Redmagic 10S Pro gaming phone review: I tested world's most powerful handset
It is a global leader in this category, offering similar specs as the Asus ROG Phone series but at much more affordable prices.
Late last year, Redmagic 10 Pro was the first phone to market with the blazing fast high-end Snapdragon Elite chip that has powered all of the main 2025 Android flagship smartphones.
Now comes Redmagic 10S Pro which is powered by an even more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version chip and enhanced ICE-X cooling.
The amazing new handset offers stellar features such as a 144Hz no-notch display and a gargantuan 7,050mAh battery with support for up to 80W fast charging.
I've been testing it for several weeks and here are my experiences…
Redmagic 10 Pro was one of the most powerful phones you could buy so the boosts in performance on 10S Pro are relatively minor compared to the jump from the 9 Pro to the 10 Pro.
The Leading Version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-a-chip (SoC) is responsible for the step up, and this is because it overclocks the CPU and GPU. The two Orion Prime cores now run at 4.47GHz, up from 4.32GHz on the 10 Pro, while the six performance cores are the same. The Adreno 830 GPU, meanwhile, runs at 1.2GHz here, up from 1.1GHz on the predecessor.
The gaming powerhouse now offers configurations with up to 24GB RAM (which is insane for a phone) and 1TB of superfast UFS 4.1 Pro storage. The model I reviewed included 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. The RAM is the latest LPDDR5T, which offers more bandwidth than the LPDDR5X used in the 10 Pro.
In benchmark tests on Geekbench 6, AnTuTu 10 and 3DMark, the 10S Pro scores higher marks than the 10 Pro and all the current competition including big rival Asus ROG Phone 9. On the graphically demanding 3D Wild Life Extreme test, for example, the phone achieves the best score I've seen. The improvements over the 10 Pro are most noticeable when gaming, which is music to the ears of most people who will buy this handset. In everyday use, the phone handles high frame rates and graphics settings in AAA games easily.
Redmagic 10S Pro naturally runs the firm's latest OS based on Android 15 which comes with Google Gemini for an AI-enhanced gaming experience.
One of the key Redmagic features that ordinary flagship smartphones don't give you is designed to ensure you can enjoy marathon gaming sessions without any throttling of performance.
The firm does this with clever cooling systems and on Redmagic 10S Pro it introduces an advanced 10-layer ICE-X cooling architecture featuring Liquid Metal 2.0 with the sort of impressive thermal conductivity you normally find in high-end gaming PCs.
Redmagic had added liquid metal to the 10 Pro. It is an alloy that melts at a low temperature and has high thermal conductivity. It's often used for gaming PCs and laptops and this is because it performs better than a typical thermal compound.
On the 10S Pro there is 30 percent more liquid metal in direct contact with the chip and this guides heat to a vapour chamber that spreads the heat around. On top of this, for gaming you can enable the 23,000rpm fan which sucks in cool air from outside and pulls it over the chipset before expelling warm air out the other side.
Like all of RedMagic's handsets, the 10S Pro includes a suite of gaming optimisation software that lets you adjust settings such as the power consumption of games, the option to force titles to run in vertical or horizontal orientation, and customisable controls that include using shoulder-button-style sensors or a virtual joypad with buttons.
On top of all this you get a 6.85in 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and a super responsive touch sampling rate of up to 2,500Hz and multi-finger 960Hz capabilities. It's one of the best looking screens on any phone currently, gaming or otherwise.
I love how you can personalise the Redmagic 10S Pro fan's RGB lighting with up to 15 colors, adding a distinctive aesthetic to the device's sleek transparent and industrial-looking metal chassis. Redmagic 10S Pro, like its predecessors, is a contender for best smartphone design.
My review unit came with a charging brick that had Chinese plug pins but I tested it with other charging bricks and found it could recharge at the 80W speeds claimed.
The rear camera system includes a 50MP wide angle camera, a 50MP ultrawide and a 2MP camera that the firm said enhances photo quality in certain modes. What I love about the camera's lenses is they are flush with the phone's body and do not have a bump. Only Google Pixel 9a comes close to being as flat as this unique device.
The firm said the phone will get three years of OS upgrades and three years of security updates which, while not matching the likes of Apple and Google, is decent support in the gaming phone arena.
There is no better-spec immersive gaming smartphone experience on the market right now than Redmagic 10S Pro.
Redmagic 10S Pro is on sale at eu.redmagic.gg and costs from €649 (for the 12GB/256GB configuration) up to €999 (for the 24GB/1TB configuration). You can also buy Redmagic 10S Pro on Amazon.
