RedMagic 12 to bring ninth-generation under-display camera to gaming phones

A ninth-generation under-display camera is coming to the RedMagic 12. Pictured: an edited promo picture of the RedMagic 12 showcasing its full-front display.

RedMagic is continuing its long-running push for bezel-free and notch-free gaming phones, with RedMagic executive Jiang Chao confirming that the upcoming RedMagic 12 series will use ninth-generation under-display camera technology.

Newton Gitonga, Published 09/11/2026

The announcement comes shortly after Apple introduced the iPhone Duo with a camera under its inner foldable display, putting the two companies on the same technological path toward unobstructed screens.

Notably, Apple’s implementation gives the iPhone Duo an inner panel without a conventional notch or punch-hole. However, the area above the hidden camera can still show a visible screen-door effect when the display is active. RedMagic is now positioning its next-generation UDC implementation as a more mature approach to the same problem.

Jiang Chao claims the RedMagic 12 will be the world’s first smartphone to feature ninth-generation under-display camera tech. The company has spent years refining the technology, moving through eight previous generations over roughly five years. The goal has been to improve camera concealment without sacrificing front camera quality or the visual characteristics of the display.

RedMagic has used under-display cameras since the Red Magic 8 series, making the technology a recurring part of its gaming phone design rather than a one-generation experiment. That gives the RedMagic 12 a direct lineage to the previous models, including the RedMagic 11 Pro series unveiled in China in October 2025.

The RedMagic 11 Pro and 11 Pro+ already combined an under-display 16MP front camera with hardware aimed at high-end gaming. Both models used a 6.85-inch 1.5K 144Hz BOE X10 AMOLED panel and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with the Pro+ version offering up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The series also featured large-capacity batteries, fast wired charging, Wi-Fi 7 and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

For the RedMagic 12, the display remains the more interesting part of the upgrade. Unlike a punch-hole panel, an under-display camera removes the physical opening from the visible screen area. This is particularly useful for gaming and video playback, where a camera cutout can interrupt content near the top of the display.

RedMagic also says its continued UDC development is intended to improve the balance between camera image quality, display transparency and the ability to conceal the camera hardware. That balance is one of the main technical challenges with placing a camera beneath an active OLED panel.

Further RedMagic 12 specifications, including its display resolution, refresh rate, chipset, camera hardware and battery configuration, have yet to be detailed officially.

RedMagic has also yet to announce an official release date for the RedMagic 12 series.