The local tablet market is a crowded place, often segmented by clear lines between “premium” and “affordable.”
But every so often, a contender emerges that elegantly blurs those lines. Enter the HONOR Pad X9a, arriving in the Philippines at a compelling price of P11,999 (around $215), bundled with its invaluable Bluetooth keyboard (or P10,999 or $197 for the tablet alone). This isn’t just another budget slate; it aims to deliver a surprisingly high-end experience without the exorbitant cost.
From its sleek, metal build and sizable and sharp display perfectly optimized for entertainment, to its capable everyday performance and truly remarkable battery life, the Pad X9a positions itself as a serious contender for your next go-to device. We’ve spent weeks putting this budget-friendly metal unit through its paces, and here’s everything you need to know.
HONOR Pad X9a pricing and availability
Metal tablet on a budget
Look, designing a tablet (or a smartphone, for that matter) isn’t rocket science — there’s only so much reinvention you can do. The HONOR Pad X9a leans into practicality, sporting a clean shell with flat edges and subtly rounded corners. Locally, it’s available exclusively in a gray finish, which has a smooth matte texture that does an admirable job resisting fingerprints.
But don’t let this basic-looking chassis fool you. The Pad X9a hides a surprisingly sturdy metal unibody backplate. There’s minimal flex here; you’d have to genuinely try to bend this thing. And for a tablet hovering around the P10,000 ($179) price point, that premium metal construction is really a standout feature. Tipping the scales at a manageable 480 grams with the battery included and maintaining a slim 6.77mm profile, it feels far more substantial than its budget competition.
Around the back, you’ll find a single rear camera nestled in a subtly squared-off cutout. HONOR added a bit of flair with a glittery finish to distinguish it, though notably, there’s no flash module to speak of here. Thankfully, the camera bump is minimal, ensuring the tablet lays flat without that annoying wobble when placed on a table. Despite the basic setup, the company has baked in a few smart tricks, like automatic smile detection for taking photos and intelligent scene recognition to suggest the best shooting mode in a particular scenario.
But let’s be real, the HONOR Pad X9a isn’t going to rival your smartphone when it comes to taking photos and videos, especially if you’re comparing it to devices in the same price bracket or slightly above. That’s par for the course with budget tablets.
The main camera here is primarily designed for basic tasks. Think taking pictures of documents or quick references. The lack of a rear flash, however, will make low-light situations, like your favorite dimly lit bar or restaurant, a definite challenge. For your video calls and selfies, the Pad X9a features a 5-megapixel front-facer, which, predictably, offers even lower quality than its rear counterpart. Both cameras cap out at 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second.
The HONOR Pad X9a sports a generous 11.5-inch LCD display, framed by impressively slim and symmetrical bezels for an 86% screen-to-body ratio. It boasts a crisp 2.5K resolution (2,508 x 1,504), translating to around 255 pixels per inch. For a device in this segment, the maximum 120Hz refresh rate is a genuinely welcome surprise. While it offers a buttery-smooth experience, you can always dial it back to 90Hz or 60Hz to conserve battery. And at 400 nits peak brightness, it’s certainly bright enough for comfortable indoor use, even in well-lit rooms. Just don’t expect much visibility under direct sunlight outdoors.
Perhaps more importantly, the HONOR Pad X9a opts for a 16:9 aspect ratio — a deliberate choice that sets it apart from some tablets on the market today that favor a taller, more productivity-oriented aspect ratio. This makes it perfectly suited for consuming video content and seamlessly enjoying streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube, delivering a true widescreen experience. It’s great for gaming, too, especially for games and game-console emulators that the chipset can comfortably run.
HONOR has also prioritized eye comfort, equipping the Pad X9a with both TÜV Rheinland Certified Hardware-level Low Blue Light and TÜV Rheinland Certified Flicker-free certifications. This means you can binge-watch, attend online classes, or get lost in an ebook for hours on end with a panel specifically designed to be easy on your eyes.
The Pad X9a packs four speakers, with two strategically placed on each side. The brand claims these are paired with “smart” amplifiers to deliver richer audio, and while the overall sound quality is decent for its class, the real emphasis here is on sheer volume. Thanks to a touted 200% volume boost, this tablet can get loud. Just be warned: Cranking that volume boost up tends to introduce a noticeable amount of distortion, muddying the sound profile. Compared to other tablets in its price range, the Pad X9a’s audio quality holds its own, but the difference in quality becomes immediately obvious when stacked against a flagship or significantly pricier offering.
Bundled brilliance
The HONOR Pad X9a comes with a significant value-add right out of the box in the Philippines — a complimentary Bluetooth keyboard case, complete with its own internal battery, if you opt for the P11,999 ($215) package. Getting it connected is straightforward: Simply enable Bluetooth on your tablet, then flick the power switch on the keyboard (you’ll find it on the right-hand side). The Pad X9a is smart enough to detect the keyboard automatically once it’s nearby; just confirm the pairing prompt on screen, and you’re good to go.
