Redmagic Astra review: Mini but mighty gaming tablet

Best Prices Today: Redmagic Astra

Nubia’s Redmagic is a brand synonymous with gaming smartphones, including the impressive. Redmagic 10S Pro. But recently, it’s been dipping its toes in the tablet market.

The lineup has now been added to with the compact Astra, which boasts flagship processors, an OLED display and an advanced cooling system, all within a small frame. So, is less really more? I’ve extensively tested it, and here are my detailed thoughts.

Design & Build

• Compact and comfortable metal construction
• 207mm x 134.2mm x 6.9mm; 370g
• IP54 water and dust resistance

When I reviewed the Redmagic Nova gaming tablet at the start of 2025, I was impressed with the overall feel and quality of the product.

However, if there was one area that I would like to have seen improvement from a design standpoint, it would be size. The 10.9-inch panel in the Nova meant that the overall dimensions were bigger than I felt comfortable with for longer gaming sessions – at least for my arthritic hands.

Redmagic seems to have read my mind, though, as the Astra is a far more compact device, and I think that’s a real improvement. This is aided by the smaller 9.06-inch display and thin 4.9mm bezels that allow Redmagic to slim the size to one that is not only balanced enough to hold for extended periods, but also light enough to stop my arms aching.

Here’s how the two compare in terms of dimensions:

• Redmagic Nova Gaming Tablet – 253.3mm x 164.6mm x 7.3 mm; 530g
• Redmagic Astra Gaming Tablet – 207mm x 134.2mm x 6.9mm; 370g

As with its predecessor, the Astra features a metal body with a futuristic patterned band on the rear that’s also home to the single camera lens, flash, plus a circular view of the fan that features RGB lights. The Redmagic logo also has lights underneath, the colours of which can be customised in the settings.

On the sides, there are dual speakers, which have a DTS:X Ultra certification for multi-dimensional audio.

The power button has a fingerprint sensor embedded, and it worked consistently well throughout my time with the Astra. There are also volume controls and the USB-C charging port.

Don’t take the Astra into the bath for a session of Genshin Impact or it may not make it out alive

Regular Redmagic users will know that the red switch on the top edge is there to launch the company’s dedicated Game Space software, but you can now also customise it in settings to trigger other commands instead.

As a compact and lightweight tablet, it’s going up against the likes of the iPad Mini and Galaxy Tab A9, but it definitely feels more premium than the latter. An IP54 rating means it can survive a few splashes, but don’t take the Astra into the bath for a session of Genshin Impact or it may not make it out alive.

The Redmagic Astra comes in two colours – Eclipse (Black) or Starfrost (Silver).

If you want to add a case, Redmagic offers the bespoke Astra Tablet Magnetic Folio case for $32.90/$38.90 (around £28). Should you fancy turning the tablet into something akin to a Nintendo Switch, there’s the Gamepad case, which adds controllers to either side of the Astra and costs £109/$129.

Screen & Speakers

• 9.06-inch OLED display
• 2.4k resolution, 165Hz refresh rate
• Dual speakers, but no 3.5mm headphone jack

While the OLED 9.06-inch panel in the Astra may be smaller than that of the IPS one in the Nova, it has some impressively beefed-up specs in comparison. The 2.4K (2,400 x 1,504) resolution means the display is pin-sharp, with the 165Hz refresh rate keeping scrolling and on-screen action buttery smooth.

Response times are also impressive, thanks to the 240Hz touch sampling rate and 2,000Hz instant touch sampling rate, meaning there’s never any noticeable lag, including while gaming.

It’s also much brighter than the Nova, which topped out at 550 nits, as Redmagic states that the peak brightness on the Astra goes up to an eye-burning 1,600 nits. In general use, I measured the brightness at around 810 nits, which is enough to cope with sunny days and half blind you when inside.

The display is pin-sharp, with the 165Hz refresh rate keeping scrolling and on-screen action buttery smooth

Even with the slim 4.9mm bezels that give the Astra its 90.1% screen-to-body ratio, the front-facing camera is mercifully kept off the screen, so there’s no punch-holes or notches to interrupt the gaming or video playback – important on a smaller display.

It also doubles up nicely as a great device for reading books or graphic novels, as the detailed panel boasts rich and balanced colours.

