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After weeks of testing, the 11th-gen iPad proves it’s still one of the best – even without Apple Intelligence

4:07 pm | July 24, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets iPad Tablets | Comments: Off

Apple iPad (A16): One-Minute Review

Choosing the best iPad these days can be tricky. Not only are there several models to choose from, but all of those models are also pretty well-specced, and they increasingly look similar.

I've spent several weeks testing the latest iteration of Apple's entry-level tablet, which for the purposes of this review we'll mostly refer to as the 11th-gen iPad. You may also have seen it referred to as the iPad (A16), or the iPad 2025. It’s not noticeably different from the 10th-gen model that arrived in 2022, and which ushered in a significant redesign that brought plenty of modernization.

Instead, this is a more under-the-hood upgrade that keeps Apple's most affordable iPad ever-so-modern and ensures that it'll still be kicking for many years to come. The biggest change is a jump in processing power to the Apple-made A16 – it's not a light-years-ahead upgrade from the A14 Bionic in the 10th-gen iPad, but it's still zippy-fast for opening apps and completing most tasks you'd want to do on an iPad.

Those tasks include playing games, browsing the web, multitasking with two apps, using handwriting recognition with the Apple Pencil, or doing any of the above while on a FaceTime call, without slowing things down or unduly draining the battery life. While testing this iPad alongside an iPad Pro with M4 and the 11-inch iPad Air with M3, I didn't always find myself reaching for those to perform more demanding tasks, thanks to the performance on offer here.

This iPad still boasts a sizable 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, offering a nice experience for watching almost anything; however, the glossy finish does make it harder to use in very bright environments. Still, there are no issues with color accuracy or the reproduction of visuals here. Apple's still tucking the front-facing cameras alongside the top here, which makes the Magic Keyboard Folio, or at least a Smart Folio, a nice addition. The Magic Keyboard for this iPad still splits into two, which I quite like, but it's not a free upgrade.

Out of the box, this iPad is running iPadOS 18, and it runs really well here, thanks to the A16 chip, but it's not enough power to support Apple Intelligence. That might be a deal breaker for some, but I don't see it as a major shortcoming based on my testing. Remember, you can download ChatGPT from the App Store and it'll work just fine here.

One piece of excellent news is that there will be no price increase for the new entry-level iPad, which means no premium for the A16 chip, and Apple is also doubling the starting storage to 128GB.

While the 11th Gen iPad is sticking with more affordable prices at $349 / £329 / AU$599, it's still more expensive than the 9th Gen iPad once was – with hindsight, that tablet was an excellent deal. Even so, I think many people will find themselves at home with the 11th-gen iPad, they just need a basic model or someone who wants to get a bit more out of an older iPad, like the 9th Gen.

Apple iPad 11th-gen: Specs

iPad Air (A16) Specs
	iPad (A16)
Starting price	$349 / £329 / AU$599
Operating System	iPadOS 18
Chipset	A16
Memory (RAM)	6GB
Storage	128GB / 256GB / 512GB
Display	11-inch LED Backlit (2360 x 1640) IPS LCD
Cameras	12MP wide main, 12MP ultrawide front
Battery	28.93Wh
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. 5G Sub-6Ghz and Gigabit LTE on Cellular models.
Weight	1.05lbs / 0.475kg without cellular and 1.06lbs / 0.48kg with
Dimensions	9.79 x 7.07 x 0.28 inches / 24.9 x 17.95 x 0.7mm (L x W x D)

Apple iPad A16: Pricing and Availability

11th Gen iPad (A16) Review — (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

The 11th-gen iPad starts at $349 / £329 / AU$599
One major change: it now starts with 128GB of storage
It comes in Pink, Yellow, Blue, and Silver

Apple's 11th Gen iPad – also known as the iPad A16 or the 2025 iPad – is on sale now with a starting price of $349 / £329 / AU$599. That starting price gets you 128GB of storage, which is double the starting storage of the 11th-gen iPad with no price increase.

