REDMAGIC 11S Pro Review

REDMAGIC 11S Pro OS, UI, and Software

REDMAGIC 11S Pro ships with Android 16 layered beneath REDMAGIC 11.5 OS, now enhanced with Gemini integration and a suite of AI‑driven features. The interface feels cleaner and more visually refined, with broader customization options and a collection of added tools that reflect the phone’s expanded capabilities.

One of the most flexible elements is the Lock Screen. The standard layout includes the familiar Clock and Date widget, Weather, Alarm, and Battery indicators, along with the two corner shortcuts. The left shortcut opens a secondary panel with quick access to the Torch and Voice Recorder, while the right one launches the Camera. All of these elements can be rearranged or replaced to suit your preferences.

The alternative Lock Screen style uses a rotating wallpaper carousel - the one shown in the screenshots below. It keeps the same on‑screen elements but refreshes the background image each time you wake the device, accompanied by a short contextual tip related to the photo. This mode also adds an auxiliary panel where you can save or delete wallpapers, share them, or browse the full wallpaper library. The Home Screen retains its familiar structure but remains fully customizable. At the top sits the Google search bar with integrated Voice Search and Lens, followed by two horizontally aligned widgets for the Clock/Date and Weather. The lower portion of the layout features two rows of favorite apps and a docked row of persistent shortcuts. The second desktop hosts the key pre‑installed apps. If you prefer a more traditional Android layout, you can switch to a launcher with an app drawer from the Home Settings menu. The Volume settings design reflects REDMAGIC OS's overall UI style.

The Task Manager aligns the app previews horizontally. The Split-Screen mode is represented by an icon sitting on top each app that supports it, next to the three-dot icon for Task Manager options. These include access to App Info, and a choice to Lock, Unlock, Pin, and/or Close an app. The Customization Picker brings together wallpaper and theme options, widget selection, screen transition effects, and Home Settings - mirroring the options available in the main Settings app. From the Notifications section in Settings, you can also adjust how notifications and Quick Settings are accessed, allowing you to fine‑tune the interaction style to your preference. The REDMAGIC 11S Pro comes loaded with a familiar suite of pre‑installed apps, consistent with what we’ve seen on previous REDMAGIC devices. All the expected Google and system tools are present - Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, File Manager, Gemini, Gmail, Google Discover, Keep Notes, Maps, Meet, Messages, Phone, Photos, Play Store, Safety, Settings, Translate, Voice Recorder, Wallet, YouTube, and YouTube Music. Most of these retain the standard Android design and layout

The phone has a broad set of AI‑powered capabilities, including integrated Gemini, Google Translate, AI wallpaper, AI Transcript, AI Notepad, Privacy Sticker, smart communication, AI writing, Call Assistant, image editing, and others. REDMAGIC's own virtual assistant, Mora - an anime‑styled digital companion that can be customized to match your preferences. Beyond simple chat, Mora can act as a study or work buddy, function as a personal alarm clock, and animate the interface with themed reactions, character animations, and live wallpapers. It's a playful addition that adds personality to the software experience. REDMAGIC OS comes with a sizable collection of additional apps beyond the standard Google suite. There’s a built‑in third‑party browser, a Board feed modeled after Google Discover, and a Cleanup tool that provides quick, granular control over RAM and storage. You'll also find NotePad for simple note‑taking, a compass, a Super Wallpaper app, and a Private Space utility for securing sensitive content. Instagram and Weather are included as third‑party additions as well.

REDMAGIC's own ecosystem apps are present, too. Linkfree and Phone Switch handle device connectivity and data migration, while Goper serves as the control hub for REDMAGIC peripherals. The Game Center is now offered as a standalone app, giving you direct access to performance tuning and gaming tools. Two dedicated folders - "More Apps" and "More Games" - curate suggested downloads, letting you expand your setup with a single tap. The Settings app keeps its familiar structure, with all menus arranged into five groups. The first group focuses on connectivity and includes four sections: one for managing Wi‑Fi settings, another for Bluetooth, a third for mobile connections, HotSpot, and SIM cards, and a fourth dedicated to options for connecting to other devices.

The second group begins with the "Theme and Personalization" menu, which mirrors what you can access through the Customization Picker. From here, you can adjust the entire theme, lock screen, wallpapers, "Daily Wallpaper", app icons, animation speed, color accents and shapes, font size and weight, the AOD, the fingerprint animation style, and a variety of additional visual effects. The second menu in the second group is the "Home screen" settings, which can also be accessed through the Customization Picker. From here, you can switch between launcher modes - either the drawer layout or the standard desktop mode. You can also adjust the icon grid from 4x6 to 5x6, customize badge icons, toggle Google Discover on or off, or replace it with "Board", enable app auto‑fill, activate screen looping, and fine‑tune several other interface behaviors.

Next come the "Display" settings, which include the usual options: Dark Mode, Read Mode, Eye Comfort, Color mode & temperature, Brightness level, Automatic brightness, and Sunlight Mode for even higher brightness levels when needed. Read Mode can be applied either system‑wide or to specific apps. Eye Comfort reduces blue‑light emission, and you can manually adjust the intensity. The Color mode & temperature menu lets you switch between the display’s calibrated profiles; the exact measurements are detailed in the previous section of our review dedicated to the REDMAGIC 11S Pro display.

