A new affordable Android contender has arrived – with Snapdragon 8 Elite and premium specs at a bargain basement price

RedMagic already makes one of the best value, high-spec'ed Android phones around today – in the RedMagic 11 Pro – but it's just announced a family member that's even better for those on a budget.

The RedMagic 11 Air is a phone that runs on last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, features up to 16GB of RAM, and sports a 2K 144Hz display that's ideal for premium level gaming, yet is priced from 3,699 RMB in China. That equates to just £395 / $530 at today's exchange rates.

A full global release will be announced on 29 January, which is when we'll find out official pricing for other regions, but it's more than likely to be around the same ballpark.

That will make it one of the most powerful mid-rangers around.

The Chinese launch also reveals the RedMagic 11 Air will come in three finishes – white, black and silver. It will come with a 16-megapixel under-display front camera, plus a dual camera setup on the rear.

That incorporates a 50-megapixel main cam and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. There's also optical image stabilisation on board.

RedMagic 11 Air: key specifications

Other key specs include a massive 7,000mAh battery with 120W wired charging, while the phone also features an active Turbo Fan 4.0 inside to keep the handset cool during gaming sessions.

There's a new thermal module too, for improved heat conduction and dissipation, and an Ice-Stage VC vapour chamber enhances thermal efficiency further.

In terms of software, there are AI features preinstalled (as with other Nubia and RedMagic models). These include AI Object recognition, Screen Search, and the gaming-specific Tactical Coach, which can provide real-time strategic guidance.

There are additional game-centric additions, too, including tactile trigger buttons on the edge and a PC emulator preinstalled, to give you the ability to play AAA PC games.

From my experience, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is also being more widely supported by the retro gaming community, including Switch emulation. So you should be able to play a vast amount of the classics on this phone – as long as you own the ROMs yourself, of course.

The RedMagic 11 Air has launched in China today – 20 January – and comes in both 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB configurations. A global launch will take place on 29 January.