You can choose to upgrade that storage to 256GB or 512GB, but it will cost you. Storage aside, all models have the same specifications, including the A16 chip inside. The 11th-gen iPad comes in four colors: Blue, Pink, Yellow, or Silver.

Apple iPad 11th Gen: Design

The 11th-gen iPad keeps the more modern design that the 10th-gen model ushered in
It no longer says 'iPad' on the back, now matching the rest of the lineup
This iPad still feels pretty high-end, with an aluminum build, and is easily portable

As I hinted at above, my favorite part of the iPad A16 – aside from the value proposition it provides – would be the design, and specifically the colors, as the rest of it is basically unchanged. My review model is a lovely shade of Pink that’s vibrant and fun.

Like most other iPads, and different from the likes of a Samsung Galaxy Tab or an Amazon Fire HD tablet, the entry-level iPad A16 is mostly a slice of aluminum. It’s effective at hiding fingerprints on the sides and rear, thanks to its mostly matte finish. This also allows the shade of Pink to vary here, depending on how the light hits it – either bouncing off with a highlight or looking a bit more muted.

The only glossy and fingerprint-prone area on the rear would be the Apple logo. Just like the updated iPad Air with M3 in the 11-inch or 13-inch size, this iPad no longer says iPad on the back. It’s a simple cosmetic change that gives this iPad a more minimalist finish.

If pink isn’t your thing, Apple also offers the iPad A16 in Yellow, Blue, or Silver – all crafted from that single piece of aluminum.

The rest of the story with the design is mainly bezels and buttons. Apple reserves Face ID and the True Depth Sensor stack for the iPad Pro, meaning that to unlock or authenticate securely without entering a pin, you place a finger on the power and sleep button, thanks to it being finished with a piece of glass.

That critical material enables Touch ID, and it works well – I just recommend setting up one finger from each of your hands so that you can better unlock your iPad, regardless of how you’re holding it. The power/sleep button, located at the top, is accessible when you hold the tablet vertically or on the left-hand side when held horizontally, making either position convenient. The volume up and volume down buttons are right next to it.

The only other input-output element is the USB-C port on the bottom, which remains unchanged from the previous-generation 10.9-inch entry-level iPad. In fact, almost every part of the design is unchanged here.

There are stereo speakers that push sound out at the top and bottom when the tablet is vertical or left and right when it’s held horizontally. There’s a main 12-megapixel camera centered along the longer side of the iPad – that’s on the top when held horizontally or on the right side when held vertically – and it delivers excellent performance for video calls. Apple has also kept a 12-megapixel camera on the rear as well.

While Apple didn’t redesign anything here, the 10.9-inch iPad remains a well-crafted tablet, and its modern look and feel complement its performance. It has nearly identical looks to the higher-priced iPad Air and feels at home next to an iPad mini or even an iPad Pro. It still comes in just one screen size, and as I’ll detail below, the 10.9-inch size, which Apple markets as 11-inch, is ideal for a wide range of tasks.

It’s easily portable, weighing in at just 1.06lbs / 0.48kg if you opt for cellular connectivity, or 1.05lbs / 0.475kg with a standard Wi-Fi-only connection. If you’re upgrading from the previous generation, it keeps the exact dimensions – 9.79 x 7.07 x 0.28 inches / 24.9 x 17.95 x 0.7mm – which means your existing Smart Cover Folio or Magic Keyboard Folio will work just fine.

Design score: 4 / 5

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Apple iPad 11th Gen: Display

The 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display is great for most tasks
The glossy display can make it harder to use in very bright conditions
The 11th-gen iPad supports two Apple Pencils

If you’re looking for an iPad to browse the web, use various apps, stream movies or TV shows, play some games, and even do a little work, you’ll have no problem with the iPad in almost any scenario.

