The Red Magic 11S Pro features liquid cooling, a 24,000rpm fan, RGB lighting, and shoulder triggers that make sure you know it’s built for the ultimate gaming experience. Every part of it seems designed for that purpose.
I was even able to use the Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut on it via GameHub. The setup required a lot of adjustment, sure, and the stability depends on the operating mode—but, the experience of playing the AAA game on the phone showed exactly how far Red Magic has pushed the hardware. However, after the game was closed, I still needed a normal smartphone.
This means I browse this phone, make calls, stream content, and rely on it to get me through the day without constantly checking the battery. This is where the Red Magic 11S Pro surprised me by handling these responsibilities well.
Play screen is the best phone screen
You spend a lot of time interacting with the display, and the Red Magic 11S Pro gives you the most focused viewing experience to date. Sure, you’ll find a phone with a higher resolution or thinner bezels, but a full screen on the front is still a rarity. Thanks to its under-display selfie camera, there’s no punch-hole cutout at the top of your display. Once I got used to that clean canvas, regular phone displays started to look unnecessarily cluttered.
Apart from this, the 6.85-inch AMOLED display on the Red Magic 11S Pro is a great example of a gaming feature that improves everyday use. It offers a 144Hz refresh rate that makes normal navigation feel smooth, while the 2688 x 1216 resolution keeps text and images sharp.
Great battery life
Gaming phones need large batteries because heavy games consume power quickly. Everyone else benefits from that ability. The 7,500mAh battery gave me about eight hours of screen-on time when I used the Red Magic 11S Pro as a regular phone. Ease of use may extend the experience comfortably, while more difficult games naturally fall into that category.
Ignoring software optimizations, a large cell like this is a refreshingly uncomplicated way to improve smartphone endurance. I was able to browse, stream, take photos, message people, and play games without having to organize my day around a charger or power bank.
When the battery finally got low, the 80W charging system took it from almost empty to about 70% in 30 minutes. A full charge was completed in just under an hour during my testing. Wireless charging reaches the same advertised ceiling of 80W with compatible devices, which is rare among gaming phones.
The phone also supports bypass charging, which allows external power to power the device without further charging the battery. That feature is designed for long gaming sessions, and would also help anyone using the phone for browsing, video calls, or extended desktop-style loads.
The camera clears a small bar
The cameras are always the easiest place to see the Red Magic 11S Pro’s gaming priorities. The 50MP main camera produced good detail during the day, and the image stabilization helped keep the shots sharp. Images can look over-processed, while low-light performance was decent. The 50MP ultrawide adds usable flexibility, though neither camera can compete with more photo-focused phones at this price.
The selfie camera under the display makes a big sacrifice. Hiding it under the screen ensures an uninterrupted display, although the image quality loses clarity compared to the standard front camera. But even with those flaws, I never thought the camera system could be used. It sits close to the ideal midrange. That’s enough for casual photos, social posts, video calls, and capturing the perfect moment. I believe the best camera is the one you have with you at any time, and while you miss out on advanced filters or better processing, you don’t suffer from the camera hardware here either.
Anyone who prioritizes photography is not in the market for this phone. My expectations were tempered – I wanted a camera that could document everyday life without ruining the rest of the phone, which it managed to do.
Gaming features have uses beyond gaming
Many gameplay-oriented additions also came in handy during casual use. Physical shoulder triggers can be mapped within games, while a customizable Magic Key can trigger a camera, flashlight, or other shortcut. The 3.5mm headphone jack remains useful for streaming and listening to music without Bluetooth lag or battery concerns, which make me miss wired earphones.
Powerful stereo speakers enhance games, videos, and podcasts alike. The cooling system also keeps demanding tasks under control, whether that involves GameHub, video editing, simulation, or a long recording session. Red Magic OS still lacks the customization of Samsung’s One UI or Google’s Pixel software. Some menus need to be cleaned up, and the long-term update commitment should be considered when buying such an expensive phone. During normal use, however, performance remained consistently smooth.
A gaming phone can still be your only phone
Red Magic 11S Pro asks you to accept its sound design and all other compromises. For some, the camera cuts or size may be too deep. But at the end of the day, it’s still a smartphone, and you still get that valuable experience—just with some gaming stuff.
When I wanted to play, the same device was one of the portable gaming systems I tested. But when I wasn’t gaming, the battery lasted a long time, the display was great, charging was super fast, and everyday use was effortless.
