Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
ZTE Nubia RedMagic 11 Air or OnePlus 15R: which should you buy?
The short answer
The OnePlus 15R leads on the screen, the camera and toughness. The ZTE Nubia RedMagic 11 Air doesn't pull clearly ahead on anything we compare. We have no current UK price for either phone.
Comparing 2 phones
ZTE Nubia RedMagic 11 AirOverall score 81/100
OnePlus 15ROverall score 89/100
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
EvenBoth have similar battery sizes (7,000 mAh and 7,400 mAh), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Screen
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R has the brighter screen (3,600 nits vs 1,800 nits on the ZTE), so it is easier to read in strong sunlight.
Camera
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R's selfie camera has more megapixels (32 MP vs 16 MP on the ZTE), so selfies and video calls can look more detailed.
Speed
EvenBoth have similar benchmark results, close enough not to matter much day to day.
Toughness
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R has the better water and dust rating (IP69K vs IP54 on the ZTE), so it is rated to survive being dropped in water, not just splashes.
Size and weight
EvenBoth have a similar size (163.8 × 76.5 mm and 163.4 × 77 mm) and similar screen sizes (6.85 inches and 6.83 inches), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Still can't decide?
Your pick
OnePlus 15R
- A brighter screen (3,600 nits vs 1,800 nits on the ZTE)
- A sharper selfie camera (32 MP vs 16 MP on the ZTE)
- Better water resistance (IP69K vs IP54 on the ZTE)
What you give up: Nothing that shows up in the specs we compare.
We may earn a commission whichever phone you buy. It does not change the pick.
Scores
| Score | ZTE Nubia RedMagic 11 Air | OnePlus 15R |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 91 | 91 |
| Screen | 79 | 93 |
| Camera | 76 | 79 |
| Speed | 90 | 91 |
| Toughness | 62 | 90 |
| Connections and extras | 85 | 87 |
| Overall | 81 | 89 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Size
- 6.85 inches6.83 inches
- Resolution
- 1216 × 2688 pixels1272 × 2800 pixels
- Refresh rate
- 144 Hz165 Hz
- PPI
- 431450
- Aspect ratio
- 20:9N/A
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 90.7 %≈ 90.1 %
- Display features
- 1 billion colors, 2592Hz PWM Dimming, Capacitive Touchscreen, Multi-touch display1 billion colors, Capacitive Touchscreen, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Multi-touch display, PWM Dimming, Ultra HDR image support
- Max rated brightness
- 1800 nits3600 nits
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass 7iCorning Gorilla Glass 7i, Mohs level 5
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 EliteQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5
- CPU max frequency
- 4.32 GHz3800 MHz
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 4.32 GHz – Oryon V2 Phoenix L 6x 3.53 GHz – Oryon V2 Phoenix M2x 3.8 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.32 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M
- GPU
- Qualcomm Adreno 830 (1100 MHz)Qualcomm Adreno 829
- RAM
- 12GB, 16GB12GB
Software
- Operating System
- Android 16 (Baklava), Redmagic OS 11Android 16 (Baklava)
Main Camera
- Video Resolution
- 4320p @ 30 fps, 2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps2160p @ 30/60/120 fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, HDR, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)Gyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
- Features
- High Dynamic Range (HDR), PanoramaColor Spectrum sensor, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Panorama
- Lenses
- 50 MP, ƒ/1.9, 23 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm, 1/1.55" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 8 MP, ƒ/2.2 ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/4.0" Sensor size50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 24 mm (Wide angle), 1.0 μm, 1/1.56" Sensor size, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), PDAF 8 MP, ƒ/2.2, 16 mm, 112° (Ultra-wide angle), 1.12 μm, 1/4.0" Sensor size
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 16 MP32 MP
- Lenses
- 16 MP, ƒ/2.0 ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/2.77" Sensor sizeSingle camera: 32 MP, ƒ/2.0, 25 mm (Wide angle), Autofocus (AF)
- Video Resolution
- 1080p @ 30/60 fps2160p @ 30 fps, 1080p @ 30 fps
- Video Features
- N/AGyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
- Features
- High Dynamic Range (HDR), Under-display cameraHigh Dynamic Range (HDR), Panorama
General
- Announced
- Tuesday, 20 January 2026Wednesday, 17 December 2025
- Released
- Tuesday, 20 January 2026Monday, 22 December 2025
Battery
- Capacity
- 7000 mAh7400 mAh
- Wireless charging support
- NoN/A
- Fast charging support
- YesN/A
- Features
- Bypass chargingColor Spectrum sensor, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Panorama
Design
- Height
- 163.8 mm163.4 mm
- Width
- 76.5 mm77 mm
- Thickness
- 8 mm8.1 mm
- Weight
- 207 g213 g
- Resistance certificate
- IP54IP68, IP69K
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust-protected and water-resistant (against water splashes)Dust and water-resistant (withstands high-pressure water jets; submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM)
- Network_5G bands
- n1, n2n1, n3, n5, n8, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n77, n78
- Network_4G bands
- b3, b41b1, b3, b4, b5, b8, b18, b19, b26, b28, b34, b38, b39, b40, b41, b42, b48, b66
- Network_3G bands
- HSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHzHSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 2100 / 800 MHz
Connectivity
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v5.4Yes, v6.0
- GPS features
- BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS (L1 & L5)BDS (B1I & B1C & B2a), GALILEO (E1 & E5a), GLONASS (G1), GPS (L1 & L5), NavIC (L5), QZSS (L1 & L5)
- Wi-Fi features
- Dual-band, Wi-Fi DirectDual-band
Multimedia
- Audio type
- High-Resolution audio, Snapdragon Sound, Stereo speakersStereo speakers