Technologies

The RedMagic Astra Is the Best Gaming Tablet You Can Buy

Competing tablets might be a better value, but after testing the Astra, I can say this little tablet gives you the best gaming experience.

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Written by Jason Cockerham

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RedMagic Astra Tablet

$549 at RedMagic

Pros

Sturdy, compact design good for travel
Excellent 165Hz OLED display
High-end Qualcomm chip delivers top performance
Lots of gaming-specific features

Cons

No microSD slot for expansion
No software update guarantees
No included accessories
Mediocre gaming battery life

Earlier this year, I tested Lenovo’s 8-inch Legion Tab Gen 3 gaming tablet to see how it held up as a small gaming tablet against the iPad Mini. Spoiler alert: It did quite well. But shortly after testing that tablet, gaming phone-maker RedMagic reached out to ask if I wanted to test its new gaming tablet, the 9-inch Astra.

After a few weeks of testing, I can safely say that while Lenovo’s little tablet is still excellent, the Astra beats it in a couple of key areas. The most important of them is performance: It’s just flat-out faster than the Legion Tab. On the other hand, the Lenovo is a better option as a small, general-purpose Android tablet that’s also great for gaming (and it’s regularly less expensive than the Astra, too). However, if gaming features and performance, as well as a standout design, are what you care most about, the RedMagic Astra is worth paying a premium for.

Flagship hardware

I thoroughly enjoyed the Legion Tab’s design, and it convinced me of the benefits of the entire form factor. Even as someone who enjoys mobile gaming, I really don’t like carrying around a massive phone everywhere I go, so having something that’s big enough to game on without being as big as an iPad or Galaxy Tab, and especially a laptop, is pretty great.

Though slightly larger, the Astra still perfectly fits that in-between space for me. It has a 9-inch screen, but RedMagic packed it into a small, sleek tablet that can literally fit in my back pocket. The design is reminiscent of the iPad Mini with its round edges and flat sides, but the bezels are symmetrical and only 4.9mm wide, slimmer than the iPad Mini’s, which makes Apple’s littlest tablet look outdated.

There’s also a fingerprint sensor in the power button, which is quite welcome, especially considering other more premium tablets like the OnePlus Pad 3 (or even the Legion Tab) don’t have one. The front-facing camera supports face unlock (only for the tablet itself) and, at 9 megapixels, is perfectly fine for streaming or video chatting.

The single rear 13-megapixel camera is acceptable, but not much more than that. It’s fine if you need to use it, but RedMagic has never been known for its great cameras, and that certainly applies here as well.

RedMagic is known for packing its devices with all the latest top-of-the-line specs you could want, and the Astra continues that trend. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, up to 24GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The base model with 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage is $549 and similar to what you’d get in the $550 Legion Tab Gen 3 (though the Legion regularly goes on sale for around $100 less). I tested a $699 version of the Astra with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage. The maxed-out Astra with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is a hefty $899.

Complementing the Qualcomm processor is RedMagic’s own gaming chip, the RedCore R3 Pro. The idea is that the R3 Pro hands some of the gaming-specific tasks from the main chipset to help maintain peak performance and keep the Snapdragon 8 Elite from throttling down sooner.

The 9.1-inch OLED display shows off all your favorite games with a 2,400×1,504-pixel resolution (331 ppi) and a beautifully smooth 165Hz refresh rate. It also gets up to 1,600 nits peak brightness, which is more than bright enough if you find yourself caught in the sun. I’d say it’s one of the best screens I’ve seen on a tablet and fantastic for any game. (By comparison, the iPad Mini’s screen has a pixel density of 326 ppi).

Powering all of this is an 8,200-milliampere-hour battery with support for up to 80-watt fast charging. I easily got through several days of use with this tablet, which included an hour or two of gaming and another hour or two of basic usage. On CNET’s YouTube streaming test, it averaged 10 hours, 32 minutes, which is good, but you won’t get that while gaming only. The only downside is that there is no charger in the box, although you should be able to get fast charging with most 80-watt chargers.