Beyond just typing, the case cleverly doubles as a tablet stand, allowing the Pad X9a to magnetically snap into a dedicated ridge just above the keys. Speaking of the keys, these are your standard island-style type, offering decent tactility but not much travel — a common trade-off in portable keyboard accessories. You’ll find a few useful shortcuts, but notably, there’s no built-in trackpad. While understandable given the tablet’s size, you can always connect a separate Bluetooth mouse for a more desktop-like experience, though for quick tasks, the touchscreen is our go-to choice.
We found this bundled keyboard case to be incredibly useful, transforming the Pad X9a into a much more versatile machine. It’s an absolute must-have for students or professionals seeking a portable accessory for light productivity tasks. Think drafting documents, managing emails, or crunching basic spreadsheets. The keyboard’s internal battery also offers impressive stamina; throughout weeks of testing, we found ourselves rarely needing to plug it in, ensuring it keeps up with your productivity needs for extended periods. Kudos to HONOR for including this essential companion without significantly inflating the tablet’s retail price.
Putting those internals to the test
Under the hood, the HONOR Pad X9a is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 chipset. This 6nm processor positions the tablet squarely in the lower-midrange segment, prioritizing efficient everyday performance and battery longevity. It delivers a notable boost over its predecessor, the Snapdragon 680, thanks to higher-clocked cores. The heavy lifting is handled by four Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.8GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.9GHz, while graphical duties fall to the Adreno 610 GPU — which, in most demanding scenarios, remains the primary bottleneck.
While not a powerhouse for high-quality modern games, the Pad X9a is more than capable of handling daily tasks and even tackling some big RPGs like Titan Quest and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic without a hitch. Emulator enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the Snapdragon 685 competently manages titles for older-generation consoles like the PSP, with the resolution upscaled to 2x or 4x depending on the title. We even pushed its limits with split-screen multitasking, successfully running an emulator alongside YouTube, and observed minimal frame drops on the emulator.
It’s also worth noting that the HONOR Pad X9a’s chipset choice and generous size both help mitigate any thermal issues this device might face. In our testing, the unit never throttled below 90% of its maximum performance even after rigorous 20-minute runs in the CPU Throttling Test app — a commendable feat for any mobile device.
As expected, battery life is a major strong suit for the Pad X9a, thanks to a rather sizable 8,300mAh cell inside. HONOR claims an impressive 70 days on standby. Our own internal PCMark battery-endurance test reported a solid 9 hours and 56 minutes. However, keep in mind that this benchmark primarily simulates smartphone-like daily usage patterns, which don’t always reflect how a tablet is typically used.
To provide a more practical sense of the Pad X9a’s battery life, we conducted several real-world battery tests encompassing video streaming, gaming, and productivity tasks. For instance, two hours of Netflix streaming in SD resolution consumed 19% of the battery, while two hours of YouTube streaming at 1080p showed a nearly identical drain of 20%. An hour of playing WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2011 on a PSP emulator, on the other hand, reduced the battery by 11%. Finally, 25 minutes of spreadsheet work in WPS Office with the screen at half brightness resulted in just a 3% battery drop.
These results position the HONOR Pad X9a as a highly compelling option for anyone seeking a tablet that truly delivers exceptional endurance on a single charge.
Notably, the company has also put specific focus on AI features to distinguish the Pad X9a from other tablets in the Philippines. It comes with AI Face Unlock for swift, secure access, alongside AI Formula Recognition — useful for students and professionals, as it can precisely identify mathematical equations.
For us, the AI Transcription feature built into the Notes app stands out, converting speech to text automatically and in real time. This is genuinely useful for our line of work, especially when we’re in meeting rooms, tuning into briefings, and digging into the products and services we cover. It performed admirably in our tests and supports an impressive selection of languages, including German, Italian, Spanish, French, Chinese, Cantonese, and English.
When it comes to charging, the HONOR Pad X9a supports 35-watt fast charging. While this is a welcome feature, bringing the device from zero to full does take a noticeable amount of time — in our case, a little more than two hours — especially compared to smartphones with much smaller batteries that often boast similar charging speeds.
Other benchmarks
Final thoughts
After weeks of use, we think the HONOR Pad X9a punches well above its P10,999 ($197) price tag, delivering an experience that often belies its budget status. It stands out with a surprisingly premium metal construction, a fluid 120Hz 2.5K display with an aspect ratio perfectly tuned for media consumption, and truly exceptional battery endurance that easily lasts for days.
Factor in the highly useful bundled keyboard case, and you have a tablet that offers terrific value in this price segment. For anyone seeking a well-rounded, versatile, and affordable Android tablet, the HONOR Pad X9a is a compelling choice.
HONOR Pad X9a specs
- 11.5-inch LCD display with 2.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 400 nits brightness
- 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 processor
- Adreno 610 GPU
- 6GB/8GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- 8-megapixel rear camera
- 5-megapixel front camera
- 8300mAh battery with 35-watt charging
- MagicOS 9.0 based on Android 15
- Color: Gray
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