HONOR Pad X9 Philippines Verdict: Our review of HONOR’s second tablet in the Philippines made us impressed with its solid speaker system and good value with the included Smart Keyboard accessory. There’s still room for improvement with its UI, especially with how the Pad X9 interacts with the Smart Keyboard.
Pros
-Solid 6-speaker system
-Smart Keyboard included with every purchase
-Smooth 120hz display
Cons
-UI not fully optimized with included Smart Keyboard
-Slow charging speeds
-No MicroSD expansion
Roughly after bringing over the Pad 8 to the Philippines, HONOR follows it up with the Pad X9. Armed with a lower price tag and a bundle that includes the Smart Keyboard, the Pad X9 aims to be a budget tablet that works great with both entertainment and productivity. Is HONOR’s second tablet in the Philippines a better offering?
HONOR Pad X9 Review Philippines: Design
The Pad X9 comes in a single Space Grey color option and has a unibody aluminum body that’s solidly built and does not flex. Aside from the usual HONOR branding at the back, you get a single 5-megapixel camera for taking quick snaps.
While the Pad X9 does not have a headphone jack, MicroSD card slot, and LTE connectivity, HONOR makes up for it with a unique speaker system. Aside from a pair of speakers from both the left and right sides of the tablet when used in landscape mode, there’s also another pair of speakers at the bottom. This is the first time we see a budget tablet offer a 6-speaker system–and it’s also impressive that you get it with the Pad X9’s 6.9mm thin chassis.
The only buttons you get with the Pad X9 are the power and volume controls, which are located on top of the tablet. The absence of MicroSD card expansion might worry some users, but 128GB of internal storage should be fine for general use.
HONOR Pad X9 Review Philippines: Display and speakers
Just like most of its rivals, the Pad X9 comes with an 11.5-inch 2K display. However, what sets it apart is its 120hz refresh rate which makes the overall UI experience smoother. HONOR also cares about balancing smoothness and battery life with the Pad X9 with a Dynamic refresh rate mode.
Aside from the high refresh rate, the Pad X9 has more vibrant colors compared to its rivals, and the brightness range is decent enough for outdoor use. You also get Widevine L1 for watching your favorite Netflix shows in Full HD.
As we mentioned earlier in this, the Pad X9’s 6-speaker system is what makes this tablet shine. Aside from being a unique setup, the Pad X9 has the best set of speakers you can ask for in a budget tablet. Overall audio experience is very immersive in that it closely recreates a 360-degree audio experience. The overall soundstage is balanced with a decent amount of lows and highs highlighted by all the KPop tracks we played on the Pad X9.
HONOR Pad X9 Review Philippines: Cameras
Like the Pad 8, the Pad X9 uses a 5-megapixel camera. It does not have high resolution compared to the 8-megapixel shooters used by its rivals, but it’s a serviceable camera nonetheless.
The Pad X9 struggles to balance highlights and shadows in mixed-lighting situations due to a lack of an HDR mode. However, we noticed that the Pad X9 focuses faster compared to its rivals, and photos look more detailed overall–as long as you are shooting with good lighting.
HONOR Pad X9 Review Philippines: Internals and Battery Life
The Pad X9 comes with a Snapdragon 685 processor that’s paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. As the second device we’ve tested that uses the Snapdragon 685, this processor is an overclocked version of the popular Snapdragon 680, sacrificing battery life for better CPU performance.
The Pad X9 comes with Android 13-based MagicOS 7.1 out of the box, with HONOR adding a few tweaks to maximize its tablet form factor. While we appreciate the tweaks HONOR made to the Pad X9, MagicUI has a few quirks especially with how it interacts with the Smart Keyboard.
Despite opting for the virtual keyboard to not appear when the Smart Keyboard is connected, the virtual keyboard keeps appearing once in a while, only disappearing once you press a key on the Smart Keyboard. We hope HONOR updates MagicUI to keep the virtual keyboard from appearing–it’s a waste of precious screen estate especially since you already have the Smart Keyboard to work with.
As for the Smart Keyboard, it has a compact layout that gives you all the essential keys for productivity work with the Pad X9. The Smart Keyboard’s 1.6mm key stroke is better than most folio-type keyboards out there, and its single 60-degree angle is optimal for using the Pad X9 with productivity work. Despite its compact layout, the Smart Keyboard does not feel cramped when we used it in writing this review.
Like the Pad 8, the Pad X9 comes with a 7250mAh battery inside its slim chassis. We recorded 12 hours and 24 minutes of battery life in PCMark, which is fairly decent considering that we set the refresh rate to Dynamic mode. This translates to being able to use the Pad X9 for more than a day with moderate use.
Being a budget tablet, you’ll need to be patient with the Pad X9’s charging speeds, as its 10w wired charging is slow for today’s standards–you’ll need around 3 hours to fully top up that 7250mAh battery.
HONOR Pad X9 Review Philippines: Wrap-up and Conclusions
Overall, the Pad X9 offers significantly better value for money than last year’s Pad 8. Aside from having a more competitive price tag, the Pad X9 gets added value with the inclusion of the Smart Keyboard for productivity use. Despite the corners cut to make the Pad X9 affordable, we think that HONOR can make it better by optimizing MagicUI for tablet use–especially when using the Smart Keyboard.
HONOR Pad X9 Review Philippines: Price
The Pad X9 is priced at Php 11,990 in the Philippines and includes a Smart Keyboard.
