RedMagic 11 Air Review: Ultra-Thin Gaming Phone with Flagship Power

Compared with the previous generation, the core breakthrough of the RedMagic 11 Air lies in successfully combining the Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition, an active cooling fan, and a 7000mAh battery—features that traditionally conflict with slim design—into a phone measuring just 7.85mm thick and weighing 207g.

As a result, the RedMagic 11 Air is even thinner and lighter than some standard smartphones, offering a better in-hand feel. There are now very few reasons to reject gaming phones, as it strikes an excellent balance between gaming devices and everyday smartphones. To some extent, this Air model showcases even stronger engineering prowess than the regular RedMagic flagship line.

In-hand feel is subjective, but the factors that shape it are objective. Beyond the weight and thickness mentioned earlier, the RedMagic 11 Air’s design reflects careful consideration in many other aspects.

The back features a full transparent glass panel with pronounced curved edges, allowing it to fit more naturally into the palm and feel exceptionally smooth. The curved glass transitions seamlessly into the matte metal frame, balancing aesthetics and comfort. In addition, the phone has a relatively slender form factor with a narrower width.

Thanks to this design, the RedMagic 11 Air feels excellent when held with one hand. Even during landscape gaming, the lighter weight allows for longer two-handed use. At times, I find myself picking it up just to hold it—not only because of the superb ergonomics, but also because of the true full display.

On the front, the RedMagic 11 Air uses a 6.85-inch BOE true full display with 1.5K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. With the under-display camera technology now highly mature, the front camera is virtually invisible even on light backgrounds. In real-world use, it is only noticeable under low brightness and gray-toned backgrounds.

At medium to high brightness levels, the display uses DC dimming, while at low brightness it switches to 2592Hz high-frequency PWM dimming. The touch sampling rate reaches up to 960Hz, and full-screen peak brightness hits 1304 nits, ensuring excellent outdoor visibility.

In terms of gaming performance, the Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition inside the RedMagic 11 Air remains among the best in the industry. All tests were conducted at maximum graphics and frame rates, with Genshin Impact running super-resolution and super-frame modes. The results are as follows:

The RedMagic 11 Air clearly outperforms other Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition phones in gaming. Its ultra-thin body does not limit performance output. Even demanding titles like Where Winds Meet can maintain high frame rates and high image quality. Power consumption is slightly higher, but with a 7000mAh battery as a foundation, this is hardly an issue.

During testing, the cooling fan is audible, producing a higher-pitched sound, but it is not noisy. Since the fan is located on the back and there is some distance between the phone and the user, the perceived noise level is minimal.

In terms of gaming hardware and features, the RedMagic 11 Air leverages its self-developed R4 chip to enable game super-resolution and super-frame technology. It includes built-in shoulder triggers that allow one-tap slide-and-shoot or prone actions in FPS games, one-tap invulnerability in MOBA titles, and extreme dodge actions in open-world games. A built-in PC emulator is also available, allowing users to play console games via streaming or local file downloads.

The imaging highlights of the RedMagic 11 Air focus on filters. This generation introduces many stylish options such as Positive Film, Negative Film, Bresson Black & White, and Cyberpunk.

The Cyberpunk filter is particularly interesting. It adds carefully designed color separation between the subject and background, combined with light and shadow contrast, producing uniquely striking images.

There is also the Bresson Black & White filter, with well-tuned color tones and contrast. If the watermark were removed, would you be able to tell that these photos were taken with a gaming phone?

Beyond filters, the RedMagic 11 Air includes an iPhone-like color palette feature that allows adjustment of color temperature, saturation, and lighting to match different scenes and user preferences.

However, the palette currently only allows color-region-based adjustments rather than direct parameter control, which can be inconvenient. This is an area that could be improved in the next generation.

The RedMagic 11 Air runs REDMAGIC OS 11, which shows noticeable improvements in smoothness and animations. It also features a linked always-on display, lock screen, and home screen wallpaper system. I personally enjoy this feature, as it intelligently crops and layers anime-style characters, creating a more three-dimensional effect than typical always-on displays.

REDMAGIC OS 11 is also rich in functionality. Popular AI automation features such as “one-sentence food ordering” are included. The side toolbar is present, along with a new “Data Hub” feature similar to Huawei’s SuperHub, allowing temporary storage of text and images. For documents such as Word files, AI assistance can help interpret and organize content. Importantly, REDMAGIC OS 11 has minimal ad notifications, keeping the system clean—something many users will appreciate.

After highlighting its strengths, it is also important to objectively address the current shortcomings of the RedMagic 11 Air.

When viewed at an angle, the display exhibits noticeable color shift, with white backgrounds taking on a magenta tint. You might ask: who looks at their phone like that?

However, in daily use, we do not always view the screen head-on. The phone may be placed flat on a desk or viewed while lying down. Therefore, viewing angles are an important metric. If this bothers you, switching the color mode to “Vivid” in display settings can reduce the reddish tint and soften overall colors.

When viewed up close, slight vertical grain noise can be observed on the screen. While this is usually not noticeable at normal viewing distances, it becomes apparent when looking closely.

Touch performance is also average. Occasional touch interruptions occur, requiring re-touching the screen in Genshin Impact to continue actions. In Zenless Zone Zero, skill buttons may register without any character response. Performance is better in Honor of Kings, but if that is the only game you play, there is little reason to choose a RedMagic device.

The speaker performance is also below expectations. It is not bad, but rather simply loud. In chaotic in-game scenes with overlapping skill effects, the audio becomes cluttered. Even for music and video playback, highs are emphasized while lows are lacking, making headphones the recommended option.

Signal performance is another issue. Under the same Wi-Fi network, the RedMagic 11 Air shows slightly weaker signal quality compared to other Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition phones, resulting in higher network latency.

Despite these minor flaws, I believe the RedMagic 11 Air is on the right path as a “thin and light gaming phone.” Traditional gaming phones often become excessively heavy in pursuit of extreme performance, while conventional performance-focused phones compromise on cooling and sustained output. The RedMagic 11 Air successfully finds a clever balance between the two.