The 11S Pro is a relatively incremental upgrade from the 11 Pro we looked at last year. All of the major points of interest that were included in that model we see here again. That means we have that same internal fan, the same water cooling that’s visible through the back of the phone, the same headphone jack, physical SIM card slot. The whole lot. The 11 Pro was already fairly good in terms of its larger feature set, and that naturally holds true here too. The only thing that you might want from a gaming phone that isn’t here is a Micro SD card slot, and though this is the norm for REDMAGIC phones, it’s still a shame worth pointing out. 

So what actually is different here? It’s what’s under the hood. Instead of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, we have the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Version. This is essentially an overclocked version of the same chip, pushing that already-solid hardware that little bit harder. The back panel design is also changed a little, with the cooling loop getting something of a new look. That’s pretty much it though. For those who haven’t seen the 11 Pro, let’s jump to the key details.

For day to day phone usage, the two key areas for me are the display and the battery. The display is how you’ll be engaging with what’s on the device, and the battery dictates how long you’ll be engaging with it, they both need to be up to scratch. The 11S Pro really nailed the assignment here. The display has been a major standout in recent REDMAGIC devices. Pretty much edge to edge, we’re looking at a resolution of 2688x1216 running at up to 144Hz. Naturally it’s OLED too. I’ve definitely said this in previous reviews, but it’s the kind of screen that actually makes me want to watch movies and shows on the go, especially those that make use of more cinematic aspect ratios to match the phone’s length. 

With a 7500mAh battery under the hood, you’ll also be covered for a few days of what I would consider to be standard usage. Maybe a YouTube video here and there, paired with more frequent messaging and emails. Doing more will naturally reduce that expectation, but with 80W charging, it doesn’t take long to get back up to full. They even include an 80W plug with the phone, which is something you don't see too often nowadays. I will also note that REDMAGIC advertise 80W wireless charging too, though I wasn’t able to test that for myself. 

The camera really captures the dust well.

Though not something I usually pay too much attention to, the camera on the 11S Pro manages to maintain the same level of quality as we’ve seen from previous phones. I’m no professional photographer, so take my opinion with a pinch of salt, but I feel we’re really at a point where most phone cameras will be more than good enough for the average person. Some of your modern flagships will have better software for processing the images, including those magic AI erasers, but they’re hardly necessary. 

Much like its predecessors, the 11S Pro takes vibrant pictures, though I admittedly haven’t been to an aquarium this time to be able to really show off what it can do. If I were out and wanting to capture some memorable moments, I’d be more than happy with what I have here. 

We get two colours to pick from with this phone, with your options and their associated pricing listed below:

• 12GB RAM + 256GB Storage (Nightfreeze) - £709
• 16GB RAM + 512GB Storage (Nightfreeze/Subzero) - £799

Notably there is no 24GB RAM model, nor any model that includes 1TB of internal storage. It's possible that this is a result of the current cost of such things, though REDMAGIC are known to release limited models after the fact that have these kinds of niceties. As usual, you won't be able to expand your storage outside of plugging something into the USB C port, so the additional upfront cost may be worthwhile. The version we have to hand is the Subzero colourway, with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. 

Still A Powerhouse

Looking at the gaming performance here, there’s not a huge amount that’s changed since the 11 Pro, and that’s not too surprising. In recent years we’ve hit something of a plateau with mobile platforms where we’re really just waiting for more interesting things to use all this power with. With your higher tier emulation like Switch and Wii U, you’ll find yourself more limited by emulator and driver compatibility than the device being unable to provide the power needed. 

Before getting into a few more specific cases though, let’s jump into some numbers. Staying in line with what I did for the 11 Pro, I threw Geekbench 6 and 3DMark on the phone, running Geekbench’s standard suite of tests and 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme. The numbers are pretty close.

Interestingly here, both the Geekbench CPU and the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme benchmarks fall short of what its predecessor recorded. The numbers do remain close though, with both of Geekbench’s GPU tests coming out ahead on the newer device. It’s not too surprising that they’d be close, and even where slightly lower we’re still seeing pretty great results for the 11S Pro. 

