We’ve compared two of our favourite tablets, the iPad Mini 8 and RedMagic Astra 2, to help you decide which one will suit you best.

Considering both the iPad Mini 8 and RedMagic Astra 2 have spots on our coveted best tablet guide, choosing between the two can feel difficult. Is one a better fit depending on your individual needs? And will the age-old Android vs iOS debate play a major part in your decision making?

We’ve compared our time with the iPad Mini 8 and RedMagic Astra 2 to help you decide between the two. 

Price and Availability

The iPad Mini 8 is currently available to buy now, and has a starting price of £699/$699 for the 128GB iteration. That’s already worse value than the RedMagic Astra 2, which not only has a cheaper starting price of £599 but comes with 256GB storage. 

• iPad Mini 8 is much thinner and lighter
• RedMagic Astra 2 has gaming-specific features like RGB lights and AquaCore
• iPad Mini 8 has an IP67 rating, made possible by the Acoustic Display

There are quite a few noticeable differences between the iPad Mini 8 and the Astra 2. Firstly, the iPad Mini 8, as its name suggests, is considerably lighter than the Astra 2 at just 255g compared to 363g. It’s thinner too, at 5.4mm thick compared to 6.9mm – though it’s still not as thin as the iPad Pro. 

Despite its lighter weight and design, the iPad Mini 8 benefits from an IP67 rating, which is made possible with the new Acoustic Display which removes the speaker holes from the bottom of the iPad and embeds the speaker under the screen instead. In comparison, the Astra 2 makes do with an IP54 rating. 

As the RedMagic Astra 2 is designed with gaming in mind, it’s fitted with lots of design features that undoubtedly make it stand out from the crowd, especially when compared to the minimalist iPad Mini. The Astra 2 includes customisable RGB lights at its rear, RedMagic’s AquaCore cooling system for heat management (though we’ll discuss this more later) and the signature red Game Space switch too. 

Both the iPad Mini 8 and Astra 2 sport a landscape front camera, which is ideal for video calls.

Choosing a winner here is difficult. If you’d prefer a gaming-focused tablet then the RedMagic Astra 8 is the easy winner. On the other hand, if you prefer a lightweight, portable tablet that also benefits from an IP67 rating, then the iPad Mini 8 will suit you better – and that’s why we’ll give the win to Apple’s own.

Winner: iPad Mini 8

• Astra 2 has a larger 9.06-inch display
• Both are OLED panels, though the Astra 2 can get brighter
• Still no ProMotion tech for the iPad Mini 8

The Astra 2 isn’t too much bigger than the iPad Mini, with a 9.06-inch display compared to 8.5-inches. Both have OLED panels too which result in vibrant colours and inky blacks too. This is an especially important upgrade for the iPad Mini, as the tablet previously only sported an LCD panel instead. 

In addition, the iPad Mini 8 also comes with an optional nano-texture coating which helps reduce glare and reflections from the screen. Though it will cost an additional £150/$150, it’s a worthwhile investment if you work in bright offices.

The iPad Mini 8 now also reaches up to 1200 nits of brightness, another huge upgrade from its predecessor which only saw up to 500 nits. However, the Astra 2 can reach up to 1600 nits instead.

That’s not the only instance where the Astra 2 trumps the iPad Mini 8’s display. While the Astra 2 has a whopping 185Hz refresh rate, making it one of the fastest screens around, the iPad Mini 8 can only reach up to 60Hz. That means gaming, scrolling and streaming doesn’t look as smooth or fluid. 

• Apple A20 Pro vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
• The exact A20 Pro chip configuration found within the iPad Mini will depend on the storage size you opt for
• RedMagic Astra 2’s AquaCore Cooling system ensures the tablet rarely heats up

Although the iPad Mini 8 will come running Apple’s current flagship A20 Pro chip, the exact configuration will depend on the storage you choose. If you opt for either the 128 or 256GB model then you’ll get a single 16-core neural engine, a 5-core CPU and a 7-core GPU. The 512GB model, on the other hand, benefits from dual 16-core neural engines and an extra efficiency core in the CPU.

That all comes with a hefty price tag however of £999/$999.

For reference, we reviewed the 512GB iteration, which seriously impressed us during our review period. When pitted against the RedMagic Astra 2’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, we found the iPad Mini scored higher in both multi-core and single-core benchmark tests. It also outperformed the Astra 2 in GPU tests. 

We did, however, note some signs of overheating with the iPad Mini, albeit only during benchmark testing and not in actual use. Instead, we never detected overheating from the Astra 2, which is mainly thanks to its clever AquaCore Cooling system. 

Found in the RedMagic Pro, the cooling system is made up of liquid that circulates at the back of the Astra 2 to prevent it from overheating. 

• Astra 2 includes Game Space, a console-like UI for launching games

Other than already being cemented within Apple’s ecosystem, we’d argue that the brand’s software is one of reasons why to choose an iPad over an Android. iPadOS benefits from plenty of iPad-specific games and apps, offers access to the various Apple Intelligence features and, quite simply, looks great. It’s intuitive, somewhat customisable and feels minimal without being boring. 

In comparison, the RedMagic Astra 2 comes running RedMagic OS 11.5 based on Android 16. Unlike previous versions of RedMagic OS, the latest iteration is as close to a simple Android experience as you can get, with a clean and easy-to-operate interface. You also have the option to embrace the gamer aesthetic within the Settings menu, if you so wish. 

Remember the red switch we mentioned earlier? That still operates RedMagic’s Game Space and opens the console-like UI for launching your favourite titles. Then, once you’ve started playing, you can also access a whole host of options to enhance gameplay, like upscaling games from 1080p@60fps up to 2K@120fps.

The Astra 2 is also fitted with RedMagic’s slightly creepy anime virtual assistant, Mora, though it’s now hidden by default. Otherwise, the tablet also includes AI smarts like translation, transcription and Gemini.

We’ll give the win to the iPad Mini 8, purely because iPadOS is such a brilliant software. However, now that RedMagic OS sports a cleaner finish, it’s clear to see why gamers might prefer it.

Winner: iPad Mini 8

The RedMagic Astra 2 is fitted with an 8300mAh battery which, unsurprisingly, means the tablet has no issue lasting a full day. The tablet also supports bypass charging for longer gaming sessions which helps keep the device cool and prevents battery degradation. 

When it does come time to top-up its battery, the Astra 2 supports 75W for a full charge in just 56 minutes. 

Though Apple doesn’t disclose how large the iPad Mini’s battery actually is, the brand does claim that it supports 10 hours of video watching. In actual fact, during our time with the tablet we found it saw over 11 hours of looped video before conking out.

The iPad Mini is also the first of its kind to support fast charging, and takes around 80 minutes to reach 100%. Yes, it’s still slower than the RedMagic Astra 2 but it’s an improvement from its predecessors.

Choosing between the iPad Mini 8 and RedMagic Astra 2 will depend on a few different factors. Those who favour a small and lightweight tablet, want a top-end chip and favour Apple’s software will appreciate the iPad Mini 8. However, we wish the iPad Mini 8 featured Apple’s ProMotion technology, and wasn’t quite as expensive.

On the other hand, those who want a tablet primarily for gaming, but also one that doubles up as a productivity device, will benefit from the RedMagic Astra 2. Having said that, remember that the iPad Mini’s A20 Pro did offer more power than the Astra 2.