The Display section also allows you to modify the Font and Display size, screen timeout, refresh rate, Gaussian blur, full‑screen behavior for selected apps, and auto‑rotate. The "Tiny Screen Display Adjustment" submenu provides control over charging brightness with three selectable levels, as well as brightness tuning for the under‑display camera area. Finally, "Enhanced Display Mode" boosts brightness, saturation, and overall UI visibility for a more vivid presentation. The "Notifications & status bar" section provides the usual controls for app notifications, lock‑screen behavior, badge icon styles, status‑bar indicators, and time format. The advanced options expand this further with notification history, conversations, bubbles, enhanced notifications, and read/reply/control features. You can also adjust the layout of the notification shade and Quick Settings panel, as well as define the full‑screen notification style. One particularly practical addition is "Notification cooldown", designed for moments when multiple alerts arrive in rapid succession. When triggered, it temporarily lowers the volume and reduces alert frequency for up to one minute, while still allowing essential notifications - calls, alarms, and messages - to come through normally.

The "Sound & Vibration" menu concludes the second group of settings. It includes the standard options for sound modes, the four volume categories, Do Not Disturb, ringtones, notification and alarm tones, vibration patterns, and LiveCaption. Advanced DTS audio settings are also available, letting you specify the headphone type and choose from four preset sound profiles: smart selection, music, movie, and game. The "More sound settings" submenu gathers additional toggles such as dial‑pad tones, low‑battery reminders, charging sounds, and similar system cues. This is also where you'll find the haptic‑feedback controls. The third group of settings contains five menus. The first is "REDMAGIC AI+", which has grown significantly compared to earlier versions of REDMAGIC OS. Its opening feature - also named "REDMAGIC AI+" - provides one‑tap access to AI wallpaper generation, privacy sticker, Google Translate, AI Transcript, and AI Notepad. The next feature is the Sidebar, which appears as a vertical strip of shortcuts to pre‑selected apps. It can float on the screen or be summoned with a gesture. The third service, Call Assistant, also relies on AI to deliver call subtitles and real‑time call translation based on predefined call scenarios.

The fourth component of REDMAGIC AI+ is AI Writing, which can help you easily generate the content you want to express. It is followed by REDMAGIC Smart Communication, which enhances connectivity through smart antenna boosting and smart dual‑SIM management. The final feature is the System Engine, offering a real‑time overview of CPU, storage, memory usage, and battery temperature. It can intelligently accelerate system performance and apply additional boosts during gaming. There is also an option to optimize the system for long‑term use by leveraging the phone's new‑generation file system.

The second menu in this group is "Cooling Fan". It includes a master toggle for the fan, along with options for balanced or fast cooling speeds. You can enable fast cooling during fast charging, set the fan to pause automatically during calls, and even choose a fan start‑up sound. It's worth noting that disabling the fan here does not fully prevent automatic activation - the system may still turn it on when it detects an app that is likely to generate heavy load. The third menu in this group is "Light Strip". From here, you can control the behavior of the RGB light strip, the REDMAGIC logo illumination, and the fan‑outlet lighting. You can switch the entire system off, enable a power‑saving mode, or customize the colors and lighting patterns for different usage scenarios. "Liquid Cooling" appears as a separate menu within the third group. It includes an on/off toggle, an option for fast cooling during fast charging, the ability to suspend cooling during calls, and a selectable flow‑rate setting.

The final menu in this group is "Features", and it gathers a wide range of options. The first is the configuration panel for the Magic Key - the red slider on the left frame. By default, it launches or exits GameSpace, but you can reassign it to open or close the camera, flashlight, voice recorder, or switch sound modes. The "Features" menu also lets you customize system navigation to suit your preferences. It includes settings for one‑handed mode and an "Easy Touch" option - a floating on‑screen dot that expands into a panel of preset shortcuts when tapped. The list of options under "Features" continues with tools for displaying notifications in a floating window, recording the screen, and duplicating apps so they can be used with two separate accounts - for example, running two instances of Instagram. You'll also find three mistouch‑prevention features designed to avoid accidental input in different scenarios, such as when the phone is in your pocket or held against your cheek during calls.

"Gesture & Motion" forms a substantial subsection within the Features menu. Here, you can enable or disable functions like double‑tap to wake, double‑tap to sleep, three‑finger swipe for screenshots, auto‑answer, raise‑to‑wake, and several others. The Accessibility options are also placed under the Features menu and include the full suite of standard Android accessibility tools you’re accustomed to. The menu concludes with the Google Gemini settings. The fourth group of settings consists of six menus. The first is "Apps", which includes all the standard management options, screen‑time controls, and permissions. The second is the "Battery" menu, covered in detail in the Battery section of this review. Next comes "Storage", followed by "Location". The fifth and sixth menus are "Security & Privacy" and "Safety & Emergency", respectively.

The fifth group contains the usual "Users & Accounts", "Digital Wellbeing & Parental Control", "Google" settings, "System", and "About Phone". Under the "System" menu, you’ll find the Languages and Keyboard settings, system updates, backup options, date & time, and the Phone Switch function under "Change Phone". The "About phone" menu provides the usual device information, including OS version, build number, model name, and basic specifications.