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| The RedMagic 11 Pro series was found to automatically switch to the "Diablo" performance mode during benchmark runs. Pictured: A promo picture showing the back of the phone. |
It sounds like something out of a spy thriller: a phone that changes its behavior the moment it senses it’s being watched. But for RedMagic and its parent company Nubia, this isn’t fiction—it’s the reason their flagship gaming phone has just been kicked off a major benchmark leaderboard.
In a move that has sent ripples through the mobile gaming community, UL Solutions has officially delisted the RedMagic 11 Pro and 11 Pro+ from its prestigious 3DMark benchmark rankings. The reason? The devices were caught red-handed violating the platform’s rules by automatically juicing up performance when they detected benchmarking software—something UL Solutions calls a clear breach of trust.
But is this really “cheating,” or just clever engineering? Let’s dig into the controversy, the test results, and what it means for gamers who just want the best frame rates.
The Smoking Gun: Two Versions of the Same Test
The core of UL Solutions’ case is elegantly simple. Their internal team ran two nearly identical tests on the RedMagic 11 Pro series:
- One test used the standard, publicly available version of 3DMark from the Google Play Store.
- The other test used a private, renamed version of 3DMark that the phone did not recognize as a benchmarking app.
The results were staggering. On the public version, the RedMagic 11 Pro automatically switched to its highest-performance “Diablo” mode, delivering a score that was a whopping 24% higher than on the unrecognized version. In other words, when the phone thought no one was measuring, it performed like a completely different device.
“The differences in scores tell us that the devices are simply recognizing the 3DMark app by name rather than adapting to the type of work in the test,” UL Solutions stated in its official news release. “This kind of detection and optimization is forbidden by our rules.”
But Wait—Isn’t ‘Diablo Mode’ Just an Option?
Here’s where things get a bit grey. Nubia, RedMagic’s parent company, quickly fired back with a defensive statement sent to Android Authority. The company argued that its performance profiles are not “unethical,” but rather “a medium that offers more control over the users.”
Sounds reasonable, right? After all, many gaming phones come with “performance modes” that let you crank up the fan and push the hardware harder.
The problem, according to UL Solutions, is that this mode was not disabled by default. Their rules explicitly allow optional performance modes, but only if they are turned off unless the user actively chooses to enable them. In their testing, UL found that when the phone saw 3DMark running, Diablo mode switched on automatically—with no way to disable it for the benchmark.
Nubia’s defense notably failed to address why the phone automatically changes its performance profile specifically when it detects benchmarking apps, rather than when a demanding game like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile is launched.
Real-World Consequences: Overheating and Crashes
While benchmark drama might seem like a niche concern, it points to a larger issue: stability. Pushing a smartphone’s hardware to its absolute limits sounds great on paper, but in reality, it often leads to problems. Beyond the synthetic tests, many users have reported that the RedMagic 11 Pro becomes unstable in its highest performance mode, with frequent app crashes and extreme overheating.
Surface temperatures exceeding 50°C (122°F) have been measured in some areas—that’s hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold and potentially damaging to internal components over time. For gamers looking to keep their device cool during intense sessions, an external solution is almost mandatory. (Xiaomi magnetic cooling fan curr. $54.23 on TradingShenzhen)
Not the First Offender, Won’t Be the Last
If this story sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The practice of “benchmark cheating” or “thermal throttling bypass” is surprisingly common in the smartphone world. Industry giants like Huawei, Oppo, and even chipmaker MediaTek have all been caught in the past ignoring thermal design power recommendations when their devices detect benchmarks or unusually heavy workloads.
The motivation is obvious: high benchmark scores sell phones. A top spot on the 3DMark leaderboard is a marketing goldmine. But for consumers, it creates a disconnect between what a review promises and what daily gaming actually delivers.
UL Solutions has now added the RedMagic 11 Pro and 11 Pro+ to its “delisted” section—a sort of hall of shame at the bottom of their Best Smartphones list, where devices appear without scores or rankings. The organization warns that any 3DMark scores from these models “are not valid for performance comparisons and should not be used for that purpose.”
What This Means for Gamers
For the average mobile gamer, this controversy serves as a healthy reminder: benchmarks are a tool, not the gospel. A phone that crushes synthetic tests might still stutter during actual gameplay if thermal throttling kicks in after five minutes.
If you already own a RedMagic 11 Pro, don’t panic. The phone is still a powerful gaming device. Just be aware that running it in Diablo mode for extended periods comes with risks. And if you’re shopping for a new gaming phone based on leaderboard rankings? You might want to look a little deeper than the headline numbers.
What’s your take? Does automatic benchmark boosting cross the line, or is it just smart optimization? Let us know in the comments.
Source: UL Solutions official announcement on RedMagic 11 Pro delisting
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| RedMagic 11 Pro benchmark score comparison between two 3DMark versions |