Last week, REDMAGIC teased the 12 Pro+ as the industry's first RGB water-cooled phone with a cooling ring glowing red and blue on its transparent back. The wraps have officially peeled off the phone in China, setting a new benchmark for mobile gaming hardware. The brand launched it on October 15.
The starting price is RMB 6,999 (≈ $1,045), and the device comes with Qualcomm's latest chip, reactive RGB lighting, a 185Hz display with a hidden selfie camera, and bigger battery. A global version, renamed the REDMAGIC 12 Pro, gets its pricing and release details on November 3.
REDMAGIC 12 Pro+ lights up the room
REDMAGIC launched the 12 Pro+ in Shenzhen, China, and also published a press release detailing every part of the phone. It comes along with a new collectible edition and a gaming monitor.
The 12 Pro+ we’ve seen in leaks these past days is cooler than we thought, pun intended. This year’s model includes custom RGB lighting in the circular liquid-cooling module on the back. However, teasers only hinted at color changes. The press release confirms the ring responds dynamically to gameplay.
The cooling system runs on AquaCore Cooling System 3.0, which has an upgraded dual-crystal micro-pump delivering 85% more pumping power than last year’s while using as little as 20 mW.
Coolant flows through a dual-loop channel around the CPU and battery, and the channels extend into the fan’s airflow path so the liquid and air systems share heat. The TurboFan 5.0 spins at up to 25,500 RPM and is IPX8 water resistant, with dust protection and 30% better durability than before.
It’s a marvel, given that liquid cooling is a rising yet subtle trend these days. Most phones still rely on passive vapor chambers, even though the thermal upgrade generally isn’t all that glorious. Plus, REDMAGIC did set the standard for active liquid cooling in phones with the 11 Pro last year.
Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 powers the device, paired with LPDDR5T memory, UFS 4.1 Pro storage, and REDMAGIC’s own RedCore R5 gaming chip.
The RedCore R5 handles ray tracing, upscales games to 2K, and creates extra frames between the real ones. A game running at a lower frame rate can look like it’s running at up to 185 frames per second, matching the 185 Hz screen.
The Gaming CUBE Engine 4.0 uses AI to balance frame rates, performance, and power use, while an upgraded PC emulator lets you sign in to Steam and play your PC library on the phone, depending on each game’s compatibility.
Under the 185 Hz screen itself hides an under-display selfie camera, so there’s no punch-hole or notch. BOE built it using ninth-generation under-display technology and its X11 luminous material, which REDMAGIC says improves brightness, efficiency, and lifespan.
BOE itself is a reputable Chinese display maker that supplies OLED panels for high-end Huawei, OPPO, and Vivo phones, along with some lower-end iPhones. So there’s little doubt about the display quality.
An almost bezelless design with hidden surprises
The REDMAGIC 12 Pro+ has thin bezels of around 0.96 mm, with a 96.3% screen-to-body ratio. That’s down from 1.25 mm on the previous model, and the frame is slightly curved for grip.
However, it’s a heavy phone that’s 8.5 mm thick and weighs 223 g, which isn’t so surprising, given the specifications. Its 8,400 mAh battery alone likely accounts for close to half of the weight, based on typical battery sizes.
The phone supports 120 W wired and 80 W wireless charging. REDMAGIC calls the 8,400 mAh cell a 12% increase over the previous generation’s 7,500 mAh battery. Bypass charging powers the phone directly during supported games to reduce heat and battery wear.
Other features include Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, a large X-axis haptic motor, NFC, Wi-Fi 7, and an infrared blaster. The phone runs REDMAGIC OS 12, with a refreshed interface, customizable lock screens, and an updated look for the MORA AI assistant.
The China version adds AI Magic Island for live updates like deliveries and rides, plus MORA Memory, MORA Assistant, and MORA Suggestions. File sharing now works with supported iPhones too, and there are no annoying ads.
The official colors are Nightfreeze, Subzero, and Skyfrost, although Skyfrost may arrive later this year. Meanwhile, Golden Saga collectible edition comes with a forged-carbon pattern, a gold cooling ring, and gold-and-silver detailing.
It has a 24 GB/1 TB storage, with more details to come. Pricing hasn’t been announced, though REDMAGIC’s 5K MiniLED gaming monitor costs RMB 6,499 (≈ $972).
The 12 Pro+ costs RMB 6,999 (≈ $1,046) for 12 GB/256 GB, RMB 7,999 (≈ $1,196) for 16 GB/512 GB, and RMB 8,999 (≈ $1,345) for 16 GB/1 TB. Every color costs the same, yet is a big jump from the 11 Pro+, which started at RMB 5,699 (≈ $853).
