Budget Tablet Comparo: HONOR Pad X9a vs TechLife Pad Plus 12

Budget tablets are becoming popular once again, with HONOR and TechLife unveiling their offerings with the Pad X9a and Pad Plus 12. These tablets are affordable and can be productivity tools for students looking for a laptop alternative–or a media device for video consumption.

Having used both budget tablets for a week, we break down their pros and cons to give you a better picture at which one is the better option according to your needs.

Design

Both tablets have an aluminum unibody frame, though the Pad Plus 12 has a plastic strip on top for the antennas since it has 4G connectivity. Both also have a 4-speaker system and a USB-C port, and their selfie camera is in a landscape orientation. In terms of build, both are on even ground.

Display and Speakers

While the Pad Plus 12 has a bigger display at 12 inches and higher peak brightness at 450nits, the Pad X9a has a better panel: aside from a higher 2.5k resolution, you also have a higher refresh rate at 120hz. Overall, it all boils down to your priorities with the display, but both budget tablets do have Widevine L1 certification to make them good for binge-watching videos.

Both tablets also have a quad stereo speaker system that punches above what budget tablets usually offer.

Cameras

While we don’t expect people to use tablets to take photos, the Pad Plus 12 has a better rear camera at 13 megapixels as compared to the 8-megapixel one on the Pad X9a. The same goes for the front camera, as the Pad Plus 12 has a higher-resolution 8-megapixel selfie shooter compared to the 5-megapixel one used on the Pad X9a. That means video calls on the Pad Plus 12 is better than on the Pad X9a.

Internals

You get modest internals with both tablets: Helio G91 for the Pad Plus 12, and Snapdragon 685 for the Pad X9a. Both have 8GB RAM, and the Pad Plus 12 has more storage at 256GB. However, the Pad Plus 12 uses slower eMMC storage instead of UFS 2.1 that’s used on the Pad X9a.

Performance-wise, both chips are good for regular use and video streaming–with the TechLife Pad Plus being able to stream YouTube videos at up to 1440p. Gaming is not ideal for both tablets, but if you want to push their internals to the limit, it’s possible to play titles like Genshin Impact with them but at low graphics settings.

The Pad Plus 12 has a slot for a MicroSD card and a SIM card, giving you better expansion and connectivity options over the Pad X9a.

Battery

The Pad X9a has a bigger battery at 8300mAh, along with faster charging speeds at 35w. The Pad Plus 12 does not disappoint with its 8000mAh battery, though we wished it has a charging speed faster than the 18w it offers. While both tablets can handle 10 hours of Netflix video streaming, the Pad X9a has a longer battery life because of the Snapdragon 685’s power efficiency.

Software

Both tablets come with Android 15 out of the box, though HONOR has more AI features on the Pad X9a. Both tablets do have Google Gemini integration, but the Pad X9a can be availed with a keyboard case–of which there’s no option for one with the Pad Plus 12.

While they have the latest Android version out of the box, both TechLife and HONOR have yet to disclose how many updates their budget tablets will receive.

Price

The HONOR Pad X9a is priced at Php 10,999 (Php 11,999 with the keyboard), while the TechLife Pad Plus 12 is priced at Php 9,999. Pad X9a justifies its higher price tag for features like a bigger battery with support for faster charging speeds and a display with a higher resolution and refresh rate, and optional keyboard accessory. However, the TechLife Pad Plus 12 adds MicroSD card expansion, LTE connectivity, a better set of cameras, and a slightly brighter display.