RedMagic 11 Pro+ and 11 Pro announced: Built for Power, Designed for Play

There’s something oddly satisfying about phones that don’t pretend to be anything other than what they are. The new RedMagic 11 Pro and 11 Pro+, that were just unveiled in China, are exactly that — loud, unapologetically gamer-oriented, and maybe a little over-engineered. But that’s part of their charm.

Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the duo feels more like portable consoles than typical Android phones. Both devices share most of their DNA — same screen, same design language, and even the same rear camera setup — but the Pro+ pushes a bit further, as it usually does, with faster charging and an even bolder cooling system.

Yes, there’s an actual active cooling fan inside. According to those who were onsite for the launch, you can hear it faintly spin up if you pay attention — a small mechanical hum that reminds you this thing is serious about performance. Nubia’s engineers even added a liquid metal VC chamber, and in the Pro+ model, a pulsating water cooling engine. That sounds a little sci-fi, maybe unnecessarily dramatic, but given how hot gaming phones can get, perhaps it’s justified.

The display is equally ambitious — a 6.85-inch BOE X10 AMOLED panel with 1.5K resolution and a silky 144Hz refresh rate. There’s also an under-display selfie camera, which hides neatly beneath the pixels, and a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.

The bezels are almost non-existent — just 1.25mm thin, giving a screen-to-body ratio of 95.3%. That’s absurdly high, yet the phone doesn’t seem to feel too fragile. Perhaps the slightly boxy metal frame helps.

Under the hood, you get up to 24GB of LPDDR5T RAM (yes, 24GB in a phone) and 1TB of UFS 4.1 Pro storage. Both models also include Nubia’s self-developed R4 gaming chip, which handles graphics optimization and thermal management.

There’s even a Synaptics touch chip offering 3,000Hz touch sampling, which sounds excessive until you actually try aiming in a shooter. Add the 520Hz shoulder triggers, and you start to understand who this phone was built for.

Other thoughtful additions include a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi 7, NFC, an infrared blaster, and even IPX8 water resistance. These are small but appreciated touches, especially since gaming phones often skip on practicality.

Now here’s where the two models start to diverge. The RedMagic 11 Pro carries a massive 8,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging, while the Pro+ opts for a slightly smaller 7,500mAh cell but with 120W wired and 80W wireless charging.

So you trade a bit of capacity for sheer charging speed — not a bad deal if you’re the impatient type. Personally, I’d prefer the bigger battery, but that’s just me.

Both phones share a dual 50MP setup on the back — one standard and one ultrawide — plus a 16MP under-display front camera. The results are, well, decent. Gaming phones rarely excel in photography, and while the RedMagic 11 series isn’t bad, it’s not chasing iPhone or Pixel territory either.

On the software side, there’s RedMagic OS 11, which runs on Android and now includes a handful of AI-driven features — from thermal prediction to adaptive frame-rate tuning. It’s subtle but noticeable when multitasking or switching between heavy apps.

The RedMagic 11 Pro comes in Dark Knight and Silver Winged War God finishes, starting at CNY 4,999 (~$700) for the 12GB/256GB model. The 16GB/512GB option bumps it to CNY 5,699 (~$800).

As for the RedMagic 11 Pro+, it starts at the same CNY 5,699 (~$800) for 12GB/256GB. Go for the Transparent Silver Wing or Transparent Dark Knight editions, and you’ll get those signature LED light strips, along with the option for 24GB/1TB storage at CNY 7,699 (~$1,080).

It’s a lot of phone, and a lot of spectacle — exactly what the gaming crowd loves.

I think what makes the RedMagic 11 series so interesting isn’t just the raw power or flashy specs. It’s the audacity. Few brands still build devices like this, where function unapologetically meets flair. These phones aren’t trying to blend in — they’re meant to stand out, spin their tiny fans, and stay cool doing it.