With ASUS not making telephones, Redmagic is the one gaming cellphone model left, and to its credit score, it’s doing all the fitting issues. I used the Redmagic 11 Professional when it debuted, and the addition of liquid cooling gave the gadget that little further that gaming telephones at all times want, and it was a gaming powerhouse.
There’s now the Redmagic 11 Air; I nonetheless suppose it is hilarious that the model selected an Air moniker for a cellphone that weighs 207g and has a 6.85-inch panel and an enormous 7,000mAh battery, however hey, no less than it’s lighter than the 230g 11 Professional. As you’d think about from Redmagic, the 11 Air has high-end internals and a complete load of extras designed to take advantage of out of cellular gaming. After utilizing the cellphone for 2 weeks, I am satisfied that it is a nice gaming cellphone, and if something, I desire it to the 11 Professional — I am specializing in 4 areas the place the Redmagic 11 Air stands out.
An enormous AMOLED panel with no seen cutout
Redmagic went with the identical 6.85-inch OLED panel because the 11 Professional, and that is completely the fitting name. Though it’s greater than most screens you see as we speak, Redmagic did a terrific job guaranteeing the bezels are skinny, so the gadget itself is not that a lot greater or wider than different flagships. If something, it’s in keeping with the Galaxy S25 Extremely, and whereas it nonetheless resembles a brick, the lighter design makes a distinction in day-to-day usability.
What I like one of the best in regards to the OLED panel is that there is not any cutout, so that you get a display screen that is not marred by a entrance digital camera or every other obstruction. This makes enjoying video games or watching multimedia on the 11 Air that rather more pleasing, and I do not get why different manufacturers do not go the identical route.
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The colour vibrancy of the OLED panel is on par with one of the best Android telephones, and you do not miss out on any of the extras — you even get a good quantity of customizability on the subject of adjusting the colours to your preferences. Redmagic has an eye fixed consolation mode as effectively, and there is even a devoted Learn Mode that turns the panel monochrome, making it an important option to learn books.
Nevertheless it’s whereas gaming the place the panel on the 11 Air actually shines; because of 144fps in choose video games alongside the dearth of a visual cutout, the cellphone is objectively higher for gaming than most different gadgets.
Internals you may depend on — and a battery that does not stop
I get that Redmagic went with the Snapdragon 8 Elite as an alternative of the 8 Elite Gen 5, and you realize what? I did not discover any distinction in any respect. Final 12 months’s Snapdragon 8 Elite remains to be a implausible chipset, and it holds up simply as effectively in demanding video games — I did not run into any lag or slowdown within the dozen or so video games I examined on the Redmagic 11 Air.
If something, going with final 12 months’s platform means Redmagic was capable of keep away from the overheating points to an extent. The cellphone nonetheless will get scorching, but it surely is not fairly as a lot as gadgets powered by the 8 Elite Gen 5. Additionally, there may be some throttling with prolonged gaming, and once more, it’s in keeping with what I see on different telephones utilizing the identical silicon.
The remainder of the {hardware} is nice in its personal proper; the gadget will get 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM as commonplace, and comes with 256GB of UFS 4.1 storage. Snapdragon Sound is undamaged, and also you get a 7,000mAh battery that lasts a day even with heavy use.
All of the gaming extras you need
Like the remainder of its gaming telephones, the Redmagic 11 Air will get a devoted Sport House that allows you to customise the {hardware} and settings in particular person video games. It positively makes a distinction, and the power to tune settings on a game-by-game foundation is nice.
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Additionally, whereas the checklist of titles that enable 144fps gaming remains to be fairly restricted, it is good to see that there are a number of video games that allow you to take full benefit of the OLED panel, and there are dozens of titles obtainable at 120fps. Whereas it does not technically make a distinction with gaming usually, it is fairly cool to see RGB lighting on the rear of the gadget.
Though Redmagic makes a giant deal out of the built-in cooling fan, I do not see it making a tangible distinction whereas gaming. Look, it is positively novel to have lively cooling, but it surely does not do a lot to stop throttling.
A gaming cellphone that does not break the financial institution
Coming in at $499, the Redmagic 11 Air prices $200 lower than its sibling, and I do not actually see a motive why should purchase every other gaming cellphone in 2026. The affordability makes it a more sensible choice than absolutely anything on this class, and even in the event you’re not a gamer, the caliber of {hardware} you are getting makes this a terrific deal.
Certain, the cellphone has middling cameras, and whereas you’re going to get first rate photographs more often than not, it does not maintain a candle to the Pixel 10a or every other mid-ranger on this space. Outdoors of that although, there is not a lot lacking with the cellphone; you get highly effective internals, a stunning AMOLED panel, and distinctive gaming extras that make a distinction.
Truthfully, that is what I needed ASUS to do with its gaming telephones, and I am glad that Redmagic is carrying that baton ahead.
It could not have the most recent silicon, however that does not actually matter — the Redmagic 11 Air excels the place it counts, and it my go-to suggestion in the event you want a gaming cellphone in 2026.
