The RedMagic 11S Pro is one of the fastest smartphones you can buy in 2026, and probably the most polished option for long gaming sessions without watching the frame rate collapse. A supercharged Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, an internal fan spinning at 24,000 rpm, liquid cooling visible through the back and a 7,500 mAh battery: it is built for demanding gamers who want flagship power for the price of an upper mid-range phone. Expect to pay €799 (about 524,000 FCFA) in Europe. If photography or long-term software support matter more to you, there are wiser choices.
Introduction: the RedMagic 11S Pro, a supercharged take on an already extreme phone
RedMagic is the gaming brand of Chinese manufacturer Nubia, itself a ZTE subsidiary. It sticks to a well-worn schedule: a “Pro” model in the autumn, then an “S” version in the spring that keeps the same base with a faster chip. The RedMagic 11S Pro follows that pattern. Unveiled in China in mid-May 2026, it was announced for the rest of the world on 27 May and went on sale in Europe on 10 June.
On paper, this is a gaming phone with no compromises. It uses the “Leading Version” of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, whose two prime cores reach 4.74 GHz. It also keeps the brand’s signature features: a fan inside the chassis, touch triggers on the frame and an uninterrupted screen without a single punch-hole.
It is aimed at people who spend hours on Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, Free Fire or emulators, and who want stable performance rather than a burst of power that fades after a few minutes. If what you really want is a great camera or a light phone, look elsewhere.
RedMagic 11S Pro vs RedMagic 11 Pro: what actually changes
Not much, and that is the key thing to know before buying. The RedMagic 11 Pro, launched in Europe in late 2025 at €699 (about 459,000 FCFA), already had liquid cooling, the fan and the 7,500 mAh battery. The newcomer mainly brings a slightly higher-clocked chip (4.74 GHz versus 4.6 GHz), revised cooling and RedMagic OS 11.5.
German magazine GameStar puts it bluntly: for most gamers, the previous model delivers almost identical performance for €100 less. We have also covered the RedMagic 11 Pro’s strengths in a French-language comparison with the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.
Verdict: the RedMagic 11S Pro at a glance
Verdict in 30 seconds
The RedMagic 11S Pro delivers top-tier power and active cooling that sustains it over time. Average cameras and short software support make it a phone for gamers first.
For whom Demanding gamers who want the best sustained performance, a big battery and shoulder triggers, for under 900 euros.
Avoid if Photography, a light phone, eSIM or five-plus years of Android updates are your priorities.
We like
- Among the best performance on the market
- Effective liquid cooling and fan
- 520 Hz triggers and a 144 Hz screen with no notch
- 7,500 mAh battery, 80 W wired and wireless charging
We like less
- Heavy: 230 g
- Weaker cameras, blurry under-display selfies
- Only two Android updates
- Minimal gain over the RedMagic 11 Pro
RedMagic 11S Pro specs
| Écran | AMOLED 6,85 pouces, 1 216 x 2 688 px (1,5K), 144 Hz, 1 800 nits en pointe, PWM 2 592 Hz, échantillonnage tactile jusqu'à 3 000 Hz, sans encoche (caméra sous l'écran) |
|---|---|
| Processeur | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Version (3 nm), jusqu'à 4,74 GHz, GPU Adreno 840 ; puce gaming RedCore R4 |
| Mémoire | 12 ou 16 Go de RAM |
| Stockage | 256 ou 512 Go UFS 4.1 Pro, pas de microSD |
| Appareil photo principal | 50 Mpx 1/1,55 pouce, f/1,9, 23 mm, OIS ; vidéo jusqu'à 8K 30 i/s et 4K 60 i/s |
| Ultra grand-angle | 50 Mpx f/2,0, 13 mm, autofocus (macro) |
| Téléobjectif | — |
| Caméra selfie | 16 Mpx f/2,0 sous l'écran |
| Batterie | 7 500 mAh |
| Charge | 80 W filaire, 80 W sans fil, charge inversée sans fil ; chargeur fourni |
| Système | Android 16, RedMagic OS 11.5 ; 2 mises à jour Android et 5 ans de correctifs de sécurité |
| Réseau | 5G SA/NSA, double nano-SIM (pas d'eSIM), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, infrarouge, prise jack 3,5 mm |
| Étanchéité | IPX8 (pas de certification poussière) |
| Dimensions et poids | 163,8 x 76,5 x 8,9 mm, 230 g |
| Date de sortie | Annoncé en Chine mi-mai 2026, annonce mondiale le 27 mai 2026, en vente en Europe le 10 juin 2026 |
| Launch price | 799 € (environ 524 000 FCFA) en 12 + 256 Go ; 899 € (environ 590 000 FCFA) en 16 + 512 Go |
Three numbers sum this phone up. The chip’s 4.74 GHz puts it at the top of the 2026 Android benchmarks. A 7,500 mAh battery is rare at this level, especially with 80 W charging both wired and wireless. And the 230 g weight is a reminder that all that cooling hardware comes at a cost, quite literally on the scales. The full specs are on the official RedMagic 11S Pro page.
