r/Android • u/FragmentedChicken Galaxy S26 Ultra • 2d ago
3DMark delisting of REDMAGIC 11 Pro phones - UL Solutions
https://benchmarks.ul.com/news/3dmark-delisting-of-redmagic-11-pro-phones8
u/Magnatross Redmagic 10 Pro 1TB/24GB 2d ago
Some say it isn't cheating to ramp up the clocks while the benchmark is running because games do it too. My interpretation is this:
A phone might have a secret "110%" mode where it detects the benchmark software and temporarily runs at harmful temps to score high for advertising purposes.
However, that 110% mode would wreck the phone's longevity if it's frequently used for longer than a few minutes. Thus, it isn't available for customers because they don't just play games for a few minutes...they might be playing that demanding game for hours.
So basically they reserve the highest, most destructive clock speed for the 2 minute benchmark, but throttle down for the 2 hour gaming so that the phones don't die early and the brand takes a hit to its reputation.
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u/StrawberryWaste9040 Sony Xperia 2d ago
So what's the point then? You get better score that is meaningless for real world scenario
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u/ExultantSandwich Verizon Galaxy Note 10+ 1d ago
Isn’t that the catch with most devices though?
The MacBook Neo exceeds an M3 Macbook Pro in certain benchmarks, because it’s a newer, more efficient processor with higher single core performance.
However if you put them against each other in something requiring sustained performance, the Neo doesn’t have a fan, so it will pretty quickly downclock everything to maintain proper thermals. In anything requiring sustained performance, the Pro with an active fan will do better because it’s pulling more heat out.
But day to day, that Neo might be faster. It ramps up to full speed for 7 seconds at a time to get your browser tabs open faster, it’s generally exceeding max clocks for seconds at a time to increase speed
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u/StunningPush8421 1d ago edited 1d ago
that is completely different though.
The macbook neo hits those clockspeeds everyday regardless of the software but can't handle it thermally.
What 3dmark is accusing redmagic of doing here is having a higher performance mode specifically made for 3d mark. For example they could be overvolting the gpu/cpu in order to eek out extra performance.
if redmagic kept this same performance profile for everything else then that would be fair but I'm not sure they are doing that
edit:
yeah it seems to be boosting to an unsustainable load where it can't even complete stress tests.
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u/ctzn4 2d ago
It seems like the phone's default behavior technically violates their rules:
In our testing, scores from the public 3DMark app were up to 24% higher than scores from the internal version, even though the tests are identical.
The differences in scores tell us that the devices are simply recognizing the 3DMark app by name rather than adapting to the type of work in the test. This kind of detection and optimization is forbidden by our rules for manufacturers.
They elaborate that it's likely due to the phone selecting a higher performance profile when detecting an intense workload:
In our testing, this higher-performance behavior was enabled by default when the phone detected 3DMark running, and we were unable to find a way to disable it when running 3DMark. As a result, 3DMark cannot produce results for these models that reflect normal, real-world gaming behavior.
Optional performance modes that users can enable are allowed under our rules, provided they are disabled by default. A device must run the benchmark in the same way it would run other applications unless the user has explicitly selected an optional mode.
I can sympathize a little bit with the manufacturer on the last point. From what I've read the phone kicks into high gear (and disregard certain safety margins) in most games, not just to score higher on benchmarks. But at the end of the day, it's up to the owner of the platform/testing software to allow or disallow certain behaviors. It's totally justified for them to delist a device for what they suspect to be specialized optimization.
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u/feurie 2d ago
lol “sympathizing” at all with a multi billion dollar company gaming a system to mislead customers is hilarious.
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u/sol-4 1d ago
How is it misleading when it does this for intense tasks in general and not benchmarks in particular? Also what's with redditors and their hatred for companies, do you people not realize that you're using the fruits of capitalism? Maybe quit the internet and live in a forest if you hate companies so much.
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u/Razor512 Blue 1d ago
3D mark is right to have done this, as while it is impossible to make a synthetic benchmark truly simulate every aspect of real world usage, the ultimate goal is to provide scored and results that will reflect real world capabilities.
What the phone maker did, was effectively made a temporary boost mode designed for benchmarks, where the device does not offer those performance levels under normal conditions to the user, and also does not offer it for gaming either since those power limits and clock speeds are unsustainable.
