Nubia Redmagic 11 Pro Review: The First Choice of Serious Gamers

At a look

Skilled’s Score

Execs

• Liquid cooling system
• High-tier efficiency
• Nice battery life

Cons

• Aesthetics received’t be for everybody
• Cameras are higher however nonetheless not one of the best

Our Verdict

Redmagic does it once more. Should you’re a cellular gamer who cares about efficiency and worth for cash, there’s nothing higher than the Redmagic 11 Professional.

Value When Reviewed

This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined

Finest Pricing Right now

Value When Reviewed

From $749

Finest Costs Right now: Redmagic 11 Professional

Redmagic is an organization that doesn’t relaxation on its laurels. Slightly than launching easy iterations of its gaming telephones each six months, the Chinese language producer normally consists of some advance in know-how that units a brand new mannequin aside. That’s definitely the case with its newest – the Redmagic 11 Professional – which it says is the world’s first mass-produced smartphone with AI server-grade liquid cooling.

There are additionally a number of different nips and tucks right here and there to make this new gaming cellphone fascinating to those that wish to play on the go. However can the brand new cooling system maintain issues flowing?

Design & Construct

• Stable and acquainted design
• New liquid-cooling panel
• IPX8 waterproof ranking

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Redmagic has remained fairly in step with its design ethos over the previous few years, so the 11 Professional isn’t actually breaking any new floor when it comes to development.

The acquainted massive rectangular body with an aluminium-alloy band is available in solely fractionally greater than its predecessor, the Redmagic 10S Professional, measuring 163.82mm x 76.54mm x 8.9mm, with a weight of 230g. It’s hefty beast, however one which feels stable within the hand, or reasonably two arms, as it may be unwieldy in just one.  

The substantial body homes the 6.85-inch AMOLED panel which, in traditional Redmagic custom, has no notches or punch-holes within the show because of the selfie digital camera and fingerprint sensor positioned below the display.

As it is a gaming-focused smartphone, there’s extra occurring when it comes to buttons and controls on the flanks. The precise facet is dwelling to the facility and quantity controls, together with the ‘Magic’ purple sliding button that’s a staple of the model. That is used for launching the Recreation Area devoted gaming software program however may be reassigned to quite a lot of duties within the settings when you favor – resembling opening the digital camera or turning on the flashlight.

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There are two 520Hz touch-sensitive shoulder triggers, one positioned at both finish, now in a bigger rectangular form that differentiates the 11 Professional from the smaller curved rectangular ones on the 10S Professional. Redmagic additionally says that these are upgraded variations that help Portrait mode gameplay, so you should use them in Pokemon Go and related titles without having to the touch the show.

Either side options outlet vents for the interior fan, with the suitable additionally dwelling to the Recreation Mode strip, which contains a few RGB lights that match these embedded within the shoulder triggers. These may be set to point out your most popular colors, permitting you to personalise the looks of the gadget. There are extra RGB lights to be discovered behind the brand on the rear panel in addition to surrounding the seen fan, all of which have been an everyday characteristic on Redmagic telephones for years.

A 3.5mm headphone jack lives on the highest edge, whereas the underside is the place you’ll discover the USB-C charging port and one of many audio system (the opposite is alongside the highest of the show). These have additionally been tweaked to supply deeper bass responses and a barely higher vary of sound.

The rear panel is the place the obvious adjustments may be seen. Sure, it’s nonetheless a flat glass panel with the digital camera modules beneath – avoiding any type of bump that might be uncomfortable to carry whereas enjoying video games – however the centre of the panel reveals a big ring with blue liquid inside. That is the brand new liquid cooling system, which I’ll cowl in additional element later, and I’ve to confess it’s fairly unusual to launch a recreation and watch the liquid transfer by the ring because it helps decrease the interior temperature.

Clearly, you don’t see this when you’re truly listening to the show (like a lot of the RGB lighting) nevertheless it’s enjoyable to muck about with and appears fairly rattling cool.

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The Redmagic 11 Professional is available in three colourways – Nightfreeze (clear black), Subzero (clear white) or Cryo (charcoal gray). Bafflingly the Cryo possibility covers up the cooling liquid circle on the again, so I’ve no thought why you’d select that possibility.

