Nubia Redmagic 11 Air review: Cool, light gaming on the go

Finest Costs Right now: Redmagic 11 Air

Final yr, Redmagic launched a brand new slimline model of its gaming smartphone vary, dubbed (in Apple-esque trend) the Redmagic 10 Air. Now the second iteration has arrived with just a few upgrades to tempt these wanting a robust gaming platform with out the heft of the Redmagic 11 Professional. So, how does the brand new mannequin examine to its predecessor, and would you be higher off going with the full-fat model as a substitute?

Design & Construct: Slimmer however nonetheless chunky

For those who’ve ever used a Redmagic telephone, you’ll know that they’re not petite gadgets. The 11 Air, nonetheless, is as shut as the corporate has come to reaching this.

The steel and glass building feels as stable as ever, however (as with the ten Air) the telephone sits properly within the hand, with out its 163.82mm x 76.54mm x 7.85mm dimensions feeling cumbersome. That is helped by its comparatively gentle weight at 207g (the Redmagic 11 Professional is available in at 230g).

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As soon as once more, alongside the flanks are the 520Hz shoulder triggers for controlling motion in-game, plus there’s the purple Magic Key which may open the devoted gaming software program or might be configured to open different apps or options as a substitute.

The rear glass panel has a cool, futuristic sample, which is a traditional design alternative on Redmagic telephones, plus there’s the corporate emblem that’s illuminated once you’re gaming due to the colorful RGB lights beneath.

The digital camera module space now additionally boasts an extra round unit over the ten Air, however this isn’t one other lens. As an alternative it’s an indication that Redmagic managed so as to add a 24,000RPM fan this time round, to enhance cooling.

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It’s positively a two-handed machine and the sleek surfaces make it a bit of slippery, particularly throughout a sweaty gaming session, however Redmagic does embody a plastic case within the field.

Additional ideas:

• Redmagic presents two color choices – Phantom (type of clear black) and Prism (clear white).
• The Redmagic 11 Air has an IP54 score for mud and water resistance, which is identical because the earlier mannequin however not so good as the IPX8 score on the Redmagic 11 Professional.

Display screen & Audio system: Full display enjoyable

Redmagic stays just about the one smartphone producer to make use of under-screen selfie cameras, alongside the extra customary embedded fingerprint sensor, which permits the show on the 11 Air to remain free from notches or punch-holes.

Whereas this does compromise the entrance digital camera high quality, it’s a small value to pay for the uninterrupted 6.85-inch OLED panel that’s completely designed for taking part in video games or watching video content material.

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The 2688 x 1216 decision and 144Hz refresh charge means every part seems good and sharp, plus the height brightness of 1800 nits is sufficient to half-blind you when you’ve got content material that options loads of white scenes. The Corning Glass GG7i display ought to resist scratches and survive just a few drops, however it may be a bit of reflective in sturdy gentle.

Audio is provided by a twin speaker setup, with one speaker on the underside edge. The opposite is the telephone speaker on the prime of the entrance panel. These mix to supply an honest sound profile, though to get the highest quality, you need to join wi-fi headphones by way of the telephone’s Bluetooth 5.4 capabilities. Sadly, the Air vary doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone socket as Redmagic’s Professional gadgets do.

Additional ideas:

• The show on the Redmagic 11 Air incorporates a 95.10% screen-to-body ratio.
• The panel additionally boasts a 960Hz international contact sampling charge and a pair of,500Hz immediate contact sampling charge for correct and responsive gaming.

Specs & Efficiency: Loads of energy onboard

Gaming telephones require loads of CPU and GPU energy. So, it’s no shock that Redmagic has gone for a top-of-the-line setup that features a 4.32Ghz Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, Adreno 830 GPU, and RedCore R4 devoted gaming chip. Add to those both 12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X Extremely RAM and also you’ve obtained a reasonably hefty set of specs.

Placing the 11 Air by its paces with varied video games, from light-weight titles reminiscent of Stardew Valley as much as Genshin Impression, confirmed that the highly effective processing capabilities had no drawback coping with busy 3D animations, whereas the cooling system (now together with that fan) saved issues to manageable ranges. Sure, the unit does get hotter throughout prolonged periods, however by no means so dangerous that it’s a must to put it down.

