Verdict
Overall, the RedMagic 10S Pro is a very impressive bit of kit. It feels sturdy with a nice weight and clearly top-of-the-line materials, and runs excellently. Playing games, watching videos, or scrolling through sites is a breeze and looks brilliant while you do it.
- Flat back for controller use
- Excellent for gaming
- Great battery life
- No screen protector
- Can’t expand storage
I'm a sucker for a good gaming phone, especially when it looks the part. With that in mind, the REDMAGIC 10S Pro caught my eye as both an aesthetically pleasing Android option and a great gaming device. This year's Pro version is a bit of an upgrade to REDMAGIC's 10 range, released in 2024, but has some key changes that make it worthwhile.
If you've not heard of REDMAGIC before, it's a sub-brand of Nubia and ZTE, focusing solely on gaming technology. We've tried out a few phones from the brand and always find them impressive, thanks to top-of-the-range technology and sturdy builds. The brand features on our best gaming phones list for a reason. So, how does this latest launch fare? Well, let's get into it.
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Price and availability
You can find the REDMAGIC 10S Pro on a few different sites. There's the official REDMAGIC site that sells internationally, or you can find the phones on Amazon, too. Prices start at $649 / £689 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage option and range up to $999 / £1,049 for 1TB of storage with 24GB RAM.
Specs
Here are the REDMAGIC 10S Pro specs:
Performance and gaming
To push the phone to its limits, I put the REDMAGIC to the test the only way I know how - with giant open-world gacha games. I used the phone on its own and with my trusty Gamesir X4 Aileron controller across Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact, and Zenless Zone Zero, and they all run impressively well. The controller also has no issues connecting and fits very nicely onto the phone, with no wobbling around, as the back of the 10S Pro is completely flat. Other phones I've used the controller with have the cameras sticking out, which causes the controller to feel uneven.
Wuthering Waves is a demanding game. It looks a solid OK, maybe a five or six out of ten on my Samsung S24 FE, and about the same on a Motorola Edge 30 Ultra. Safe to say, it looks a lot better on the REDMAGIC 10S Pro. I didn't notice any slowdown or stuttering during combat, which can even happen on my PC.
Now, the 10S Pro allows you to play Wuthering Waves at 90fps, as recently confirmed in official patch notes for the game. As I turned the settings up, though, the phone gave me a warning as it was overloaded. There was some textural popping in the world, but it did run smoothly. The 10S Pro does have cooling tech, but I've been put off embracing 90fps thanks to that scary overload message.
Heading over to Hoyoverse, I found that Zenless Zone Zero looked excellent but had some issues in combat, where there were tons of numbers and effects flying around. It was nothing major, and a lot better than my Samsung's weird pixelation issues, but it was a bit of a surprise. Similarly, Genshin Impact runs very well, even when tackling dense combat or flying through a sprawling vista.
You can comfortably play your entire Steam library after downloading the Steam Link app. While the (albeit small and cozy) games I tried work just fine despite the 10S Pro not being verified to work with the app, I wouldn't really recommend it, as it requires your PC to be running Steam at the same time, making the device essentially just a second screen for you to control via the phone.
Let's take a look at what's inside. The 10S Pro - as the name suggests - is an incremental upgrade to 2024's 10 Pro. It now has an even better version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, if you can believe it, in the 'Leading Version.' This allows overclocking of the GPU and CPU in all the best Android games to a level that knocks your proverbial socks off. Performance of the GPU is up to 1.2GHz, from 1.1GHz in the previous model.
The REDMAGIC 10S Pro has Efficient Cooling, so you can keep going without burning your hands or leaving singe marks on the table. This tech can reduce the CPU temperature by five degrees, thanks to REDMAGIC's signature fans. You don't have to wonder if they're working, either, as you can clearly hear it - and you get an LED on the back of the phone highlighting exactly where it is.
It does still get quite hot, especially when downloading a game, despite the fans being on. It's not the hottest I've felt, though, and the device doesn't seem to have any issues with running a bit warm, so it isn't a major issue.
Outside of gaming - or at least, full-on gaming - the phone performs absolutely fine. Loading times for web pages are great, and there have been no issues navigating to different menus or using REDMAGIC's built-in gaming software.
Design and display
The 10S Pro is sleek and, without a doubt, a very swish and nice-looking phone overall. I really appreciate the flat back and squared sides - I'm not a fan of curved edges on smartphones, especially when it comes to gaming. It also feels very sturdy and not like it'll break with one small drop (though I'm not going to test this on purpose).
The screen is a sizeable 6.85 inches and has a barely noticeable bezel, giving you as much screen real estate for your size as you can realistically get. With a 1.5k AMOLED display and 144Hz refresh rates, everything looks crisp, and the color saturation is frankly incredible.
I got the Dusk colorway, which is a nice black option fading to a dark and stormy grey in the middle. You can also get a pure black or a white option, along with a design made with Kuro Games featuring Wuthering Waves' Camellya.