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
RedMagic 10S Pro review: A mobile gaming powerhouse in your pocket
Gaming smartphones have long walked the tightrope between sheer performance and practical usability. The RedMagic 10S Pro is not just another overclocked phone with flashy LEDs. It's a purpose-built, no-compromise gaming powerhouse, while being surprisingly balanced for everyday use. Design The RedMagic 10S Pro is available in Nightfall, Moonlight and Dusk colourways. Picture: RedMagic. The 10S Pro isn't subtle, and it doesn't try to be. With its transparent back panel, visible cooling fan, and customisable RGB lighting, it fully embraces its identity as a gaming smartphone. The design is quite similar to the 10 Pro, and personally, I really like the bold, tech-forward aesthetic. While many phones today feature large, protruding camera bumps, the flat-back design of the 10S Pro eliminates this. The result is a cleaner look and a more comfortable feel during extended handheld use. Build quality is excellent, with a solid feel in hand and tactile buttons. The shoulder triggers and programmable Magic Key fit seamlessly into the overall design. It's also reasonably slim, especially for a phone with such a massive battery, allowing it to pass for a regular flagship when needed, until the RGB lights kick in. Display The 6.85-inch AMOLED display is stunning, featuring a 1.5K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It's immersive, smooth, and bright enough for direct sunlight. The fact that the selfie camera is hidden under the display means you get more screen real estate without any distractions. This results in a 95.3% screen-to-body ratio and ultra-thin bezels, making games look expansive and completely uninterrupted. Comfort and handling Despite packing in a monstrous 7,500mAh battery and active cooling components, the 10S Pro balances its weight well. I played extended sessions of Call of Duty Mobile and emulated some classic titles in RetroArc, and the experience was excellent. The integrated air vents don't interfere with grip, and although it's a large phone, it's designed for landscape use and gaming comfort first, and it nails both. While the phone is excellent for short gaming sessions, I opted for the GameSir G8 controller during longer play sessions, as its ergonomics offered a more comfortable and supportive grip. The flat back also helps it fit more securely into a grip, unlike phones with a camera bump, which can create wobble or uneven contact. Features and gaming tools This 10S Pro includes capacitive shoulder triggers with 520Hz polling rate, ultra-responsive MagicTouch 2.0 touch sampling at 2,500Hz, and advanced haptics that make every shot and crash feel physically real. RedMagic's Game Space utility is a treasure trove of tools, including performance tuning, screen recording, live streaming setup, and a control panel that rivals any gaming laptop. I appreciated being able to remap buttons, monitor temperatures, adjust fan speed, and block notifications, all in real-time. What really blew me away, though, was the PC emulation and direct keyboard/mouse or gamepad support. I played games on a monitor using the phone as the core hardware. It supports a USB 3.2 port and also supports 8K video output. RedMagic hasn't had the strongest track record with updates, but the 10S Pro is promised five years of software support, including major Android upgrades. Performance Powering the 10S Pro is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Edition, paired with up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Combined with the RedCore R3 Pro chip and UFS 4.1 Pro storage, this phone crushes benchmarks. In my testing database, it currently holds the top spot for raw performance. In real-world use, the frame interpolation technology smoothed gameplay to near-console quality, and frame drops were non-existent. In general, the 144Hz refresh rate is noticeably smoother in everyday tasks, even when compared to a 120Hz panel, offering smoother scrolling, animations, and overall responsiveness. ICE-X cooling In gaming sessions, the phone gets warm, but never hot. That's thanks to the upgraded ICE-X cooling system, which utilises liquid cooling and a turbo fan in a dual-cell architecture that incorporates Liquid Metal 2.0 and features a 30% larger dissipation area. The fan is surprisingly quiet, even at full speed, and I never experienced thermal throttling, a feature even flagship phones can't always claim. Sound and vibration Dual stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra 3D sound and a powerful X-axis linear motor deliver immersive audio and tactile feedback. I often found myself using the phone's built-in speakers over Bluetooth buds. While the speakers are excellent, the 10S Pro also features a 3.5mm headphone jack, a particularly welcome addition for gamers who prefer low-latency, wired audio. Whether it was explosions or subtle environmental cues in FPS games, the soundstage was rich and clear. The haptic engine adds just enough rumble to enhance gameplay without feeling gimmicky. Cameras While cameras aren't the focus here, RedMagic still delivered a capable setup. The 50MP main sensor with OIS and 50MP ultra-wide lens handles daylight shots well, though dynamic range struggles in harsh lighting. The 16MP selfie camera is adequate for casual video calls and social snaps, but since it's positioned under the display, image quality comes out noticeably soft. RedMagic continues to refine the output with software enhancements, but there's only so much that can be done given the hardware limitations. For gamers, streamers and content creators, it does the job, especially with the built-in streaming support. Battery life and charging Gaming phones often sacrifice battery life in favour of performance, but not in this case. The 7,500mAh battery easily delivered around 10 hours of gaming or roughly two full days of mixed use, occasionally stretching to a third day depending on usage. The dual-cell silicon anode tech ensures power is delivered efficiently and safely. When it finally drains, the included 80W GaN charger was able to get it to 52% in 15 minutes, 85% in 30 minutes, with a full charge taking just 40 minutes. There's also smart charging separation, which helps protect battery health, along with an active cooling fan to keep temperatures low while the phone is plugged in. Verdict The RedMagic 10S Pro is a gaming phone that manages to stay cool, last long, and look good doing it. It blurs the line between smartphone and handheld console, offering unmatched performance, immersive visuals, and thoughtful gaming features. If you're a mobile gamer or power user, this is the phone to beat in 2025. From €649 RedMagic
