A device, with the model number Nubia NX799J, which’s reportedly the RedMagic 11 Air has shown up on Geekbench. This device is using a processor that seems to be an end Snapdragon 8 Elite class chip. The listing also says it has 16 GB of RAM and it is running Android 16 as its operating system. The Nubia NX799J device is really interesting because it has this Snapdragon 8 Elite class processor. The Geekbench snapshot posts single-core and multi-core scores that put it squarely in flagship territory, and earlier TENAA/registry leaks suggest wide memory and storage tiers (up to 24 GB RAM / 1 TB storage) plus a large battery and 50 MP main camera. Below I unpack the benchmark result, the SoC, likely memory/config options, expected software and gaming features, thermals and battery expectations, how it stacks up against similar phones, and what this means for gamers and power users.

1) The Geekbench sighting — facts from the listing

The Nubia NX799J was recently listed on Geekbench. This device is running Android 16. It has 16 GB of RAM. If we look at the CPU description we can see that it has eight cores. One of the cores is really fast. It can go up to 4.32 GHz. The other six cores are also very good. They can go up to 3.53 GHz. This sounds a lot like the Snapdragon 8 device from Qualcomm or maybe something very similar, to it. The Nubia NX799J has a lot of power with the Android 16 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The benchmark numbers published alongside the listing are approximately 3,075 (single-core) and 9,934 (multi-core) on Geekbench 6.5 — numbers that place it among current Snapdragon-powered flagships but not necessarily the absolute top-scorers.

The reason those two things are important is that the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC identity gives us an idea of how the phone will perform. The Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC identity also tells us about the phones GPU capability. What features it has like the image signal processor and neural processing unit and modem options.

The amount of RAM and the Android version are also important because they tell us how the phone will work when we first get it and if it can handle a lot of things at the time. The amount of RAM and the Android version also tell us if the phone is ready for Android updates. The Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC identity and the RAM and Android version are important to know about the phone.

2) Interpreting the Geekbench scores — realistic expectations

Geekbench provides an idea of how well a computer processor works. It does this with tests that use one core or many cores of the processor. The Snapdragon 8 Elite processor gets a core score of around 3,075 and a multi-core score of around 9,934. These scores are good for a processor like the Snapdragon 8 Elite. However the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor scores can be different in devices. This is because the companies that make the devices can set limits, on how hot the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor can get and how much power it can use. The Snapdragon 8 Elite processor performance can change because of these limits.

Notebookcheck’s early analysis compared the RedMagic 11 Air’s 9,934 multi-core to other Elite phones and found it competitive — often within the top-10 for Elite devices tested — which implies RedMagic has tuned performance reasonably well. However, some Elite phones have posted both higher single-core and multi-core results (depending on how aggressively the OEM configures clocks and sustained power). In short: expect flagship CPU performance, but final real-world experience will depend on thermal management and firmware tuning.

3) The chipset: Snapdragon 8 Elite. This is what the Snapdragon 8 Elite brings to the table. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a piece of technology. It has a lot of features that the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is really good, at handling tasks.

They are calling the SoC a Snapdragon 8 Elite. This name is important. The leak and the things that have been written about it suggest that they will actually call it the Snapdragon 8 Elite. This is what it is going to be called the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

The CPU and clocks in the line are really good. They have a core that runs at a high speed and other cores that help with performance and efficiency. This means the Elite line is good for tasks that need a lot of power for a time and for tasks that need to run for a long time as long as the computer does not get too hot. The Elite line can run at a speed of up to 4.32 GHz, which’s what Qualcomm uses in their high performance Elite versions, for 2024 and 2025.

GPU (Adreno): expect an Adreno GPU variant that’s strong for mobile gaming — good frame rates at high refresh rates and hardware support for modern graphics features. The Geekbench/OpenCL figures reported in early tests place the device in a competitive position among gaming phones.

