Huawei Honor Pad X9 Review: A Simplistic Model Geared Towards Streaming

Less than a year after releasing the Pad 8, Honor returns to the tablet market with the Honor Pad X9. This entry-level model is centered around multimedia in a design that’s both understated and refined.

Technical Specifications

Introduction

With its 11.5-inch LCD screen, aluminum chassis, powered by the Snapdragon 685 chip, coupled with 4GB of RAM, and a 7250mAh battery, Honor Pad X9 is ideal for binge-watching your favorite shows rather than intense gaming. Initially priced at $300 upon its release by the Chinese brand, a price drop has already brought it to the $270 mark.

Ergonomics

Honor’s return to the tablet market after the Pad 8 involves a simple yet effective device. The tablet measures 267.3 x 167.4 x 6.9mm, weighing in at 495g, making it sleek and portable. The 11.5-inch screen occupies 84.5% of the front surface, signaling contained black borders. Its aluminum finish with flat edges makes it a terminal that’s not particularly original but undoubtedly elegant.

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In landscape mode, optimized for video viewing, the positioning of the power and volume control buttons (top left) might seem less intuitive, but it aligns with what the competition offers. Honor doesn’t indicate compatibility with a stylus or Bluetooth keyboard; it’s not designed for productivity or creative uses. While it skips the fingerprint sensor, facial recognition or a code ensures security.

Connectivity-wise, the Pad X9 is a bit sparse. It lacks a headphone jack, microSD port, or SIM card slot. However, it offers WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, and six surround speakers for audio. They’re sufficiently powerful, but care should be taken not to muffle them while holding the tablet in landscape mode.

Display of Honor Pad X9

The Pad X9 features an 11.5-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2000 x 1200 pixels, providing a pixel density of 203ppi. This display quality suffices for daily use, even replacing the smartphone, especially for video playback. Where the tablet hopes to stand out is with its fixed 120Hz refresh rate screen. In practice, scrolling is extremely smooth. You can switch to the standard 60Hz mode or the dynamic mode, which alternates between 60 and 120Hz based on usage for better battery life. Understandably, at this price, it doesn’t include LTPO technology.

During our lab test, we noted a very decent contrast (1612:1) for its category. By departing from its default display mode, which results in a much too cold color temperature (8076K), this screen becomes more pleasant. The Warm Colors mode achieves a temperature of 6204K, closer to the 6500K reference standard, with a delta E of 1.6 (identical to the default setting). Deviations are minimal, offering an eye-pleasing display.

Regarding brightness, the Pad X9 reaches 450 cd/m², surpassing its predecessor, the Pad 8 (367 cd/m²). However, it’s still slightly insufficient for comfortable outdoor visibility and struggles to offset a reflectance rate of 45.2%, a high but fairly common result.

With minimum brightness settings, the screen can dim to 1.5 cd/m², allowing comfortable use in the dark.

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Honor Pad X9 Performance

Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 chip and 4GB of RAM (expandable by an additional 3GB via virtual RAM – Honor Turbo), the Pad X9 isn’t a powerhouse but delivers results comparable to its direct competitors. The 120Hz screen refresh rate adds a sense of fluidity.

While perfect for streaming, it’s not meant for demanding gamers. Its Adreno 610 GPU, also present in the Pad 8, manages to run most Play Store titles at up to 62 FPS, averaging at 46 FPS, requiring some compromises for the most demanding RPGs. However, this device suits most mainstream games.

Honor Pad X9 Camera

Like most entry-level tablets, the Pad X9 hosts a single rear camera sensor. However, some competing models equip higher-definition sensors, often 8 megapixels.

With a single 5MP rear camera sensor and an f/2.2 aperture, the Pad X9 isn’t meant for high-quality photography. The low resolution confirms the difficulty in capturing decent images. Focus struggles a bit but manages to capture relatively sharp shots. At night, unsurprisingly, the photos are unusable, lacking in details.

Front Module, Video

On the front, it also includes a 5MP sensor and a wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture. Selfies lack sharpness, making the front camera useful mainly for video calls. Regarding video capabilities, the device records in Full HD 1080p at 30 FPS. Given its tablet format and absence of stabilization, the results can be inconsistent.

Battery Life

Honor opted for a 7250mAh battery in the Pad X9, offering an endurance of 13 hours and 5 minutes. Decent but some competitors in the same range, like the Realme Pad, reach 18 hours.

The tablet comes with a 10W charger, taking 3 hours and 8 minutes for a full recharge. It outperforms Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A8 (4 hours and 13 minutes) but remains relatively slow.

Interface and OS

The Honor Pad X9 runs on Android 13 with the Magic UI 7 custom overlay. It’s simple, unobtrusive, and doesn’t install any third-party apps at startup. This model offers several features like screen sharing between phone and tablet, message notifications received on the phone sent to the tablet, or adding a web page to favorites with a quick three-finger swipe downwards. As for multi-window use, it allows displaying up to four apps simultaneously. However, Honor doesn’t specify if the Pad X9 supports a keyboard or stylus.

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Pros and Cons of Honor Pad X9

Pros

• 120Hz screen well-calibrated
• Decent performance
• Good build quality

Cons

• Very limited photo quality
• Fairly long charging time
• Absence of microSD port and headphone jack

Conclusion

With the Pad X9, Honor offers a straightforward tablet suitable for the entire family. While it sticks to LCD and doesn’t excel in photography or demanding games, it brings welcome fluidity with its 120Hz refresh rate and decent performance within this price range. It manages daily uses effortlessly or provides entertainment on a comfortable tablet format without breaking the bank.

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