Irish Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Redmagic 10S Pro gaming phone review: I tested world's most powerful handset
Redmagic is the world-renowned gaming smartphone brand that offers more superior performance for gamers along with plus points such as the highest frame rates, sharpest graphics and the longest battery life. It is a global leader in this category, offering similar specs as the Asus ROG Phone series but at much more affordable prices. Late last year, Redmagic 10 Pro was the first phone to market with the blazing fast high-end Snapdragon Elite chip that has powered all of the main 2025 Android flagship smartphones. Now comes Redmagic 10S Pro which is powered by an even more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version chip and enhanced ICE-X cooling. The amazing new handset offers stellar features such as a 144Hz no-notch display and a gargantuan 7,050mAh battery with support for up to 80W fast charging. I've been testing it for several weeks and here are my experiences… Redmagic 10 Pro was one of the most powerful phones you could buy so the boosts in performance on 10S Pro are relatively minor compared to the jump from the 9 Pro to the 10 Pro. The Leading Version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-a-chip (SoC) is responsible for the step up, and this is because it overclocks the CPU and GPU. The two Orion Prime cores now run at 4.47GHz, up from 4.32GHz on the 10 Pro, while the six performance cores are the same. The Adreno 830 GPU, meanwhile, runs at 1.2GHz here, up from 1.1GHz on the predecessor. The gaming powerhouse now offers configurations with up to 24GB RAM (which is insane for a phone) and 1TB of superfast UFS 4.1 Pro storage. The model I reviewed included 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. The RAM is the latest LPDDR5T, which offers more bandwidth than the LPDDR5X used in the 10 Pro. In benchmark tests on Geekbench 6, AnTuTu 10 and 3DMark, the 10S Pro scores higher marks than the 10 Pro and all the current competition including big rival Asus ROG Phone 9. On the graphically demanding 3D Wild Life Extreme test, for example, the phone achieves the best score I've seen. The improvements over the 10 Pro are most noticeable when gaming, which is music to the ears of most people who will buy this handset. In everyday use, the phone handles high frame rates and graphics settings in AAA games easily. Redmagic 10S Pro naturally runs the firm's latest OS based on Android 15 which comes with Google Gemini for an AI-enhanced gaming experience. One of the key Redmagic features that ordinary flagship smartphones don't give you is designed to ensure you can enjoy marathon gaming sessions without any throttling of performance. The firm does this with clever cooling systems and on Redmagic 10S Pro it introduces an advanced 10-layer ICE-X cooling architecture featuring Liquid Metal 2.0 with the sort of impressive thermal conductivity you normally find in high-end gaming PCs. Redmagic had added liquid metal to the 10 Pro. It is an alloy that melts at a low temperature and has high thermal conductivity. It's often used for gaming PCs and laptops and this is because it performs better than a typical thermal compound. On the 10S Pro there is 30 percent more liquid metal in direct contact with the chip and this guides heat to a vapour chamber that spreads the heat around. On top of this, for gaming you can enable the 23,000rpm fan which sucks in cool air from outside and pulls it over the chipset before expelling warm air out the other side. Like all of RedMagic's handsets, the 10S Pro includes a suite of gaming optimisation software that lets you adjust settings such as the power consumption of games, the option to force titles to run in vertical or horizontal orientation, and customisable controls that include using shoulder-button-style sensors or a virtual joypad with buttons. On top of all this you get a 6.85in 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and a super responsive touch sampling rate of up to 2,500Hz and multi-finger 960Hz capabilities. It's one of the best looking screens on any phone currently, gaming or otherwise. I love how you can personalise the Redmagic 10S Pro fan's RGB lighting with up to 15 colors, adding a distinctive aesthetic to the device's sleek transparent and industrial-looking metal chassis. Redmagic 10S Pro, like its predecessors, is a contender for best smartphone design. My review unit came with a charging brick that had Chinese plug pins but I tested it with other charging bricks and found it could recharge at the 80W speeds claimed. The rear camera system includes a 50MP wide angle camera, a 50MP ultrawide and a 2MP camera that the firm said enhances photo quality in certain modes. What I love about the camera's lenses is they are flush with the phone's body and do not have a bump. Only Google Pixel 9a comes close to being as flat as this unique device. The firm said the phone will get three years of OS upgrades and three years of security updates which, while not matching the likes of Apple and Google, is decent support in the gaming phone arena. There is no better-spec immersive gaming smartphone experience on the market right now than Redmagic 10S Pro. Redmagic 10S Pro is on sale at and costs from €649 (for the 12GB/256GB configuration) up to €999 (for the 24GB/1TB configuration). You can also buy Redmagic 10S Pro on Amazon.
