With the HONOR Pad X8a, the manufacturer is launching an Android tablet with a 90 Hz display, Snapdragon 680 chip and memory expandable via microSD card at a price of just around 170 euros. Our test reveals more.
Technical data
| The name | Pad X8a |
| Dimensions | 256.97 mm x 168.46 mm x 7.25 mm |
| weight | 495 g |
| SoC | Snapdragon 680 |
| Memory | Memory: 4 GB RAM Flash memory: 128 GB |
| Display | 11 inch; LC display; 1,920 x 1,200 pixels; 90 Hz; up to 400 cd/m² brightness |
| Camera | 5 MP main camera; 5 MP selfie camera |
| Battery | 8,200 mAh, 20 W charging power |
| Audio | 4 speakers + 1 microphone |
| Operating system | MagicOS 8.0 |
| price | € 169.90 * |
HONOR Pad X8a test: Looks like a premium tablet
The HONOR Pad X8a doesn’t show its low price at all. The tablet has a dark grey unibody metal casing, which creates a simple yet elegant look. It is just 7.25 mm thin and weighs only 496 grams.
The lightly anodized finish on the back of the Pad X8a is also very comfortable to hold and, with its 11-inch display and a height of 168.5 mm, still looks quite handy.
The build quality is also impeccable. There are two speakers on the top and bottom, and the USB-C port for charging is also located at the bottom, although this is only available in the 2.0 standard and therefore does not enable image output. The volume rocker and power button are on the right. The microSD card slot, which can be used to expand the system memory by up to 1 terabyte, is also located at the bottom.
The camera is located on the back, away from the manufacturer’s logo. This is a 5 megapixel camera that delivers average results, just like the 5 MP front camera. The images here lack sharpness and detail in particular.
Fast IPS display
- IPS display with 1,920 x 1,200 pixels
- Frame rate of 90 Hz
- Color reproduction and contrasts only average
The display of the HONOR Pad X8a is also exceptional for this price range. The manufacturer has equipped the tablet with an IPS panel with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels and a peak brightness of up to 400 nits. Thanks to a refresh rate of 90 hertz, it also displays content smoothly.
Otherwise, the display offers few special features. The color reproduction, color accuracy and contrasts are okay, but as is typical for IPS, you should not expect too much here. The screen edges are also quite large – around 12 mm on the sides and 10 mm at the top and bottom – resulting in a screen-to-body ratio of 84%.
Various eye protection options such as dynamic dimming, an e-book mode and TPV Rheinland-certified low blue light and flicker-free certification are offered.
The touchscreen can also be easily operated with a stylus, and the manufacturer includes a very useful, inexpensive pen in the tablet’s launch bundle. All in all, HONOR has given the Pad X8a a good display that is really fun to use, especially when consuming media, but also when playing games.
Performance and features
- Snapdragon 680 with 4GB RAM
- decent performance, but…
- hardly suitable for gaming
The HONOR Pad X8a relies on the octa-core Snapdragon 680 processor from Qualcomm, which combines four Cortex-A73 cores with 2.4 GHz each and four Cortex-A53 cores with 1.9 GHz. 4 GB of RAM is available for support, while the system memory is 128 GB.
In everyday use, this results in good performance within the system interface, at least for lighter tasks. However, the tablet quickly reaches its limits when it comes to multitasking, complex apps and games in particular.
However, the benchmark tests show that the HONOR Pad X8a is clearly in the entry-level class. Nevertheless, the performance is perfectly fine, especially for everyday tasks or for streaming, painting or drawing. However, there are minor hangs from time to time.
| Benchmark | Result |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 1,378 points |
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 403 pts. |
| Geekbench 6 GPU | 351 pts. |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 8,106 pts. |
| 3DMark Wild Life | 606 pts. |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme | 124 pts. |
I like the built-in speakers quite a bit. They are pleasantly loud and produce a very clear and detailed sound that cuts a good figure with multimedia content. The WLAN connection via 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac provides a reliable and fast connection, even in the 5 GHz network.
When pairing with Bluetooth devices, the tablet also supports the high-resolution LDAC codec, which of course significantly improves the quality of music. Android 14 is used as the operating system, which is overlaid with HONOR’s MagicOS 8.0.
This comes with a few apps of its own and also allows multitasking with up to four windows or the sharing of content on the manufacturer’s smartphones with the tablet.
Battery life of the HONOR Pad X8a
- 8,300 mAh battery
- 10 hours and 45 minutes runtime
- Slow charging speed
The HONOR Pad X8a is equipped with an 8,300 mAh battery which, according to the manufacturer, should provide around 14 hours of local video playback on a full charge. Up to 56 days in standby mode should also be possible. So that sounds pretty impressive.
In practice, the tablet’s battery life is really impressive. A very good 10 hours and 45 minutes is achieved in the PCMark 3.0 battery benchmark. That is significantly more than the Huawei MatePad 11.5″S (our test), for example, which uses an 8,800 mAh battery.
This shows the advantages of the efficient chip and the slightly weaker hardware. Unfortunately, there is no fast charging function. Charging takes a maximum of 20 watts, which takes around four hours. A power adapter is not included in the scope of delivery, but HONOR also includes a dual power adapter with USB-C and USB-A connection for the launch.
HONOR Pad X8a test: Conclusion
With the HONOR Pad X8a, the manufacturer offers an exciting budget tablet. It scores with good features, a fast display, high-quality workmanship, good speakers and an impressive battery life. The option to expand the memory via microSD card is also practical.
Of course, given the price, you shouldn’t expect a gaming and performance machine, but the tablet is very suitable for normal tasks, light multitasking and media consumption.
This results in an absolutely coherent price-performance ratio, which makes the HONOR Pad X8a interesting for all those who are looking for an affordable and versatile device for video streaming, taking notes or even for their children.
The biggest competition comes from Xiaomi, which offers a tablet that is identical in many respects with the Redmi Pad SE. The HONOR Pad X8a offers better battery life, while the Redmi Pad comes with more RAM.
HONOR Pad X8a
Design & Workmanship
Hardware
Multimedia
Performance
Battery
Value For Money
83/100
Affordable Android tablet with a coherent display, good features and long battery life, which should satisfy anyone not expecting miracles in terms of performance.