Soundwise, the dual DTS:X Ultra speakers sound pretty good for a small tablet. Of course, you don’t get the room-filling sound from the four speakers on the iPad Pro, but that’s also a much larger and much more expensive device. The Astra’s speakers are fine for gaming or streaming, but for FPS games or those where every noise matters, you’ll want some good gaming headphones.

One odd design choice

RedMagic made a pretty odd design choice with the Astra by offsetting the USB-C port toward the top of the tablet. This means the power button is now situated directly across from the USB-C port, so if you try to use a USB-C controller, you’ll likely hit the power button when taking the controller on and off. I did experience this in my testing, and while it was annoying, I wouldn’t say it’s enough to keep me from buying it. It didn’t happen once I had the controller on, and Bluetooth controllers obviously won’t have this issue. (RedMagic would probably appreciate you dropping an additional $129 for its Bluetooth gamepad anyway.)

Also, when using a controller, the tablet now sits farther down and becomes a bit unbalanced. Again, this wasn’t a deal-breaker for me as I ended up resting the tablet on the table or my lap, and it almost became even better for me, so I didn’t have to hold it as much. Your mileage may vary here, and I do understand how uncomfortable it might be for some, but I would say don’t knock it till you try it.

I asked RedMagic why it used this layout, and a company representative said the top-mounted USB-C keeps the charging cable from getting in the way of your hands while it’s charging, so you can still play while plugged in without any issues. That makes sense to me and has been one of the issues I’ve had while gaming on phones or other tablets. Also, the side-mounted power button is offset to work with many third-party gaming controllers that have buffer zones to avoid accidental activation. I’d also be willing to bet that even though this is a gamer-focused tablet, the customer data RedMagic has shows that far more people play without a controller than with one.

All the performance you could want

As you might expect from the spec sheet, this thing just flies through anything you throw at it. Aside from gaming, I used it as a normal tablet as well, which included browsing, researching new cars (I got rear-ended, so that’s been fun), some YouTube and emails. As expected, everything I did was smooth and fast. No issues.

Obviously, being able to play the best games smoothly is a critical part of performance, but RedMagic is all about giving you the absolute best gaming experience possible on a mobile device.

All the most popular games I tried ran great at the highest possible framerates. I consistently hit 120 frames per second on Call of Duty: Mobile, and RedMagic has promised high refresh support for other popular games, including PUBG, Delta Force and League of Legends.

RedMagic’s Game Center software even allows you to boost frame rates in supported games like Genshin Impact. On mobile, Genshin currently only natively supports 60fps, but the Astra can boost the frame rate to 120fps through the Game Center software.

Also, with its high-speed wireless, streaming games through Game Pass or PlayStation Remote Play ran well, making the Astra a truly all-around mobile gaming powerhouse.

Is it complete overkill for most people? Absolutely. Is it still ridiculously fun? Heck yes.

	Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3	RedMagic Astra
Wild Life Unlimited	17,320	23,187
Geekbench 6 CPU (single core)	2228	2641
Geekbench 6 CPU (multicore)	6600	7990
Geekbench 6 GPU	16624	19223
Octane 2.0	75924	158865

Fast software, but don’t expect updates

I was pleasantly surprised with the Astra’s out-of-the-box software experience. Even just a few years ago, RedMagic’s software was still very heavily skinned and looked like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. Recently, the company significantly toned down its software experience, and now, it’s actually quite usable.

However, there is a decent amount of bloatware, but most of it’s easily removed, and the rest of it is a pretty clean build of Android. Apart from the Game Space, it’s not too different from what you’d find on most any other Android tablet these days. There are a few translation errors scattered around, but it’s certainly much more usable than it was even just a couple years ago. RedMagic deserves some credit for how much progress it’s made.

