Redmagic 10S Pro Hands-On Review: Has the Beast Finally Been Tamed?

Key Takeaways

• Cooling finally works: The 10S Pro fixes Redmagic's heat issues - stays comfortable even under charging + navigation and during long gaming sessions.
• Built purely for gaming: 144 Hz AMOLED, Snapdragon 8 Elite, and shoulder triggers make it feel closer to a handheld console than a phone.
• Battery champ + fast top-ups: 7,050 mAh delivers 1-2 days of use, 80W charging goes 0-100% in under ~40 minutes.
• Great value, clear trade-offs: Starts around $649 (far cheaper than ROG Phone 9 Pro) but you accept weak selfies, middling long-term software support, bulk, no wireless charging, and only IP54.

The Redmagic 10S Pro doesn't try to look ordinary. It's designed for gamers and proudly displays that, with a large flat screen, shoulder triggers, RGB lighting, and fan vents that resemble features on a mini console.

The build is sturdy, featuring a metal frame and either a glass or transparent back, depending on the version.

Under the hood, it features high-end components: a Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version chip, a 7050 mAh battery, and 80W wired charging.

Cooling is managed by Redmagic's most advanced system yet, featuring liquid metal, copper, and graphene layers, a vapor chamber, and a 23K RPM fan.

On paper, the Redmagic 10S Pro is a compact gaming PC. But does it address the issues of earlier Redmagic phones? We tested the 12 GB + 256 GB Nightfall edition to answer the big question: who is this phone for, and is it worth upgrading?

Looking Back: Redmagic's Old Pain Points

Looking back at my experience with earlier Redmagic phones helps me understand what's new.

The Redmagic 7, which I reviewed in 2022, offered raw power at a good price. However, it had some frustrating drawbacks.

Turbo-charging often turned the phone into a hand warmer, and even simple things like navigation apps could cause uncomfortable heat. Updates were another headache. They arrived late, and sometimes not at all depending on where you lived.

The Redmagic 8 Pro addressed many of these problems. It offered smoother performance, a sleeker design, and more effective cooling. However, some of the same weak points still persisted.

Charging could heat the phone, the cameras were inconsistent, and software updates were (again) patchy. It always felt like Redmagic was getting closer but not quite there.

Has Redmagic Fixed the Heat?

This is the question I wanted answered first. After all, no one wants a gaming phone that doubles as a hot plate.

I put the 10S Pro through my standard stress test by connecting it to charging in the car and launching Google Maps and Waze.

With the Redmagic 8 Pro, my hands felt like they were burning after half an hour.

The 10S Pro still warmed up, but only slightly, and even after an hour, it was still comfortable to hold. That's a big improvement, and it shows that the new cooling system isn't just marketing.

The ICE-X cooling system keeps the chip running efficiently during long gaming sessions, and frame rates stay stable where older phones would have throttled. The fan activates frequently but does its job well, and it even assists during charging.

During gaming and heavy charging, the phone still gets warm, but it no longer becomes uncomfortable. For everyday use, Redmagic has finally solved the heat issue.

Battery Life and Charging

Battery life is one of the strongest points of the 10S Pro.

The 7050 mAh battery easily lasts a full day of heavy use, and with lighter habits, you can extend it to two days.

That's a big leap compared to most gaming phones - the new Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro has a 5,800 mAh battery, and it still struggles to last a full day of heavy use.

Charging is fast. With 80W wired charging, I could go from empty to full in under 40 minutes.

There's also the sound effect when you plug it in. I personally found it unnecessary, but my husband, who loves everything car and racing-related, thought it was brilliant. It's a revving engine noise, like starting up a car.

A small touch, but it shows how Redmagic leans into the gamer vibe.

Software and Updates

The Redmagic OS has matured. Menus feel more polished, gaming controls are easier to reach, and the overall experience is smoother than in earlier models.

