The Redmagic 12 Pro is designed around mobile gaming, pairing a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor with both liquid cooling and a built-in fan. In testing, it maintained smooth gameplay for more than an hour, with Monster Hunter Outlanders running at a steady 60 frames per second. The battery dropped by just 10% during that session.
Its cooling system uses side-mounted intake and exhaust vents, and the phone carries IP68 and IP69 ratings. The flat body also makes it easy to fit into a controller. A large 8,400mAh battery supports 80W wired and wireless charging, as well as 22.5W reverse wireless charging. Passthrough charging is available for extended gaming while plugged in.
The 6.85-inch OLED display has a 185Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2688 x 1216. It supports DC dimming and 2160Hz PWM dimming, while the review measured HDR brightness at 2,300 nits. The phone also has stereo speakers and capacitive shoulder triggers.
Benchmark results showed a performance trade-off under sustained load. In a 20-minute 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme test, its score fell from 2,065 to 1,169, a 43% decline. However, the review found that real-world gaming performance was stronger: Wanderstop ran through the built-in Steam emulation at an average of 72fps on the highest settings. Compatibility varies by game, with some titles running well and others failing to launch.
Redmagic’s Gravity X launcher gathers games in one place and includes Steam emulation. The in-game menu adds trigger mapping, instant gameplay recording, frame generation and Super Resolution options, alongside an AI character that can provide gameplay feedback. The review also notes that other apps for running Steam games may have limited compatibility with the phone’s Adreno 850 GPU.
The camera system is less impressive. The rear setup includes 50MP main and ultrawide cameras, while the 16MP selfie camera sits under the display. The review found the rear cameras serviceable but unremarkable, and said AI processing on the under-display camera can produce image artifacts.
Redmagic OS 12, based on Android 17, includes gaming tools and customization options alongside features such as call screening, call recording with transcripts and writing assistance. The company promises two OS upgrades and three years of security updates.
The Redmagic 12 Pro starts at $949 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 16GB/512GB model costs $1,049, while the 16GB/1TB version is priced at $1,199. The review’s verdict is that the phone is a strong option for gaming, especially for users interested in Steam titles, but its cameras and shorter update commitment are significant compromises.
Sources: 9to5Google.