RedMagic 10 Air review: Serious gaming power in a slim, affordable package
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
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