Switching into gaming mode feels intuitive, and the custom features like refresh rate controls and performance tuning are genuinely useful.

But software support is still a weak spot. Redmagic now promises up to five years of updates in the EU and UK to comply with new rules, while global models still get around three years.

Better than before, but still shy of the long-term support you see from mainstream flagships.

For a phone aimed at enthusiasts who may hold onto hardware longer, that feels limiting.

Camera Performance

Now to the cameras, which are always the wild card with Redmagic.

Let's start with the positives. The main rear camera can produce some really nice shots. In daylight, photos of our friends' dog came out crisp, with good detail in the fur and natural-looking backgrounds.

The harbour shots were also strong, capturing both sharp edges and wide dynamic range.

Low-light shots can look good too, but only if you keep steady and let the software process.

Then there are the selfies. And here the story isn't so positive. I tested multiple selfies with my husband, and almost all of them came out looking off.

The colors don't match reality - skin tones are strange, sometimes too orange or too flat. The software applies heavy retouching by default, smoothing faces until they look like a wax model. In one case, we barely looked like ourselves.

This is where Redmagic still lags far behind the competition. If you care about taking natural selfies or high-quality portraits, this camera won't deliver.

Gaming Experience

Of course, the Redmagic 10S Pro lives or dies on gaming, and this is where it flexes its muscles.

My husband practically hijacked the phone for hours at a time just to play Asphalt Legends, and I can't blame him.

On the 6.85-inch AMOLED display with its 144 Hz refresh rate, the game looked ridiculously smooth. Every drift and nitro boost popped, and the colors had that arcade-style punch that makes you want to keep going for just one more race.'

The built-in shoulder triggers gave him a serious edge too, letting him steer and drift with more precision than you'd ever get tapping on glass.

Watching him sink into the game, the phone really did feel more like a dedicated handheld console than a smartphone.

I took a different route and tested Call of Duty: Mobile.

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and 12 GB of RAM in the Nightfall edition I tested, the game never flinched. Even in intense firefights packed with explosions, frame rates stayed locked at the highest settings.

The cooling fan spun up after about half an hour, and by the hour mark, the phone was warm, but not uncomfortable.

So yes, the 10S Pro is a gaming machine that also happens to fit in your pocket.

Trade-Offs That Are Easy to Accept

Owning a Redmagic 10S Pro comes with clear strengths and clear compromises.

The cameras lag behind flagship phones. Wireless charging is still missing. The phone is heavy and bulky, and it won't slip unnoticed into your pocket.

The Redmagic 10S Pro carries an IP54 rating, which means it can handle dust and splashes but not full immersion. The fan vents likely prevent higher protection levels like IP67 or IP68, so you'll still want to keep it away from pools and heavy rain.

But if you can live with those trade-offs, the payoff is unmatched gaming performance in a phone.

Price & Availability

The Nightfall version of the Redmagic 10S Pro (12 GB + 256 GB) is listed around $649 on the global store.

Various other versions - from 16 + 512 GB up to 24 + 1 TB - are pricier depending on storage and region, reaching $999.

By comparison, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro (16 GB + 512 GB) is being sold in Europe for about $1300 in some retailers.

So if you're in the market, the 10S Pro offers a much more affordable entry point for high-end gaming performance.

Should You Buy the Redmagic 10S Pro?

The Redmagic 10S Pro is the company's most complete gaming phone yet. Overheating is finally controlled, the 7050 mAh battery lasts a long time, and 80W charging gets you back into the action quickly.

The software feels more refined, and the whole package is designed for serious gaming. Still, the weak cameras, limited software updates, and constant fan noise mean it's not the all-around flagship some might expect. So, who is it for?

If you live for mobile gaming, stream marathon sessions, or just want the fastest performance in your pocket, this is a solid upgrade. Owners of the Redmagic 7 or 8 Pro will see real improvements.

But if your priorities are camera quality or long-term updates, you might want to wait a bit longer.

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