RedMagic, Nubia’s (ZTE) gaming brand, launched the global RedMagic 12 Pro on November 3. It’s the international version of the 12 Pro+ that debuted in China in mid-October, and in North America it starts at $949, with open sales on November 18. In Europe, every configuration costs €200 more than last year’s RedMagic 11 Pro.
What it offers
- Chip: Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, the same as the Motorola Signature 27, plus RedMagic’s RedCore R5 gaming chip.
- Display: 6.85-inch 1.5K OLED (2,688 x 1,216) at up to 185Hz, with an under-display selfie camera made possible by its G1 display chip.
- Cooling: AquaCore 3.0 liquid cooling with an active fan and RGB lighting on the back.
- Battery: 8,400mAh, 12% more than the 11 Pro’s 7,500mAh, with 80W wired and wireless charging.
- For gaming: 520Hz shoulder triggers and Dolby Atmos speakers.
- Body: 8.55mm thick, 223 grams. Nightfreeze (black) and Subzero (silver).
- Software: RedMagic OS 12, based on Android 17.
What it loses versus the Chinese model
The global version charges at 80W instead of 120W, and its triggers run at 520Hz rather than 700Hz. The top configuration also drops from 24GB of RAM on the 11 Pro to 16GB.
US prices and dates
- 12GB + 256GB: $949
- 16GB + 512GB: $1,049
- 16GB + 1TB: $1,199
Early-bird vouchers are available on RedMagic’s store from November 12 to 17, early-bird access opens November 17, and open sales start November 18 at 7:00 a.m. ET. RedMagic’s global store (for other markets) lists the base model at $899.
Watch the update policy: RedMagic’s published policy promises two major Android upgrades and three years of security updates, counted from the global launch. That’s short next to Samsung, Google or the seven years Motorola now offers, and Europe gets more only because EU rules require at least five years of security updates.
My take
RedMagic is one of the few brands still building a phone truly designed for gaming, and the 12 Pro has the numbers: the fastest chip, a very fast display and a huge battery. But the price jump hurts, especially when the global version charges slower than the Chinese one and the software support is short. At $949 it competes with mainstream flagships that have better cameras, so I’d only recommend it if you game a lot on your phone and will actually use the fan and triggers. The price hike also fits what we covered about the memory crunch hitting Qualcomm: phones are getting more expensive in 2027.
Would you pay $949 for a gaming phone? Let me know in the comments or on social media.
Sources: TechRepublic, The Tech Outlook, Gogi, ShiftDelete, Gizmochina. Data as of November 9, 2026.
