RedMagic 7: A Little Bit Android, A Little Bit Nintendo Switch

The RedMagic 7, starting at $629 and £529, is all about speed and performance to beef up Android games. The highlight is the phone's 165Hz refresh rate on its 6.8-inch screen.

The phone's starting configuration has 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but can go upwards to 18GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Like many gaming phones, a cooling fan is included to help dissipate heat during gameplay and while fast charging.

The RedMagic 7's Game Space launcher arranges Android games into a menu that's more like what is seen on a game console.

On this review unit, the cooling fan has a decorative rainbow light.

Menus in the Game Space mode let you toggle between refresh rates and other modes.

Mortal Kombat Mobile supports the 165Hz refresh rate, running extremely smooth in fights.

The corners of the phone to the left and the right of the exhaust can be set up to act as touch-sensitive "shoulder buttons."

The phone includes a 65W GaN charger in the box.

The RedMagic 7 can charge from 0% to 100% in roughly 30 minutes.

The phone can run directly from the power adapter, allowing the battery to take a break when available.

The RedMagic 7 runs on RedMagic OS, which is a skin on Android 12.

The skin has a number of defaults that might not be preferable, such as the NextWord browser and a watermark it imprints on photos. These can be turned off in the Settings menu.