When Apple unveiled iOS 26 and its slick new Liquid Glass design, I did the unthinkable: I ditched my iPhone 16. Instead of beta testing the latest Cupertino wizardry, I traded in the polished minimalism of iOS for RGB lights, air vents, and a spinning fan – yep, I went full gamer and daily-drove a RedMagic 10S Pro.
The good: Flash, speed, and attention
Let’s be real, gaming phones scream look at me. The transparent back, spinning fan, and glowing LED strips draw attention like a cat video on loop.
Strangely, even non-techie friends asked about my phone – and not just the guys. The RedMagic stands out in a world where most flagships look like slight variants of each other.
Beyond the flash, it’s the battery that made me fall in love. The iPhone 16 gets through a day – barely. The RedMagic? Two days, easy. Some nights I plug in with 39% left and wake up without the dreaded low-battery anxiety. And the charging speed? Insane. From 20% to 80% in the time it takes to brush your teeth. Literally.
The phone also flies. While Apple’s silicon is technically just as fast, the RedMagic feels faster. That’s the difference 144Hz refresh, super-responsive touch, and a UI built for speed makes. You can even tweak performance settings, reassign hardware buttons, or kill animations entirely.
Oh, and the sound? Phenomenal. Loud, crisp, with bass that punches way above what a phone should be doing. Bonus points: a headphone jack. In 2025. Shocking.
The bad: Cameras and… anime?
The selfie camera is garbage – no sugarcoating it. Hidden under the screen, it produces blurry, over-processed photos that look like they were painted with a broom. The main shooter is decent, but no zoom lens, and a meh ultrawide means you’re not winning any photo contests here. Influencers, scroll on.
Then there’s Mora. She’s the “AI” assistant, a chirpy anime mascot that pops up like a clingy NPC. She’s not helpful, and she’s definitely not Siri or Gemini. Unless you like anime schoolgirls giving you weather updates, she’s just… there.
The ugly: Heat and fragility
Now the downside of all that tech? It’s a fragile little beast. The transparent back started lifting slightly on a hot day (88°F), though it settled back once cooled. Dust is a problem too – the active fan needs vents, and vents mean exposure. Don’t even think about dropping it in water. Yes, it’s IP54, but trust me, you don’t want to test that.
So, can you daily a gaming phone?
Yes – if you’re okay sacrificing camera quality, handling with care, and ignoring anime mascots. The RedMagic 10S Pro gave me better battery, jaw-dropping performance, and a device that people actually notice. Honestly, I’m not sure I want to go back to the land of gray glass slabs.