New high-refresh OLED tablets from RedMagic and Lenovo are redefining the small-form-factor gaming market, making the existing iPad mini less dominant as hardware advances and upcoming refreshes loom.
Compact tablets have become far more compelling now that Android makers are building them as distinct products rather than shrunken full-size slates. RedMagic’s Astra 2 and Lenovo’s Legion Y700 AI both push hard at the gaming end of the market, with OLED screens, flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 silicon and unusually aggressive charging and cooling hardware. Against them, Apple’s iPad mini still looks restrained: a 60Hz LCD, the older A17 Pro chip and slower charging. Yet, despite that imbalance on paper, the mini remains the most obvious all-rounder in the group.
RedMagic’s Astra 2 is the more broadly available Android option, and it is clearly engineered for sustained play. RedMagic says the tablet has a 9.06-inch OLED panel with a 185Hz refresh rate, 2,400 x 1,504 resolution and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performance, supported by liquid cooling, dual USB-C ports and an 8,300mAh battery with 75W charging. Review sites including TechRadar and Android Central list the same core specification set, alongside 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. The second USB-C port, including DisplayPort output on one connection, makes the device more practical for docked or controller-based gaming.
Lenovo’s Legion Y700 AI is the more extreme machine in hardware terms, but it is also the harder one to buy. According to NanoReview and FoneArena, it uses an 8.4-inch OLED display at 2,560 x 1,600 with a 165Hz refresh rate, plus the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 platform. It can be configured with up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, adds microSD expansion, dual SIM 5G, a 7,470mAh battery and 68W charging, and weighs under 300g. That makes it unusually versatile for a compact tablet, but Lenovo is still selling it officially in China, which weakens its appeal for most buyers outside that market.
Apple’s iPad mini, by contrast, is still built around balance rather than spectacle. Apple currently sells the A17 Pro model introduced in 2024, with an 8.3-inch LCD, 500 nits of brightness and 60Hz refresh, and it lists the Wi-Fi version at 293g. Apple also bundles Apple Pencil Pro support, which remains a real advantage for notes, annotation and light creative work, particularly for users already invested in the iPhone and Mac ecosystem. The company raised the US starting price to $599 in June 2026, making the gap between Apple’s hardware and the two Android rivals even more uncomfortable.
That said, the mini’s limitations are now harder to overlook because the competition is no longer theoretical. RedMagic and Lenovo are delivering high-refresh OLED panels, larger batteries, faster charging and stronger thermal systems in tablets close to the same physical size. For gaming, that matters: sustained performance, heat control and charge-through support are all relevant once a flagship chip has been under load for an hour or more. Apple’s current model is still capable for browsing, streaming, reading and productivity, but it is plainly not built around gaming in the way the Astra 2 and Y700 AI are.
The timing also makes buying the current iPad mini awkward. Bloomberg has reported that Apple is expected to refresh the line with an OLED model by the end of October 2026, although the chip and refresh rate remain uncertain. That leaves the present model in an uncomfortable middle ground: expensive enough to make buyers hesitate, yet likely close enough to replacement to justify waiting. For most people, the answer is straightforward. The RedMagic Astra 2 is the best global gaming pick, the Legion Y700 AI is the most impressive compact Android tablet if importing is acceptable, and the iPad mini remains the better everyday small tablet only if gaming is not the priority.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