Design: the RedMagic 11S Pro has gaming-PC looks in a hefty body
You will not mistake the RedMagic 11S Pro for any other phone. The transparent glass back shows off the circuitry, a window onto the liquid cooling and the RGB-lit fan. It comes in two colours: Nightfreeze, a translucent black, and Subzero, a translucent silver that is only available in the 16 + 512 GB version.
Materials and handling
The frame is aircraft-grade aluminium, with glass on the front and back. The finish is therefore a clear step above gaming phones that sell for under €400. On the other hand, at 163.8 x 76.5 x 8.9 mm and 230 g, it tires your hand during long stretches of portrait use. Held sideways in a game, the weight is better balanced and the flat edges give a good grip.
IPX8 rating: water yes, dust is another story
RedMagic claims IPX8 certification, with immersion down to 1.5 m for 30 minutes, which is impressive for a phone with a built-in fan. The “X”, however, means no dust protection has been certified. In regions exposed to the harmattan or dusty roads, a case and regular cleaning of the air vents are still a good idea.
The good news is that a semi-transparent case comes in the box, along with the charger and the USB-C cable. You also get a 3.5 mm headphone jack, now a rarity, and a side slider that launches the game space.
Display: a 144 Hz AMOLED with no notch or punch-hole
The 6.85-inch AMOLED panel has a resolution of 1,216 x 2,688 pixels, or roughly 431 pixels per inch. It runs at up to 144 Hz and reaches 1,800 nits at peak, enough to stay readable in direct sunlight. The bezels take up very little space: RedMagic quotes a 95.3% screen-to-body ratio.
The real selling point is that there is no notch at all. The selfie camera sits under the panel, so no black hole covers a corner of the map or an on-screen button mid-game. The trade-off shows on white backgrounds: a small area with a slightly different pixel pattern, which you soon stop noticing.
As for responsiveness, the quoted touch sampling rate reaches 3,000 Hz at peak and 360 Hz with several fingers. PWM dimming at 2,592 Hz should be easier on eyes that are sensitive to flicker at low brightness. CGMagazine’s reviewers praise a vivid panel with stable colours, even after long sessions.
Performance: the RedMagic 11S Pro tops the charts
A “Leading Version” chip pushed to 4.74 GHz
Built on a 3 nm process, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is already the most powerful Android chip of 2026. RedMagic uses a hand-picked variant, with two Oryon cores at 4.74 GHz, six cores at 3.62 GHz and an Adreno 840 GPU clocked at 1.3 GHz. It works alongside an in-house chip, the RedCore R4, which handles power management and gaming effects.
Memory keeps pace: 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage, or 16 GB with 512 GB, using UFS 4.1. There is no microSD slot, so pick your capacity carefully if you install several big games of more than 20 GB each.
Published benchmark scores
According to the first published reviews, the numbers are spectacular. GameStar recorded 4,269,050 points on AnTuTu, plus 3,848 single-core and 12,004 multi-core points on Geekbench 6, enough to beat the Galaxy S26 Ultra in its rankings. French site Overclocking.com measured 7,841 points on 3DMark Wild Life Extreme.
In everyday use, that power means apps that open instantly and multitasking without slowdowns. It really comes into its own with demanding games and emulation of recent consoles.
Heat: better controlled, not eliminated
According to GameStar, peak temperatures under heavy load drop by 2 to 3 °C compared with the previous generation. CGMagazine notes, however, that the phone still gets “relatively warm” after half an hour of play. So the cooling does not work miracles, but it limits throttling, which matters more for smooth gameplay.
Gaming: fan, shoulder triggers and liquid cooling
This is where the RedMagic 11S Pro really sets itself apart from a Galaxy or an iPhone. The whole chassis is designed for long gaming sessions, with physical controls on top.