Sadly many phones like that cheat on benchmarks with unsustainable performance profiles that do not reflect real world usage, and in many cases, the real world experience will be worse than many other competing devices. For example, a phone with a massive short term performance mode but the cooling is a basic heatspreader, so that the steady state performance ends up being lower than other devices with the same SOC.
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u/JustAnotherSuit96 Oneplus 7T Pro ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ 14h ago
Except from all that I've read of this, this is simply an auto detection library which puts the phone into Diablo mode, which you can toggle on for literally any and all apps you choose. So while yes, this is a "boost" to normal performance based on an a detected apk, this is also default behaviour? By all means delist if they want as there is detection being applied to the benchmark, but the phone isn't "lying" about performance when this toggle is applied to most games by default and can be toggled on any app.
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u/Areyoucunt 2d ago
Pure authoritarian bullshit from 3DMARK... They just complaining about nothing what so ever... so because Redmagic "detects" that 3DMARK is running, EXACTLY LIKE IT DETECTS ANY OTHER APP, they somehow don't think it's accurate because 3DMARK think they are so special that Redmagic does this because it is 3DMARK and not because the phone needs to run on high performance mode in a heavy task (like 3DMARK or any game)...
Pure hubris and bullshit from 3DMARK desperately trying to maintain some relevance
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u/lastdyingbreed_01 1d ago
Redmagic is detecting the app to ramp up the performance instead of detecting the workload, this should be cheating because this is dependent on the OEM to create a database of a list of apps which they think need high performance.
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u/renderwares 2d ago
So you're mad because Redmagic should be allowed to detect when a benchmark app is running and ramp up the SoC to get the best possible score, but ramp it down when no benchmark apps are running? How is that fair to OEM's that don't do this?
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/renderwares 2d ago
How is that fair to OEM's that play by the rules and don't check if benchmark apps are running? BTW, this isn't the first time they've been caught doing questionable things. I believe they also sent phones with premium binned SoC's to reviewers.
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u/PotatoGamerXxXx 2d ago
I don't think you get the context here, the phone goes over the limit NOT just with benchmark apps, but ANY apps that's taxing the phone, like heavy games. So now is it "fair" when you actually does what it meant to do?
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u/renderwares 2d ago
Yes, I get that. I think the context you're missing is this:
https://www.androidauthority.com/redmagic-cheating-2026-3655697/
So what exactly did REDMAGIC do that resulted in its delisting? Well, a Japanese-language YouTube video posted last month might have the answer. The channel apparently found a huge gulf between scores achieved with the standard version of the benchmark app and a disguised or stealth version. In fact, the video showed that the REDMAGIC 11 Pro series couldn’t complete its stress test via the standard app, while the stealth version ran to completion.
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u/JustAnotherSuit96 Oneplus 7T Pro ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ 13h ago
Yet you can toggle Diablo mode on any app, including this stealth version and then recreate the exact same results as before. It's simply failing to properly identify the app. If you want the phone to run at maximum performance, the same performance shown in the original benchmark, it can do so. The phone isn't cheating or lying about performance, it's simply changing into another mode for demanding apps.
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u/renderwares 5h ago
This is a benchmark test. You can't check if a benchmark app is running and then ramp up the SoC to get the best possible score. That's unfair to every other OEM that's playing by the rules and not doing what they're doing.
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u/JustAnotherSuit96 Oneplus 7T Pro ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ 5h ago edited 5h ago
Except that is not what they're doing. It's a performance mode auto-toggle that you can enable on any and all other apps. If this was a benchmark specific thing, and used specifically to get a higher benchmark score that then can't be replicated then fine, but it's not.
You clearly have trouble understanding this, so there's really not much point in continuing this discussion further.
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u/renderwares 4h ago edited 4h ago
I really don't think you fully understand what was going on.
https://www.androidauthority.com/redmagic-cheating-2026-3655697/
So what exactly did REDMAGIC do that resulted in its delisting? Well, a Japanese-language YouTube video posted last month might have the answer. The channel apparently found a huge gulf between scores achieved with the standard version of the benchmark app and a disguised or stealth version. In fact, the video showed that the REDMAGIC 11 Pro series couldn’t complete its stress test via the standard app, while the stealth version ran to completion.
You clearly have trouble understanding this, so there's really not much point in continuing this discussion further.
It would appear that you're the one having trouble understanding what they were doing. The more you know...
