Redmagic 10 Air pros and cons
Refined, slimmer design in attractive colourways.
Excellent AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and impressive brightness.
Flagship-grade processor with novel cooling system.
6,000mAh battery with rapid 80W wired charging.
Ultra-responsive shoulder triggers and Snapdragon Sound for gaming.
Under-display selfie camera lacks sharpness.
REDMAGIC OS is improved, still remains clunky in places.
No wireless charging or full fat waterproofing.
Camera system lacks dedicated zoom lens.
No 3.5 mm headphone jack.
In a category known for cranking everything up to eleven, the REDMAGIC 10 Air makes a quietly confident entrance into the gaming smartphone arena.
It ditches the fan, loses the weight, and lends a touch of refinement to a lineup that’s usually all RGB lights and gamer fuel.
Don’t be fooled by the thinner frame - this is still a thoroughbred gaming phone, just one that’s learned to blend in a little more.
Stealing a march on devices from Apple and Samsung touted to shed the heft in a bid to offer something new to consumers, REDMAGIC makes a valiant first effort.
For players who want performance without the size or noise, this might be the most considered REDMAGIC smartphone to date.
Design and specifications
The REDMAGIC 10 Air breaks away from the bulky tradition set by its predecessors.
Compared to the REDMAGIC 10 Pro - which weighs in at 229g and includes a fan module that makes it chunkier around the waist - the 10 Air is a breath of fresh air.
Measuring just 7.85mm thick and 205g, it’s meaningfully slimmer and lighter, making it far more comfortable for both everyday pocketing and one-handed use.
Build quality hasn’t suffered in the name of portability. A matte-finished glass rear - a welcome respite from the typical REDMAGIC fingerprint frenzy! - and aluminium frame give it a solid, premium feel, while softened design lines help it sit more naturally in the hand.
Gone is the fan vent and bold lighting zones - in their place is a cleaner aesthetic, though there’s still a tasteful dash of RGB lighting masquerading as part of the camera array if you want it.
The REDMAGIC 10 Air is built from the ground up with gamers in mind - and it shows in every frame. Powering the experience is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and the performance is nothing short of elite.
Demanding titles like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Zenless Zone Zero run at max settings without so much as a stutter, even during extended play sessions.
What makes this phone stand out, though, is how it handles heat - or rather, doesn’t let it become a problem.
The ICE-X Cooling System, featuring a vapour chamber and liquid metal, keeps the device remarkably cool despite the absence of an active fan.
While the REDMAGIC 10 Pro can maintain peak performance longer thanks to that built-in fan, the Air does a fantastic job with far less bulk and no extra whirring.
Haptics, audio cues, and low-latency Bluetooth with Snapdragon Sound combine to create a deeply immersive experience.
Whether docked with a controller accessory (albeit sold separately) or playing on the go, the REDMAGIC 10 Air delivers the kind of fluid, responsive gameplay you’d expect from a device made for the job.
A pair of responsive shoulder triggers have made the leap to a lighter device intact, providing both a 520Hz response rate and another flash of customization, both in terms of colour and function via Game Space - REDMAGIC’s dedicated gaming hub.
On the subject of colour, body options include Twilight (a subdued matte black with red undertones), Hailstone (a crisp white finish, reviewed), and Flare (a bold semi-translucent orange with aggressive styling).
Each one presents a different personality - the Air might be smaller, but it’s no less expressive.
The last dash of colour comes from a bright red button standing alone on the left side of the device.
This Magic key triggers access to gaming settings by default, but can be customised for everything from accessing AI to a torch or even sound profiles. It’s a welcome shortcut to whatever you need most.
An IP54 rating delivers splash resistance - not full waterproofing, but a welcome bit of reassurance for day-to-day use.
Display and audio quality
The 6.8-inch flat AMOLED display is a standout feature - as is often the case with REDMAGIC hardware.
The resolution weighs in at 2480 x 1116, and the screen supports full DCI-P3 colour gamut, HDR10+, and 10-bit colour. It’s sharp, vibrant and impressively bright - peaking at 1600 nits in bright outdoor conditions. That’s on par with many premium handsets, and more than usable in full sunlight.
The 120Hz refresh rate delivers smooth scrolling, fluid animations, and responsive gameplay. While the REDMAGIC 10 Pro boasts up to 165Hz, the 10 Air offers a more measured take - favouring efficiency without sacrificing speed. Crucially, touch sampling is phenomenal, with an average rate of 960Hz and bursts up to 2000Hz - meaning it reacts to inputs faster than nearly any mainstream flagship.
No notch, no hole-punch - just an unbroken slab of screen, thanks to the under-display selfie camera. That’s great for viewing content especially when gaming or watching video, though image quality on that front camera comes with caveats - more on this later.
Audio on the REDMAGIC 10 Air is strong and stable.
The device features dual stereo speakers certified with DTS:X Ultra, which deliver a wide soundstage and clear separation.
Volume levels are impressively loud, and there's minimal distortion even at maximum output. While bass response isn't as deep as on phones with larger chambers or tuned drivers, the mids and highs remain crisp, making it perfectly suitable for gaming, streaming, and podcasts alike.
