4 options that assist the Honor Pad V9 stand out from the group

I am a agency believer that

Android tablets
do not get the credit score they deserve. Whereas the Android OS itself offers a mobile-centric expertise, it does so whereas providing a degree of flexibility that you simply simply will not discover on, say,

an iPad running iPadOS
. Customized house display screen launchers, app sideloading, screensavers, and different PC-like instruments and options are available on Google’s cell software program platform, without having to leap by way of any extraneous hoops.

Sadly, most of the most attention-grabbing and aggressive Android slates aren’t accessible for buy within the US, which is a real disgrace. Sure, the

Google Pixel Tablet
, the

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
sequence, and the

OnePlus Pad 2
are actively on retailer cabinets, however there’s an entire world of compelling pill computer systems that the American shopper base merely cannot faucet into.

Take, for instance, the

recently-released Honor Pad V9
. This mid-range pill provides a ton of {hardware} and software program goodness in a comparatively inexpensive package deal. It begins at a base worth of €450 or £400 in Europe, which interprets to roughly $532 USD. I’ve had the possibility to take a look at Honor’s price-conscious Pad V9 over the previous a number of weeks, and I’ve recognized 4 options specifically that assist the machine stand out from its friends.

1

It is a super-slim pc

The pill measures in at 0.24-inches (6.1mm) thick

One of the hanging features of the Honor Pad V9 is its unbelievably slim chassis. Measuring in at 0.24-inches (6.1mm), the V9 handily bests many different mid-range tablets when it comes to svelteness. Except for the far costlier

Apple iPad Pro line
, you may be hard-pressed to discover a pill that is considerably thinner than this. For reference, the OnePlus Pad 2 measures in at 0.26-inches (6.5mm) thick, whereas the bottom Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is available in at 0.23-inches (5.9mm).

Whereas not absolutely the thinnest tech product I’ve ever held in my hand, Honor has finished a superb job of reigning within the Pad V9’s proportions. The pill is well-built, too, with its machined aluminum exterior construct, and its strong, clicky metallic buttons. Add in moderately slim show bezels which might be curved on the edges, and a decently distributed mass of 1.05 lbs (475g), and the V9 appears and feels extra premium than its price ticket would in any other case counsel.

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2

Its display screen is silky {smooth}

Honor has outfitted the Pad V9 with a 144Hz refresh fee

Honor has outfitted the Pad V9 with an 11.5-inch 2800 x 1840 show panel, which may hit a typical brightness of 500 nits. Its IPS LCD-based expertise is not fairly a match for the deep, inky blacks discovered on most OLED shows, but it surely greater than makes up for this with its help for prime dynamic vary (HDR), its IMAX Enhanced and TÜV Rheinland certifications (for cinema image calibration and for eye consolation, respectively), and its 144Hz refresh fee.

This final specification is especially notable. Except for

gaming-first products
, we do not usually see shows refresh at a fee quicker than 120Hz. To see such a silky-smooth panel delivery on a mid-range Android pill is extremely welcome in my eyes, and it makes rivals just like the 60Hz iPad Air look laughable by comparability. No, it does not make use of LTPO-based variable refresh fee (VRR) tech, however Honor does implement its personal model of dynamic refresh fee on the system degree.

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3

It runs MagicOS 9 out of the field

Honor’s pores and skin runs atop of Android 15

Out of the gate, the Honor Pad V9 ships with MagicOS 9 operating atop of

Android 15
. MagicOS is a slightly heavy Android pores and skin, taking liberties in its altering of the OS and its characteristic set. The iPadOS-inspired visuals are a bit too heavy-handed for my liking, however I am a fan of the software program suite’s wealth of helpful instruments and options.

My favourite addition is Journal Unlock, which offers a gradual feed of Windows Spotlight-like images to take pleasure in on the lock display screen. The

eBook
mode is a pleasant contact for once I use the pill at evening in mattress, with its grayscale shade tone making it simple on my eyes. AI instruments like Magic Textual content (for textual content extraction) and Magic Portal (for context-aware display screen search) are additionally on board, however I by no means use them, as I discover Google’s equivalents to be extra exact and extra seamlessly applied into the Android expertise.

In case you pair the Honor Pad V9 with the corporate’s non-obligatory Honor Magic-Pencil 3 (not included with the unit), then you can too reap the benefits of the inking capabilities more and more being constructed into Android. I do want the stylus got here commonplace within the field — this could sweeten the general deal simply that little bit extra for me.

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4

It is a pretty inexpensive mid-range package deal

The Pad V9 begins at €450 or £400 (roughly $532)

At roughly $532 when transformed on the time of writing, the Honor Pad V9 is sort of a gorgeous package deal. The unit — which is accessible in white, grey, and violet colorways — is aesthetically pleasing, skinny and light-weight, and chock-full of helpful software program options. The IMAX Enhanced show (in addition to its eight-speaker stereo sound system) make for a superb content material streaming expertise, which is a vital consideration for an 11.5-inch-sized pill.

After all, being a mid-range product, the Pad V9 is not designed to be cutting-edge. Small concessions have been made all through, like the dearth of a

fingerprint sensor
, USB 2.0 speeds, and no mobile knowledge choice. Its Mediatek Dimensity 8350 is not precisely prime of the road, with benchmark scores of 1,433 for single-core and 4,196 for multi-core on Geekbench 6. Even nonetheless, with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM within the base unit (configurable as much as 512GB + 12GB), there’s various pc right here for the asking worth. It is only a disgrace I am unable to decide one up on retailer cabinets at my native Greatest Purchase or Wal-Mart.

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