RedMagic Astra 2 review

Introduction

Our favorite gaming tablet just got better. RedMagic Astra 2, also known as Gaming Tablet 5 Pro in China, is now official with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, liquid-cooled at that, an even faster display, and a couple of battery improvements.

The RedMagic Astra 2 is an all-metal tablet with a 9.06-inch OLED centerpiece. The panel has the same resolution as the OG Astra - 1,504 x 2,400 pixels - but it has been upgraded with 185Hz refresh rate support and 300Hz touch sampling.

The tablet features the standard version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. It has some of the most powerful CPU and GPU, and we have high hopes for their performance in combination with the onboard liquid cooling.

The RedMagic Astra 2 is powered by an 8,300mAh battery with support for 80W fast wired charging and bypass charging for when gaming.

The camera department is the same as last year's - a 13MP rear-facing and a 9MP front-facing imager.

Some other notable features of RedMagic Astra 2 include the proprietary RedCore R4 gaming chip, RGB lights on the back, and Android 16 with RedMagic OS 11.5.

ZTE RedMagic Astra 2 specs at a glance:

• Body: 207.1x134.2x6.9mm, 363g; Gorilla Glass 3 front, aluminum frame, aluminum back; RGB light on the back, Aviation-grade aluminum frame, IP54 splash resistant.
• Display: 9.06" OLED, 1B colors, 185Hz, PWM, HDR, 1000 nits (typ), 1600 nits (peak), 1504x2400px resolution, 14.36:9 aspect ratio, 313ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8850-AC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, UFS 4.1 Pro.
• OS/Software: Android 16, Redmagic OS 11.5.
• Rear camera: 13 MP, (wide).
• Front camera: 9 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 0.7μm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 8300mAh; 75W wired, Bypass charging.
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6; BT 6.0.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Dual USB-C design: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 + 1 x USB 2.0; stereo speakers; dual X-axis linear vibration motors, accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, ambient light sensor, hall sensor, fingerprint sensor (power button).

The second-generation Astra tablet seems to have it all, as far as gaming is concerned. Let's unbox this beast and see if it's a steal.

Unboxing the RedMagic Astra 2

The Astra 2 ships inside a thin gray box with the RedMagic logo on top of it. Inside you will find the tablet, a red USB-C cable, and some paperwork.

That's it. There is no charger inside the EU box, but you will get an 80W power adapter with the Chinese version. If you are getting a third-party charger, any USB Power Delivery charger should do it, but you'd need at least 80W for the fastest charging speed possible.