RedMagic's 11 Pro Has Cool Ideas, but I Can't Take Its Software Seriously Anymore

4 hours ago 3

Every year when I try out the newest gaming phones from RedMagic, I go through the same tired narrative. While the company is often the first to get the latest processor from Qualcomm and outfit itself with optimized specs for gaming, its software remains one of the worst iterations of Android.

In previous years, I've felt that we could explain some of the compromises due to several factors, such as RedMagic's speed to market for delivering a phone powered by the most powerful processor available. The company also often sells its gaming phone at a lower price than rivals from Asus and OnePlus.

However, with the volume of competition entering the phone market in the $749 price range (the RedMagic 11 Pro's starting price), I no longer find RedMagic's software tolerable. And it's unfortunate, because on the hardware side, there are a lot of cool quality-of-life improvements that would otherwise make the phone a great value if its software could just get with the times.

RedMagic OS creates headaches that hurt the phone

RedMagic OS made a lot of choices that make the experience of using its gaming phones intolerable, especially if you actually plan to have the device as your main phone.

MediaTek Dimensity statue with RedMagic watermark.

There are several questionable default settings, some of which cannot be removed. The most egregious is a default RedMagic watermark placed on photos, which automatically adds RedMagic's logo and some photo information to the bottom of any picture you take. Fortunately, it can be disabled in the Camera app's settings.

While it's understandable that the camera may take a backseat on a phone that prioritizes gaming and media experiences, it's unusual for RedMagic to initially impose itself on the photos that you do take. A RedMagic representative said that the watermark can "display key shooting parameters to help users understand their photography settings and make adjustments in future shots."

That might sound like an advantageous spin, but it's easy enough to view that information in the Photos app. And if you're learning about photography, similarly priced phones like the Google Pixel 10 use an AI-based Camera Coach system to provide assistance. There's no good reason to visually imprint its settings on your photos, especially by default.

Advertisement when opening browser on RedMagic 11 Pro.

RedMagic's phones also come with other software that's borderline junk. The default web browser sometimes starts up with an advertisement that needs to be skipped. It can be switched to Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or another option that doesn't begin your internet browsing with advertising.

However, another app called Inspired Wallpaper cannot be deleted at all, with a RedMagic representative stating that it's "deeply integrated into the system framework." This isn't some fancy AI-powered wallpaper experience, though; it's just a bunch of options that duplicate much better wallpaper alternatives RedMagic provides in the standard Android settings menu. To add more insult, the app doesn't even bother to add a space between its sentences.

RedMagic also lags behind similarly priced rivals in terms of software and security updates. The $749 RedMagic 11 Pro will only receive three years of support, but many other phones in this price range offer at least four years or more. The fact is, phones are expensive devices, and as such, many phones that fall into the $700 and up price range now offer anywhere from four to seven years of overall software and security support.

Some of these issues were easier to excuse when RedMagic's phones sold for $649, like last year's RedMagic 10 Pro. The software was still bad, but the lower price made the high-powered hardware feel like a better value. However, the RedMagic 11 Pro is now only $50 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S25 and OneUI is incredibly stable software by contrast.

While we don't yet know the price of the forthcoming OnePlus 15, the $749 that RedMagic charges is likely not significantly cheaper. The edition of the OnePlus 15 now available in China features several of the same hardware highlights as the RedMagic, such as the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a large, fast-charging battery. We'll find out on Nov. 13 if the global edition will follow suit, but typically, specs like the processor and battery often do make it into the US edition of the OnePlus 15.

While I have serious concerns about RedMagic's software experience, it's still worth examining the hardware of the RedMagic 11 Pro -- and hoping that some eventual update improves the software experience powering it.

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RedMagic 11 Pro's new cooling system with a big battery

The RedMagic 11 Pro's standout feature is its liquid cooling system, and if you have one of the transparent models, you can physically see it in action. The system, branded AquaCore, features multiple components, including a copper foil under the screen and around the processor, high-thermal-conductivity gel, a cooling chamber, and a liquid cooling system that circulates through the system. RedMagic touts it as the first mass-produced phone with such a cooling system. On the Nightfreeze model that I am testing, the blue and white circle on the back starts rotating when I turn on the liquid cooling feature, which is a very nice touch.

