RedMagic 12 Pro Reviews: Top Gaming Phone, Weaker Value Than Before

Early reviews of the RedMagic 12 Pro agree on one thing: as a phone built for games, it is about as strong as phones get right now. TechRadar calls it the most capable gaming phone on the market, and 9to5Google says no gaming phone it has used has nailed the job quite like this one. The catch, according to TechRadar, is value. The price has gone up sharply, the cameras are still mediocre, and software support is short, so the phone feels less like the bargain the series used to be. GSMArena’s early look covers the main hardware changes: a new Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip, a bigger battery and a faster screen.

What reviewers liked

• Performance and cooling. The phone combines a built-in fan with liquid cooling loops, which RedMagic calls the AquaCore Cooling System 3.0. TechRadar notes the fan now spins at 25,500rpm, up from 24,000rpm. 9to5Google reports Monster Hunter Outlanders running at a locked 60FPS for over an hour, and the Steam game Wanderstop averaging 72FPS at the highest settings through the phone’s built-in Steam support.
• Battery life. Capacity rises to 8,400mAh, up from 7,500mAh on the RedMagic 11S Pro, as GSMArena points out. TechRadar calls the stamina superb and says the phone could last days with light gaming. 9to5Google saw the battery drop only 10% after an hour of play. Charging runs at 80W both wired and wireless.
• Display. The 6.85-inch OLED screen now refreshes at up to 185Hz (how many times per second the image updates), up from 144Hz on the 11 Pro. Because the selfie camera sits under the screen, there is no notch or hole in the picture, which TechRadar says makes it a great choice for video.
• Gaming software. 9to5Google was impressed by the game launcher, capacitive shoulder triggers that can be mapped to on-screen buttons, always-on clip recording and passthrough charging, which powers the phone directly while gaming instead of charging the battery.

What reviewers criticised

• Cameras. Both TechRadar and 9to5Google rate them as the weak spot. TechRadar found night shots noisy, portrait blur poor and zoom photos soft, and gave the cameras 2.5 out of 5. Both outlets describe the under-display selfie camera as bad; 9to5Google says its AI clean-up adds visible errors to faces.
• Price. TechRadar says the 12 Pro costs $250 / £170 more than the RedMagic 11 Pro, the brand’s second big price rise in a year.
• Software support. Both outlets mention two years of Android version updates; 9to5Google adds three years of security updates. Many rival flagships promise longer.
• Smaller gripes. GSMArena notes its European box came without a charger. TechRadar found the water-resistance claims confusing: the phone carries IP68 and IP69 ratings, but RedMagic says the fan area is rated only IPX8. 9to5Google warns the completely flat back lets the phone slide off a table easily.

Where reviewers disagree

The main split is over sustained performance, meaning how well the phone keeps its speed during long sessions as it heats up. TechRadar suggests it may not hold peak performance quite as well as earlier RedMagic models. 9to5Google measured a 43% drop over 20 minutes in the 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme stress test, from 2065 to 1169 points, and saw the phone reach 50C, but in real games it found sustained performance consistently ahead of every Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phone it had. The outlets also quote different US prices for the base model, which suggests checking the final price before buying.

Who should buy it

According to TechRadar, open sales start on November 18, 2026, with global availability including the UK, US, Australia and much of Europe. TechRadar lists a starting price of $899 / £799 for 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage, while 9to5Google lists $949 / €899 / £799 for the same model. Both list $1,199 / £1,059 for the 16GB/1TB version. Colours are Nightfreeze and Subzero.

If mobile gaming is your main use, especially running Steam games on a phone, 9to5Google calls the 12 Pro an impressively good choice. If you also care about photos, selfies or keeping a phone for many years, the reviews suggest looking elsewhere, and TechRadar thinks the RedMagic 11 Pro is a better buy while stock lasts.

Sources: GSMArena, TechRadar, 9to5Google