Where it still falls woefully behind, however, is on updates. The Astra runs on Android 15, and to be honest, I wouldn’t expect any major platform updates. From my past experience with RedMagic devices, you’ll get some security updates over the next two or three years, and there’s a chance you’ll get surprised with a platform update, but the company makes no guarantee of it, so don’t hold your breath.

That’s not a deal breaker for me, as this is primarily meant to be a gaming and entertainment device and not something I’d use for banking or anything personal. As long as major new games that come out in the next few years run on it — and they almost certainly will — I’m not too upset about the lack of updates. The company absolutely needs to do better about it, but I wouldn’t let that stop you from buying it.

Also, if you’re looking for a complete package of accessories in the box, you’ll be disappointed. As I mentioned earlier, there’s no charger included, but RedMagic will sell you one for $29.90. A screen protector and folio case are available, too, for $24.90 and $39, respectively, but they seem to sell out of them quickly. And, while the Astra does have active pen support, RedMagic doesn’t currently have a pen as an accessory, though one is expected to be available. This is where the Lenovo Legion Tab has an advantage because there is a charger, screen protector and folio case included with the tablet, and you can get a pen from Lenovo for about $40. It might not have the Astra’s performance, but it is a better deal in this sense.

Best way to game on the go

As of right now, I’ve not tested any other small tablet that’s better for gaming than the RedMagic Astra. The Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 has last year’s specs, an outdated design and only one configuration. If you can find it on sale, it’s worth it, but at $549, the Astra is hands-down the better option.

The iPad Mini has huge bezels and nowhere near the power of the Astra, plus it’s more expensive. And you’re stuck in Apple’s ecosystem, which has its own set of problems. The higher configurations of the Astra, including the one I tested, are expensive, and you still have to pay extra for any accessories if you want them. But if you’re all in on mobile gaming, there is no better device for it right now than the Astra.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 20, #392

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 20, No. 392.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a category for all the Windy City residents out there. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Deep-dish pizza, anyone?

Green group hint: Duke it out.

Blue group hint: College division.

Purple group hint: «Go to your ____!»

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Chicago teams.

Green group: With «weight,» combat sport divisions.

Blue group: American Conference teams.

Purple group: ____ room.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Chicago teams. The four answers are Bears, Bulls, Cubs and Sky.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is with «weight,» combat sport divisions. The four answers are bantam, feather, fly and heavy.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is American Conference teams. The four answers are Blazers, Chanticleers, Green Wave and Pirates.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ room. The four answers are dressing, film, green and locker.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 20, #862

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Oct. 20, No. 862.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a tricky purple category, but that almost always goes without saying. If you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What’s the matter?

Green group hint: Stars at night.

Blue group hint: Science info.

Purple group hint: On the cob.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Affliction.

Green group: Represented by constellations.

Blue group: Periodic table symbols.

Purple group: ____ corn.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is affliction. The four answers are bugbear, complex, demon and hang-up.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is represented by constellations. The four answers are big bear, centaur, hunter and lyre.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is periodic table symbols. The four answers are AS, BE, I and K.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ corn. The four answers are a, capri, pop and uni. (Acorn, Capricorn, popcorn and unicorn.)

Technologies

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4: Should You Upgrade?

Not only do the entry-level version of Apple’s AirPods 4 offer feature and performance upgrades over the AirPods 3, but the step-up AirPods 4 with ANC feature active noise canceling. We compare all three models.

Editor’s note Oct. 18: We updated this article to reflect the release of the AirPods Pro 3.

Apple’s fourth generation of its original true-wireless earbuds follows the same design language as their predecessors but adds a bunch of new features — some borrowed straight from the more expensive AirPods Pro 2, which have now been succeeded by the AirPods Pro 3. The AirPods 4 remain Apple’s only earbuds to launch in two variants: a $129 entry-level model and a $179 AirPods 4 with ANC, both of which are often discounted on Amazon.