ISP/NPU features are really cool. They make the photography pipeline a lot better. This means you get ISP. The chips also help with AI workloads. You get noise reduction. The low-light processing is also smarter. The system AI features are improved too. These features include tasks and real-time effects. So ISP/NPU features are very useful for these things. They make your phone work better, with photography and AI tasks.

Modem and connectivity: The best SoCs usually have good 5G modems and strong connectivity options. These options can include Wi-Fi 7 or Wi-Fi 6E it just depends on what the company that makes the device decides to do with the Modem and connectivity. The Modem and connectivity are important, for getting a connection.

So what that means is: the platform is more than a fast computer processor. It is a balanced foundation for the best smartphones that have high refresh rate displays and advanced camera processing and onboard Artificial Intelligence features like the platform. The platform is really good for high refresh rate displays. It is also good for advanced camera processing and, onboard Artificial Intelligence features of the platform.

4) Memory, storage and TENAA registry context

So the phone has a lot of options for memory and storage. The Geekbench listing shows 16 GB of memory.. Other places like TENAA reports and company teasers show that the phone will come with 12 GB, 16 GB and even 24 GB of memory. The storage options are also pretty big people can get up to 1 TB of storage. This is similar to what REDMAGIC has done with their phones they have given people a lot of memory and storage options especially the really fast UFS 4.x storage, on the more expensive models. For gamers and heavy multitaskers, 24 GB is overkill for most users but gives headroom for split-screen, fast app resume, and huge asset caches in games.

So the name has “Air” in it which means the phone is thinner and lighter than the line.. Redmagic usually still puts good memory and storage in these lighter phones. If you look at TENAA and the companys website it seems like people will be able to choose from options to really expensive ones with a lot of memory. The “Air” phone will have memory options from value, to flagship, which is nice.

5) Software: Android 16, RedMagicOS, and gaming features

The Geekbench listing shows Android 16 which’s the newest Android major release that we can expect to see around 2025 to 2026.

When you look at REDMAGIC phones they run Android and also have RedMagicOS on top which is like a special layer that the company adds. This RedMagicOS has a lot of features that are really good, for people who like to play games on their phones.

Game Space / Turbo / Performance modes: quick toggles to divert CPU/GPU, touch sampling, and memory to games.

RGB/visual customisation: hardware lighting and UI effects controlled by the skin.

Pro-level telemetry & touch tuning: higher touch sampling rates and low touch latency modes.

System optimisations (Energy Cube / RedCore R4 equivalents): REDMAGIC has advertised hardware-software subsystems that dynamically allocate resources (CPU, GPU, memory, cooling) to maximize FPS stability and reduce thermal throttling. The REDMAGIC 11 Pro materials show similar strategies; the Air will likely inherit a tuned subset of these features, possibly under names like Energy Cube 3.0 / RedCore optimisations.

The listing says Android 16 so we can expect Android 16 to have the platform APIs. This means Android 16 will have privacy features and modern permission handling. Android 16 will also have features from the manufacturer that use AI helpers and performance profiles.

The number of Android updates that REDMAGIC will give us depends on the manufacturer. Many gaming manufacturers usually give 2 or 3 updates.. If you want to make sure you get updates, for Android 16 for a long time you should check what REDMAGIC promises when Android 16 is launched.

6) Cooling and sustained performance — the true game test

When you play games on your phone for a time what really matters is how well it can keep running without getting too hot. REDMAGIC phones are good at staying cool because they have cooling systems. These systems are like vapor chambers that help keep the phone cool. Some of the REDMAGIC Pro models even have cooling, which is really effective. The new RedMagic 11 Pro has better cooling technology, including liquid cooling in some versions. REDMAGIC talks a lot about something called “AquaCore” and how the Pro phones have cooling systems. This means that REDMAGIC phones the Pro ones, can handle sustained gaming and thermal control, which is important for a good user experience, with REDMAGIC phones. For an “Air” model the company usually makes sure it is thin.. It also has to have enough space inside to keep the computer cool. This is so the computer can run fast when people play games for periods of time or have short sessions. The company wants to keep the clocks high for these gaming bursts and shorter sessions, on the “Air” model.

