I just tested my new favorite Android tablet — here’s why the Honor Pad V9 takes on the iPad (and wins)

The Honor Pad 9 was an Android tablet disguised as an iPad. MagicOS offers the same levels of “it just works” smoothness to the UI, but drawbacks in performance and the speakers stopped just short of pipping the lower-end iPad 10th Gen to the post — not to mention the huge app store.

Well, one year later, and the Honor Pad V9 takes its performance to a new level, the battery is way bigger, the speakers are better, and MagicOS just got a dose of AI. Packed into a new slim, sleek chassis with an improved display, I believe the Cupertino crew has just met its match. Put simply, it’s one of the best Android tablets you can buy.

That’s not to say it’s overcome all the obstacles to get to Apple. Android is still behind iPadOS in terms of app market, and the cameras remain unchanged from the potatoes you got on the Pad 9.

But in where it matters — getting stuff done, playing games and binge watching to your heart’s content — this is a stellar option. Alongside this, Kids Space managed to keep my nephew entertained for so long. Provided you get a durable case (he’s rather clumsy), this is also a shout for one of the best kids tablets you can snag.

Honor Pad 9: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? This is a mid-range Android tablet.
• Who’s it for? This tablet is ideal for binge watchers and families looking to entertain their kids on-the-go.
• What is the price? The price is yet to be confirmed, but based on leaks, we’re predicting a £299 price tag.
• How does this compare to an iPad? The closest competition is the 10th Gen iPad, and on pure hardware, Honor Pad V9 beats it comfortably with a gorgeous display, strong internals and impressive speakers — alongside a smooth UI that matches iPadOS.
• Anything I didn’t like? Android is still a bit of a desert when it comes to the full suite of iPad apps you can download, and the cameras are a bit naff.

Honor Pad V9: Specs

Honor Pad V9: The ups

With important gains made in key areas, there’s a lot to love about the Honor Pad V9 — all of which became obvious over my month with it.

Sleek and stylish

Yes, the display is technically smaller than the 12.1-inch panel you got in the Pad 9. But what you get for that mesmerizing-yet-smaller 11.5-inch screen (more on that later) is a smaller, slimmer and lighter design that feels unmistakably premium in the hand.

The aluminum shell feels great with a nice even weight distribution to not cause any obvious fatigue when holding in one hand, and the NIL Nano-topography process ensures a (mostly) fingerprint-free screen. It works by adding a textured surface that’s so fine it can only be seen through a microscope.

You won’t be able to feel it — the display glass feels nice and smooth to navigate around. But this industry-first process for tablet glass does make it surprisingly resistant to your typical finger smudges.

Now, one key thing that comes with making your devices even thinner is something that I’m sure will summon JerryRigEverything like Beetlejuice if I say it three times — does it bend?

The answer, fortunately, is no. With enough strength, you can see the tiniest milli-degree curve but it doesn’t stick around. The bend resistance here is strong enough to give you a resounding confidence in its durability.

Nice on the eyes

By default, if ever I have shows to binge watch on my train journeys down to London, I grab my MacBook Pro. But now, the Honor Pad V9 has officially taken over — thanks to its drop dead gorgeous 11.5-inch display.

Moving from the 16:10 of Pad 9 to a 3:2 aspect ratio makes this feel like a great slab to use in both portrait and landscape. And that 2800 x 1840-pixel resolution is super crispy for text and graphics — all running at a silky smooth 144Hz refresh rate.

I get it. You saw “IPS LCD” in the specs and probably had a moment of doubt. IPS panels aren’t exactly known for their eye-popping vibrancy, and given this tablet’s lower price, it’s fair to question its display quality. But those concerns vanish the moment you lay eyes on the screen.

Case in point: watching my partner’s latest obsession, Entergalactic, Kid Cudi’s stunningly animated love story. The resolution handles every intricate detail with precision, while the color and contrast deliver a dazzling rush of vibrancy that keeps every frame alive.

MagicOS gets a lot more AI fun

MagicOS 9.0 — built on Android 15 — grows on what we’ve seen so far from what I believe to be the smoothest tablet OS in the Android ecosystem with some extra AI smarts.

First off, the Magic Lock screen brings a ton of customized wallpapers and color tweaking to get just the right aesthetic for you. Second, the 3D Avatar may be a bit of a gimmick, but it’s definitely fun to see your AI-generated figurine and customize it to your liking.

And finally, on the more useful side of things, Honor Notes has been enriched with AI. Beyond searching, pinning and categorizing your notes, there’s math formula recognition, handwriting beautification (great for my chicken scratch writing), and even voice-to-text capabilities — even being able to translate and transcribe video meetings in real time.

These are great little additions, which underpin the fundamental smoothness and logical nature of navigation.

All the multi-finger gestures make multitasking effortless, swiping in from edges of the screen do exactly what you expect it to do in zipping around the OS, and the interconnection of different devices via Honor Connect screams “it just works” in a way that would make Apple sweat.

Better performance and battery life

The Honor Pad 9’s main thorn in the paw was the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset not offering much in the way of performance. Switching to MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Elite has helped with that somewhat.

Don’t get me wrong, you’re not getting pro tablet levels of performance, but you’re getting more than enough for all the casual uses of a cheaper tablet. Zipping between apps came with no slowdown and games run at respectable 60 FPS with decently sharp graphical fidelity.

Pair that with a chunky 10,100 mAh battery with a high energy density ensures a good, long runtime. I ran a test of online video streaming last year, and the Pad 9 hit 11 hours and 26 minutes. With Pad V9, you’re looking more at a massive 16:07. That’s an impressive gain that puts it safely into worry-free battery life territory.

Oh, and if the battery does drain, you can charge it back to full in just under 30 minutes.

Honor Pad 9: The downs

Honestly, the only real downside to the Honor Pad V9 now (outside of the whole Android tablet app selection issue) is a simple one.

Cameras are not good

I’ll start by saying the obvious — don’t use your tablet to take pictures. Your smartphone will almost always take far superior photos. But for those impromptu video calls or the rare moment when the Honor Pad 9 is your only option, the camera setup is serviceable, though far from impressive.

The 8MP front camera works well enough for the occasional WhatsApp chat, but expect noticeable noise in dimly lit areas. Around the back, the 13MP main sensor produces images with less grain, but at the cost of fine details and rich color accuracy, leaving shots looking somewhat flat and lacking sharpness.

Honor Pad V9: Verdict

The Honor Pad V9 takes mostly everything the company learnt from the previous Pad 9, and fixes it. It’s easily one of the best Android tablets I’ve used in recent memory, and a serious contender for the iPad’s crown.

Important improvements to performance and the display make this a top notch binge watching device with the battery life to boot, and the sharpened AI features provide a helping hand that doesn’t feel overbearing or gimmicky.

Put simply, if you’re in the market for an Android tablet, this should be on your list.