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One slight draw back is that, in contrast to the Professional fashions, there’s no flat glass panel on the again to easy over the digital camera bump. This implies the lens covers fell below my fingers throughout landscape-orientated video games which, whereas not uncomfortable, wasn’t as easy as the sleek surfaces on the Execs.

The shoulder triggers are responsive, as is the show panel, and having the ability to assign these within the Recreation House software program stays an excellent function for many who need probably the most from their cellular gaming.

Right here’s how the Redmagic 11 Air in comparison with a few of its closest rivals in our customary benchmark assessments:

Additional ideas:

• The Redmagic 11 Air comes with both 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage.

Cameras: Succesful however not class-leading

Redmagic equips the 11 Air with two lenses (as with the ten Air): a 50Mp f/1.89 primary shooter (which the system calls 23mm), plus an 8Mp unit (14mm), with OIS and an anti-glare coating to maintain issues sharp.

The primary digital camera can take some good photographs, with a fairly fast focus meaning I didn’t miss too many pictures (though Google lens saved attempting to open, as its button is true subsequent to the shutter one, which was moderately annoying). This may be mounted by enabling the setting that means that you can use both shoulder triggers because the shutter button.

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Give the 11 Air some beneficial lighting and also you’ll be impressed with the outcomes. I did discover it struggled with blowing out highlights in tougher conditions, however in any other case the colors are good and the photographs look energetic and balanced.

Low gentle is okay, though noise creeps in fairly shortly when taking pictures away from a lightweight supply. For those who’re not shopping for a telephone particularly for its cameras, the 11 Air is a wonderfully serviceable possibility that may produce some pretty photographs to share on social media or with your pals.

The under-display 16Mp digital camera continues to make marginal enhancements with every iteration. Gone are the fuzzy selfies of older Redmagic efforts, with more moderen ones bringing sharpness to the occasion. It does are usually considerably software-corrected so, whereas tremendous, it’s a bit of overly processed at occasions. Nonetheless, it’s positively higher than it was a few years in the past.

The 11 Air is able to capturing footage as much as 8K / 30fps, however you’ll get extra usable (or no less than shareable) recordsdata should you go for 4K / 60fps and even 1080p / 60 fps as a substitute. I discovered it to be an honest unit, in a position to shortly refocus when switching topics or lighting with out a lot searching. Once more, it’s greater than adequate for day-to-day use.

Additional ideas:

• One of many rings on the rear of the 11 Air is for the devoted round flash.
• The 11 Air additionally comes with varied scene modes reminiscent of Star Path, Gentle Draw, Gradual Movement, Time Lapse and several other others.

Battery Life & Charging: Larger battery, longer playtime

Battery life might be the place gaming gadgets dwell or die. It’s all properly and good having super-fast efficiency, but when the unit switches off after solely an hour enjoying your favorite sport, it’s going to be a disappointing expertise.

Redmagic has at all times completed a great job of kitting out its telephones with massive batteries, and the 11 Air features a massive, 7,000mAh cell this time round, a full 1,000mAh greater than the ten Air.

In on a regular basis use, the 11 Air is well a two-day telephone. After all, you don’t purchase a Redmagic telephone until you plan to do some gaming and, utilizing it like this, the battery life is shorter however nonetheless superb.

Testing out an hour of Asphalt Legends noticed the cost drop by round 15%. So, if that is still constant, you need to get between 6-7 hours of gameplay from a single cost.

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In our customary PCMark battery take a look at, the 11 Air scored an honest 8hrs and 36mins, which makes it simply over an hour shy of the Redmagic 11 Professional, however that telephone has a 7,500mAh cell.

Recharging the handset with the included brick took the 11 Air from 0% to 35% in quarter-hour, and 64% in half-hour, with a full restoration coming in at 1 hour 8 minutes, which is fairly snappy for a big battery like this.

