RedMagic 11 Pro+ Review: Unmatched Gaming with Water Cooling

Mention gaming phones, everyone's first thought should be Red Magic. Red Magic's advantages have become increasingly apparent in recent years, and it has managed to carve out its own path. With the release of the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition chip, the Red Magic 11 Pro series was launched accordingly. It's not just a chip upgrade; the Red Magic 11 Pro+ also, for the first time in a phone, incorporates "water cooling" for heat dissipation.

So the question arises: with the combination of air cooling and water cooling, how powerful can the gaming experience of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ really be?

Design: Flowing, Visible Water Cooling
First, let's talk about the design. The Red Magic 11 Pro+ brings an "eye-catching" change this time, mainly reflected in the phone's back cover. This Deuterium Transparent version in hand, based on the original transparent back cover, adds visible blue water cooling and adopts a circular ring + lines design style that fits the esports aesthetic more closely, further enhancing the cool,炫 sense on the back. In the official teaser video, we can see the layout of the pulse water cooling pipeline, making contact with components and air ducts. This isn't just randomly placed on the back of the phone; for the highly space-constrained interior of a phone, it tests the overall design even more, such as the balance between the micro-pump's small size and driving force, the miniaturization design of the liquid flow channels, etc. Even with the addition of pulse water cooling, under an 8.9mm body, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ still houses a large 7500mAh battery.

This transparent blue ring on the back is not just a decoration; during operation, the liquid inside actually flows, thereby achieving the purpose of heat dissipation. Since the coolant is in direct contact with electronic components, besides requiring high thermal conductivity efficiency, it also needs extremely high insulation. According to Red Magic's official introduction, the flowing coolant inside is the same fluoride liquid used in AI servers. The liquid range of the fluoride liquid is -60°C to 180°C, allowing normal use even in winter. Apart from the extremely cool transparent coolant design, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ still retains its signature active cooling fan and has upgraded it. The fan speed has been upgraded to 24000 rpm, and it provides IPX8 water resistance. Additionally, RGB lighting is arranged on the fan, shoulder triggers, the waist of the mid-frame, and the Red Magic logo on the back, satisfying the esports atmosphere desired by some gamers.

The front features a 6.85-inch BOE X10 large screen, still using the under-display camera design, offering a complete, notch-free full screen, which can also reduce screen obstruction during gaming. The resolution is 2688*1216, it supports a 144Hz high refresh rate, narrow bezels are controlled to 1.25mm, and it offers 2592Hz PWM + DC dimming. Moreover, the Red Magic 11 Pro series is the first to feature a new Synaptics touch chip, with a multi-finger touch sampling rate of 360Hz and an instantaneous touch sampling rate of 3000Hz, improving gaming control response speed. Regarding fingerprint unlocking, this generation of the Red Magic 11 Pro series is also the first to incorporate a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint unlock, enhancing unlocking sensitivity and security.

Performance: Same Snapdragon 8 Elite 5, but a Stronger Gaming Experience

Performance has always been the biggest selling point of Red Magic phones. This year, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ is upgraded to the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition chip, paired with LPDDR5T RAM + UFS 4.1 Pro flash storage, and includes the Red Core R4 gaming chip to improve gaming touch control, lighting effect control, rendering speed, and simultaneously achieve gaming experiences like super resolution and super frame rates. In the AnTuTu V10 performance evaluation, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ easily scored a high score of 4.12 million, securing the top spot in phone performance rankings. So, with the support of air cooling + water cooling, how is the actual gaming experience of the Red Magic 11 Pro+? In actual game testing, considering the powerful performance of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ itself, under room temperature conditions, we directly selected "Honkai: Star Rail" for a 30-minute test at the highest graphics settings + 60 fps, running the "Golden Hour" map under load, which puts relatively high pressure on the system.

The phone's air cooling and liquid cooling offer separate on/off options. However, after entering the game, air cooling and liquid cooling are automatically enabled by default. After activating the phone's performance "Awakening Mode," we began this gaming test. After 30 minutes of gameplay, the average frame rate reached 60.9 fps, with a 1% Low frame rate of 57.3 fps. The frame rate chart can be described as stable as a straight line.

Looking at this single game frame rate chart, everyone might not perceive the difference. So, under the same environment, we used another regular phone also equipped with the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition to run the same game test. Using the same fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition chip, the other phone's average game frame rate for "Honkai: Star Rail" was 59 fps, and the 1% Low frame rate was only 26.9 fps (the closer the value is to the maximum frame rate, the smoother the game). Moreover, the game frame rate chart showed obvious fluctuations, a very significant difference compared to the Red Magic 11 Pro+.

After 30 minutes of gaming, we used an infrared thermometer to measure the temperatures of both phones. The Red Magic 11 Pro+, which had high and stable frame rates, reached a maximum temperature of 48.4°C on the front and 45.7°C on the back, located to the right of the rear camera module. However, from the temperature map, it can be seen that the lower area of the body covered by the water cooling was relatively cooler and more uniform, controlled around 40°C.

Although the back temperature of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ wasn't too high, the temperature of the metal mid-frame around the phone was higher, reaching 47.3°C. This might be due to heat from the water cooling and internal phone dissipation being conducted outward through the metal mid-frame, combined with the high thermal conductivity of metal. In comparison, the temperature of the other phone equipped with the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition was also not low, with a maximum front temperature of 48.4°C and a maximum back temperature also reaching 45.5°C, nearly the same as the Red Magic 11 Pro+. Moreover, the temperature in the lower part of that phone reached 43°C, significantly higher than the Red Magic 11 Pro+.

