Verdict
The Honor Pad 9 remains a slick tablet with seemly carrying out and a adorable display a yr after launch . It ’s much easy to advocate now that it has dropped in price , marking it an first-class ( and more low-priced ) iPad choice .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The iPad continues to prevail the tablet food market in 2025 , but Honor could shake things up with the budget - friendly Honor Pad 9 .
Why do I mention the iPad when verbalize about the Honor Pad 9 ? It ’s simple : this tablet is a much better deal than the stigma - new 11th - generation iPad for many people .
Despite being a yr one-time , the Honor Pad 9 has plenty going for it , including a fully grown display than Apple ’s entry - spirit level iPad and , for my money , well take care too . And , having launched in early 2024 , the budget - friendly tab is more affordable than ever .
So , if you ’re not attend to buy an Apple tablet , you may need to deliberate this instead and save yourself some money .
Design
Opening the box , it ’s hard not to be impressed by how slight the Honor Pad 9 is , as well as its lightweight physique that comes in at just 555 g. Despite the freehanded exhibit , this is absolutely a tablet you could read a Bible on or graze the entanglement on without needing to set it down when your arms get tired .
The 12.1 - column inch display is surrounded by uniform bezels all the elbow room around , with the front - confront camera on the horizontal boundary which is nice after so many portraiture - aligned ones over the years .
The only buttons to be see are on one side , with a volume rocking chair and a whorl / unlock electrical switch . No fingermark sensor here , though – it ’s all facial identification or passcode .
On the bottom , you ’ll find aUSB - Cport flanked by loudspeaker grille . On the back , the camera is recover on the top edge with a circular sensor that ’s raised . That means there ’s some wobble when using the tablet on a flat surface , as it sort of teeter-totter around .
It ’s a overbold - looking tablet though , despite costing less than Apple ’s colorful ( and arguably cheaper - looking ) iPad 11 .
Screen
The Honor Pad 9 bests the eighth - gen pill with a 12.1 - in display . I bed what you ’re think , though : a big display on a tablet of this size of it must total with slashed corners , right ?
As it happen , the Honor Pad 9 bucks that tendency . Yes , it ’s an IPS panel , which will bring the price down considerably equate to anOLEDtablet , but it ’s also a great - looking one that can get imposingly bright . Add to that a 2.5 KiB resolution and there ’s a lot to care , and that ’s before you factor out in a 120Hzrefresh ratethat makes everything feel silky .
My only minor gripe here ( aside from the deficiency of OLED ) is the size of the CRT screen bezel . It ’s not huge , but it ’s obtrusive enough to detract from the immersion of watching a movie .
I will say that the speakers are good for highs and mids but deficiency in the bass department . That ’s perhaps unsurprising hold the slight design , which allows less space for reverberation , but they ’re properly nuanced regardless . It does get loud , too , with no fewer than eight talker onboard .
Cameras
There ’s just one 13MP photographic camera on the back of the Honor Pad 9 , and it ’s about what you ’d ask for a mid - range pad . That is to say , it ’ll do in a taking into custody , but you ’ll likely desire to grab your sound for anything else .
My great publication is how it handles light , with images going from washed - out during daytime , to overly dark in interior . Again , it ’ll do when you need to take something promptly , but otherwise , you ’ll need a decorous sound snapper .
picture - impudent you may grab 4 K footage at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps .
On the front , you ’ll line up an 8MP sensor that performs well in decent brightness but also seems to show things as a little darker than they are . It also get along with that ‘ knockout filter ’ many manufacturer are so keen on , if that ’s up your street . It ’s also worth noting that the example here was admit with Portrait musical mode , which is aerate by default .
Performance
Despite the relatively low-priced cost , the Honor Pad 9 ’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 does a pretty proficient job of deflect cut down corner to keep that price low . It does lessen unforesightful of the iPad 10 andOnePlus Padlet alone the iPad 11 andOnePlus Pad 2 in damage of processing speed , but not to the extent you ’d wait considering the cost difference .
Multitasking is a gentle wind , with 8 GB of RAM in 128 GB and some 256 GB models , up to 12 GB variants of 256 GB and the 512 GB level .
copulate with that big display , I found myself flicking through apps with ease , doing some work and interchange to learn videos or work game .
Speaking of game , less demanding , twist - based fare like Marvel Snap played great on the big display , but I was really impressed by how good League of fable : Wild Rift front and run .
lamentably , there ’s no expandable memory , so despite the comparatively high baseline of 128 GB , you wo n’t be capable to lend an SD placard to expand it .
Software
The Honor Pad 9 is running Android 13 right field out of the corner , albeit with Honor ’s overlayer . I do n’t listen it , although it is beginning to feel old when vie pad of paper operate Android 14 and 15 . The Pad 9 should get the update to Android 14 , but as of March 2025 , that ’s yet to happen .
disregarding of the variant , my only takings with it in use is that it ’s all too easy to swipe up to unlock the pad of paper only to accidentally move into Honor ’s wallpaper switcher . It ’s a small nitpick , but it ’s worth mentioning .
Battery life
Battery life in the Honor Pad 9 is square , if unspectacular . you’re able to reasonably look a few flick on a single mission , particularly with some light management of the screen brightness . I was able-bodied to see YouTube videos for hours , and still have time to recreate League of Legends : Wild Rift for a few matches afterwards .
In examination , I was able-bodied to get fairly much a full working day from a single charge , with more drain as I played more secret plan , or opened multiple apps to do some work . That said , 17 % of the stamp battery was eat from 30 moment of tripping gaming , which betoken you would n’t be able to keep play for more than 6 minute straight .
Sadly , while Honor provides a king adaptor in the box , this one was for a US plug . It took 93 minute to fully recharge the Honor Pad 9 . That ’s quicker than the iPad 10 by quite a border , although it ’s bested by the OnePlus Pad , which took 64 instant to institutionalise .
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Should you buy it?
For just £ /$300 , the display here is big than an iPad , and it offers more store to boot .
I wish the display on the Honor Pad 9 , but it ’s still an IPS instrument panel so blacks could be darker .
Final Thoughts
The Honor Pad 9 remains a bang-up pad of paper a year after launch , create it more affordable than ever . It ’s got everything you could maybe need from a budget - friendly Android tablet , while also add together a sizable showing with a penetrative resolution .
It is missing a phone number of features from more expensive offering , such as a fingermark reader and OLED screen technology . And while the performance was absolutely fairish for canonical tasks , the10th Gen iPadandOnePlus Padboth proved to be quicker in our benchmarks .
That all said , it ’s hard to scold at the Honor Pad 9 at this toll , as it ’s tawdry than the competition . If you require a great all - round of golf Android pill at a reasonable price , it ’s heavy to retrieve better value . But if you ’d like to duplicate check other offer , then check that to mark off out ourBest TabletandBest Cheap Tabletguides .
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FAQs
The Honor Pad 9 is based on the Android 13 operating system , with a skin of Magic OS 7.2 .
The Honor Pad 9 has a starting price of £ 299.99 , though it can be found much crummy in 2025 .
Test Data
Full Specs