With all that liquid flowing across the place, it’s considerably ironic that the brand new mannequin receives a boosted IPX8 ranking, which means it’s protected towards immersion in water past one metre, which is a marked enchancment on the splash-proof IP54 ranking of the Redmagic 10S Professional.

You get a full plastic case within the field, which is a step up from the partial ones which were included up thus far. It’s a frosted-style design, which suggests you continue to get a view of the cooling ring on the again. Good.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.85-inch 144Hz AMOLED panel
• 3,000Hz on the spot contact sampling price
• Twin audio system (1015a + 1115e)

The display has been upgraded from the earlier mannequin however shares lots of the similar specs. So, you get a 6.85-inch AMOLED panel operating at 2688 x 1216 with a 144Hz refresh price.

Due to the under-screen selfie digital camera and fingerprint sensor (the latter of which proved dependable more often than not), the 11 Professional additionally retains the spectacular 95.3% display to physique ratio (sure I do know that’s a proportion, however that is how the trade describes these phrases).

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The max brightness has dropped barely from 2,000 to 1,800nits, however I measured a really related 1200nits in regular use, so it’s virtually an identical to the older mannequin.

One space that’s been improved is the moment touch-sampling. On the 10S Professional this was 2,500Hz however on the 11 Professional it’s been beefed as much as a fair faster 3,000Hz. ’m not going to faux that I may inform the distinction in actual life, however I’ll say that the responsiveness to onscreen actions was reliable and all the time felt instantaneous.

This time round Redmagic additionally introduces a ‘moist hand’ mode to deal with getting used within the rain or while you’ve simply washed your arms. I examined this whereas strolling the canine within the rain. I didn’t have any issues working the 11 Professional, which exhibits that the brand new technolgy is working properly.

As with all current Redmagic smartphones, the show is beautiful: full, wealthy colors, loads of brightness and no ugly cutouts to bother the person. This makes it one in every of my favorite smartphone sequence for watching video or enjoying video games.

Sound is first rate, with loud quantity ranges obtainable which don’t present a lot breakup even when pushing the twin audio system laborious. However one of the best outcomes are discovered by plugging in a wired set of headphones. Must you favor wi-fi, then the Bluetooth 4.2 capabilities proved simply as adept, whereas additionally offering a stable connection.  

Specs & Efficiency

• 4.6GHz Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor
• Glorious efficiency
• Spectacular new cooling system

It’s par for the course that Redmagic equips its smartphones with premium-tier {hardware}, so there’s no shock that the processor powering the 11 Professional is the most recent 4.6GHz Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Alongside that, there’s the upgraded Redmagic RedCore R4 gaming chip, which aids in efficiency and temperature management.

These are accompanied by LPDDRX5T RAM (my overview pattern has 16GB however you may stand up to 24GB), and as much as 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage (mine has 512GB). So, every little thing is quick and high of the road, which means the brand new gadget is claimed by Redmagic to spice up efficiency by 20% and GP by 30% over its predecessor.

Actually, from an on a regular basis perspective, the Redmagic 11 Professional flies alongside. Apps open immediately, nothing crashes, and gaming is easy. This has been true of Redmagic’s handsets for some time now, and I don’t see any issues down the road for the 11 Professional.

Clearly, because it’s a devoted gaming gadget, that new cooling system comes into play when assessing efficiency. Redmagic says that is the primary mass-produced smartphone with Liquid Cooling, and I can’t consider one other one, in order that appears to take a look at.

The method is fascinating, with the “miniaturised liquid movement channel design” which means that the cellphone has ultra-fine liquid channels contained in the physique, by which flows the fluorinated coolant. By the way, because it’s anti-freezing coolant, it’ll nonetheless work in sub-zero temperatures, so all you arctic players on the market can rejoice.

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The liquid cooling is barely a part of the design although, because the Redmagic 11 Professional additionally incorporates a vapour chamber, above which sits a liquid metallic space for warmth dissipation (as on the earlier mannequin), plus for the primary time there’s a water and dustproof fan, and it’s quicker (24,000rpm) than the non-waterproof one within the 10S Professional.  

Except for the very cool aesthetics I described above, the system works very properly to maintain temperatures manageable even throughout heavy gameplay classes. I did discover a bit of extra noise than I bear in mind with the 10S Professional, however nothing obtrusive. Additionally, I’d reasonably a barely louder whirring sound {that a} hotter handset.