Why this matters: a high Geekbench score only matters if the phone can sustain high GPU clocks under load. If the Air is thin but has strong thermal engineering (e.g., a hybrid vapor/liquid solution, large graphite, airflow channels), it will outperform similarly specced phones that throttle aggressively. Notebookcheck’s early comparison suggests the Air sits close to other Elite devices in multi-core tests — a promising sign for tuning — but only full gaming loop tests will reveal sustained frame-rate stability.

7) Battery expectations and charging

The RedMagic 11 Air has had some leaks and certificate listings. These leaks say that the RedMagic 11 Air will have a big battery. We are talking about a battery that’s around 7,000 mAh. Some of the Pro models of the RedMagic 11 Air might even have a battery. REDMAGIC is a company that usually puts batteries in their gaming phones. They do this so people can play games on their phones for a time without needing to charge them. The RedMagic 11 Air is a gaming phone. It seems like it will have a big battery like the other phones, from REDMAGIC.

The charging speed of the REDMAGIC Pro models can be really different. These REDMAGIC Pro models have fast charging when you plug them in. In some places they can even charge at 100 watts or more. The high end REDMAGIC Pro models can also charge wirelessly very fast.

If you have a REDMAGIC device like the Air it will not charge as fast as the REDMAGIC Pro models. You can still charge it fast when you plug it in probably at 65 to 120 watts. This depends on where you’re what model you have. The charging speed is a little slower, than the REDMAGIC Pro models. This is because the Air device is thinner and they do not want it to get too hot. They also want to keep the battery working. If the phone ships with a hardware-efficient power profile, it will pair the big battery with smart power allocation for long play times.

8) Cameras and display. So what do the leaks tell us about the cameras. Display on this thing? The leaks are talking about the cameras and display. Here is what we found out.

* The cameras are going to be pretty cool

* We also heard something about the display it is going to be a display people are excited, about the cameras and display.

TENAA entries and early reports point to a 6.85-inch OLED panel at roughly 1.5K (≈1116 × 2480) resolution, and a 50 MP primary camera plus an 8 MP ultrawide and 16 MP front camera — typical for gaming phone balances: great main camera hardware but with emphasis on display speed and touch sampling over ultra-zoom camera setups.

Crucially for gamers: the panel will likely support high refresh rates (120 Hz to 165 Hz on REDMAGIC flagships), high touch sampling (300 Hz+ on some models), and low latency modes — all priorities for competitive mobile gaming. If REDMAGIC ports tech from the 11 Pro (or previous gen Air), expect excellent touch response and high refresh capabilities.

9) How the 11 Air stacks up against competing gaming phones

Short comparison points:

Versus ROG Phone series (ASUS): ROG phones traditionally focus on extreme thermal design and gaming accessories (clip fan, dock). If REDMAGIC 11 Air keeps a slimmer profile, it may trade some sustained peak performance for portability. Performance floor/ceiling ultimately depends on thermals. Notebookcheck’s early numbers show the Air close to phones like the ROG Phone 9 Pro in some tests, which is promising.

When you compare the REDMAGIC phone to the Xiaomi and OnePlus flagship phones that are made for gaming you will see that a lot of companies are trying to make their phones the best by using really powerful processors. But REDMAGIC is different because it has software modes for gaming it has RGB lights and it has a lot of memory. You can even get up to 24 GB of memory. If you really like playing games, on your phone and you want a phone that can handle it and you also want a lot of memory then REDMAGIC is still a choice.

When you compare the REDMAGIC phones to the names like Samsung and Google you will see some differences. The Samsung and Google phones are probably better at taking pictures. Their software is more polished.. The REDMAGIC phones are really good at playing games for a long time without slowing down. They also have batteries and special features that gamers will love. The REDMAGIC phones are great, for people who play games a lot because they can handle it.