That’s a testament to the upgrades Apple rolled out in 2022, when it introduced this updated look for the most affordable iPad. The iPad A16 still boasts a 10.9-inch display, although, as Apple has done with the iPad Air and iPad Pro, it rounds that up to 11 inches in the marketing blurb – you’ll see in a footnote on Apple’s tech specs page for the iPad A16 saying it has a 10.86-inch display, which we’ve found to be the same as the 10.9-inch size of the previous generation.

Apple is still opting for its Liquid Retina display technology, and the 11th-gen iPad has an LED IPS screen that offers a resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels. In my testing, I’ve found that it’s great for watching Severance on Apple TV+ or Nobody Wants This on Netflix, as well as for browsing the web, working within TechRadar’s CMS, or typing in a document. I’ve found that it can get punchy with colors. It’s a great screen to use in general.

The only issues are that it has a glossy, reflective finish, which makes it challenging to use the iPad A16 in really bright scenarios, and that fingerprints easily show on this display. The 11-inch iPad Air with M3 most certainly has the iPad A16 beat here, as it features an additional coating to block reflections, and it can produce even more vibrant colors. Then again, it is a bit more expensive.

I also had no issues with writing or sketching using either the Apple Pencil (first generation) or the Apple Pencil with USB-C on the iPad A16. Using both models here felt quite close to writing with an actual pencil or pen on a sheet of paper, in that there wasn’t a noticeable lag.

Display score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad 11th Gen: Cameras

The camera setup on the 11th-gen iPad remains unchanged from that of the 10th-gen
That's fine, though, as the selfie camera is awesome, mainly thanks to its CenterStage tech
There's still a rear 12-megapixel camera with no flash as well

The previous-generation iPad (10th-generation, also known as the 10.9-inch or 2022) saw Apple correcting its placement of the selfie camera on its iPads, and the iPad A16 doesn’t make waves by moving it again.

As I mentioned above, the 12-megapixel CenterStage camera lives on the longside of the iPad A16, so if you have it placed in the Magic Keyboard Folio or the Smart Cover and have it laying horizontally, it’ll be in the right spot for you to record a video – maybe a monologue or an audition tape – or to take a video call.

The latter is really where this camera excels. Sure, it’s fine for snapping a selfie, but the CenterStage tech uses some onboard software tricks to always keep you in the frame. So, if you’re prone to pacing on video calls, the A16 processor inside will do the work to keep you in the shot. It’ll work in tandem with the stereo microphones to pick up your voice as well.

If you jump up, crouch down, move to the left, or the right, the camera will slowly but surely pan to keep you in the frame. Remember, though, that it can only follow you so far, as the camera itself isn’t moving. The 12-megapixel camera itself supports up to 1080p HD recording, and is the same one that’s used on the 10th-gen and 9th-gen iPads.

If you want to take photos or record video with your iPad, this model again has a 12-megapixel camera on the rear that works just fine. Don’t expect it to rival the camera built into your phone, or a dedicated camera, though.

Cameras score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad 11th Gen: Software

Fans of iPadOS will feel right at home on the 11th-gen iPad, as it's the classic experience
With iPadOS 18, you can still split the screen between two apps and also use picture-in-picture
Apple Intelligence isn't supported here, but Math Notes does work

Ever since Apple split the iPad’s operating system off from iOS into iPadOS, its tablets have been increasingly treading the line between being entertainment devices and productivity machines. The 11th-gen iPad is similarly multi-talented, and the leap to Apple’s A16 chip over the A14 Bionic in the 10th Gen or the A13 Bionic in the 9th Gen ensures that everything runs smoothly here.

I threw a wide range of tasks at the iPad A16, and it didn’t let me down, although it might have made me wait a bit longer for some things. iPadOS 18 here, though, runs very well and didn’t exhibit any noticeable slowdowns when doing the things most people will use the iPad for. I could open nearly every app in what felt like the blink of an eye, from Safari, Messages, games and streaming services to more demanding ones like iMovie or Final Cut Pro. I could also split the screen without slowing things down and run a video in picture-in-picture, or a FaceTime call while having two other applications open.

