RedMagic 11S Pro in for review

This is the RedMagic 11S Pro, and it looks just like its predecessor. But that’s no bad thing, RedMagic gaming phones have their own style – no bumps, no camera islands, just flush surfaces, flat sides, good craftsmanship.

The phone comes in two configs – 12/256GB and 16/512GB – and two guises – Nightfreeze and Subzero (a silver). Ours is the black (Nightfreeze) one. You get an 80W charger, a USB cable, and a nice soft-touch case that’s slimmer than your usual silicone affair.

The RedMagic 11S Pro is fresh on the global market and it’s slightly different to its Chinese counterparts – for starters, it’s just one phone. In China, you get two – the 11S Pro and the 11S Pro+. Depending on the model, you either get a bigger 8,000mAh battery or the same 7,500mAh, but with faster 120W cable charging.

Globally, you’re getting a 7,500mAh battery with 80W charging – wired and wireless.

You get all the proper gaming bits on the RedMagic 11S Pro – a fan with RGB lighting, liquid cooling, shoulder triggers, a light-up RedMagic logo, while on the inside, a bigger vapor chamber, and a RedCore R4 gaming chip.

The shoulder triggers also light up. It’s a nice touch, not overdone. It also fits nicely with the RedMagic 11S Pro’s look and vibe.

Active cooling fan, shoulder triggers

The liquid cooling is cool, but it’s not exactly like something you’d find on a big, proper gaming computer. There, you get a water-cooling loop that circulates through tubes. On the 11S Pro, the AquaCore system likely makes more of a difference to the battery thermals than to the SoC.

The biggest cooling effect is still down to the large vapor chamber and the active cooling fan.

But the liquid cooling visual is definitely very cool, and the technology behind it is innovative.

The RedMagic 11S Pro packs an under-display selfie camera that’s nearly impossible to spot in normal day-to-day use.

It’s likely the same unit from the RedMagic 11 Pro, which was fine, but far from regular, visible selfie implementations.

The RedMagic 11S Pro feels boxy and weighty in the hand. It’s a thick-feeling slab, thanks to the frame’s 9mm diameter. The all-flat design is nice – nothing protrudes and sticks out, it’s refreshing.

The matte frame doesn’t easily smudge, which isn’t something we can say about the phone’s glass back. It easily shows fingerprints and constantly needs wiping.

Here’s a handy look at the RedMagic 11S Pro in hand, over at TikTok.

ZTE nubia RedMagic 11 Pro 5G INT