REDMAGIC also includes Snapdragon Sound enhancements for Bluetooth, which improve audio latency and fidelity when paired with compatible wireless headphones.
There's no 3.5 mm headphone jack, so users must rely on USB‑C wired audio or Bluetooth alternatives. For most, the audio experience should more than satisfy - especially given the phone's focus on immersive gaming.
Camera capabilities
The REDMAGIC 10 Air comes equipped with a 50MP main camera using the Omnivision OV50E40 sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), paired with a 50MP ultra-wide camera using the OV50D40 sensor. In good lighting, the main camera produces sharp, detailed photos with well-controlled highlights and shadows.
Colours appear natural, and the autofocus is quick and dependable even when tracking movement.
The ultra-wide lens is well-matched in tone and contrast, offering consistent visual results across focal lengths. Sharpness falls off slightly toward the edges, which is typical of wide-angle lenses in this category.
As there’s no telephoto camera, so zooming relies on digital cropping - fine up to 2x, but expect reduced clarity beyond that.
Low light performance is strong on the main sensor, particularly when Night Mode is engaged. Images are clean and relatively noise-free thanks to OIS and a large sensor size. The ultra-wide camera is usable in dimmer conditions but struggles more with detail and dynamic range.
Video capture tops out at a whopping 8K at 30fps or 4K at 60fps. Stabilisation is software-based and does a decent job at smoothing out shakiness, though it works best when shooting at 1080p. Footage is sharp and colourful with solid audio pickup.
The 16MP under-display front camera, using an Omnivision OV16E1Q sensor, remains the weakest link.
It’s a clever implementation from a design standpoint, keeping the display completely uninterrupted, but image quality is middling.
Selfies lack sharpness and contrast, and AI processing can be overly aggressive. It’s adequate for video calls and face unlock but won’t scratch the itch of selfie enthusiasts.
Performance and software
REDMAGIC OS 10, layered over Android 15, is a power user’s dream with a setting or toggle for just about everything. From GPU scheduling to app permissions and real-time stats, it’s built for tinkerers. It’s also quite dense, and new users may find the interface less intuitive than the barebones experience found on a Pixel or Samsung’s One UI.
Performance across the system is snappy, and customisation runs deep. Game Space is tightly integrated, giving it a console-like feel when docked or dedicated to play.
Google’s Gemini also makes a welcome arrival, lending its suite of assistance in the usual places, from Circle to Search to real-time translation and conversational question answering, it’s easy to discount as table stakes, but all are a welcome addition to such an affordable gaming handset.
REDMAGIC promises three years of software support, including one major Android version upgrade and regular security patches - a welcome improvement on past efforts, even if still behind the likes of the frontrunners in longevity.
Battery life and charging
The REDMAGIC 10 Air packs a sizeable 6,000mAh battery, and it makes the most of it.
Thanks to the absence of an internal cooling fan and the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, you can expect seriously strong stamina. In regular use -with a mix of browsing, messaging, video streaming, and light gaming - it comfortably lasts over a full day and a half.
Moderate users will likely squeeze out two full days without needing to recharge - with gamers naturally seeing quite a bit less.
For more demanding sessions - extended gaming, hotspot use, or high-refresh-rate display settings - it still holds up impressively, rarely dipping into single digits before bedtime.
When it does come time to top up, REDMAGIC’s NEOCHARGE 2.5 charging system springs into action. With 80W wired charging, the bundled adapter can take you from 0 to 100% in a shade under 40 minutes.
That speed is matched with intelligent heat management to keep the battery cool, even under load. You can even customise charging behaviour to preserve battery health or maximise speed - ideal for charging in bursts between matches or meetings.
There’s still no wireless charging, but with NEOCHARGE working quickly and effectively, it’s a trade-off that won’t sting.
Redmagic 10 Air UK pricing and availability
The REDMAGIC 10 Air is available now via the official REDMAGIC UK online store.
The 12GB + 256GB model is priced at £439, while the higher-end 16GB + 512GB storage option costs £559.
Both models are dual-SIM compatible, SIM-free and support all major UK and European 5G networks.
There are no network-specific deals for the 10 Air at launch - common for REDMAGIC devices - but the brand offers international warranty support and direct global shipping from its site.
Given the hardware, performance, and attention to gaming detail, the pricing represents excellent value amongst comparable flagships.
Final verdict
The REDMAGIC 10 Air shifts perceptions of what a gaming phone can be - not by shouting louder, but by speaking more clearly.
By stripping away the bulk and noise of previous models, it offers comparable performance muscle in a sleeker, more mature frame.
However this does come with clear compromises. The front camera still doesn’t deliver great selfies, wireless charging is absent, and REDMAGIC OS won’t be to everyone’s taste - although continues to make strides in the right direction thanks to Android AI flourishes.
Taken as a whole, the 10 Air is one of the most well-balanced phones REDMAGIC has ever made - still a gamer's phone, remaining keenly priced and as comfortable in the boardroom as in a battle royale.
For anyone after flagship-grade specs, long battery life, and gaming-grade features in a more elegant form factor, the REDMAGIC 10 Air makes a quiet - but convincing - case for consideration.
