RedMagic 11 Pro: early review, liquid ring cooling and a truly clean display

RedMagic 11 Pro arrives as the global spearhead of the company’s 11 series, and it wastes no time declaring what it is: a purpose-built gaming phone with the kind of sustained performance you normally expect from a small laptop. At its core sits the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 paired with 16GB of RAM, but raw silicon is only half the story – the other half is aggressive cooling and gamer-first ergonomics.

Yes, there’s an active fan inside (a RedMagic staple by now), but the standout innovation is the new AquaCore Cooling System. It’s a visible ring of liquid on the back that doesn’t just look sci-fi; it helps wick heat from the SoC and VRM area so clocks stay high deep into a match. In practice, that should mean fewer thermal dips and steadier frame times, which competitive players feel more than they see.

Hardware controls matter, too. The capacitive shoulder buttons provide a familiar console-style layout with customizable mapping and low latency taps – ideal for shooters and racing games where a millisecond feels like a mile. Flip the phone over and you’ll notice what you don’t see on the front: a camera hole. RedMagic continues to back under-display camera tech, fitting a 16MP unit that blends into the panel and stays largely invisible until you summon it. The payoff is a clean, uninterrupted canvas for gaming and media, which readers in our community already singled out as a favorite touch.

Battery is where confusion tends to creep in. Our review unit lists a 7,500mAh pack, while the 11 Pro+ steps up to 8,000mAh. Some spec pages cite the larger number for the Pro as well, likely mixing regional versions or quoting typical vs. rated values. Either way, capacity here is ample for marathon sessions, and the box includes an 80W charger, a red USB-C cable, and a semi-transparent grey case – useful, because most gaming phones look better protected than bare.

Early verdict? The RedMagic 11 Pro leans into its identity. Between the liquid ring, active fan, shoulder triggers, and a genuinely hole-free display, it’s engineered to maintain performance and immersion when lesser phones throttle or distract. We’ll dig into thermals, frame pacing, and charge curves next, but the first impression is simple: this is a gaming phone that treats cooling as a feature, not an afterthought.