The average gaming power consumption of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ was about 7.69W, slightly higher than the other same-chip phone's average gaming power consumption of 7.34W. However, this is with the built-in fan and pulse water cooling operating. In the past, Red Magic phones' power consumption was much higher than other phones with the same chip, but this time it's only about 0.3W higher, indicating relatively excellent power consumption control for this generation's Red Magic 11 Pro+.

If the water cooling is turned off, how much difference would there be in the Red Magic 11 Pro+'s gaming experience? So, under the same environment, after entering the game, we turned off the liquid cooling circulation and performed the same "Honkai: Star Rail" game test. This time, the Red Magic 11 Pro+'s average game frame rate was 61 fps, with a 1% Low frame rate of 58.4 fps. The game frame rate was similarly stable as a straight line, not much different from when the liquid cooling circulation was enabled. After 30 minutes, we measured the temperature of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ again. The maximum temperature on the front reached 49.6°C, slightly higher than with liquid cooling enabled. The maximum temperature on the back was 45.5°C, not much different from with liquid cooling enabled.

This temperature difference was somewhat unexpected. I originally thought that after turning off the liquid cooling circulation, the back temperature might be much higher, but it wasn't. The guess is, first, because the liquid cooling is still present in the phone's back; although the circulation is off, it's still there and can provide some heat dissipation performance. Second, its cooling system is likely integrated, and one cannot simply isolate and view the specific heat dissipation of a single component. After turning off the liquid cooling circulation, the average gaming power consumption of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ decreased significantly, to only 7.16W. While achieving a more stable game frame rate and with the built-in fan enabled, the average gaming power consumption was even lower than the other regular phone with the same chip, again illustrating the excellent power consumption control of this generation's Red Magic 11 Pro+.

In the "Genshin Impact" game test, at the highest graphics + 60 fps mode, the Red Magic 11 Pro+'s average game frame rate stabilized at 61 fps, with a 1% Low frame rate of 58.6 fps. Compared to the other same-chip phone, the average game frame rate was 60.1 fps, with a 1% Low frame rate of 51.3 fps. The Red Magic 11 Pro+ similarly has an advantage in game frame rates. With the built-in fan and liquid cooling circulation enabled, the Red Magic 11 Pro+'s average gaming power consumption in "Genshin Impact" was 3.83W, about 0.25W higher than the other phone's 3.58W. However, in relatively lower load game scenarios like "Genshin Impact" where phone performance demands aren't as high, the temperature advantage of Red Magic's cooling system comes into play. After 30 minutes of "Genshin Impact," the Red Magic's maximum screen temperature was 37.4°C, and the maximum back temperature was 35.9°C, with the main holding area temperature basically controlled around 33°C. In contrast, the other same-chip phone had a maximum front temperature of 40°C and a maximum back temperature of 38.1°C. Comparing them, the Red Magic 11 Pro+'s temperature is considerably lower.

Besides the above gaming experience improvements, as a gaming phone, Red Magic is also actively promoting game adaptation. According to official introduction, the Red Magic 11 Pro series will also be the first to support "Delta Action" at 144Hz + ultra-clear mode, the first to support "Wuthering Waves" at 120 fps, "VALORANT" 144Hz adaptation, "League of Legends" 144Hz adaptation, and over 200 mainstream games in high-definition high-frame-rate modes, allowing users to enjoy high-frame-rate gaming experiences early. On the basis of providing a 7500mAh large battery, this generation's Red Magic 11 Pro+ also includes 120W wired fast charging and 80W wireless fast charging, and comes standard with a 120W GaN charger. During fast charging, the liquid cooling and fan automatically turn on to cool, enabling faster energy replenishment.

Imaging:

Although imaging is a weak point for gaming phones, perhaps because expectations weren't high to begin with, after some test shots, I found the imaging performance of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ somewhat exceeded my imagination. In terms of imaging configuration, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ uses a triple-camera setup with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 14mm focal length, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The camera system has been brought over from its sibling brand, Nubia.

Judging from the sample shots, the imaging performance of the Red Magic 11 Pro+ is quite commendable in terms of light and shadow processing and color reproduction. On one hand, the handling of light and shadow contrast is well-measured, and colors are relatively richly reproduced. Compared to before, I think it has improved; it's fine for daily shooting. Additionally, it includes current AI features like AI image expansion, magic erase, magic portrait, and even magic pet, which can change pet photos to expressions like happy, helpless, enjoying, surprised, etc. From this, it can actually be seen that Red Magic has not abandoned imaging. Although the demand for photography might not be as strong, they haven't given up and are improving step by step.

Conclusion: Absurdly Powerful? Absurdly Powerful!

With a series of new cooling solutions like air cooling and water cooling, and the performance boost of the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition, the new Red Magic 11 Pro+ undoubtedly delivers a stronger gaming experience. The addition of water cooling not only brings a cool appearance but also represents a new approach to heat dissipation. With this cooling method, the phone's gaming performance surpasses that of other phones in the same class.

In low-load gaming scenarios, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ can achieve higher 1% Low frames at the same frame rate, providing a more stable gaming experience while maintaining lower temperatures. In high-load gaming scenarios, such as the highly demanding "Honkai: Star Rail," where others cannot achieve full and stable frame rates, the Red Magic 11 Pro+ accomplishes full frame rate operation. The air cooling + water cooling散热 allows the performance to be fully utilized, though it might have to face higher temperatures and power consumption for that. As mentioned at the beginning, in this niche gaming phone track, Red Magic's position is already established and unshakable.