Accidental screen presses are always something to worry about when you have such a small off-screen area to hold, but the Astra did a good job of ignoring my non-dominant hand when I was operating the device. However, a few menus accidentally chose the wrong option when I adjusted my grip.

The twin speakers provide a good level of volume and avoid being tinny or shrill. The positioning of them at the top and bottom does mean you have to be careful not to cover them completely during gaming sessions, but the lightweight design prevented me from gripping too hard and muffling the sound.

Sadly, there’s no 3.5mm jack on the Astra, so if you want to use headphones, you’ll have to rely on the Bluetooth 5.4 connection. However, this isn’t a big surprise in 2025.

Specs & Performance

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor
• Redmagic RedCore R3 Pro dedicated gaming processor
• Liquid Metal 2.0 cooling

Redmagic’s gaming smartphones often come with the latest, most powerful chips, and it’s no different this time around.

The Astra gets the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, Qualcomm’s flagship from 2024. This is accompanied by a Redmagic RedCore R3 Pro dedicated gaming chip to handle the furious computations demanded by today’s AAA titles.

They prove a mighty combination, as my exploits in Genshin Impact, Asphalt Legends, and a variety of other games all went unhampered by slowdowns or any noticeable dropped frames. Everything worked smoothly and without incident – the Astra got out of the way and let me enjoy the games without worrying about any performance issues, which was very reassuring.

I had heard some reports about the Snapdragon 8 Elite potentially having overheating issues, but I didn’t experience that during gaming sessions. This could be due to the ICE X cooling system in the Astra, which features Redmagic’s latest Liquid Metal 2.0 temperature control.

This moves the liquid metal to directly above the CPU itself, placed between stacked vapour chambers, allowing for more efficient heat dissipation and helping prevent the chip from cooking itself when under heavy load. A 20,000RPM fan also moves hot air away from the important areas so the Astra can run cool.

Astra got out of the way and let me enjoy the games without worrying about any performance issues, which was very reassuring

It did seem to do its job very well, with no great increase in temperature when I was playing games. Things did get warmer, but not so much that it made me worry or feel uncomfortable holding the device.

The only exception was while downloading large files over Wi-Fi (the device has support for WiFi 7), as this left the Astra feeling very hot to the touch. Maybe this is a situation that isn’t covered in the software, but I wouldn’t have wanted to hold the tablet for very long while it was that hot.  

Memory and storage are also premium, with the Astra using LPDDR5T and UFS 4.1, which come in the following configurations:

• 12GB/256GB (Eclipse/Starfrost)
• 16GB/512GB (Eclipse/Starfrost)
• 24GB/1TB (Eclipse)

Redmagic Astra benchmarks

Here’s how the Redmagic Astra tablet fared against its rivals in our standard benchmark tests:

Cameras

• 13Mp rear
• 9Mp front
• Average results

The cameras are very basic on the Astra, with a single 13Mp shooter on the rear and a 9Mp lens unit on the front.

Results are passable in good enough light, but really, you’ll be better off using whichever phone you have as your main camera. Due to the single lens, you don’t even get a portrait mode for blurred backgrounds, and the 2x and 5x zooms are just cropping, so you lose significant detail.

Shots from the front camera were generally washed out and a bit hazy. Usable for video calling, but not for much else.

The Redmagic Astra has many great features, as you can see from the rest of the review, but don’t even think about buying it for the cameras.

The Redmagic Astra has many great features…but don’t even think about buying it for the cameras

Here are a few images to see what you can do with the cameras:

Battery & Charging

• 8,200mAh battery with fast charging
• Solid battery life
• 80W charging, but no charger in the box

Due to the small size of the Astra, you won’t find the 10,100mAh battery that came with the Nova, but Redmagic still manages to fit an 8,200mAh cell into its diminutive tablet.

Battery life is also very solid, with a one-hour gaming session reducing the charge by around 15%-20%, depending on which game I was playing. Obviously, this will vary due to many factors – including screen brightness, whether you’re online and how graphically demanding the game is – but for me, I could get around 4-5 hours of gaming from a single charge, which is very similar to that of the Nova.

In our standard PCMark battery test, the Astra scored a time of 6 hours and 27 minutes, which is perfectly acceptable for a cell of this size. I don’t have any battery life concerns whatsoever.  

The Astra supports 80W fast charging, but there’s no charger included in the box, so you’ll have to buy one yourself.

