RedMagic 12 Pro Stays Intact After Zack Nelson’s Scratch, Burn, and Bend Durability Test

Zack Nelson placed the RedMagic 12 Pro on his table and began the familiar sequence of checks that have become a yearly ritual for anyone curious about how a new flagship holds up. This year’s model arrived with a flat glass back free of camera bumps, anodized aluminum sides, and a 6.85-inch OLED screen covered in Gorilla Glass 7i.

Behind the same glass was an invisible under-display selfie camera, as well as a razor-thin earpiece at the top edge. The internal turbo fan’s air intake was lined with mesh grates, and the right side included a red programmable button, circular power key, volume rocker, and dual shoulder triggers. The phone had an IP68 and IP69 classification overall, but the air duct itself is just IPX8, allowing bigger particles to enter even when liquid is kept out.

Scratch testing on the front glass yielded some revealing results; at level six on the Mohs scale, it left some fair markings, but when you reach to level seven, the damage begins to pile up in the shape of deep grooves. That’s to be anticipated considering that the same glass also protects the under-display camera area, so you can be confident that it’s constant throughout. The anodized aluminum sides, on the other hand, displayed all of the normal signs of minor scuffing when a blade was brushed over them, although the flat glass back performed admirably, hardly batting an eyelash. Nelson mentioned that RedMagic employed sapphire on the back panel in some of their past models, but even if the glass does not have that, it still appears to offer a fair amount of resistance for normal pocket contact.

Putting a lighter to the screen for twenty seconds may sound crazy, but there was no permanent browning or bubbling after the flame was extinguished. Which is quite impressive. To cap it off, the turbo fan spun up and extinguished the flame while pulling it in via the intake ports. This is what you’d expect from a phone designed to resist some tough handling and possibly a few accidental drops. Mesh screens behind the grates helped capture larger debris that may be swept in, and the fan itself is designed to withstand submersion. Following the heat exposure, the display continued to function normally, with no symptoms of warping or residue left behind.

Bend testing yielded a 0% bend result, which is rather excellent to say the least. As it turns out, the internal framework that supports the air ducts and dual liquid-cooling channels is fairly rigid from front to rear. One possible weak spot in the design has been removed, since the camera plateau is now just a flat surface, eliminating a point where the phone could give way under hand pressure. Nelson described the body as being like a brick since it refused to flex or deform under pressure, leaving no creaks, kinks, or screen damage even after the pressure was withdrawn.

Once the external testing was completed, it was time to disassemble the phone and discover what was within. The back glass and internal shields were secured in place with 18 screws of varying length. Inside, you’ll find two small loops of fluorinated liquid cooling, which are filled with coolant that can remain liquid from well below freezing to well over boiling. A small ceramic micropump pumps the fluid through the tube, which changes sizes as you travel, while a fan draws air across a metal duct that contacts the motherboard and a vapor chamber. The paths are sealed with red rubber gaskets and mesh screens, and the remainder of the components are happily working inside. We were able to put it all back together with no difficulty, and the phone continued operated regularly after that.