Galang Taruna
A year after the compelling debut of its first Astra tablet, Redmagic, a prominent player in the gaming hardware sector, has unveiled its successor: the Redmagic Astra 2. This new 9-inch compact tablet promises an even more formidable gaming experience, boasting a significantly upgraded internal architecture, a faster display, and a unique, visible liquid cooling system that, while innovative, comes with an audible footprint. Launched officially on July 17th, the Astra 2 enters a competitive niche, aiming to solidify Redmagic’s position as a premium choice for mobile gamers seeking an Android alternative to Apple’s established dominance.
Redmagic’s journey into the compact tablet segment began with the original Astra, which garnered positive reception for offering a credible, powerful, and well-built Android option in a market largely cornered by the iPad mini. The Astra 2 builds on this foundation, pushing boundaries with a 185 Hz screen, the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, and a distinctive cooling mechanism that allows users to literally observe the cooling fluid circulating through a transparent window on the device’s rear. This blend of raw power, visual flair, and advanced thermal management positions the Astra 2 as a statement piece in the burgeoning mobile gaming landscape.
Design and Aesthetics: A Bold Statement with Visible Liquid Cooling
Maintaining the design philosophy that defined its predecessor, the Redmagic Astra 2 retains a sleek and sophisticated aesthetic. The tablet features a flat chassis and an uncluttered back panel, accentuating its gaming identity without resorting to the often-overstated visual cues common in the genre. Crafted from aerospace-grade aluminum, the frame maintains an ultra-slim 6.9 mm profile, a testament to modern engineering. Despite its enhanced capabilities, the Astra 2 manages to shave off 7 grams, weighing in at a svelte 363 grams compared to the original Astra’s 370 grams, further enhancing its portability. The device is offered in two sophisticated colorways: Eclipse (black) and Starfrost (silver), both presenting a premium feel. The rear panel remains perfectly flat, notably devoid of a camera bump, contributing to its streamlined appearance. Furthermore, an IP54 certification ensures protection against dust ingress and water splashes, adding a layer of durability for active users.
The most striking design innovation is undoubtedly the transparent window on the rear, revealing the active liquid cooling system beneath. A vibrant blue fluid can be seen circulating when the system engages, creating a visually captivating effect that is both futuristic and functional. This visible cooling, coupled with a customizable RGB light strip—allowing for adjustments in intensity, blinking patterns, notification alerts, and charge indicators—lends the tablet a unique character. For those preferring a more understated look, all illumination can be deactivated. In hand, the 9-inch form factor remains a significant draw, allowing for comfortable two-handed use, easy transport in small bags, and serving as an ideal companion for media consumption, note-taking, or immersive gaming sessions.
Visual Immersion: The 185Hz OLED Display Advantage
The display on the Redmagic Astra 2 is a key differentiator, particularly when compared to its primary competitor. It features a 9.06-inch OLED panel, retaining the sharp 2.4K resolution (2400 x 1504 pixels) and 16:10 aspect ratio of the first Astra. However, the refresh rate has been significantly boosted from 165 Hz to an astonishing 185 Hz, offering an exceptionally fluid visual experience that is crucial for competitive gaming and smooth content scrolling. Redmagic claims a peak brightness of 1600 nits, with a full-screen brightness of 1100 nits, ensuring excellent visibility even in bright environments. Color fidelity is also highlighted, with an advertised DeltaE of approximately 0.7, indicating highly accurate color reproduction. While these are manufacturer figures requiring independent verification, they position the Astra 2’s display as one of the most impressive in its class. The disparity with the iPad mini’s 60 Hz LCD panel remains substantial, offering the Astra 2 a clear advantage in visual fluidity and vibrancy.
The tablet’s minimalist bezels, measuring a mere 4.9 mm, contribute to an impressive 90.1% screen-to-body ratio, maximizing the display area for an immersive viewing experience. Screen protection is handled by Gorilla Glass 3, providing a reasonable level of scratch resistance. Redmagic has also integrated a Synaptics S3930T tactile chip, which boasts an average touch sampling rate of 300 Hz, capable of surging to an instantaneous 2000 Hz. This ultra-responsive touch input is vital for precision and quick reactions in fast-paced games. Furthermore, initial checks confirm the presence of Widevine L1 DRM, the highest security level, ensuring high-definition streaming on platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+. The inclusion of ClearKey CDM version 14 and even Apple FairPlay in the listed DRM capabilities underscores Redmagic’s commitment to comprehensive media support.
