Wild Life Extreme Stress Test.

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