AquaCore: liquid that actually circulates
RedMagic presents AquaCore as the first circulating fluorinated-liquid cooling system in a mass-produced smartphone. The liquid, visible behind the rear glass, carries heat away from the chip. It works together with a 13,116 mm² vapour chamber and liquid metal thermal compound (Liquid Metal 3.0).
A fan spinning at 24,000 rpm
At the heart of the system, a turbo fan forces air through the chassis. It spins at up to 24,000 revolutions per minute. The brand claims less than 30 dB, but GameStar found it clearly audible at full speed, sounding more like a small gaming laptop than a phone. Fortunately, you can switch it off from the quick settings.
520 Hz shoulder triggers
Two touch zones on the frame act as L and R triggers, with a 520 Hz sampling rate. They can be mapped to any on-screen control: aim, shoot, jump. In a shooter, that lets you play with four fingers without a controller or accessory, a real advantage in competitive play.
The game space, opened with the side slider, gathers the key settings:
- performance and frame rate modes, up to 144 frames per second in supported games;
- per-game trigger mapping;
- control over the fan and its RGB lighting;
- blocking of notifications and calls during a match;
- Energy Cube 3.0 power optimisation, managed by the RedCore R4 chip.
Feedback from users and the press points the same way: Genshin Impact holds a steady 60 frames per second at maximum quality according to Uswitch, and titles such as Fortnite, Call of Duty Mobile and Free Fire run without a hitch according to CGMagazine.
Good to know — The fan is built in, so there is no accessory to buy. The RedMagic 11 Pro from late 2025 has the same setup: if gaming is your only criterion, compare the prices of both models before you choose.
Cameras: decent by day, lagging at night
RedMagic does not pitch this phone on photography, and it shows. On the back of the RedMagic 11S Pro you get a 50 MP main sensor (1/1.55-inch, f/1.9, stabilised) and a 50 MP ultra-wide (f/2.0) with autofocus, which is handy for macro shots. There is no telephoto lens.
In daylight, GameStar describes detailed, sharp photos with vivid colours that are sometimes oversaturated. Uswitch speaks of true-to-life images in good light. Night mode gives acceptable results with the main sensor, but the ultra-wide falls well behind and moving subjects turn blurry.
Video goes up to 8K at 30 frames per second and 4K at 60 frames per second. The weak spot is on the front: the 16 MP under-display selfie camera produces milky, soft images, even in good light. It is fine for video calls or livestreams. For carefully framed selfies, much less so.
Battery and charging: a big cell that also charges fast
The RedMagic 11S Pro’s 7,500 mAh battery is one of the largest in its class. According to Uswitch, it lasts a full day of heavy gaming and spills over into the next day with normal use. Clubic also lists the battery among the phone’s main strengths.
GameStar paints a more nuanced picture: with 13 h 12 min in the PCMark Work 3.0 test, endurance falls short of what the capacity suggests. The 144 Hz screen and the chip running flat out use a lot of power. Still, in areas where power cuts are frequent, that reserve is reassuring.
Wired and wireless charging both reach 80 W, which is rare. CGMagazine measured 0 to 40% in 15 minutes and a full charge in under 45 minutes. The charger is included. Reverse wireless charging also lets you top up earbuds or another phone in a pinch.
Software: RedMagic OS 11.5, capable but with short support
The RedMagic 11S Pro runs Android 16 with RedMagic OS 11.5. The interface stays close to stock Android, with a few brand-specific additions and Google’s Gemini assistant built in. Reviewers criticise a less polished finish than Samsung’s or Google’s, and an interface design that lacks consistency.
The real weakness is how long it will be supported. RedMagic promises two major Android updates and five years of security patches. The RedMagic 11S Pro should therefore get Android 17 and then Android 18, but nothing beyond that. Samsung and Google promise seven years for their flagships.
Connectivity is complete: 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, infrared and dual nano-SIM. eSIM is missing, which will bother travellers used to virtual plans.
Price and availability: RedMagic 11S Pro price in Europe and Africa
In France and Europe
The RedMagic 11S Pro has been on sale since 10 June 2026 on the brand’s European store. The Nightfreeze 12 + 256 GB model costs €799 (about 524,000 FCFA). The Nightfreeze and Subzero versions with 16 + 512 GB are €899 (about 590,000 FCFA). Pre-orders opened on 9 June with a €30 voucher that brought the base model down to €769 (about 504,000 FCFA).