Redmagic 11 Professional benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp f/1.88 23mm predominant
• 50Mp f/2.0 13mm large angle
• Improved under-display selfie digital camera

The cameras on the Redmagic vary have been slowly enhancing over time, and with the 11 Professional you may definitely get some prime quality photos if there’s a superb stage of sunshine or the topic is stationary. To be sincere, it’s laborious to search out dangerous cameras on smartphones today, and for lots of conditions the optics on the 11 Professional can be adequate for most individuals.

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The primary shooter delivers stable photos with brilliant colors and tonal stability. Taking it round my native city, I used to be capable of get a satisfying choice of pictures, even with the lighting being a bit awkward with the flat, brilliant daylight that dogged all my images classes.

Switching to the 50Mp f/2.0 13mm large angle lens didn’t see the drop in color saturation that I’ve skilled prior to now with different fashions, making it a much more usable digital camera while you want a wider subject of view – nice for landscapes and while you’re too near the topic for the conventional lens.

Each are assisted by a 2Mp depth sensor to assist with focus and isolating portrait topics, so that you get the bokeh that everybody craves.

Video is sweet too, and you’ll go as much as 8K at 30fps, however the 4K/60fps would be the candy spot if you wish to create YouTube movies or simply high-quality dwelling recordings. Focus monitoring is quick, with not an excessive amount of looking, and the publicity stability rapidly offers with shifting from brightly lit to dim areas.

Surprisingly, the entrance going through digital camera (which is hidden below the show) has improved fairly a bit from the terrible ones that appeared on earlier Redmagic units. If selfies are your precedence, you would possibly discover the marginally over-sharpened photos don’t fairly match your wishes, however for the occasional shot to put up on social media the 11 Professional is definitely fairly usable.

Right here’s a choice of pictures I captured with the Redmagic 11 Professional:

Battery Life & Charging

• 7,500mAh battery
• 80W quick/wired charging
• Glorious battery life

The 11 Professional comes with a whopping nice 7,500mAh cell, which additionally boasts 80W quick charging and wi-fi charging.

Should you’re utilizing this as a regular cellphone, you’ll simply get two days out of it, possibly extra. These figures naturally drop while you hearth up a recreation or two, however even then the efficiency was good. Mild titles like Stardew Valley (which performs splendidly on the big uninterrupted show) solely knocked off 5% of the overall cost after an hour of play.

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Extra graphically difficult titles, resembling Asphalt Legends, Eternium and others, exacted the next toll. With these, I discovered the 11 Professional used up round 10-15% of its cost per hour, which remains to be a good return, as you may get 7-8 hours of gameplay. Clearly that is affected by whether or not the sport requires an web connection, the brightness of your show and so forth. However total you’ll have the ability to get some critical recreation time in with the 11 Professional earlier than you have to cost.

While you do, it’s not too lengthy earlier than you’ll be again up and operating. Redmagic claims {that a} zero to 100% recharge will take an hour when utilizing the included charger and cable. Sadly, the overview unit I used to be despatched got here with a US charger and I’m within the UK. I used a 67W charger from a earlier mannequin, which took an extended 1 hour and 57 minutes to get the unit again to full energy. quarter-hour of charging introduced the gadget as much as 13%, however once more, it ought to be quicker when you get an included charger that works in your area.  

Redmagic says the wi-fi recharge is much like a wired one (with possibly an additional 10 minutes or so), however I wasn’t capable of take a look at this myself as I solely had an outdated Qi charger at hand. Working the Redmagic 11 Professional by the PCMark battery take a look at we use for all opinions returned a time of 9 hours and 50 minutes, which may be very respectable certainly.

Software program

• Android 16/Redmagic OS11
• Recreation Area devoted gaming suite
• Not a lot bloatware

Redmagic makes use of its personal pores and skin that runs on high of Android, and has accomplished so for years. With the 11 Professional you get Android 16 and Redmagic OS 11. Every part works as you’d anticipate. There’s loads of customisation choices in OS 11, with themes and icon packs to make issues extra futuristic and game-like. You don’t want to make use of them after all, however some are fairly enjoyable and cool-looking.

