Honor Pad 8 review: 12 inches of relaxation

The Android tablet market has awoken, and so has the competition. Will the Honor Pad 8 be able to distinguish out among the new offerings? In our test, we received a response.

It’s almost like revisiting the treasure hunt from a few years ago, when Apple released the iPad. Manufacturers have had a field day in recent months with the release of new Android tablets in a variety of price ranges, with a focus on the entry-level market. But why such a comeback, especially if ‘Android 13 isn’t yet available to really maximize use? We need to prepare the ground, which appears to be in good shape for this Honor Pad 8, the last to enter the arena.

TECHNICAL SHEET

DESIGN

Tablets have a tendency to be forgotten in a corner of our living room or near a bedside table, and as a result, they are not the most noticed high-tech device. This is once again the case with the Honor Pad 8, which is essentially the rectangular block with the rounded aluminum chassis that you image when you think of a tablet.

It goes without saying, however, that this concept was a failure. Despite the fact that we’re talking about a 12 inch diagonal, which is pretty enormous for a tablet, the Honor Pad 8 manages to be forgotten with a weight of 520 grams and a thickness of only 7 millimeters. There will also be very tiny borders surrounding the screen, as thin as possible while yet allowing for a little rest place for the fingertips. The Honor Pad 8 is designed to be a tablet that is mostly used in portrait mode, as the position of its picture sensor suggests, but it places all of its buttons in the same region, in the purest lineage of smartphones.

As a result, both portrait and landscape orientations remain incredibly comfortable. We’ll notice huge grids on the slices to fit its stereo speakers, which we hope are strong. Thus, while the Honor Pad 8 is not the most creative design product, it aesthetically incorporates everything that we truly want to discover in this product category.

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SCREEN

The Honor Pad 8 features an 11.97-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2000 × 1200 pixels and a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The manufacturer’s interface does not include normal sRGB or DCI P3 settings, but just enough to adjust the color temperature. However, there is an intriguing option called ” eBook ” that would pass the screen in black and white to reduce eye fatigue.

We can observe from our probe and DisplayCal software that the tablet covers 98.3% of the sRGB space and 69.6% of the DCI P3 region. It has a very good contrast ratio of 1640: 1 and a maximum brightness of 410 cd/m 2 for a relatively chilly average color temperature of 7323K, making it ideal for the inside but not especially well readable in a sunny yard.

The average Delta E00 here is 3.33, which is far from being the champion of colorimetry, but it is enough for the purpose for which it is meant. And herein is the true lesson of our tests: these are not the finest results in the world, but for a slab of this diagonal on this type of product put at this price, they are adequate.

SOFTWARE

The regular Android 12 UI is there, along with the manufacturer’s MagicOS 6.1 interface. The biggest letdown is an incorporated security patch that is way too late, dated from June 2022, and offers no faith in the software monitoring of this device. At the very least, we’re relieved to discover that the Widevine L1 is fully integrated, ensuring that HD content can be read on the Honor Pad 8.

All of the Android tablets of this generation appear to have gone in the same direction, which is to combine a task bar with macOS, where one can discover not only the standard shortcuts, but also the most recently opened programs. However, unlike other manufacturers, Honor did not optimize it in a multitasking framework, like Oppo did with the Pad Air. It is not possible, for example, to locate this bar beyond the reception area, to slip one app next to another, and to activate multitasking.

What will truly handle this usage is a little pill at the top of the interface that will give you to pass an application to the right or left by clicking on it. You can also run two more apps in flying window mode, but that’s all there is to it. The remainder of the experience is similar to Android in Honor sauce, which we will not revisit. So, while it is effective, it is not very well tuned.

AUDIO

The Honor Pad 8 appears to place a premium on the audio experience it provides, with no fewer than eight speakers and SDR: X Ultra certification. There isn’t one: these speakers are heard.

As a result, we are always on an entry-level product. The definition of sound isn’t the finest in the world. However, it is indisputable that it has the greatest sound when compared to its competitors at Redmi or Oppo. Despite the physical limitations of these instruments in this environment, the treble is crisp, the midrange are set back but quite present, and the bass is kept to a minimum. Above all, it is capable of producing incredible loudness without distortion. On this tablet, you can comfortably watch a movie without feeling cheated, which is a huge plus.

The manufacturer, on the other hand, has disregarded even the most minor integration of a jack outlet. You will only have the option of a USB-C or Bluetooth helmet, as long as the device supports Bluetooth 5.1. It’s a touch disappointing, given that many consumers in the entry-level category are frequently waiting for jack support.

PHOTO

What may be said about the image of an entry-level Android tablet? Stupidly, they are more or less equivalent to the experience provided by a camera laptop.

The Honor Pad 8 5 megapixel sensor, both front and back, is primarily intended to give a satisfactory video call experience.

If you use it as a camera, you will instantly notice poor quality, a lack of digital treatment, and boring colors, both in the front and rear. But what about for video? It continues.

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PERFORMANCE

The Honor Pad 8 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor and 6 GB of RAM. It also comes with 128 GB of storage capacity by default.

If you know what to anticipate, there is no reason to be disappointed in the performance of this tablet. We’re talking about entry-level tablets, and many of them have unexpected slowdowns; thankfully, this is not the case here. Using the Honor Pad 8 on a daily basis is a breeze.

On the other hand, you should be aware that the GPU incorporated within the Snapdragon 680 has seen better days in 3D. On this configuration, a Genshin Impact barely manages 30 FPS even in Low mode, which will mostly be used for 2D experiments such as Marvel Snap. If you are prepared, you will be quite satisfied. If you intend to play a lot of games on this tablet, you may need to reconsider your budget.

AUTONOMY

The Honor Pad 8 features a 7,250 mAh battery that can be charged quickly at 22.5 W using the charger and cord that come with the device. A full recharge consequently takes little more than two hours.

It is usually difficult to measure a tablet’s autonomy in this way, but in usage, I discovered precisely what I expected: a gadget that can be left alone for several days and revived for lengthy hours of amusement before being forgotten. Its large 12 inch diagonal drains battery power a little faster than a Xiaomi Pad 5, for example, but as it is meant for sedentary use, this isn’t a major concern.

Champion of autonomy? No. Is it suitable for use? Yes. This is what the Honor Pad 8 will be recognized for in this area.

PRICE AND DATE OF EXIT

The Honor Pad 8 is already on the market with a suggested retail price of 299.90 euros.