The iPad A16 is a very competent device for most tasks – you could easily use it in school or college, splitting the screen to take notes with an Apple Pencil on one side and viewing a slide deck or highlighting lines in a virtual textbook on the other. I could use it for work, responding to emails and Slack, then switching to Safari or Google Chrome to edit or write stories on the web. I also edited a few photos in Pixelmator Pro without a hitch.

Something you won’t find supported here, though, is Apple Intelligence. The A16 is not one of the chips that Apple says can handle it, so those features are not here, nor will they arrive in the future. That means the 11th-gen iPad will not receive the new AI-powered Siri whenever it ships and, currently, doesn’t support features like Writing Tools, Genmoji, Imagic Playground, the new look for Siri, or – one of my favorites – Clean Up in Photos.

If you're looking for an iPad that can run Apple Intelligence, the iPad A16 isn’t the model for you, and you’ll need to consider the iPad mini, Air, or Pro. However, I don’t think this will be a deal-breaker for the type of user this tablet is aimed at. If you’re simply after an iPad on which you can browse the web, work with nearly any app on the App Store, and enjoy some gaming, FaceTime with friends, or Netflix streaming, with some productivity tools thrown in and Apple Pencil support, you’ll be right at home.

Furthermore, you can get AI features running on the iPad A16 by downloading Google Gemini, ChatGPT, or any number of services. I’ve tested those first two here, plus Copilot, and they work just fine. And one of the standout machine learning features from Apple, MathNotes within the Calculator or Notes app, also works just fine here.

One last note on software – while the iPad A16 with iPadOS 18 can’t run StageManager, Apple’s more advanced multitasking solution for iPads, it will support iPadOS 26 and receive a whole host of upgrades when that arrives later this year, likely in September or October 2025. And yes, that does mean true to the iPad windowing of apps, a menu bar, and the ability to place folders in the dock. I think it will stretch the mileage even further here, and the Apple silicon inside should keep it running for many years.

Software score: 4 / 5

Apple iPad 11th Gen: Performance

The A16 chip keeps things running promptly, even if it's not a night-and-day upgrade over the previous generation
Even more power-hungry tasks like creative edits run well here, but will take some time

Now let’s break down the specifics of the Apple-made A16 chip that powers the 11th-generation iPad. The A16 consists of a 5-core CPU, a 4-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and remains relatively modern even in 2025, despite being introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.

The other hardware change, alongside the A16 chip, is the doubling of the storage to 128GB from the start, which means plenty of room for apps, videos, and anything else you’d want to store on the iPad. It certainly punches up the value of the device as well.

Inside this iPad, the A16 gives you a tremendous runway – think of it as a performance superhighway – for really any conceivable task you might want to run here. No, it doesn’t essentially eliminate load times, as is the case with the M3-powered iPad Air or the M4-powered iPad Pro, but you’ll be hard pressed to make things slow down here.

I primarily encountered slowdowns when using more creativity-focused applications, such as Pixelmator Pro, Final Cut Pro, or any Adobe Suite product, including Premiere Rush or Photoshop for iPad. Most games, whether Apple Arcade titles or just purchased from the App Store, ran just fine here, and multitasking with picture-in-picture on top didn’t seem to cause much of an issue.

I also ran the iPad A16 through Geekbench 6, which runs the device through a series of tests in a stress-test fashion, and here are the results: 2,577 on single-core and 5,408 on multi-core. While those scores don't beat those of the iPad Air with M3 – and we wouldn’t expect them to – they show that the latest entry-level iPad isn’t any slouch. It matches up pretty clearly without everyday use.

It’s also a highly efficient chip, and it’s paired with a 28.93Wh rechargeable battery inside, which is the same-size cell as in the 11-inch iPad Air with M3. Apple promises up to 10 hours of video playback or surfing the web over Wi-Fi, and up to nine hours on cellular. A better benchmark is that the iPad A16 can last for a full workday of use, depending on the apps you're using. It ships with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a power brick in the box, allowing you to recharge when needed.

Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Apple iPad 11th Gen: Should you buy it?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	With double the starting storage and the same starting prices as well as the A16 chip and promised future software updates, the entry-level iPad strikes a great value posistion.	4.5/5
Design	The entry-level still looks like a modern tablet with a higher-end design over competitors and support for Touch ID.	4/5
Display	Everything from streaming movies to browsing the web with calls, games, and editing in between looks great, I just wish it got a little brighter to combat using it outside on sunny days.	4/5
Cameras	The CenterStage functionality of the front-facing camera makes this a great device for calls.	4/5
Software	iPadOS 16 runs really well here and gives you basic multitasking and supports the Apple Pencil.	4/5
Performance	The A16 isn't a huge leap over the A14 Bionic and doesn't support Apple Intelligence, but it keeps things running very smoothly and lets you use the iPad for really any conceivable task.	4.5/5

Buy it if...

You have an aging iPad or other tablet

Apple's latest entry-level iPad makes a lot of sense if you have an older iPad (maybe something beyond the 9th Gen) or another tablet and have been wanting better performance, battery life, or a larger screen. View Deal

You want an iPad for the basics and then some

With 128GB of starting storage, an excellent 10.9-inch screen, and the A16 chip, the 11th Gen iPad works exceptionally well for a broad range of tasks, including work and entertainment.View Deal

You don't want to spend a ton

With a starting price of $349/£329/AU$599, this is the most affordable way to enter Apple's iPad lineup in terms of a new model.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You need more power

If you want an iPad that can rival the best laptops and serve as your one device for everything, you'll likely want to consider the M3-powered iPad Air or the iPad Pro with M4.View Deal

Your current iPad is working just fine

Considering that even the 9th Gen iPad will receive iPadOS 16 later in 2025, if your current iPad still meets your needs, then you don't need to make the upgrade just yet.View Deal

Also Consider

Apple iPad Air with M3 (2025)

With the 11-inch size just as portable as the 11th Gen base iPad, the Air is all about speeding things up even further, featuring a better screen that doesn't have issues operating on a bright, sunny day, and the ability to pair it with an even better Magic Keyboard.View Deal

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

It's our pick for the best Android tablet for most folks, and the Galaxy Tab S9 really toes the line of being an excellent slate for both work and play, nearly as well as the iPad.View Deal

Apple iPad 11th Gen: How I Tested

I spent several weeks with the 11th Gen iPad (A16) in Pink, using it with a few Apple-made accessories, including the Magic Keyboard Folio, a Smart Folio, a first-generation Apple Pencil, and the Apple Pencil USB-C. I first unboxed the iPad and then set it up as a new tablet, before beginning to install my usual apps to start using it.

I tested the new, entry-level iPad alongside the new iPad Air with M3 for a few days, conducting comparison testing to see how the two similar iPads, in terms of build, hold up.

I also tried to use the iPad A16 as my primary device for testing. I use the iPad for a broad range of tasks, including much of my job, like responding to Slack, emails, editing photos or videos, and writing and editing stories. I also streamed hours of content from some of the best streaming services and played several games on the tablet.

I used the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus for a week and it’s the most durable multitasker but lags behind the iPad Air in an important way

5:29 pm | June 30, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Tablets | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Two-minute review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus, the latest mid-range big tablet from Samsung, puts a huge screen in your hands for $649 / £649 / AU$1,099. For some users, that could be reason enough to buy one, but while the display is genuinely excellent for the tablet’s price, there are some caveats to consider when it comes to performance.

But first, let’s talk about that beautiful screen: the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus’ 13.1-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio, 2880 x 1800 resolution display is this midrange tablet’s best feature, well-suited to watching videos, reading articles, and multitasking. Most will use the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus indoors, but I can report that the display holds up in direct sunlight with colors that look great across the brightness slider, and the 90Hz refresh rate feels very fluid on a display of this size.

