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| Nubia is expected to complement the RedMagic 11 Pro with the RedMagic 11 Air later this month, former pictured. |
The affordable gaming smartphone scene is about to get a serious performance injection. Fresh benchmarks suggest Nubia’s next budget-friendly gaming phone, the anticipated RedMagic 11 Air, is nearly here—and it’s packing some serious, if slightly older, flagship firepower.
This development follows Nubia’s own hint late last year about an "affordable gaming smartphone" waiting in the wings. Now, the device believed to be the RedMagic 11 Air has appeared in two separate listings on Geekbench, giving us our first clear look at what’s under the hood.
Snapdragon 8 Elite: A Calculated Power Play
The big reveal from the benchmarks is the chipset. Contrary to expectations of a mid-tier processor, the listings show the RedMagic 11 Air is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. This is the same silicon that powered last year’s Android flagship kings, rather than the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 found in devices like the RedMagic 11 Pro and the OnePlus 15.
This is a strategic move. By utilizing a previous-generation flagship chipset, Nubia can offer top-tier performance from just one cycle ago at a significantly lower cost. And based on the numbers, they’re squeezing every last drop of power from it.
Benchmark Breakdown: How Does It Stack Up?
The Geekbench run, which you can explore for yourself here on Geekbench's browser database , tells a compelling story. The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset in the tested model (identified as Nubia NX799J) achieved a multi-core score of 9,934.
For context, the chipset’s median multi-core score in Geekbench 6.5 is around 9,273, with some devices hitting a maximum of 10,401. The RedMagic 11 Air’s result places it comfortably within the top 10 of all Snapdragon 8 Elite devices we’ve tested, showcasing impressive optimization.
The graphics performance is equally notable. A separate OpenCL compute benchmark listing shows a score of 19,151. This puts the phone’s Adreno 830 iGPU performance remarkably close to a beast like the ROG Phone 9 Pro, though still behind RedMagic’s own champion, the RedMagic 10S Pro.
Specs and Configurations: What Else Do We Know?
Both benchmark listings confirm the presence of the Adreno 830 GPU and a hefty 16 GB of RAM. History offers clues for the final retail specs. If the previous RedMagic 10 Air and the current RedMagic 11 Pro are any indication, Nubia will likely offer the 11 Air in multiple memory configurations, probably starting at 12 GB of RAM.
A key question remains: will Nubia offer a massive 24 GB RAM variant to match the top-tier RedMagic 11 Pro? That would be a major selling point for hardcore multitaskers and future-proofers, but it could also push the device out of "affordable" territory.
The Bottom Line & What to Expect
The Geekbench leaks paint the picture of a potentially disruptive device. The RedMagic 11 Air is shaping up to be a performance-per-dollar champion, leveraging proven, high-end hardware to deliver a premium gaming experience without the flagship price tag.
While we await official details on cooling, display refresh rate, battery life, and design, the core performance metrics are extremely promising. For gamers on a budget who prioritize raw frame rates and smooth gameplay over having the absolute latest chipset, the 11 Air could be a perfect match.
Why This Matters: In a market where new flagship chips drive prices ever higher, the RedMagic 11 Air’s alleged strategy proves that you don’t always need the newest silicon to get an exceptional gaming experience. Sometimes, last year’s flagship power, finely tuned and offered at the right price, is the smarter play.
*Looking for today’s top-tier flagship? The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-powered* OnePlus 15 is currently available on Amazon for those seeking the absolute latest in performance.
As always, we await the official announcement from Nubia for final pricing, availability, and full specifications. But if these benchmarks are any indication, the affordable gaming phone arena is in for a powerful shake-up. Stay tuned.