10) Real-world implications for different users

People who play games on their phones a lot will really like the RedMagic 11 Air. The RedMagic 11 Air is good because it has silicon and a lot of RAM. It also has software just for gaming. This means you can play games with a lot of frames per second. It will feel really smooth. You will not have to wait for the game to catch up with what you’re doing. The RedMagic 11 Air is also good, for playing games for a time.

The RedMagic 11 Air has a lot of RAM options. This helps when you want to do a lot of things on your phone at the time. It also helps when you are playing games that have maps or a lot of details. The RedMagic 11 Air can remember these things so your game does not slow down.

Content creators and streamers will really like the SoC and the large amount of RAM in this phone. This is because it helps a lot when you are editing videos and using apps at the same time. The big battery is also very useful when you are recording videos for a time. The improvements to the image signal processor are great, for taking pictures with the camera.. If you are someone who wants the best possible camera quality you might want to consider a different phone that is specifically designed for taking great pictures like a flagship camera-centric phone.

For users a 16 GB variant that is working properly will be too much for just looking at things on the internet and using social apps.. It will make the user interface really fast and it will be great, for doing lots of things at the same time. The 16 GB variant will have good battery life and charging speed these are the things that will really make it stand out.

11) What we do not know yet. The things that’re still not clear, about this whole thing, the open questions that are still waiting to be answered, the open questions.

The company that makes the clocks and the settings for power use: the people who make the firmware for the equipment can make the chip work in different ways. The final speed of the clocks for the model that people can buy might be different, from what it says on the Geekbench website.

When we talk about thermal behaviour we have to think about synthetics in a different way. What really matters is how they perform over a period of time. For example a long 60-minute gaming loop will show us the capability of synthetics. This is where we can see what synthetics are really made of. Sustained thermal behaviour of synthetics is what we are looking for here.

Regional variants and modem differences are important to consider. This is because carrier bands and Wi-Fi features, such as Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 are different. The supported 5G bands also vary by market. If you travel or live outside China these differences will affect the variants and modem differences you choose when you make a purchase. Regional variants and modem differences can be a deal if you are always, on the move.

The price of the REDMAGIC and the software update commitments are things to think about. The amount of RAM and SSD space you get with the REDMAGIC will make a difference in the price you pay. For some people it is very important to know how big updates the REDMAGIC will get but this has not been confirmed yet. The REDMAGIC software update commitments are still not clear which is a problem, for some buyers who want to know how many major Android updates the REDMAGIC will receive.

12) Timelines and launch expectations

Company teasers and the general cadence suggest an imminent China launch, with global availability to follow as per REDMAGIC’s normal pattern. The Geekbench appearance typically precedes an official announcement by a few weeks to a couple of months. If you want the phone for its gaming credentials, watch for the official REDMAGIC reveal for exact memory tiers, pricing, and global SKUs. Early certification (TENAA) and GM comments indicate the phone is near launch.

13) So what is the final verdict. Do you really need to think about the verdict and what it means for you?

If you play games on your phone or do a lot of things at the time the RedMagic 11 Air seems like a great choice. It has a powerful processor and graphics card, a lot of memory options a big battery and software that is made for gaming. The RedMagic 11 Air is also lighter, than the Pro version. Some tests have been done on the RedMagic 11 Air. The results show that the hardware is very good. Now we need to see how the RedMagic 11 Air handles heat, how well it performs over time how fast it charges, how much it costs and if it will be available everywhere to know if it will be very popular or just liked by a people who love the RedMagic 11 Air.

If you love benchmarking numbers: the 3,075 / 9,934 Geekbench snapshot confirms flagship ambition. If you care about long gaming sessions and a balanced daily phone: wait for sustained gaming tests and official cooling/charging specs. In either case, the RedMagic 11 Air is now firmly on the shortlist for anyone who priorities raw performance, big batteries, and gaming features in a relatively slim package.