That large display, plus the 16:10 aspect ratio, makes the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus a compelling choice for those who want a tablet that goes further than the typical media consumption. There’s plenty of space for multiple windows in Samsung’s Dex environment, which is still the best multitasking system on any tablet. As usual, Samsung has loaded the settings app with deep and extensive customizations that allow you to tool the tablet to your liking. However, a lack of external monitor support hampers productivity potential.

With that said, the performance of the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus does give me some pause. I rarely saw any slowdown within apps, whether gaming, browsing, or drawing with the included S Pen, but the Android 15-based One UI 7 operating system did sometimes stutter at basic things, like swiping up to see open apps. It’s not too slow to use whatsoever, but can’t keep up with Apple’s mid-ranger, the iPad Air.

As for internal hardware, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus runs on Samsung’s own Exynos 1580 chipset, with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. Compared to the competing iPad Air’s M3 chipset, the Exynos 1580 is pretty underpowered. Externally, though, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus is built like a tank – an all metal chassis with an unusually strong IP68 dust and water resistance rating.

These trade-offs define the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus experience. If you want a great display and flexible software, this is one to consider – but it lacks the raw power and outstanding value you’ll find elsewhere.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus leaning on a yellow cushion — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus starts at $649 / £649 / AU$1,099 for the model with WiFi connectivity and 128GB of storage, which is certainly a premium price point. With cheaper tablets like the base-model iPad and Lenovo IdeaTab Pro offering comparable performance, and in the latter case similar screen real estate, Samsung is banking on its brand name here, as well as unique features like the Dex multitasking system and included S Pen stylus.

In fact, putting a stylus in the box might be Samsung’s best move when it comes to the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus. For comparison, Apple now charges $79 / £79 / AU$139 for the Apple Pencil with USB-C, and while the S Pen Samsung’s offering here is smaller and lighter than Apple’s stylus, and never needs charging thanks to a digitizer in the screen.

Increasing the storage to the 256GB option bumps the price up to $749 / £749 / AU$1,249, and adding 5G connectivity adds another £100 / AU$200 – the 5G model is unavailable in the US.

I think the value here is just about reasonable, especially against the competing 13-inch iPad Air which starts at $799 / £799 / AU$999, for 128GB of storage. Apple’s mid-range tablet greatly outpaces the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus when it comes to performance (more on that later), but if you just want a premium-feeling tablet with a 13-inch screen the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is a cheaper option.

As for availability, as a Samsung tablet the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is widely available in the US, UK, Australia, and a plethora of other countries worldwide.

Value score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Specs

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus open to the home screen, S Pen attached at the top of the tablet — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Starting price	$649 / £649 / AU$1,099
Operating system	One UI 7 / Android 15
Chipset	Samsung Exynos 1580
RAM	8GB
Storage	128GB / 256GB
Display	13.1-inch, 2880 x 1800, 90Hz
Cameras	13MP rear camera, 12MP selfie camera
Battery	10,090mAh
Connectivity	USB-C, MicroSD, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G
Weight	668g
Dimensions	300.6 x 194.7 x 6 mm

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Design

The rear panel of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus leaning on a wall — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus follows Samsung’s no-frills design philosophy, with a solid build and simple aesthetic. Personally, I think it looks great – sticking with a clean rear panel and straightforward all-screen front makes aesthetics hard to mess up. I’m also a fan of the fetching blue color on the all-metal rear panel and side rails – other options include silver and gray.

As for ports and buttons, it’s standard fare – a volume rocker, power button with fast and accurate fingerprint scanner, and USB-C port for data and charging. The selfie camera is mounted on the long edge of the device, which cements it as a landscape-first design, though the screen is large enough that my thumbs only just reach the middle when holding it at each end.