Inside the box, you get the phone itself, a red charge cable, an adapter, and a case to protect the back of the phone. There's no screen protector, which feels like something all phone brands should give with their phones, especially one focused on getting handsy with games.
Features and software
The 10S Pro uses REDMAGIC's own OS, which is nice and fresh. It feels similar to Motorola with all of your apps on one A-Z sorted screen and the search bar at the top. Depending on your definition of bloatware, you may find that there are some apps you really don't need pre-installed. Booking.com, Facebook, and TikTok are all pre-loaded along with interactive wallpaper apps… and MoboReader, which is filled with AI-generated romance stories. Each to their own, but that's not for me.
Other apps include WPS Office, allowing the creation of documents, spreadsheets, and slides similar to Google and Windows' packages, and Goper, REDMAGIC's own app for configuring your software.
If you have used any previous REDMAGIC phones, you might wonder where the GameSpace app has gone - it's now built into the very phone itself, and you can turn it on using the red button on the side. It opens a new screen that lets you organize your games, customize settings for each title, and block notifications so you don't get interrupted. You can tweak everything from touch screen sensitivity, to refresh rates, and use of the built-in fan.
The range starts at 12GB RAM and goes up to 24GB, and I got to test the 16GB RAM model with 512GB storage. Needless to say, I haven't managed to fill it yet, nor have I run into anything it can't run well. However, there is no room for expanded storage, so take this into account if you're planning on packing plenty of games in there.
Cameras
The cameras included in the 10S Pro are a 50MP primary back camera, a 50MP ultrawide back camera, and a 16MP front camera. Considering that the REDMAGIC is a gaming phone, these cameras are actually quite impressive. As evidenced by my ever-patient model above, you can see there is plenty of detail, though darker colors get a little lost.
Something you can't tell from the pictures above is how much bigger the file size is. My Samsung S24 FE's photos are around 2000x4000px, whereas the REDMAGIC can produce giant 3000x4400px pictures that really retain the detail. For someone who uses screenshots in their daily work and sends frequent pictures of birds to their dad, this is great news.
The front camera - because we all like to take a sneaky selfie now and again - works exactly as intended. While photos aren't super high definition, they catch plenty of details (like my eyebags). There's also a built-in beauty filter that can smooth away any imperfections, though turning it up to max can produce some rather jarring results.
Battery
The REDMAGIC's 7,050 mAh battery keeps it going for a lot longer than I expected, honestly. While downloading game after game and setting it up out of the box, I didn't need to charge it once, and it didn't even start with a full charge! Considering the recent update that sapped my Samsung's battery life, this is most appreciated. It drains quicker while in demanding apps like open-world gacha games, but you can safely use most functions and smaller apps for much longer periods of time.
As I mentioned above, you get a charging cable with the phone and adapter; however, it was a US adapter, so unfortunately, being in the UK, I couldn't test it. I used my latest Samsung USB-C plug and got rapid charging from it. It charges about 1% per minute, taking an hour for a full charge. I also used my very pretty UGreen Genshin Impact power bank and got similar results. It's likely even faster with the official hardware, if our experience with previous REDMAGIC devices is anything to go by.
A good thing about the 10S Pro is that while you're charging, the phone's fans activate, keeping your device nice and cool while you leave it to do its thing. Unfortunately, you can't use wireless charging with the 10S Pro, which is a bit of a disappointment but not a deal-breaker.
Should you buy the REDMAGIC 10S Pro?
If you're after a new, sturdy, powerful gaming phone, then the REDMAGIC 10S Pro is exactly what you're looking for. Whether you're new to the brand or are upgrading from a previous REDMAGIC, you won't be disappointed with how games perform on this device. It could even be classed as one of the best budget gaming phones, given the $650 price tag.
The only real drawback is that it's made for gaming, and gaming only. You won't find professional-grade camera specs here, and chances are, there aren't many places making cute cases for the REDMAGIC line. It also doesn't have the brand trust that Samsung, Apple, and Motorola have, despite an increasingly long line of impressive launches.
Alternatives
If we haven't sold you on the REDMAGIC 10S Pro, check out our suggestions for alternatives below.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
If you want to stick to a well-known brand or can't find a REDMAGIC, then the S25 Ultra is a very good alternative. It also has a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, with up to 1TB storage, and powerful performance, though it lacks the cooling tech of the 10S Pro. The S25 does come with the large Samsung price tag, but it remains one of the best Android phones out there. For more on this option, see our Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review.
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
Asus, as a brand, produces a lot of gaming-focused tech, especially the ROG Phone 9 Pro. It may also cost a pretty penny, but the performance is truly something. Similar to the above, it houses a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, 1TB storage, and a 6.8-inch screen to show off the absurdly high 185Hz refresh rate. If you want your games to look good, this phone can do it. To get the full lowdown, check out our Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro review.