SHENZHEN — Chinese gaming peripherals company REDMAGIC announced the official arrival of its Astra 2 gaming tablet in South Korea on Wednesday, rolling out the device as part of what the company calls its global launch campaign. The tablet, which measures 9.06 inches diagonally, carries two notable firsts: it is the first tablet in the world to incorporate an active liquid cooling system, and it runs on Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
REDMAGIC, which has built its brand primarily around gaming smartphones and accessories, entered the tablet segment with the Astra 2 and positioned it squarely as a portable gaming machine rather than a general-purpose media or productivity device. The liquid cooling system — typically found in high-end desktop computers and some flagship smartphones — is engineered to dissipate heat generated during extended gaming sessions, a problem that has long plagued mobile tablets as screen sizes and processing demands grow.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, Qualcomm's newest flagship silicon, provides the raw performance backbone. While the company has not yet released exhaustive benchmark numbers, the chipset is expected to deliver performance on par with REDMAGIC's own top-tier gaming phones currently available in India, China, and other Asian markets.
South Korea represents one of the first international stops in the Astra 2's global rollout. The market was chosen strategically, given South Korea's reputation as one of the world's most competitive gaming cultures, with strong mobile esports communities and high smartphone penetration rates. REDMAGIC has also confirmed plans to expand availability to additional regions beyond Korea in the coming months, though specific dates for launches in markets including India have not yet been announced.
Pricing details for the Korean market were not disclosed at the time of the announcement. Industry analysts note that given the liquid cooling hardware and the premium Snapdragon processor, the Astra 2 is likely to occupy a mid-to-premium price bracket within the gaming tablet segment, potentially competing with devices from established brands like Samsung and ASUS in the broader tablet space.
REDMAGIC's move into tablets signals a deliberate expansion of its gaming hardware portfolio beyond smartphones. The company, founded in 2018, has previously focused on gaming phones with built-in cooling fans, RGB lighting, and shoulder triggers — features now seen as central to the Astra 2's design philosophy.