While RedMagic has had a fan inside of its gaming phones for years, the 11 Pro is the first to have an IPX8 water resistance rating -- despite having a vent where you can feel cool air blowing out of the fan. When I inquired about the fan's water resistance in particular, a RedMagic representative informed me that it is designed to withstand conditions such as rain or light splashes, but isn't intended for submersion. RedMagic does advertise the fan as being "waterproof," but it did seem slightly far-fetched to presume I'd use it while underwater.

The RedMagic 11 Pro is also the first to have wireless charging. You can recharge its massive 7,500-mAh battery at 80-watt speeds, whether via wired or wireless charging. That kind of speed for wired charging makes sense, and RedMagic does ship the phone with the required fast-charging power adapter. When it comes to wireless charging, a RedMagic representative said that 80W wireless charging speed should work whenever there's a Qi2 wireless charger that supports that speed. That claim is going to be rather challenging to test, because the current Qi2.2 standard maxes out at 25 watts -- which is still quite good.

The phone is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 -- and in my benchmark testing, it unsurprisingly outdoes the prior one.

RedMagic 11 Pro vs. RedMagic 10S Pro, Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S25

3DMark Wild Life ExtremeGeekbench 6.0 RedMagic 11 Pro RedMagic 10S Pro Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Samsung Galaxy S25

8,074; 48.35fps	Single: 3,683; Multi: 11,664
7,193; 43.07fps	Single: 3,050; Multi: 9,586
5,923; 35.47fps	Single: 3,075; Multi: 9,710
6,496; 38.9fps	Single: 2,999; Multi: 9,604

Otherwise, the phone's design remains similar to that of prior RedMagic phones, featuring a 6.85-inch display that incorporates an under-display front-facing camera, giving it a look more akin to a mini high-definition television screen rather than a phone. RedMagic's phones consistently excel in their displays, which is especially crucial for gaming.

The 11 Pro's screen has a 2,592Hz touch sampling rate, which RedMagic describes as its most sensitive display yet. When I play touchscreen-based games that require fast reactions, such as Dead Cells, Mortal Kombat Mobile, and Street Fighter 4 Mobile, I find that the display responds quickly while providing a wide view of the action. I could still see benefits from attaching a mobile game controller, such as a Backbone One, to this phone or using a gaming console controller, depending on what you're playing. However, the display's fast touchscreen responses are a lifesaver if you don't have the option of using a gamepad and buttons.

Photos from the under-display camera don't look very good, but that's one of the few compromises RedMagic makes that doesn't irritate me, as it makes sense for a gaming phone to prioritize the screen over selfies. The RedMagic 11 Pro also features a fast hypersonic fingerprint sensor, which is a notable upgrade over the slightly slower optical fingerprint sensor found in prior models.

The RedMagic 11 Pro's camera system is serviceable, but it will definitely not be a selling point for the phone. Its rear camera system has a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera. Photos I took with it outdoors came out looking nice, but nothing showstopping in regards to detail.

Selfie photos I took on the 16-megapixel under-display front-facing camera look super flat, almost like there is a glaze over my face that obscures any skin detail.

RedMagic 11 Pro is built for gaming, but not much else

I have no issues with the RedMagic 11 Pro when it comes to the gaming experience. The company consistently offers fast access to the latest Qualcomm flagship processors. It pairs it with a gorgeous screen free from camera cutouts and its new liquid cooling system, combined with its now water-resistant fan, should help with longer gaming sessions. Plus, its huge, fast-charging battery will provide even more assurance that you can game with it at higher graphics settings.

But the RedMagic 11 Pro is still meant to be a phone. And as a phone, I can't help but want more out of RedMagic OS. It's not too much to ask for a flagship phone to arrive with a software experience that has minimal advertising, features that can be easily deactivated when they aren't core to the experience and -- when a feature is core to the experience -- that its text uses proper grammar.

Even though the RedMagic 11 Pro is still cheaper than other rivals in this space at $749, you really should consider options from other phonemakers. The Asus ROG phone series strikes a consistent balance between gaming features, offering a pleasant experience as both a phone and a camera. It's also quite clear that OnePlus is making an aggressive push into gaming with its forthcoming OnePlus 15, with a comparable 7,300mAh battery alongside the newest Qualcomm processor. Over the next year, we can expect to see even more flagship options from Samsung and others, offering similar performance with enhanced Android support in the $800 price range.

There are simply now too many options that take the software experience more seriously than RedMagic. And it's unfortunate because liquid cooling in a phone is otherwise a heck of an idea. Perhaps we'll see it adopted by other companies with better software capabilities.

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