Unleashing Power: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the RedCore R4
At the heart of the Redmagic Astra 2 lies the formidable Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, fabricated using a cutting-edge 3 nm process. This chipset features third-generation Oryon cores, configured with two high-performance cores and six efficiency cores, clocking up to an impressive 4.6 GHz. This represents a significant leap in raw processing power, designed to handle the most demanding mobile applications and games with ease.
Complementing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is Redmagic’s proprietary RedCore R4 dedicated chip. This specialized co-processor offloads specific tasks, enhancing the gaming experience through features such as 2K game super-resolution, frame rate interpolation up to 120 FPS via the "Frame Rate Boost" function, and optimized display effects.
Benchmark results underscore the Astra 2’s substantial performance upgrade over its predecessor. On Geekbench 6, the tablet achieved scores of 3636 points in single-core performance and 11,111 points in multi-core performance. These figures position the Astra 2 among the most powerful tablets available on the market, rivaling even some entry-level laptops in terms of computational prowess.
A direct comparison with the first Redmagic Astra reveals significant gains across the board:
- Geekbench 6 Single-core: +22.2% (3636 vs 2975)
- Geekbench 6 Multi-core: +56.6% (11111 vs 7097)
- AnTuTu 10 Total: +34.6% (3,420,399 vs 2,541,568)
- AnTuTu 10 CPU: +21.8% (712,299 vs 584,944)
- AnTuTu 10 GPU: +23.4% (1,272,121 vs 1,030,635)
- 3DMark Wild Life Extreme: +43.2% (7763 vs 5421)
While the Frandroid index, which aims to provide a more holistic representation of overall usage, shows a more modest 13.6% increase, the raw benchmark figures highlight a substantial enhancement in both CPU and GPU capabilities. For existing owners of the first Astra, the previous generation already offered ample power, meaning the performance uplift alone might not be a compelling reason for an immediate upgrade. However, for new buyers or those coming from less powerful devices, the Astra 2 promises a top-tier mobile gaming and multitasking experience.
AquaCore 2.0: Innovative Cooling with an Audible Caveat
Redmagic’s AquaCore 2.0 cooling system is a sophisticated multi-stage solution designed to tame the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It comprises three main components: an active liquid circuit driven by a ceramic piezoelectric micropump, an enlarged "4D" vapor chamber (featuring protrusions on both surfaces for enhanced heat dissipation), and Liquid Metal 3.0 for superior thermal transfer from the processor. This entire system is intelligently managed by Energy Cube 3.0 thermal management, which dynamically allocates CPU, GPU, and cooling resources based on the demands of the running application or game.
Redmagic proudly asserts that the Astra 2 is the first mass-produced tablet to feature an active liquid cooling system. The chosen cooling fluid is a fluorinated liquid, borrowed from AI server applications, and is characterized as waterproof, non-conductive, and operational across a wide temperature range from -40°C to 70°C. The micropump automatically activates during benchmarks, certain games, and can be manually engaged via settings. It also operates during rapid charging to maintain optimal power delivery.
However, this cutting-edge thermal solution introduces a notable drawback: the pump’s operation is audibly distinct. Users will perceive a high-pitched, "mosquito-like" whistling sound, which can be quite noticeable and, for some, genuinely unpleasant. Engaging the tablet’s turbo mode, which accelerates fluid circulation, further amplifies this noise, potentially doubling or even tripling its intensity. The diminutive size of the pump necessitates high rotational speeds, and it appears Redmagic has not prioritized acoustic engineering in its design. This audible characteristic is a significant consideration, particularly if the tablet is used in quiet environments or while charging near a sleeping area.
Sustained Performance Under Pressure: Stress Test Results and Throttling Analysis
To assess the Redmagic Astra 2’s ability to maintain peak performance over extended periods, the CPU was subjected to a prolonged stress test. Without the active liquid cooling engaged, the tablet exhibited typical throttling behavior: it sustained 100% of its performance for only about ten seconds before gradually descending and stabilizing between 58% and 60% of its peak capacity. This is a common mechanism in high-performance mobile devices to prevent overheating and component damage.
