This gaming phone gives Qualcomm's latest powerhouse the liquid-cooling treatment

Our reliance on phones has made the demands placed on them higher every day, but perhaps none have to work as hard as a gaming phone. Today REDMAGIC is launching its 12 Pro Plus, and it’s among the first to use the powerful, just-released Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is the first smartphone processor with a 5GHz CPU, helping the REDMAGIC 12 Pro Plus handle refresh rates in high-action sequences. It’s joined here by LPDDR5T memory running at up to 10,667Mbps, UFS 4.1 Pro storage, the RedCore R5 gaming chip, and the Gaming CUBE Engine 4.0.

The OnePlus 16, which was released in China on October 12 also uses an 8EE6, as will the upcoming Honor WIN 2, which will come to China on October 21.

Of course, the more powerful a processor is, particularly with an object that you’re holding in your hands, the more necessary advanced cooling is. REDMAGIC says it has that squared away with “RGB” liquid cooling. This is not the first time that REDMAGIC has brought liquid cooling to one of its phones, and this latest innovation doesn’t seem to be much more than adding a flashy light element to it in the form of the ring on the back of the phone. While REDMAGIC’s claims about cooling in the past have come into question, its gaming phones do generally receive good reviews.

The REDMAGIC 12 Pro Plus has an 8,400mAh battery, which is a 12% improvement over the REDMAGIC 11S Pro’s 7,500 mAh battery. It puts it at a touch under the OnePlus 16’s 9,000 mAh battery and a good bit behind the Honor WIN 2’s 10,100 mAh battery, but still well above your typical flagship. For fueling up that massive battery, the phone supports 120W wired and 80W wireless charging.

For a more immersive experience, there are dual, Dolby Atmos-certified stereo speakers with enlarged acoustic chambers and 4D haptic feedback. Like a good gaming phone, the REDMAGIC 12 Pro Plus offers a high-refresh-rate 185Hz display.

The design of the phone itself really stands out with the liquid cooling ring. It comes in three colors: Nightfreeze, Subzero, and Skyfrost.

The REDMAGIC 12 Pro Plus sells for 6,999 RMB (∼$1,045) for the 12GB/256GB version, 7,999 RMB (∼$1,195) for 16GB and 512GB, and 8,999 RMB (∼$1,345) for 16GB and 1TB.

Right now, this China-only hardware is out of most of our reaches — but that’s set to change soon. In just a few more weeks, on November 3, REDMAGIC will announce the global version of 12 Pro Plus as the REDMAGIC 12 Pro — no Plus. Until then, think of this as a tantalizing preview.

For those in the United States, this is mostly a tease, as getting import hardware to play nicely with a US carrier can be tricky. But for those willing to take a chance, global pricing, regional configurations, and availability details will be here on November 3.