Additional ideas:

• Redmagic features a charger within the field, so you’ll be able to immediately make use of the 80W wired quick charging capabilities of the handset.

Software program & Apps: Minimal bloatware and wonderful Recreation House

The 11 Air has Android 16 because the working system, with Redmagic OS 11 operating on prime. As any common person of a Redmagic telephone will know, there are many tweaks to Android, together with numerous futuristic themes that may be chosen.

One cool function is the flexibility to create bespoke wallpaper utilizing AI options on the machine – I entered one brief immediate and obtained a Blade Runner-style backdrop in seconds.

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Other than this, there are different AI options reminiscent of transcriptions of recordings, dwell translation, a notepad app into which you’ll be able to dictate notes, outlines or brainstorm concepts and have all of it transformed to textual content and even summarised.

There’s little in the best way of bloat software program, other than the standard suspects reminiscent of Fb, Reserving.com, TikTok and few utilities. These can all be deleted, providing you with a clear system that behaves properly.

One of many standout options of Redmagic telephones is Recreation House. This can be a devoted suite of instruments geared toward cellular players, permitting you to reinforce gameplay, handle screenshots, and modify the efficiency and mapping of in-game controls. There’s even an anime-style assistant that can assist you with tactical recommendation, act as your in-game voice, or take voice instructions to maintain your palms free.

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I’m guessing that anybody critically taking a look at a Redmagic telephone could have gaming as a primary requirement. As such, Recreation House will show a singular and genuinely helpful bonus over different choices. 

Additional ideas:

• Redmagic states that the 11 Air will get 5 years of Android and safety updates within the UK. Elsewhere, help lasts for 3 years.

Value & Availability

The Redmagic 11 Air launched on 11 February 2026, with just a few configurations and costs, all of which might be ordered from the UK Redmagic website, or from Redmagic US.

Right here’s how the choices line up:

• Redmagic 11 Air 12GB+256GB (Phantom or Prism) – £439/$529
• Redmagic 11 Air 16GB+512GB (Phantom or Prism) – £529/$629

There aren’t any present networks that supply the Redmagic 11 Air on a contract, so that you’d most likely be finest pairing it with one of many presents in our SIM offers roundup.

As ASUS has introduced its exit from the gaming smartphone area, and retired the ROG vary of handsets, there’s not a lot direct competitors now for the 11 Air.

Clearly, there’s the Redmagic 11 Professional, which has an even bigger battery and some different spec bumps, with costs beginning at 629/$749. Other than that, you can look in the direction of any of the present suggestions in our Finest Smartphones chart, as these telephone could have top-shelf specs, albeit at costs a bit greater than these supplied by Redmagic. 

Do you have to purchase the Redmagic 11 Air?

The slimline, lighter format of the Air vary does make them nicer day-to-day telephones than the Redmagic Professional lineup. The 11 Air has very succesful {hardware}, a clear design, and the addition of the fan is nice information for the cooling system.

It will probably play every part you’d need, and doesn’t kill your palms within the course of. However, if you need the perfect gaming telephone, the Redmagic 11 Professional has all of the bells and whistles, to not point out the revolutionary liquid cooling system. So, it comes all the way down to the previous alternative between consolation and pace. Take your choose.

Specs

• Android 16
• Redmagic 11 UI
• 6.85in OLED show with 1.5K decision, 144Hz
• 4.32Ghz Snapdragon 8 Elite processor
• Devoted RedCore R4 gaming chip
• Adreno 830 GPU
• 12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X Extremely RAM
• 256GB or 512GB UFS 4.1
• 24mm 50Mp primary digital camera
• 14mm 50Mp extensive digital camera
• 16Mp under-display selfie digital camera
• Stereo audio system
• 520Hz Contact-sensitive shoulder triggers
• Beneath-display fingerprint sensor
• Wi-Fi 7
• Bluetooth 5.4
• NFC
• Twin SIM (Nano)
• ICE cooling system
• 24,000 RPM fan
• IP54 score
• 7,000mAh battery
• 80W wired quick charging
• USB-C
• 163.82 x 76.54 x 7.85mm
• 207g