RedMagic has been taking a page from the Japanese automakers’ playbook. If you don’t already know, like Japanese marques, RedMagic uses different model names for its products—specifically, its gaming tablets—destined for international markets. The Astra gaming tablet introduced last year as the brand’s premium take on a gaming tablet was called the Hongmo Gaming Tablet 3 Pro in China.
This year’s update retains this naming convention, and so, yes, there’s a new Astra tablet, and it is called, well, Astra 2, obviously. Before we talk about it, here’s something interesting: there’s no Hongmo Gaming Tablet 4 Pro. Like Xiaomi and Redmi did with certain phone models, Hongmo in China also “skips a generation” and goes straight to the Gaming Tablet 5 Pro, the Astra 2’s twin.
Under the hood, the new RedMagic Astra 2 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, paired with RedMagic’s proprietary secondary gaming coprocessor, RedCore R4, and RedMagic Energy Cube 3.0, the company’s hardware-software optimization engine. The RedCore R4 exists to handle tasks like audio, RGB lighting, haptic feedback, and frame rate stabilization. In addition, the gaming-centric tablet also benefits from the S3930 Xinsi touch control chip and Magic Touch touch technology, which enables a ludicrous instant touch sampling rate of up to 2,000 Hz.
But the real star feature, IMHO, has to be the visible liquid cooling, first seen on the gaming phone brand’s 11 Pro series. The cooling module sits at the top of the tablet’s back and is housed beneath a transparent window, much like the first-generation Astra. It not only serves a practical cooling function, but is also eye candy, thanks to a custom light-guiding material that makes the circulating coolant clearly visible, giving the device an uber-futuristic vibe.
The liquid is pushed through the system by a self-developed piezoelectric micropump. It is backed by Composite Liquid Metal 3.0, a massive 12,016 mm² vapor chamber, and a graphene-copper foil composite thermal material. The liquid cooling system itself, for those who must know, uses 2,668 mm² of fluorinated liquid circulation cooling.
And then there’s the other star feature: an eye-popping 2.4K OLED X10 display that rocks an incredible 185 Hz refresh rate. Yes. 185 Hz. On a tablet. It is a 9.06-inch panel featuring new-generation emissive materials, a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1 ms response time.
The new Astra 2/Gaming Tablet 5 Pro is outfitted with an 8,300 mAh battery blessed with 80 W fast charging and support for Bypass Charging Pro. Better still, with dual USB Type-C ports, you can power the device while gaming and still have a pair of USB-C gaming headphones plugged in.
Design-wise, it has a unibody metal mid-frame paired with 3D micro-curved edges and adopts the same dual flat-surface design as RedMagic’s phones. This means the back is just as flat as the front because it is free of a camera bump. Speaking of cameras, it has a lone 13 MP OmniVision OV13B10 sensor with an f/2.4 aperture, 1.12 μm pixel size, 5-element lens, EIS, and autofocus. Around the front, hidden within the narrow black bezel, is a 9 MP OmniVision OV08X selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture, fixed focus, 0.7 μm pixel size, and a 4-element lens. The rear-facing camera is capable of recording up to 4K at 30 fps, while the front maxes out at 1080p at 30 fps.
Other key highlights include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, wireless sharing, one-button access to Gaming Space, 1227 stereo dual speakers, wet touch screen technology, a drop-resistant and leak-proof design, and RedMagic OS 11.5 with gaming-focused AI deep integration. Oh, and it also touts itself as a handy video-editing device, as well as an e-reader, thanks to its dedicated eReader mode.
The RedMagic Astra 2 Gaming Tablet has been announced for the global market. It is offered in 12 GB + 256 GB and 16 GB + 512 GB configurations for US$699 and US$799, respectively. The device is currently in its “getting to know the device” phase. Purchases with Early Bird perks begin on August 10 and run through August 25, 2026. Then, on August 25 and 26, it enters an Early Access phase before becoming officially available on August 26. Confusing, I know. So, if you’re eager to get your hands on one, you can sign up to be among the first to unlock the Early Bird perks on August 10. You’ll also have a chance to win a FREE RedMagic Astra 2 if you sign up.
Images: Redmagic.