Irish Examiner
29-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
RedMagic 10 Air review: Serious gaming power in a slim, affordable package
RedMagic has built a reputation for producing gaming phones that combine cutting-edge technology with affordability, and the new RedMagic 10 Air is no exception. Slimmer, lighter, and still packing serious firepower, this phone is specifically designed for mobile gamers who want top-tier specs without breaking the bank. With a starting price of just €499, it's hard not to raise an eyebrow in interest. Design and build The 'Air' moniker makes sense the moment you pick it up. Weighing 205 grams and measuring just 7.85mm thick, the RedMagic 10 Air is noticeably lighter than its predecessors while maintaining that signature gaming flair. The build feels premium, with a metal frame, tactile buttons, and angular design language that RedMagic fans will instantly recognise. RGB lighting remains, as it wouldn't be a RedMagic gaming phone without it, but this slim-down model lacks an active cooling fan. You've got that iconic glowing ring around the camera flash, and while it's purely aesthetic, it certainly adds to the gamer appeal. The capacitive shoulder triggers return and work brilliantly, although I miss the dedicated gaming mode sliding switch — now it's just a button. The biggest downside in the design department? No 3.5mm headphone jack. For a phone designed with gamers in mind, that omission is particularly noticeable. One of the distinctive features of recent RedMagic phones is their flat back. However, the 10 Air differs from these due to the raised rings around the cameras and flash. Display and cameras RedMagic has equipped the 10 Air with a 6.8-inch AMOLED display, and it's a joy to use, especially for gaming. It's a flat panel (thankfully) with a crisp 2,480 x 1,116 resolution, offering a solid 400 PPI. Peak brightness hits 1,600 nits, so it holds up well even in bright sunlight. The refresh rate tops out at 120Hz, which makes for silky-smooth interactions whether you're scrolling, swiping, or battling it out in Call of Duty. The fingerprint scanner under the display is reliable, although it can be slow at times. RedMagic is sticking with its under-display selfie camera, which helps achieve a clean, notch-free display ideal for immersive gaming and media consumption. Of course, the trade-off in camera quality is substantial. For selfie lovers or vloggers, it's not great, but then again, RedMagic knows its audience, and front camera quality isn't its top priority. To be fair, their image processing improves the quality enough to make it more usable. Around the back, the RedMagic 10 Air features dual 50MP sensors — a main camera and an ultra-wide lens. Daylight shots from the main sensor can look quite good, with solid detail, though colours can be overly saturated and occasionally inaccurate. The ultra-wide, unfortunately, is a step down with noticeable softness and noise, particularly in lower light. Video capture offers 4K at 30/60fps and even 8K at 30fps. The main lens features optical and electronic image stabilisation, but don't expect cinematic-level footage. Performance Despite using last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the RedMagic 10 Air remains a performance monster. In day-to-day use and intensive gaming, it handles everything you throw at it without breaking a sweat. The version I tested had 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but even the 12GB variant should be more than enough for most users. The thermal performance is solid, too. While it gets warm under load, it doesn't become uncomfortably hot or throttle to the point of affecting gameplay. RedMagic's gaming mode, accessible via the top-right red button, gives you quick access to performance tweaks and trigger mapping. It's well integrated and a real asset for gamers. Hardware and software The dual stereo speakers are surprisingly decent for a thin phone, and the inclusion of an IR blaster is a nice bonus. The 6,000mAh battery easily powers you through a full day of heavy use, and the included 80W charger gets you to 100% in just over 50 minutes. RedMagic OS, based on Android 15, is reasonably smooth and functional, but not without quirks. Some UI translation oddities remain, and, sadly, RedMagic continues its trend of including excessive bloatware. At the time of review, the RedMagic 10 Air will only receive one year of major OS updates, which is well behind what competitors offer. Verdict The RedMagic 10 Air offers impressive gaming performance, battery life, and display quality at an attractive price. Unlike many other gaming phones, the RedMagic 10 Air looks and feels like a stylish, well-designed smartphone, not just a gaming device. Be prepared to make a few compromises, particularly in terms of camera quality, software support, and the absence of features like a headphone jack. €499 RedMagic
