REDMAGIC 10 Air Gaming Phone Review

The REDMAGIC 10 Air is a product that I didn’t see coming. With this phone, the company is adding a more budget alternative to its line-up. With the 10 Pro already being priced fairly aggressively, it’s a surprise to see this “Air” variant. Trimming some of the less necessary features in order to lower the price might sound like a good idea, as it makes for a gaming phone that’s more accessible to a wider audience, but do the sacrificed features cause the magic to be lost? Here is my review.

Specs matter

Let’s dive right into the specs so that potential buyers know exactly what they will be getting for their money. Firstly, the CPU, which is the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor that is found in the 10 Pro. This is great to see!

The 10 Air offers up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage, so it’s no slouch. The RedCore R3 chip is also housed within, so no sacrificing that.

Killer screen

What about the screen? Well, while it might be a downgrade on what’s offered with the 10 Pro, the 10 Air’s 6.8” AMOLED 120 Hz display with support for up to 1,600 nits of brightness sure doesn’t look like a compromise when it’s put to use, especially in games. It’s an uninterrupted display, too, so there’s no pesky camera hole distracting from content.

When gaming, temperatures are kept relatively under control by REDMAGIC’s ICE 11 Cooling System. This uses nine layers of cooling materials, including liquid metal and a vapor chamber. It all sounds very impressive and I’m sure it has some benefit, but the 10 Air does still get lukewarm during extended gaming sessions when playing intensive titles like Genshin Impact.

Big battery

The battery spec is another big highlight. With its 6,000 mAh battery, which supports up to 80 W fast-charging, users should be able to game for hours without issue.

Despite the big battery, the 10 Air is remarkably light. It’s also very thin, which isn’t a given when it comes to gaming-oriented phones.

Other highlights

Looking around the body of the phone, other notable highlights include shoulder triggers and another customizable button. If I didn’t know the 10 Pro existed, I’d be more than happy to call the 10 Air a “gaming flagship.”

With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and advanced cooling, it’s unsurprising that the 10 Air boasts impressive performance both in and out of games. Gamers can buy this phone and be safe in the knowledge that it will deliver pleasing frame rates in even the most intensive mobile games.

Cut corners for the price

The REDMAGIC 10 Air gets a heck of a lot right, but there are some weak points that potential buyers should consider. First, and this is now an expected downside in the realm of gaming phones, is the rear camera system, which captures fine-looking photos in good lighting, but which struggles in tougher lighting. 50 MP might be an impressive spec to read, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. The front-facing camera, what with it being underneath the display, is also expectedly blurry.

My other nitpick is with the REDMAGIC OS experience, as there are still areas that could use polish. I’m not just talking about translation issues, either. I’d like to see more refinements across the board, as the sheer volume of options and data can get overwhelming. Sure, gamers love their stats, but I think this could use some tidying up as more features like Gemini AI are added and pile on top.

Disclosure: Review sample provided by REDMAGIC.