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Red Magic has a well-established reputation for building smartphones that prioritize gaming performance above all else. With the recent launch of the Red Magic 12 Pro+, the company has updated its flagship lineup just a generation after the highly capable Red Magic 11 Pro+.
Both devices are designed to handle demanding mobile games, but the 12 Pro+ brings several hardware upgrades that improve the overall experience without making major changes to the formula.
Here is a closer look at how the two gaming phones compare and whether the newer model justifies its higher price tag.
The core difference between the two devices lies in their silicon. The Red Magic 11 Pro+ is powered by the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a chip that easily handles current Android games and scored around 4.35 million on the AnTuTu benchmark. It also introduced a built-in PC emulator, a feature that set a new standard for what mobile devices could attempt to run.
The Red Magic 12 Pro+ moves to the 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, paired with a new Red Core R5 co-processor. This brings the AnTuTu score up to 5.67 million. In practical terms, this translates to better sustained performance in complex titles.
Red Magic says that the 12 Pro+ can maintain 60 FPS in PC ports like Tomb Raider 9 and handle full-scene ray tracing concurrently with frame-generation features. It is a measurable bump in processing power, though users of the 11 Pro+ likely aren’t feeling any performance bottlenecks just yet.
2. Display
Both phones feature a 6.85-inch 1.5K OLED display manufactured by BOE, complete with an under-display camera to keep the screen free of notches or hole-punches. They both reach a peak brightness of 2000 nits and support high-frequency PWM dimming to reduce eye strain.
The primary change on the 12 Pro+ is the refresh rate, which increases from 144Hz to a native 185Hz. The bezels have also been trimmed down to 0.96mm.
While the jump to 185Hz is a technical achievement, the visual difference between 144Hz and 185Hz on a smartphone screen will be quite subtle for the average user. However, for competitive players in supported games like CrossFire: Mobile, the slightly lower input latency could be a welcome addition.
3. Battery, Cooling and Dimensions
Cooling is always a major focus for Red Magic. The 11 Pro+ utilized a dual liquid-and-air cooling system with a 24,000 RPM fan. The 12 Pro+ refines this setup with a 25,500 RPM fan and a new dual-crystal micro-pump to circulate cooling fluid more efficiently.
Perhaps the most impressive engineering feat of the 12 Pro+ is its physical footprint. Despite increasing the battery capacity from 7,500mAh on the 11 Pro+ to a massive 8,400mAh, Red Magic managed to make the newer phone slightly thinner and lighter.
The 12 Pro+ measures 8.55mm thick and weighs 223g, compared to the 11 Pro+ at 8.9mm and 230g. Both models support the same fast-charging standards: 120W wired and 80W wireless.
4. Pricing
The upgrades on the Red Magic 12 Pro+ come with a price increase. The 12 Pro+ starts at 6999 yuan (~$1,048) for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model, whereas the 11 Pro+ launched at 5699 yuan (~$852) for the same configuration.
5. Should You Upgrade?
If you currently own a Red Magic 11 Pro+, the jump to the 12 Pro+ is likely unnecessary. The 11 Pro+ remains a highly capable device with plenty of battery life and processing headroom. However, if you are entering the market for a new dedicated gaming phone, the 12 Pro+ offers a very refined package. The combination of a larger battery in a thinner chassis, alongside the efficiency gains of a 2nm processor, makes it a well-rounded piece of hardware for mobile gaming enthusiasts.
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