No person can accuse REDMAGIC of laziness. Barely a month goes by with out one other new product announcement or launch from the prolific Chinese language gaming-focused handset producer, and the newest product to land on our desks is the REDMAGIC 11 Air.Why “Air”? Properly, as a result of the particular talent this mannequin brings to the social gathering is lightness. Whereas earlier REDMAGIC handsets that we’ve reviewed have been pointedly boxy and substantial, as befits machines of unrivalled gaming grunt, the REDMAGIC 11 Air is a extra delicate specimen.If the REDMAGIC 11 Professional is a greatsword, designed for cleaving and bludgeoning, then the REDMAGIC 11 Air is a rapier. It’s lighter within the hand, simpler to hide, and altogether much less menacing at a look. Fortuitously, it’s simply as efficient in reaching its goal.Which, to be clear, is operating video games.And it’s arguably much more efficient at reaching its secondary goal, which is being a normal all-purpose smartphone with first rate battery life, media functionality, sound high quality, and all spherical useability.LooksThough considerably slimmer and lighter than its predecessors, the REDMAGIC 11 Air has the identical angular kind issue and huge, 6.85-inch OLED display screen. It additionally has the identical clear again, revealing the workings beneath – however on this case the workings are extra elegant and aesthetically pleasing.Instead of the big vents on both aspect of the handset is a single vent, for drawing away the warmth generated by the handset’s formidable gaming equipment. Instead of the 2 pretty apparent touch-sensitive shoulder buttons are two touch-sensitive shoulder buttons which are barely noticeable.And instead of the massive orange slider for booting up the proprietary Sport House software program and activating gaming mode there’s a smaller, extra discreet orange button.There’s a small purple brand that lights up on the again of the machine when Sport House is operating, however not the varied different rainbow LEDs that scream for consideration on the REDMAGIC 11 Professional and former fashions.Briefly, the REDMAGIC 11 Air is a toned-down model of its extra muscular stablemates, whereas nonetheless being very clearly a handset preserved for followers of gaming, innovative expertise, and flashy glowing logos.In order for you a telephone that may run video games with out essentially rubbing everyone’s face within the truth, the REDMAGIC 11 Air may very well be for you.SpecsWhen you’re out there for a gaming handset, efficiency is what actually issues, and the REDMAGIC 11 Air confidently delivers.Beneath the hood it’s packing a Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU, RedCore R4 Gaming Chip, and 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, together with as much as 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage. That’s greater than sufficient to maintain up with the present crop of cellular video games, even on the larger finish of technical necessities.The show, in the meantime, is wealthy, colourful, and silky easy because of a 144 Hz refresh charge and OLED expertise. This makes it ultimate for gaming and media, supported by glorious haptics and strong, punchy sound from the stereo audio system.It’s value mentioning right here that the REDMAGIC 11 Air lacks the three.5mm headphone jack of its predecessors. It is a function that’s more and more absent from handsets however one which some customers miss. If help for wired headphones was one of many belongings you favored about your final REDMAGIC telephone, you could be disenchanted by the dearth of it right here.The REDMAGIC Air 11 boasts a powerful 7000 mAH battery cell and 120W quick charging, which means it’s amazingly fast to cost and lasts properly over a day (relying on what you’re utilizing your telephone for, after all). Battery-wise, you’ll haven’t any complaints.Alas, the identical can’t be mentioned for the digital camera. In frequent with all REDMAGIC handsets, the digital camera efficiency is strong however unremarkable. Together with a 50MP essential digital camera there’s an 8MP ultrawide digital camera on the again and a 16MP under-display selfie digital camera.Life is filled with compromises, and it’s affordable to think about the REDMAGIC 11 Air’s underwhelming photographic efficiency as the worth paid for its excellent gaming grunt and general energy.In any case, if smartphone pictures issues to you, look elsewhere.SoftwareThe REDMAGIC 11 Air runs Android 16 beneath REDMAGIC’s customized pores and skin. Except for the big recreation fan widget that comes with the OS out of the field (and which you’ll be able to take away from the house display screen at any time) the pores and skin is extraordinarily minimal and unobtrusive.Whereas it’s unlikely that gaming is totally absent from the ideas of anyone shopping for the REDMAGIC 11 Air, it’s additionally true that you possibly can fortunately use one with out ever booting up a recreation.Being a innovative smartphone, the REDMAGIC 11 Air comes with the newest model of Android and promised help for an extra two main Android updates. When it comes to software program longevity, that places it behind units like Google’s personal Pixel collection and others. REDMAGIC mitigates this with 5 years of safety updates, which means that your machine will at the least stay safe into the 2030s.There’s additionally a beneficiant serving to of AI, with REDMAGIC’s proprietary Sport House platform boasting numerous AI-driven options, comparable to behavioural studying and real-time tactical steering in a set of video games together with PUBG Cellular.In-game chat and voice instructions are second-to-none, permitting you to play hands-free, and you should utilize your REDMAGIC 11 Air as a second display screen for PC and pill gaming. Sport House lets you customise your controls, monitor achievements, join peripherals, obtain a ton of helpful plugins, and just about do all the things you’d count on from a chunk of gaming software program.In all different respects, the REDMAGIC 11 Air is just a really strong Android telephone.ConclusionIf the identify REDMAGIC isn’t as acquainted to you as Samsung, Motorola, and Google with regards to cellphones, that’s partly as a result of it occupies a distinct segment. Not everyone wants their smartphone to be a video games console, however for individuals who do, the Redmagic vary stands able to serve.With the REDMAGIC 11 Air, as with earlier Air fashions, REDMAGIC is aiming for the midcore quite than the hardcore. In consequence, it’s simpler to place the gaming stuff to at least one aspect and see it for what it’s: a light-weight, elegant, and sensible smartphone with a wonderful display screen, ample battery life, quick charging, and a sublime sufficiency of sheer energy.In the event you occur to love taking part in video games in your telephone, a lot the higher.There are superior choices on the market if digital camera high quality and longevity of software program help are essential to you, however in any other case the REDMAGIC 11 Air is an effective all-rounder. The goodLightPowerfulExcellent battery lifeFast-charging The badMiddling digital camera qualityLimited software program supportRelated tales January 12, 2025 RedMagic 10 Professional Evaluation – A Stable Smartphone with Severe Gaming GruntBy Rob Hearn Just about everyone who owns a smartphone has performed a recreation on it, whether or not that be Fortnite or Wordle. And because of the exponentially growing energy of microprocessor expertise, that recreation in all probability seemed fairly good. The actual fact is, your telephone …
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