I’ve been using the step-up $179 version, and I’m surprised by how good the ANC is for an open-ear design, agreeing with CNET audio expert David Carnoy, who called it «the best noise canceling I’ve experienced with a set of open earbuds» in his full review of the AirPod 4 with Active Noise Canceling. If you’re an AirPods 3 user and wondering how the AirPods 4 stack up against your current model, read on as I explore the key differences between these two earbuds. And for those considering upgrading from the AirPods Pro 2 to the AirPods Pro 3, we have an article that compares those two models and offers some buying advice.

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025

AirPods 4 feature an improved design

The AirPods 4 are slightly smaller than the AirPods 3 but larger than the AirPods 2. Each earbud weighs the same 4.3 grams, so any added or upgraded tech doesn’t translate into extra bulk on your ears. While all ears are shaped differently, Apple hopes the new design is a better fit for a wider range of people.

They fit me better than the AirPods 3, but I couldn’t get them to fit as well as silicone tip earbuds. However, if an open-ear design has worked better for you in the past, these should fit just fine — or even better. I have friends who’ve upgraded to the AirPods 4, and they say the new product fits them better.

The AirPods 3 are IPX4-rated for sweat and splash resistance. In comparison, the AirPods 4 are more durable. They are rated for dust resistance alongside sweat and splash resistance, with an IP54 rating.

The two AirPods 4 models have noticeable differences among themselves, too. The $179 variant supports charging with a Qi charging pad and the Apple Watch charging puck. So, if you have an Apple Watch and prefer your AirPods to charge with the same puck, you’ll need to spend $50 more than the base asking price. If you do, you also get a speaker in the case — like the AirPods Pro 2, so you can track them with sound using Find My.

Unlike the AirPods 3, there’s no physical button on the AirPods 4 charging case anymore. If you want to pair them to non-Apple devices, you need to double-tap on the front of the case near the LED to initiate pairing (that’s also the case for the AirPods Pro 3). Similarly, a reset can be initiated by three double-taps.

Upgraded H2 chip offers better sound quality

Apple’s new upgrades are threefold to improve the sound quality on the AirPods 4. First, they feature an upgraded H2 chip with Bluetooth 5.3, compared to the H1 chip with Bluetooth 5.0 found on the AirPods 3. Second, they have a new acoustic architecture and amp. Third, the drivers are positioned at a new angle to point into your ears.

When compared, the AirPods 4 have slightly improved treble and bass over the AirPods 3. They sound a little cleaner, and there’s more depth and fullness across genres. It’s not AirPods Pro 2 quality, but it’s better than before. The sound quality gap between non-Pro and Pro models has shrunk.

There is no ANC on AirPods 3, but the $179 AirPods 4 with ANC adds the active noise cancelation feature to Apple’s most affordable earbuds lineup. They have the same number of microphones as the AirPods Pro 2 to enable ANC and a few other features.

In his AirPods 4 review, David Carnoy was «really impressed with the noise canceling. The reality is that it’s not that great compared with what you get with the AirPods Pro 2 [and now the AirPods Pro 3] … but that it works at all and is reasonably effective is kind of wild.»

On most open earbuds, you can’t really hear a difference between ANC on and off modes. But the new AirPods 4 with ANC can muffle the ambient sound around you to a certain degree. Apple says their noise canceling matches that of the original AirPods Pro and is half as good as the AirPods Pro 2’s noise canceling (that means it’s only 25% as good as the AirPods Pro 3’s noise canceling, which is 2X as good as the AirPods Pro 2’s noise canceling, according to Apple). That said, it’s strong enough to help you hear your music better in noisy environments. It can drown out low frequencies like plane engine noise very well.

Added features and upgraded controls

The AirPods 4 with ANC add a bunch of new features for the same price as what the AirPods 3 once cost. The additional microphones not only enable ANC but also convenience features like Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness.

