The industry narrative lately has been that the “slim phone” trend is dead on arrival. Following reports of lackluster sales for the Apple iPhone Air, rumors swirled that major Chinese manufacturers — Xiaomi included — were scrapping plans for their own ultrathin flagship devices.
But not nubia.
Bucking the narrative, the brand today confirmed it is moving forward with the RedMagic 11 Air, scheduled to officially debut in China on Jan. 20. The device will complete the current lineup, sitting alongside the existing RedMagic 11 Pro and RedMagic 11 Pro Plus models.
According to recent teasers, the RedMagic 11 Air measures just 7.85mm in thickness and weighs approximately 207 grams. For context, that is significantly trimmer than your average gaming handset, yet nubia claims it retains flagship-level performance — minus the usual bulk.
SEE ALSO: Best-performing Android devices in Dec 2025
While the company has kept the full spec sheet under wraps, the promotional image confirms a premium metal frame featuring the brand’s trademark red Magic Key. In case you’re not familiar, it’s a slider that toggles the dedicated gaming mode and provides instant access to performance settings and the cooling fan, though users can also customize it to launch everyday utilities like the flashlight or camera.
Speaking of cooling, this is where the RedMagic 11 Air gets pretty ambitious. Despite the slender profile, the smartphone is tipped to feature an active cooling fan, along with an under-display selfie camera. On the software front, it is expected to ship with Android 16 right out of the box.
Under the hood, leaks suggest a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 5G SoC, paired with a generous 24GB of physical RAM. To keep the lights on, the chassis is rumored to house a large 7,000mAh battery supporting 120-watt fast charging, all displayed on a 6.85-inch AMOLED screen.
Putting a battery that big and a literal fan inside a sub-8mm body sounds almost physically impossible. If the specs hold up, nubia might just succeed where the iPhone Air reportedly stumbled. We will know for sure when the device drops next week.
Learn About This Author