With the AquaCore 2.0 liquid cooling system activated, the tablet’s performance curve presented a more complex picture. Initially, performance rebounded to between 80% and 90% of its peak, demonstrating the immediate effect of the cooling. However, it then declined again, stabilizing around 50%, with a somewhat unstable fluctuation in the performance graph. After several minutes, the performance slightly recovered and maintained above 240 GIPS, which remains an impressive level of sustained computational power in absolute terms.
It is crucial to contextualize these stress test results. A one-hour, continuous CPU stress test represents an extreme scenario that rarely reflects real-world usage patterns. In typical gaming or demanding application scenarios, the tablet dynamically loads specific performance profiles designed to manage thermal loads more effectively and sustain high frame rates for longer durations. While the observed throttling, even with active cooling, might seem less stable than expected given the marketing emphasis on the advanced cooling system, it ultimately serves its purpose in protecting the device’s internal components. Nonetheless, for a feature as prominently highlighted as the AquaCore 2.0, users might reasonably anticipate a more consistent and higher sustained performance curve under load. This nuanced behavior suggests that while the liquid cooling is effective, it still operates within the inherent thermal limits of a compact tablet form factor.
Software Experience: Android 16, Bloatware, and AI Ambitions
The Redmagic Astra 2 runs on Redmagic OS 11.5, which is based on the latest Android 16. The user interface, derived from Nubia (Redmagic’s parent company), is generally clean, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing. A standout feature for gamers is the dedicated Game Space, accessible via the physical Magic Key slider. This hub allows users to set up game-specific profiles, fine-tune CPU/GPU performance, and prioritize network resources, ensuring an optimized gaming environment.
However, the software experience is not without its imperfections. A notable issue is the incomplete French localization, with entire paragraphs appearing in English within certain menus. While not a critical flaw, it detracts from the polished user experience expected of a product marketed in Europe.
Another significant point of contention is the substantial amount of pre-installed applications, commonly referred to as bloatware. The tablet ships with around twenty pre-loaded apps, including various casual games (e.g., Mahjong Blast, Bubble Pop, Word Connect) and popular services like AliExpress, Booking.com, and Instagram. This practice is a common revenue stream for many Chinese Android manufacturers, who form partnerships with developers and service providers. Fortunately, all these applications can be manually uninstalled, though the initial "cleaning" process can be tedious and negatively impact the out-of-the-box impression.
The Magic Key, a physical slider switch on the tablet’s edge, is designed to launch various functions, such as gaming mode, voice recorder, flashlight, or camera. On the prototype unit tested, these five functions remained fixed, preventing customization to user-preferred applications. Redmagic’s press guide, however, mentions a customizable key, capable of triggering features like face-to-face translation or silent mode. This discrepancy will need to be verified on the commercial version of the tablet.
Redmagic’s in-house AI layer, reportedly powered by Google Gemini, currently feels largely anecdotal. Features like live translation, transcribed voice recordings, and an AI notepad largely replicate functionalities already available and often better executed by third-party applications. It remains uncertain whether these tools genuinely leverage the processor’s Neural Processing Unit (NPU). In its current state, the practical utility of these AI features appears limited. The manufacturer also advertises AI assistants integrated into the Game Space, such as a real-time tactical coach (limited to Delta Force), performance analysis (limited to Mobile Legends), and an in-game voice assistant named Mora Mouthpiece. These game-specific AI functions could not be thoroughly validated on the prototype, and their relevance to popular games in Western markets will need to be demonstrated upon full release.
Battery Life, Charging, and Connectivity: Powering the Gaming Experience
The Redmagic Astra 2 sees a modest increase in battery capacity, moving from 8200 mAh to 8300 mAh. While adequate for its size, this capacity is not groundbreaking, especially when some smartphones now integrate 10,000 mAh batteries using advanced silicon-carbon cell technologies. Given the 9-inch form factor, some users might have anticipated a larger power reserve.