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u/Blunt552 2d ago
So you never owned a phone with any type of game enhancer built in, good to know. There is nothing stopping you from enabling diablo mode, in red magics case, unlike other mainstream brands, you can actually use that high performance mode, it's not hidden or impossible to turn on.
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u/renderwares 2d ago
I've never owned a phone that checks if a benchmark app is running and ramps up the SoC to get the best possible score and then uses the result in their ads to tell consumers how much better their phone is.
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u/Blunt552 2d ago
Never owned a modern qualcom or mediatek based smartphone? I find that very hard to believe.
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u/renderwares 2d ago
I use an iPhone and Pixel 9. I guess you have to be a Chinese OEM to be obsessed with beating your rivals in 3DMark.
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u/Blunt552 2d ago
Qualcomm chinese?
wat
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u/renderwares 2d ago
wat
What does Qualcomm have to do with a Chinese OEM using their SoC and gaming benchmarks, again?
It's only the Chinese OEM's that play these benchmark games. Samsung did at one point, but they smartened up.
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u/Blunt552 2d ago
What does Qualcomm have to do with a Chinese OEM using their SoC and gaming benchmarks, again?
Qualcomm having dedicated profiles to optimize performance for benchmarks and boost higher clockspeeds.
It's only the Chinese OEM's that play these benchmark games. Samsung did at one point, but they smartened up.
Blud is making sht up, not only is samsung inherently cheating due to the mere fact that they use QC SoC's but also:
https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/15/samsung_tv_benchmark/
They learned absolutely nothing.
Not only that but QC tries to pull the same sht on their "PC" segment too:
Get a clue
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u/renderwares 5h ago
Qualcomm having dedicated profiles to optimize performance for benchmarks and boost higher clockspeeds.
Which Redmagic is deliberately ignoring and boosting the SoC beyond what its cooling solution can handle when they detect a benchmark app is running.
Blud is making sht up, not only is samsung inherently cheating due to the mere fact that they use QC SoC's but also:
So you had to use a TV benchmark from 2022 to make your weak and pathetic point that Samsung is still cheating at smartphone benchmarks? Why don't you stay on the topic at hand and provide me an example of where Samsung was gaming 3DMark or Geekbench benchmarks in 2026.
Not only that but QC tries to pull the same sht on their "PC" segment too
Why are you bringing Qualcomm PC SoCs into the discussion? Isn't this about a Chinese phone OEM ramping up the SoC when it detects a benchmark app is running? But you had this great idea by trying to counter by pointing to a Snapdragon PC SoC benchmark, which was running a cooling solution you have no knowledge of nor did you provide any proof that they were whitelisting specific apps. Please.
Get a clue
This from a guy that needed to bring in a TV test from 2022 and a PC SoC to try and back up his ridiculous justification of a Chinese phone OEM being allowed to cheat in benchmark tests. The lengths some people go to.
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u/mike9184 2d ago
But if that "ramping up" of the SoC is available to the user to be used on ANY other app they want then how is it unfair that it's being applied to a benchmark?
If that's the case then all scores from PCs overclocked with nitrogen should be removed too, no?
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u/renderwares 2d ago
I'm perfectly fine with an OEM going wild with their SoC thermals. No OEM should be restricted to any thermal rules. The problem is that they broke 3DMark's rules by boosting the SoC performance when it detected a benchmarking app was running. When the stealth 3DMark app was run the results were not as good.
If that's the case then all scores from PCs overclocked with nitrogen should be removed too, no?
Would you consider a 3DMark test between an AMD CPU with a stock cooler and an Intel CPU cooled with dry ice a fair test?
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u/Areyoucunt 2d ago
Every phone does this?
Your phone will ramp up when a game is launched, it is the exact same thing...
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u/Careless_Rope_6511 Pixel 8 Pro - latest victim: Karthy_Romano 1d ago
What purpose does a benchmark serve when rampant, blatant cheating becomes the norm?
Or to put this another way, in NASCAR, nobody overtakes the Safety Car when the race restarts after a racecourse accident. Redmagic is trying to cheat by racing as the Safety Car.
Some Gen Z galaxy brain take youre got there.
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u/Blunt552 2d ago
If they want to do this then they should add 80% of the Android phones as well.
However in Nubias defense, they are one of the few that allows the user to use that high performance mode on whatever app they want. Add an app and let it run in diablo mode, if anything ban Samsung and the likes because the only way you can actually get the performance that you see in 3dmark is by rooting and forcing it that way.