I replaced my Pixel 9 Pro with this $700 Android phone, and didn’t mind that it’s for gamers
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I’ve held lots of Android phones in my hand, some of which felt awkward because of their size or shape, while some fit just right. That Goldilocks effect is real, and one thing I’ve found is that Redmagic phones just feel right. Their size and their shape just feel right in my hand.
The Redmagic 10 Air isn’t necessarily the thinnest phone on the market, but it is noticeably slimmer than its predecessors.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Of course, part of that is that Android has (for a long time) struggled to keep up with the smoothness of iOS, but the Redmagic 10 Air is about as close as I’ve witnessed. I would also say the UI is about as close as I’ve seen to the elegance of iOS.
But again, it’s not just about the shape and the movement. What about the power?
The 10 Air is marketed as a gaming phone. What does that mean? To begin with, it uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU enhanced by a RedCore R3 chip (a custom gaming chip designed to complement the Snapdragon CPU and address the demands of gaming). To put that to the test, I downloaded a few of the more demanding games (such as Guns of Glory and Star Trek Fleet Academy) to see how it fared. Color me impressed.
Graphics were beautiful, action was smooth, sound was great, and playing various titles was impressive. I couldn’t find a single fault with how well this phone handled gaming. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it was more impressive than playing the same games on my Pixel 9 Pro. If you’re a gamer, this phone will impress. If you’re not a gamer, this phone will really impress.
and check with your carrier to see if its LTE/5G data can be received properly by the phone.
ZDNET’s buying advice
If you’re looking for a new Android phone and want one that is equal parts beautiful aesthetics and performance, you could do a lot worse than the Redmagic 10 Air.