The official store delivers to France within a few days and offers a 24-month warranty. Clubic also spotted the RedMagic 11S Pro on Amazon France, from €839 at the time of its review: check the current price and the seller’s identity on the listing. As of 1 October 2026, we had not found a verifiable product listing at the French retailers Fnac, Darty or Cdiscount.
In West and Central Africa
No official distribution has been announced in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire or Senegal. The RedMagic 11S Pro is available there through imports, via specialist resellers or relatives in Europe, and the final price is often higher than the €799 (about 524,000 FCFA) charged in Europe. With no local RedMagic network, warranty claims mean sending the phone back to Europe, so check what the seller offers. The global version supports 5G and dual SIM, but make sure it works with the n78 band used by several carriers, as RedMagic does not clearly list the 5G bands of the global version.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Top-of-the-market Android performance in 2026
- Liquid cooling and a fan that keep performance steady
- 520 Hz triggers and a 144 Hz screen with no notch
- 7,500 mAh battery, 80 W wired and wireless charging
- Headphone jack, IPX8 and a case in the box
Cons
- Heavy and bulky (230 g)
- Average cameras, blurry under-display selfie camera
- Only two Android updates
- Noisy fan at full speed, no eSIM
- Little difference from the RedMagic 11 Pro, which costs €100 less
Alternatives to the RedMagic 11S Pro
On half the budget, the Infinix GT 50 Pro also offers triggers and liquid cooling, with a less muscular chip that is still more than enough for Free Fire. The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro remains the long-standing rival, with more polished software but a previous-generation chip. The Poco F9 Ultra shares the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and has a 185 Hz screen, without a fan, for anyone who wants a more conventional phone (see our article on the global launch of the Poco F9 series). Finally, the upcoming RedMagic 12 Pro+ is worth keeping an eye on if you can wait.
Conclusion: should you buy the RedMagic 11S Pro?
Yes, if gaming is what you mainly use your phone for. The RedMagic 11S Pro ticks every box a demanding gamer could ask for: maximum power, controlled heat, triggers, a big battery and very fast charging. Few phones can match it on that front for under €900.
You do, however, have to accept its weight, cameras that are merely decent and software support limited to two Android versions. And if you can still find the RedMagic 11 Pro for around €699, it offers almost the same experience for €100 less. If you are still torn between a phone and a console, our Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED vs ROG Ally comparison can help you decide.
Our pick
RedMagic 11S Pro: the smartphone to choose for long gaming sessions at full power, at €799 (about 524,000 FCFA) in Europe, as long as you do not expect a camera phone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the RedMagic 11S Pro price in Europe?
The base model, with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, costs €799 (about 524,000 FCFA) on RedMagic’s official store. The 16 + 512 GB version, in Nightfreeze black or Subzero silver, is listed at €899 (about 590,000 FCFA). The brand’s website runs occasional promotions, such as the €30 voucher offered at launch. On marketplaces, prices can be higher depending on the seller, so compare before you buy.
Will the RedMagic 11S Pro get Android 17?
Yes. RedMagic promises two major Android updates for this model, which ships with Android 16 and RedMagic OS 11.5. It should therefore receive Android 17, then Android 18. Security patches are promised for five years. That is well short of the seven years Samsung and Google offer on their flagships, something to bear in mind if you keep your phones for a long time. The brand has not yet announced rollout dates.
Is the RedMagic 11S Pro waterproof despite its fan?
It is IPX8 certified, which means it can withstand immersion down to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes, according to the manufacturer. The X, however, indicates that no dust protection has been certified. A drop in water should not kill it, but a very dusty environment calls for some care: use the included case, clean the vents and store it somewhere sheltered.
Is the RedMagic 11S Pro the best gaming phone of 2026?
For sustained performance, it is one of the very best. It combines the fastest Android chip of the moment with an active fan, liquid cooling and triggers, at a lower price than the big flagships. Its rivals do better in other areas: the ROG Phone 9 Pro on software polish, the Poco F9 Ultra on versatility. And the older RedMagic 11 Pro delivers almost the same performance for €100 less.
Can you buy the RedMagic 11S Pro in Cameroon or Côte d’Ivoire?
As of 1 October 2026, no official distribution has been announced in West and Central Africa. You will find it through imports, from specialist resellers or by having it shipped from Europe. Expect to pay more than the €799 (about 524,000 FCFA) European price once shipping and customs are included. Also check the warranty terms, since there is no local RedMagic after-sales service, and 5G compatibility with your carrier.
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