Unlike tablets, a gaming phone with an active fan is nothing novel now. So, Nubia’s Redmagic took it to the next level with true flowing liquid cooling with the Redmagic 11 Pro series and the 11S Pro. Now, the gaming smartphone brand is doubling down on its real liquid cooling tech by giving the new Redmagic 12 Pro+ even more cooling.
This time, the liquid cooling extends beyond cooling the battery area to the SoC section—up at the top, next to the camera module. Not only that, Redmagic has increased the number of channels significantly in the battery area, bumping up the cooling area.
The new active liquid cooling consists of top and bottom cooling. The latter is above the battery area, and the former is in the SoC area. Both are connected. The active cooling liquid starts at the all-new dual micropump at the bottom of the device, parting ways to cool the lower and top sections of the 12 Pro+ before converging to return to the starting point.
In between, channels going to and fro the SoC also get cooled as they pass by the wind tunnel of the active fan. The new pump now pushes 130 kPa of pressure, which is 30 kPa more than the 11 Pro’s—all while consuming less energy.
As before, the liquid circulating inside is fluorinated coolant, a liquid used to cool AI servers. It is a safe fluid that is also electrically insulating and non-conductive.
This year’s upgrade is not just that. The liquid cooling system has been given a glamorous makeover, too, thanks to the custom light-channeling tech to realize the industry’s first RGB liquid-cooled heat-dissipation technology. With this fancy tech, you can witness RGB light effects continuously flowing with the coolant.
Completing the active cooling system is the Qufeng 5.0, a new-generation active cooling fan system, which spins at up to 25,500 RPM. The system includes a maze dust-prevention architecture and supports IPX8 waterproofing.
Rounding out the cooling system are Liquid Metal 4.0, which securely embeds liquid metal within copper foil for broad, direct contact with the chip’s heat source; an upgraded 4D Ice-Step vapor chamber with a dual-sided raised design; and a new ultrathin aerospace steel–graphene composite for efficient heat transfer.
Enough cooling talk. Let’s move on to other highlights. Powering this latest gaming flagship from Redmagic is, you guessed it, the 2 nm-process Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip, offering a clock speed of up to 5 GHz, with gaming performance backed by the CUBE gaming engine 4.0 and Redmagic’s self-developed gaming chip, R5.
Fronting the device is a 185 Hz (!) 6.85-inch 1.5K display with bezels as narrow as 0.96 mm. The display also rocks the ninth-generation under-display technology, featuring an all-new X11 under-display lighting material and a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Let’s not forget that it also packs a G1 display chip that affords the insane 185 Hz refresh rate.
As before, the new Redmagic device adopts the same flat design with zero protrusions on the back, along with a gently curved 2.5D frame for a comfortable grip. Overall, it is lighter and has a thinner body with more rounded edges. As for the corners, they remain conservative, thus allowing you to see more or, in some instances, actually touch something. Gamers will know what this design feature means.
In imaging, it is blessed with dual 50 MP main cameras, featuring a 1/1.55-inch CMOS sensor with OIS. Meanwhile, under the display at the front is a 16 MP camera.
Other highlights include dual 115E stereo speakers, support for Dolby Atmos, Synaptics Byrd Magic Touch 4.0 that boasts a 5,000 Hz instantaneous touch sampling rate (and a 500 Hz touch sampling rate), 700 Hz dual-IC touch shoulder triggers, an 8,400 mAh battery, 120 W fast wired charging, 80 W wireless fast charging, a side charging port, Eye Care 2.0, an IR blaster, a gaming three-mic setup, full-function NFC, Wi-Fi 7, and a 0.815 X linear motor.
It runs on Android 17-based Redmagic OS 12.0, which features a redesigned interface, upgraded AI tools, and an expanded Game Space layout tailored for high-refresh-rate gaming and PC emulation. And yes, playing PC games is also supported, as with its previous generation.
The Redmagic 12 Pro+ was launched on October 15 in China and is available in a choice of 12+256, 16+512, and 16+1 TB configurations, with a starting price of 6,999 yuan [CH] (about US$1,048).
Images: Nubia [CH].