I didn’t have an 80W charger to hand during testing, so instead I had to make do with a 67W unit I had lying around. From 0%, this brought the Astra to 11% after 15 minutes, 22% after 30 minutes, and back to 100% after 2 hours and 20 minutes.

I don’t have any battery life concerns whatsoever

Not the quickest I’ve seen, but Redmagic does say that with its 80W charger you should see a full refill in only 71 minutes, which is significantly better. It’s a shame it doesn’t include one with the tablet, but this does seem to be the new norm across the industry.

Software & Features

• Android 15
• Redmagic OS 10.5 UI
• Software support for 3 years (US), 5 years (UK/Europe)

Android 15 unpins the Redmagic Astra, with the custom Redmagic OS 10.5 UI on top.

The skin is maturing nicely these days, with hardly any of the fragmented language and occasional Chinese that were frequent (and unwanted) features of earlier versions. These days, Redmagic OS is a solid and robust UI, with plenty of customisation features for themes, icons and wallpapers, as well as honing the system to your personal preference when it comes to text size, layouts and other features.

Alongside the normal day-to-day features, there’s also Game Space. This is Redmagic’s dedicated gaming hub, which you can access via the red switch or by sliding in from the top left and right corners when in a game.

These days, Redmagic OS is a solid and robust UI

It offers a wide range of ways to manage your library or add plug-ins to improve your gaming experience, such as high-sensitivity on-screen joystick controllers, higher frame rates in-game, and screen-casting options. There’s plenty to explore, so if you want to get the most out of your mobile gaming experience, Redmagic has lots to offer with Game Space.

When I reviewed the Nova, the main drawback was only 3 years of software support. Things have improved somewhat with the Astra, though, as UK and European customers will now get 5 years of support thanks to regional regulations. However, customers in the US are still limited to those 3 years.

Considering most people upgrade their tablet much less often than their phone, this is a little disappointing. There’s also no word on when the Astra might get Android 16.

Price and Availability

Despite plenty of premium specs, the Redmagic Astra has a relatively affordable starting price. However, prices climb quickly if you’re looking for more RAM or storage.

• 12GB/256GB (Eclipse/Starfrost) – £439/$549
• 16GB/512GB (Eclipse/Starfrost) – £559/$699
• 24GB/1TB (Eclipse) – £739/$899

You can buy one directly from the Redmagic website, or via Amazon UK and Amazon US.

In the small tablet arena, you can’t dismiss the iPad mini. The Apple Arcade platform offers plenty of choice for games, and the Mini is adept as a general all-round tablet too, with prices starting at £499/$499.

The Galaxy Tab A9 is also worth considering, but it’s much less premium (from £169), and a successor could launch soon. See more alternatives, including many bigger options, in our guide to the best tablets you can buy.

Of course, there’s no way a portable gaming discussion would be complete without the Nintendo Switch 2. Yes, you can’t do Android things on it, but if gaming is your primary motivation (especially for something easily portable), then the £395.99/$449.99 price tag will be a tempting one.

Should you buy the Redmagic Astra Gaming Tablet?

The Redmagic Astra is a very nice device to use. Lightweight, easy to hold, but with plenty of power under the hood. Battery life is good, and with the right charger, you can get back up and running pretty quickly.

If you want a compact, portable gaming platform, plus the full power of Android at your fingertips, then you’ll have to go a long way to beat the Redmagic Astra.

Specs

• 4.32GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite processor
• Adreno 830 GPU
• Redmagic RedCore R3 Pro dedicated gaming processor
• 9.06-inch OLED display, 2.4K (2,400 x 1,504) resolution, 165Hz, 1,600 peak brightness, 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate, 2,000Hz Instant Touch Sampling Rate
• Android 15 with Redmagic OS 10.5
• 12/16/24GB LPDDR5T Memory
• 256GB/512GB/1TB UFS 4.1 storage
• Dual 1620 speakers, DTS:X Ultra certification
• Magic Key (customisable)
• Volume controls
• Power button with embedded fingerprint reader
• USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 charging port
• 13Mp rear camera
• 9Mp front camera
• 8,200mAh battery with fast charging
• Liquid Metal 2.0, ICE-X cooling system
• Bluetooth 5.4
• WiFi 7
• IP54
• 207mm x 134.2mm x 6.9mm
• 370g

Best Prices Today: Redmagic Astra