ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro vs Red Magic 11 Pro

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.85-inch ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6) that was released on October 15, 2026, against the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and came out 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro
  • Waterproof body (IP69 classification)
  • Shows 31% longer battery life (44:22 vs 33:56 hours)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 185 Hz
  • Comes with 900 mAh larger battery capacity: 8400 vs 7500 mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
  • The phone is 11 months newer
  • 14% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (4701K versus 4117K)
  • More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 16
  • Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
  • 11% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 4113 and 3693 points
Reasons to consider the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro
  • Delivers 28% higher peak brightness (1956 against 1528 nits)
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port

Review

Evaluation of ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro and Red Magic 11 Pro crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
12 / 256 GB
VS
12 / 256 GB

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.85 inches 6.85 inches
Resolution 1216 x 2688 pixels 1216 x 2688 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 431 ppi 431 ppi
Refresh rate 185 Hz 144 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes
Max rated brightness 1900 nits 1800 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 5000 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10
Touch sampling rate - 960 Hz
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 7i Corning Gorilla Glass
Screen-to-body ratio 91.5% 90.4%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC Dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC Dimming
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height 163 mm (6.42 inches) 163.82 mm (6.45 inches)
Width 76 mm (2.99 inches) 76.54 mm (3.01 inches)
Thickness 8.6 mm (0.34 inches) 8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight 223 g (7.87 oz) 230 g (8.11 oz)
Waterproof IP69 IPX8
Advanced cooling Active fan Active fan
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Silver, Blue Black, Silver
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Repairability - Good (3.39/5)
Drop resistance - Good (C) · 90 drops
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Chipset specifications of ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro and ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max clock 5010 MHz 4600 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 3 + 3) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 3 cores at 3.74 GHz:
- 3 cores at 4.03 GHz:
- 2 cores at 5.01 GHz:
- 6 cores at 3.63 GHz: Oryon Gen 3 Performance
- 2 cores at 4.74 GHz: Oryon Gen 3 Prime
L3 cache - 8 MB
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 2 nanometers 3 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Hexagon Hexagon
GPU
Graphics Adreno 850 Adreno 840
GPU shading units 1536 1536
GPU clock 1450 MHz 1300 MHz
FLOPS ~4454.4 GFLOPS ~3993.6 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro and ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) 33298 28503
Single-core score 4113 3693
Multi-core score 13604 11818
Sources: Geekbench [3]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
CPU 1624264 1193059
GPU 1498729 1514949
Memory 611754 507882
UX 966667 901348
Total score 4701314 4117238
Samples Less than 3 [16 tests]
AnTuTu 11 Ranking List (13th and 28th place)

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-10-24 -> Portugal123AnTuTu 125948164
📘 2026-10-20 -> Portugal123Battery lifeBattery report
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-21 (Андрей)AnTuTu 114084489
📘 2026-06-04 (Stefan)AnTuTu 114138157
📘 2026-04-09 (Winex)AnTuTu 113844423
📘 2026-04-01 (Ckima)AnTuTu 114092254
📘 2026-03-30 (Андрей)AnTuTu 114117238

Memory

RAM
RAM size 12 GB 12 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory clock - 5300 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage size 256 GB 256 GB
Storage type UFS 4.1 UFS 4.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 17 Android 16
ROM Redmagic OS 12 Redmagic OS 11
OS updates - 3 years
Security updates - 3 years

Battery

Capacity 8400 mAh 7500 mAh
Max charge power 80 W 80 W
Battery type Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) Silicon-Carbon (Si/C)
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (80 W) Yes (80 W)
Reverse charging Yes Yes
Bypass charging Yes Yes
Fast charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (71% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:15 hr 0:55 hr
Battery cycles - 1000 cycles
Battery life tests
Web browsing 13:16 hr 14:36 hr
Watching video 29:57 hr 24:02 hr
Gaming 10:05 hr 09:01 hr
Standby 237 hr 136 hr
General battery life

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 50 megapixels
Image resolution 8160 x 6120 8160 x 6120
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 122° 122°
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 50 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 50 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 50 MP
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.9
Focal length - 18 mm
Sensor OmniVision OV50E40 OmniVision OV50E40
Sensor size 1/1.55" (≈ 0.65 inch) 1/1.55" (≈ 0.65 inch)
Pixel size 1 micron 1 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 50 MP 50 MP
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 13 mm 14 mm
Sensor OmniVision OV50E40 OmniVision OV50E40
Sensor size 1/2.88" (≈ 0.35 inch) 1/2.88" (≈ 0.35 inch)
Pixel size 0.61 micron 0.61 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital
Macro lens
Image resolution 2 MP 2 MP
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Sensor - OmniVision OV02F10
Stabilization No No

Selfie camera

Megapixels 16 megapixels 16 megapixels
Image resolution 4608 x 3456 4608 x 3456
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.0
Focal length - 26 mm
Sensor - OmniVision OV16E1Q
Sensor size 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch) 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 6.0 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port Yes Yes
Network
Number of SIM* 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* No No
Hybrid slot No No
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No Yes
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced October 2026 November 2025
Release date November 2026 November 2025
Launch price (MSRP) - $699
Successor - - ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro
Sensors - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Yes, 80 W Yes, 80 W
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 12 Pro. It has a better design and sound.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
6 (75%)
2 (25%)
Total votes: 8

User opinions

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