However, the wired charging speed receives a significant upgrade, climbing to a rapid 75W. This is a substantial improvement over the 35W limit imposed on the first Astra in Europe, ensuring quicker turnarounds between gaming sessions. Additionally, the Astra 2 introduces bidirectional reverse charging, a first for Redmagic, allowing the tablet to share its power with other devices. Redmagic claims a full charge can be achieved in just 57 minutes via one of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. The manufacturer also promises impressive endurance figures: 9.6 hours of daily use or 9 hours of intensive Genshin Impact gameplay at full settings, figures that align closely with preliminary observations, with a measured peak charging rate of 74.2W.
Connectivity is another strong suit. The tablet thoughtfully incorporates two USB-C ports. One of these is a high-speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, offering data transfer rates of up to 10 Gbit/s. Crucially, this port also supports DisplayPort output, enabling external display connectivity at resolutions up to 4K at 144 Hz or 8K at 60 Hz. This feature is invaluable for gamers who wish to play on a larger monitor or for productivity users connecting to external displays, while simultaneously charging the device. Wireless connectivity has also been upgraded to the latest standards, featuring Wi-Fi 7 for ultra-fast and reliable internet access, and Bluetooth 6.0 for enhanced wireless peripheral connections.
It has been officially confirmed that the Redmagic Astra 2 will only be available in a Wi-Fi-only configuration, mirroring its predecessor. This means users will need to rely on wireless networks or smartphone tethering for connectivity when on the go, which might be a limitation for some who prefer integrated cellular options in a mobile device.
Market Positioning and Pricing: A Premium Proposition
Redmagic officially announced the Astra 2 on July 17th, with a starting price of €699 for the base configuration featuring 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. This represents a significant price increase of €200 compared to the first Astra, which launched at €499 for the same configuration. At this new price point, the Redmagic Astra 2 even surpasses the cost of the latest iPad mini 7, positioning itself as a more premium offering in the compact tablet segment.
Regarding availability, Redmagic has outlined a phased rollout. Early Bird vouchers will be offered in mid-August, granting priority access before the global sales launch scheduled for the end of August. These early bird promotions will include an 80W fast charger and a complimentary keychain, adding value for early adopters. Specific regional calendars and offer details are expected to be communicated closer to the launch date. France is confirmed to be among the countries included in the initial launch wave.
Globally, Redmagic will offer two configurations for the Astra 2: 12 GB RAM with 256 GB storage, and 16 GB RAM with 512 GB storage, both available in the Eclipse and Starfrost color options. Notably, the 1 TB storage version, which was available for the first Astra, has been discontinued from the global catalog, streamlining the product lineup.
Competitive Landscape and Alternatives: A Niche Market
The high-end compact tablet segment remains a niche market, predominantly influenced by Apple’s iPad mini series. The Redmagic Astra 2, with its elevated price point, now finds itself in direct competition not only with its predecessor but also squarely against the iPad mini 7.
The iPad mini 7 continues to be the benchmark in this category, primarily due to Apple’s robust ecosystem, a slightly lighter form factor, and now, a more competitive price point compared to the Astra 2. However, its 60 Hz LCD display pales in comparison to the Astra 2’s 185 Hz OLED panel, a critical differentiator for gaming and media consumption fluidity.
For those considering a more budget-friendly option, the original Redmagic Astra, if it remains available at a reduced price, presents a highly pertinent alternative. The performance gains between the two generations, while notable on benchmarks, might not individually justify the €200 price difference for all users, especially given the already robust performance of the first model.
In the broader Android tablet landscape, the Lenovo Legion Tab was announced earlier in the year as another gaming-focused option, though it has not yet undergone extensive independent testing to directly compare with the Astra 2. For users who prioritize absolute power over a compact form factor, the iPad Air with its powerful M-series chip remains a strong contender, now available at a comparable price point to the Astra 2.
In conclusion, the Redmagic Astra 2 is a powerful and visually striking gaming tablet that pushes the boundaries of performance and cooling technology in a compact form. Its high refresh rate OLED screen and cutting-edge processor offer an unparalleled visual and gaming experience in the Android ecosystem. However, the audible liquid cooling, the prevalence of bloatware, and the substantial price increase compared to its predecessor present significant considerations for potential buyers. It positions itself as a premium device for a specific demographic: serious mobile gamers who value raw power, advanced cooling, and a visually immersive display, and are willing to overlook certain acoustic and software compromises for a top-tier Android gaming experience.