The latter works like Sony’s Speak-to-Chat feature; it pauses the music and enables transparency mode as soon as it detects that you’re speaking. If you like to sing along to songs, it’s better to keep it turned off. That said, it’s a neat feature that lets you have conversations without physically taking off your earbuds.

Both AirPods 3 and AirPods 4 (including the ANC variant) support personalized spatial audio (with head tracking) for music, quick pairing, auto-switching for Apple devices, and always-on Siri. The AirPods 4 can trigger Siri with both «Siri» and «Hey Siri» wake words, whereas AirPods 3 support only «Hey Siri.»

You can spend $50 less on the AirPods 4 and get several new features over the AirPods 3. Both AirPods 4 models have new force sensors in the stems with pinch controls to control playback. However, there’s no swipe gesture support yet.

Both of them also support Siri Interactions, where you can interact with Siri using gestures. For instance, when you receive a call, Siri will announce the caller’s name and ask if you want to answer the call. You can then nod your head for yes or shake it for no to answer or decline the call, respectively.

All of these features come with one slight compromise — battery life. The AirPods 3 are rated to deliver six hours of continuous listening on one charge, while the new AirPods 4 are rated to last up to five hours per charge. The case still delivers the same 30 hours of additional battery life, despite being smaller than before.

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4: It’s time to upgrade

If you’re in the market for a new pair of open earbuds, the AirPods 4 are an excellent choice — even if you have the last-gen AirPods 3. You get better sound quality with the H2 chip, a smaller case, more features like Siri Interactions and dust resistance, all for $50 less than the AirPods 3’s $179 launch price. However, they leave off wireless charging and only top up via the USB-C port.

The $179 AirPods 4 with ANC currently offer the best noise cancellation in a pair of open earbuds. Plus, you get additional features like Qi wireless charging (you can also charge them on an Apple Watch charging puck), a speaker inside the case for Find My, Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio and more. Both AirPods 4 models are a good upgrade over the AirPods 3, despite the slightly lower battery life.

Read more: Best AirPods deals right now

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4 spec comparison

	AirPods 3	AirPods 4	AirPods 4 with ANC
Weight (each earbud)	0.15 ounce (4.28 grams)	0.15 ounce (4.3 grams)	0.15 ounce (4.3 grams)
Weight (case)	1.34 ounces (37.91 grams)	1.14 ounces (32.3 grams)	1.22 ounces (34.7 grams)
Water resistant	IPX4	IP54	IP54
Sensors	Skin-detect sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor	Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor	Optical in-ear sensor, Motion-detecting accelerometer, Speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones, inward-facing microphone
Chip	H1	H2	H2
Conectivity	Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3
Active Noise Cancelation, Transparency mode	No	No	Yes
Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio	No	No	Yes
Voice Isolation, Personalized volume	No	Yes	Yes
Battery life	Up to 6 hours +30 hours with case	Up to 5 hours +30 hours with case	Up to 5 hours +30 hours with case
Wire in box	Yes	No	No
Launch Price	$179	$129	$179

AirPods 3 vs. AirPods 4: FAQs

Which AirPods are better, 3 or 4?

The AirPods 4 are better in terms of both sound quality and features. You get an upgraded H2 chip for cleaner sound, upgraded force touch controls, a new model with the best ANC on open earbuds, and features like Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio, etc. The AirPods 4 are objectively better than the AirPods 3.

Are the new AirPods 4 worth it?

If you’re looking for open earbuds, both the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC are easily among the top open earbuds. At their list prices, they’re a little pricey, but they go on sale fairly regularly on Amazon, where you can save $10 to $20 on them, sometimes a little more.

Which version of AirPods is best?

The AirPods Pro 3 are Apple’s current flagship model and are the best AirPods overall. They offer excellent sound quality and top-notch ANC performance for under $250. That said, if you don’t like having silicone ear tips jammed in yours, the AirPods 4 with ANC are your best bet right now. You can find more options in our Best AirPods for 2025 guide.