Gaming on the Gaming Phone

Since I covered the 11 Pro PC emulation on phones has come a long way. Looking again to GameNative I’ve been surprised by just how much I could run on my Ayaneo Pocket DS, a handheld powered by Qualcomm’s G3x Gen 2. With an 8 Elite Gen 5 to hand, paired with all the recent updates, I went in expecting to be similarly impressed. And I very much was. 

With the Atelier Resleriana mobile game being discontinued, I thought it would be fun to throw its sequel, The Red Alchemist and The White Guardian, onto the 11S Pro. It’s more than playable, I’ll say that much. Sticking with 720p, as I’d recommend with most games on such a small screen, the framerate shifts between 30 and 60. You can actually lock this through the GameNative UI, allowing you to maintain a really smooth 30fps. 

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was probably the standout of what I ended up testing. You may need to bump the phone’s performance mode up to “Rise”, but once you do you’ll be able to get a remarkably consistent 30fps from my brief wander through the start of Chapter 8. Some smaller locations will even get you to that 60fps mark, but I really wouldn’t have any issues with how the game looks or performs here. Though the game can obviously run on a Switch 2 well enough, it’s still crazy to me to see a phone running the PC version with no work put into a native release. And it’ll only continue to get better as both software and hardware improve over time. 

Rounding out with the heaviest game here, I was surprised to see Baldur’s Gate 3 even booting. The loading times weren’t bad and I had no issues loading into my Act 3 save that I will one day get around to finishing. It loads, but is it playable? Absolutely not. To give the game its due credit, the framerate holds steady between 25 and 30fps when venturing through the more closed-off Undercity Ruins, but struggles much more in the open city area. You’re looking at a maximum of 20fps. Not terrible. So why is the game unplayable? As the screenshots might have given away, there are polygons exploding at every movement. Not ideal, but hopefully fixable in the future. This is a game that struggles on even capable PCs. This level of performance remains impressive.

Try as I might, some games just wouldn’t run. Some, like Monster Hunter Rise, would get to various stages of trying to load the main menu, before just seeming to lock up. Others, like The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, would crash straight after starting the game. I do remain impressed with the games that run (and run well!) at the moment, but this is still somewhat early days. As I said earlier, things will only improve. If you’re somebody who wants to make the most of the tech you have instead of investing in new hardware, something like GameNative is a fantastic way to push your phone that bit further. 

On the native side I’ll also throw a quick mention out to the only mobile game I’ve been playing recently in Pokemon Champions. It’s also available on the Switch and Switch 2, but it’s on mobile platforms it’s really come into its own for me. It runs well, looks great, and isn’t a huge drain on the battery of the 11S Pro. If you’ve been wanting to give competitive Pokemon battling a shot, I’ll take this chance to recommend it regardless of whether you have a powerhouse of a phone like this. 

Too Hot to Handle

Though the combination of a fan and water cooling loop do go a long way in keeping critical parts of the phone cool, you should be aware that the 11S Pro does heat up regardless. This is something I’ve encountered with other phones, and even my iPad Mini when under strain, but I’ve never had it quite as bad as I have here. The process of downloading Baldur’s Gate 3 for my previous testing got the phone to a state where I wouldn’t be able to hold it. Note this was without a case, but even with a case I wouldn’t be comfortable pocketing the device. Having a look at the internal readings things did seem relatively fine, with most sensors reporting around 60C. The sensor reporting the external surface temperature, skin-msm-therm, clocked in at 53C, which would probably explain my inability to hold the phone. 

With these kinds of temperatures you’re really left with two options: making use of the included phone case, or only playing games with a controller. The former really does make a world of difference, and it’s what I would expect most people to be doing. Similar to its predecessors this is a phone that will slide on any remotely smooth surface, and fall off any remotely angled surface. Even beyond the heat you’ll be wanting some extra grip. 

For The Professional Gamer

The REDMAGIC 11S Pro is a pretty great phone, and if you’re in the market for something new I can certainly recommend it. Though it doesn't necessarily do much that the 11 Pro before it didn't, it remains a great option for both gaming on the go and more standard daily use.