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I used to be stunned to nonetheless discover a number of cases the place Chinese language characters appeared in messages or with system gadgets, however they had been uncommon and it’s extremely possible that these can be translated correctly in additional updates as soon as the pre-release software program I used to be utilizing has been changed.

Updates are higher too, with the 11 Professional on account of obtain 5 years of help within the EU and UK for Android upgrades and safety patches. It’s not fairly pretty much as good within the US and different territories, which solely get three years.

There are a number of bits of bloatware on the 11 Professional out of the field, however these are just some apps that may be deleted with out fuss.

Recreation Area stays one of many jewels within the crown for players. This software program suite may be accessed in-game by swiping concurrently from the suitable and left flank or by the purple slider change on the highest edge.

In right here, you’ll discover loads of methods to tweak system efficiency and controls, in addition to gaming instruments resembling upscaling video, aiming instruments, sound enhancements to listen to enemy footsteps, in addition to methods to handle screenshots.

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It’s not modified a lot in the previous couple of years, because it’s already a well-evolved set of instruments, however for cellular players it’s a treasure trove of helpful additions.

There are a few new updates although, as Mora (the anime-style assistant) is now capable of provide AI-powered ideas in addition to the power to obtain and execute voice instructions in-game. The characteristic wasn’t totally operational throughout my take a look at interval, nevertheless it ought to be reside by the point you learn this overview.

Value & Availability

With prices seemingly going up throughout the board in know-how, it’s good to see that Redmagic remains to be pricing its units sensibly. You’ll be able to decide up the Redmagic 11 Professional now from the Redmagic retailer or Amazon when you reside within the UK, in a number of completely different variants and with the next costs:

• Cryo 12GB/256GB – £629/$749
• Nightfreeze or Subzero – 16GB/512GB – £709/$799
• Nightfreeze or Subzero – 24GB/1TB – £879/$999

There are not any present networks that provide the Redmagic 11 Professional on a contract, so you’ll in all probability be finest pairing it with one of many provides in our SIM offers roundup.

Gaming telephones are considerably of a distinct segment market now, with the one actual rival to Redmagic’s providing being the ROG Telephone 9 Professional. Whereas that’s a formidable little bit of package, it’s now over a 12 months outdated, far more costly than the 11 Professional, and we’re unsure if Asus intends to convey a brand new mannequin to the desk any time quickly.

Should you’re positively out there for a gaming platform, there’s all the time the choice of in search of the older Redmagic 10s Professional. It shares lots of the options of the newer mannequin and could be obtainable cheaper now that it’s been outdated by the 11 Professional.

Must you purchase the Redmagic 11 Professional?

Redmagic has been pushing the boundaries of what to anticipate from a gaming cellphone for a number of years now. Its units all the time include high-end {hardware} and cheap value tags. Within the 11 Professional we see the proper distillation of those concepts.

It’s a massively highly effective gaming gadget, matched with state-of-the-art cooling, however its value undercuts many normal flagship telephones. It’s arguably one of the best worth gadget not solely in gaming smartphones, however the smartphone market as a complete.

Specs

• Android 16 / Redmagic OS11 (with 5 years of updates)
• Recreation Area software program suite
• 6.85-inch 144Hz AMOLED panel (2688 x 1216)
• 3,000Hz on the spot contact sampling price
• 1800nits max brightness
• 95.3% display to physique ratio
• 520Hz shoulder controls
• 16GB LPDDRX5T RAM (can go as much as 24GB with different fashions
•  512GB UFS 4.1 storage (can go as much as 1TB with different fashions)
• AquaCore Liquid Cooling system
• Liquid Steel 3.0 cooling plate
• Vapour Chamber
• Redmagic waterproof 24,000 RPM fan
• 50Mp f/1.88 23mm Principal digital camera
• 50Mp f/2.0 13mm Large Angle digital camera
• 2Mp depth digital camera/sensor
• 16Mp f/2.0 under-display selfie digital camera
• Twin SIM
• NFC
• 5G Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 5.4
• Twin audio system (1015a + 1115e)
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Magic button (Recreation Area or user-assignable)
• 7,500mAh battery
• 80W Quick / Wired Charging
• USB-C
• IPX8 waterproof ranking
• 163.82mm x 76.54mm x 8.9mm
• 230g