RedMagic 11 Air Review: Slim Gaming Phone with Snapdragon 8 Elite

Before the arrival of the Year of the Horse, RedMagic’s Air series—focused on slim and lightweight design—has been updated with a new model that incorporates more signature RedMagic design elements: the RedMagic 11 Air. The device starts at a price of 3,499 yuan, with the subsidized price reduced to 2,999 yuan.

Let’s begin with the most noticeable change: the exterior design. The RedMagic 11 Air moves away from the previously simple, smooth, frosted transparent back cover and returns to RedMagic’s iconic transparent aesthetic. This time, the phone uses a custom curved rear glass panel. The curved structure makes the body appear fuller and more premium, while also improving grip comfort, allowing the phone to feel smoother and more naturally fitted in hand.

Beneath the smooth transparent panel, neatly arranged textures resembling racing tracks and circuit connections are visible, emphasizing a mechanical style and the precision of internal circuitry. In the upper-right corner, there is a circular ring with the RedMagic logo at its center, paying tribute to the design of a vinyl record.

The camera lenses are still arranged in a straightforward layout without a clearly defined camera deco area. The main camera and ultra-wide camera are positioned at the top, while the fan and fill light sit beneath the main camera. Under the transparent back, multiple RGB lighting elements are integrated. Areas such as the RedMagic logo and the fan position display different lighting effects depending on usage scenarios like gaming, notifications, and charging.

The phone is available in three color options: Star White, Aurora Silver, and the Quantum Black version shown here. The Quantum Black model features a delicately matte-finished metal frame, and its button and port layout is slightly simpler than that of the standard RedMagic 11.

On the right side of the device are the gaming shoulder triggers, power button, and volume keys. When not activated, the shoulder triggers are designed to be less noticeable, enhancing the overall unibody feel of the frame.

However, due to the slim body size, the shoulder triggers can only be placed along the edge of the device. When holding the phone, it does not fit the palm as naturally as a handheld gaming console, and the finger-curved grip posture can feel uncomfortable at times.

On the left side, a red dedicated multifunction button is retained. By default, it launches the Game Space, though users can customize its function in the settings. Like the RedMagic 10 Air, the slim-focused RedMagic 11 Air does not include a wired headphone jack. The SIM card slot and USB-C port are still located at the bottom.

On the front, the device features a 6.85-inch 1.5K 144Hz “Wukong” display. It continues to use under-display camera technology and ultra-narrow 1.25mm bezels, achieving a screen-to-body ratio of 95.1%. When the screen is on, nearly the entire front of the phone is display.

The screen uses BOE Q10 luminous material with a peak brightness of 1800 nits. It supports 2592Hz PWM plus DC dimming and carries SGS low blue light certification. The display supports a 144Hz refresh rate, with a global 960Hz and instantaneous 2000Hz touch sampling rate. In gaming scenarios, Honor of Kings supports native 144Hz high frame rate mode. Native 144Hz support is also available for League of Legends: Wild Rift, CrossFire Mobile, Arena Breakout, Naruto Mobile, Peace Elite, KartRider Rush+, and QQ Speed. Support for titles such as Delta Force and Call of Duty Mobile will be added in future updates.

In terms of performance, the RedMagic 11 Air is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, paired with RedMagic’s self-developed Red Core R4 gaming chip and the CUBE gaming engine. It uses LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, with two storage configurations available. In current indoor testing conditions, the device achieved an AnTuTu score of 3,217,99.

Officially, the phone supports concurrent 2K plus 144Hz super-resolution and super-frame rendering in over 200 games. When playing Genshin Impact or Zenless Zone Zero, there may be one or two brief stutters at the start of map loading, but overall performance remains smooth for the vast majority of gameplay. Combined with the highly responsive display, the overall control experience feels very satisfying.

Like the standard RedMagic series, the RedMagic 11 Air includes a built-in PC emulator, supporting games such as Assassin’s Creed Rogue, Tomb Raider, and the Need for Speed series. The phone’s touch-based shoulder triggers meet the input requirements of PC games.

This time, the RedMagic 11 Air is equipped with the Wind Rider 4.0 cooling fan, making it the first RedMagic Air series phone to include an active cooling fan. Combined with the upgraded ultra-thick stepped VC cooling system, overall thermal performance is significantly improved, allowing stable 60fps operation even when the PC emulator is running.

For battery life, the RedMagic 11 Air features a 7000mAh battery paired with 120W Magic Flash fast charging. Compared to the previous generation’s 6000mAh battery and 80W charging, this is a substantial upgrade. For an ultra-thin RedMagic Air device that also supports PC emulation, the larger battery is particularly practical.

Additionally, this generation introduces full-scenario bypass charging technology. When charging while in use, power is supplied directly to the system, reducing heat generation during high-performance scenarios.

In charging tests, using the official 120W charging setup, the RedMagic 11 Air takes 59 minutes to charge from 0 to 100 percent. With universal fast charging, paired with the AI XiaoDian ULTRA charger, it reaches up to 76W, taking 63 minutes for a full charge.

Finally, let’s look at the camera system. The RedMagic 11 Air is equipped with a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization. It also includes an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, rather than downgrading to an auxiliary lens due to positioning or pricing, which is a welcome decision.

As for pricing, the RedMagic 11 Air is available in two storage variants: