This Android phone made my Pixel 9 Pro look boring – and its battery life is truly impressive

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Redmagic 10 Professional is on the market on Amazon beginning at $749.
• Gaming completely shines on the Redmagic 10 Professional, which has loads of energy and a stunning show.
• Nevertheless, this cellphone has a little bit of bloatware put in, and the digicam app have to be changed.

Cell gaming is a large trade. According to Stastita, the worldwide cellular video market income is 98.7 billion {dollars}, and there are over 2 billion customers.

That is some critical numbers. Most cellular machine producers do not cater particularly to players, however that does not imply there aren’t any telephones created with players in thoughts. Take, as an illustration, the Redmagic 10 Pro. 

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This fantastically designed cellphone provides loads of energy, excellent battery life, and a fan-based cooling system to maintain the machine cool below the heavy load usually related to video games. I examined this cellphone and got here away significantly impressed (however with a phrase of warning on my thoughts). Let me clarify.

My expertise

My first impression of the Redmagic 10 Professional was that I liked the form. It is boxy, simple to carry, and feels good within the hand. However then once more, I take pleasure in that kind issue (which is why I used to be so eager on the Pixel 9 Professional form). Go away the curved edges to Samsung.

After powering on the cellphone, the onboarding expertise was the identical as any Android cellphone: join it to a wi-fi community, enter your Google account info, and let Android do its factor. It took me lower than 5 minutes earlier than the cellphone was prepared to make use of.

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As quickly as the house display was offered to me, the one doubt concerning the Redmagic 10 Professional got here to thoughts… bloatware. Kind of. For instance, there are two folders on the second web page of the house display, one titled Sizzling Video games and one titled Sizzling Apps. These two folders include icons that, if tapped, will set up the sport/app in query. Of these apps inside every folder, I would not suggest a single one.

After which there are the opposite ineffective preinstalled apps, equivalent to MoboReels, MoboReader, Reserving.com, and the same old Cleanup app that should not be bothered with.

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The excellent news is that the bloatware ends there, so it isn’t practically the issue it might be. 

My subsequent concern is that, though the default theme is sort of good, it makes studying sure widgets virtually not possible. For instance, the Climate widget textual content can’t be seen. Excellent news: change the default wallpaper, and also you’re good to go. After all, I additionally switched off darkish mode, and the default theme was significantly extra pleasing to the eyes and simpler to view.

However let’s get past the aesthetics and speak concerning the factor this cellphone was made for…gaming. I put in Diablo Immortal (not the perfect tackle the franchise, however a legitimate entry) to kick the tires. Virtually instantly, the cellphone’s fan kicked in to maintain the machine cool. I may maintain the cellphone as much as my face and really feel the air coming from the underside and prime vents.

I’ve already performed Diablo Immortal on an Android pill and was shocked at how properly the gameplay was on the Redmagic 10 Professional. There was zero lag, the graphics have been crisp, the sound was nice, and the controls have been simply pretty much as good as they have been on the pill.

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The complete time I performed Diablo Immortal, the cellphone fan frequently ran to maintain the machine cool. I used to be impressed that I could not hear the fan, however I may nonetheless really feel it operating. It is essential to know that it’s essential preserve your palms from blocking the vents, which is usually a bit tough when taking part in a recreation that requires you to carry the machine in panorama mode. 

As I performed the sport, the factor that basically struck me (past the cellphone’s efficiency) was the show. It is lovely, and with no bezels, you get the utmost quantity of display potential. 

Gaming on this cellphone is an absolute deal with.

Talking of which, there’s additionally Gamespace, which is a hub that organizes all of your video games and prioritizes system assets while you play a recreation by this method. To make use of Gamespace, there is a purple slider on the aspect of the cellphone. Slide that into place, choose your recreation, and even allow clever studying to get much more efficiency. 

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With Gamespace, you may customise gaming efficiency, examine your stats in-game, report your display, and extra. When taking part in Diablo Immortal by Gamespace, I did discover a slight improve in efficiency. After all, this can range, relying on the sport you are taking part in.

One factor to bear in mind is, when utilizing Gamespace, you may’t exit it till you progress the purple slider to the Off place.

The Redmagic 10 Professional has some pretty respectable {hardware} for images. Nevertheless, there’s one obtrusive concern. Each time you’re taking a photograph, it provides both a banner on the backside (with setting particulars and the Redmagic brand) or the Redmagic title and brand. I’ve but to discover a option to take away that info from images. Ultimately, I tried to put in my favourite digicam, the Blackmagic Digicam, solely to seek out out it wasn’t suitable with the cellphone. 

As a substitute, I put in Open Camera to get across the concern. With Open Digicam put in, taking images with the Redmagic 10 Professional was exponentially higher. Though the Redmagic 10 Professional cameras cannot evaluate to these on the Pixel 9 Professional, they definitely can stand as much as nearly each different cellphone at its worth level.

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I’ve skilled some Android phones with serious battery power. A few of these “indestructible” units from the likes of Doogee and Oukitel embody batteries that final for days. I’ve powered off these telephones, saved them, and, months later, powered them on to seek out that there was nonetheless loads of juice.

Though the Redmatic 10 Professional cannot compete with a ten,000mAh battery, the 7,050mAh battery nonetheless surpasses that of mainstream smartphones. Contemplating this cellphone targets players, battery life goes to be essential. I performed Diablo Immortal for fairly some time and the battery held up. Actually, I used to be in a position to eke out over twenty hours of use from a full cost, and with the 80W charger, it is potential to get practically 80% cost in below quarter-hour.

Total, the Redmagic 10 Professional significantly impressed me as soon as I eliminated the little bloatware put in and added Open Digicam.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

When you’re out there for a cellphone geared particularly for players and $899 is a worth you are prepared to shell out, the Redmagic 10 Pro is not going to disappoint. When you like an excellent boxy design with the power to tweak the machine so you will get essentially the most energy on your video games, that is the cellphone to purchase. 

The one factor to bear in mind is that this can be a cellphone designed for players, so if gaming is not your factor, you may get extra mileage out of a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone. If gaming is your jam, the Redmagic 10 Professional is an absolute delight. 

Redmagic 10 professional specs

• CPU – Snapdragon 8 Elite SOC.
• GPU – Adreno 830
• Storage/RAM choices – 256GB/12GB, 512GB/12GB, 512GB/16GB, 1TB/24GB
• Show – 6.85″ AMOLED display with 1B colours, 144 Hz refresh charge, and 2000 nits peak.
• Cameras – Important: 50 MP, f/1.9, (broad), 1/1.5″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 50 MP, f/2.2, (ultrawide), 1/2.88″, 0.61µm, 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro), LED flash, HDR, panorama, Video 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps. Selfie – 16 MP, f/2.0, (broad), 1.12µm, below show, HDR, Video 1080p@30/60fps.
• Sound – Snapdragon chip, 3.5mm jack and 32-bit/384kHz Hello-Res audio.
• Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C 3.2.
• Biometrics – fingerprint scanner and face unlock.
• Battery – Si/C 7,050 mAh, 100W wired charging.
• OS – Android 15 at launch.
• Value – beginning at $749

The machine I examined had 256GB of inside storage and 12GB of RAM.