Home Phone comparison ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos) - Which is better?

ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

86 out 100
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
VS
88 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

Compared 2 smartphones : ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air Manufactured in January, 2026, with display 6.85 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2600. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
  • Larger display: 6.85in
  • Higher pixel density: 431ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 7000mAh vs 4300mAh
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 207g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 16/512 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
vs
Galaxy S26 (Exynos)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.85 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1216x2688 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 431 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 144 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1800 nits n/a
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 960 Hz 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 90.4 % 90.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.8 mm (6.45 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 76.5 mm (3.01 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 207 g (7.3 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP54 IP68
Cooling system Active fan Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black		 - White
- Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes, In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
90.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Samsung Exynos 2600
Max Frequency 4320 MHz 3800 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 10 (1 + 3 + 6)
Architecture - 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M))
- 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))		 - 6/2.75 (C1-Pro)
- 3/3.25 (C1-Pro)
- 1/3.8 (C1-Ultra)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 2 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon AI engine with 32K MAC NPU
Graphics Adreno 830 Samsung Xclipse 960
GPU Cores 1536 1024
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 980 MHz
FLOPS 3379.2 GFLOPS 4014.1 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
3159
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
3203
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
10212
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
11056
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)31593203
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)1021211056
Geekbench Compute (GPU)2464827467
Sources: Geekbench v6 [ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air], [Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
ZTE Nubia Red Magic 11 Air
3485338
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Exynos)
3504102
CPU11458741013874
GPU11193451351843
Memory461670414601
UX758449723784
NanoReview Score34853383504102

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.1UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 16 Android 16
OS Size n/a 29.5 GB
UI Skin Redmagic OS 11 One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 7000 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 80 W 25 W
Battery Type Silicon Carbon (Si/C) Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (74% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 0:47 h n/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length18 mm24 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.55 (0.65)1/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a10 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a67 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor sizen/a1/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX564
Sensor size1/4.0 (0.25)1/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4608x3456 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor n/a Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/2.8 (0.36) 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G Bandsn/aUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2026 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date January, 2026 yr March, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) 499 879
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes, 80 W No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

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