That all-metal frame also hints at the tablet’s durability – as well as feeling tanky, with a reasonably hefty weight of 668g, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus boasts an IP68 rating against dust and water ingress, meaning this tablet can be totally submerged in fresh water and supposedly come out unscathed. That’s a rare quality that Samsung’s premium tablets offer, and though it's not really a selling point it does offer peace of mind.

Size-wise the tablet is close to a small laptop, and while I found it weighty in-hand it’s no bother to carry around in a backpack. At 6mm thick the tablet finds a nice balance between slim and solid.

Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Display

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus open to TechRadar — (Image credit: Roland Moore-Colyer / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus’ display is its biggest and best asset. It’s a 13.1-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 2880 x 1800, 90Hz refresh rate, and up to 800 nits of brightness. Also, it sports an aspect ratio of 16:10, meaning videos and movies take up most the available space. It’s a fantastic screen – I was never left wanting more from this bright, high resolution 13.1-inch panel, even if it wouldn’t match up to an OLED-equipped Galaxy Tab model in direct comparison.

I was grateful for that wider aspect ratio when it comes to watching videos and playing games. You feel like you’re getting the most out of that large screen size watching videos on YouTube or playing games like Asphalt 8. It even holds up in direct sunlight, and colors feel vibrant and consistent across the full range of the brightness slider.

Samsung’s in-depth approach to device settings pays dividends for the display experience, too. You can calibrate vividness (seemingly a combination of saturation and contrast), change font and UI zoom independently of each other, and even adjust the default aspect ratio for each individual app. It’s a level of control that you just don’t see on other tablets.

A 120Hz panel would have been nice to see at this price point, and would have given the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus a bit more leverage over the iPad Air, which is stuck at 60Hz. However, this is certainly the next best thing – it's a great display and the tablet's best feature.

Display score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Cameras

The rear camera of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus — (Image credit: Roland Moore-Colyer / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus comes equipped with a 13MP main camera and 12MP selfie camera, and both are serviceable for scanning documents, video calls, and taking the odd snap – which for a tablet, and especially one of this size, is all you really need them to do.

The 12MP selfie camera is placed horizontally, which cements the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus as a landscape-first device. It takes pretty lackluster photos but will do fine for video chats and the odd snap here and there.

As for the rear camera, I found the 13MP lens similarly captured a reasonable amount of light, with more vibrant colors than its front-facing counterpart – but still produced images that were very lacking in detail. The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus FE’s cameras are, like most tablet cameras, auxiliary in nature, as most people will reach for their phone for photography needs. But even in this context, the cameras on the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus aren't great.

Camera score: 2.5 / 5

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Magazines on shelves — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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Wild daisies — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A street sign reading — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Shot at the maximum 8x digital zoom

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Software

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus open to the app drawer — (Image credit: Roland Moore-Colyer / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus runs One UI 7, which is built on Android 15. Samsung’s latest mobile operating system is full of personality and features, so many that using the tablet can feel genuinely personal without even heading to the Google Play Store. There’s just so much of everything – you could easily spend an hour tweaking the homescreen widgets or testing out the display options. The settings app is absolutely full of personalization and functional options for both the tablet and included S Pen stylus.

As for the UI itself, I like how One UI 7 adapts to the large screen. With that said, One UI 7 certainly feels a little less fluid to swipe through than some other implementations of Android, and I found that the UI would stutter quite frequently when swiping between homescreen pages or exiting apps. Whether that's down to software optimization or hardware deficiencies, the result is still disappointing.

Samsung also offers the best multitasking of any tablet maker. As well as the ability to put apps into split-screen in its normal mode, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus FE supports not one, but two versions of Samsung Dex – the classic laptop-style format as well as a modernized look that feels like a more customizable version of Apple’s Stage Manager.

I was able to organize apps in a way that felt natural and flexible. I could type up notes on one side of the screen while browsing through articles on the other, or throw a YouTube video on in a floating window via Dex.

Free floating windows and the ability to open multiple apps simultaneously pairs very well with the huge screen, making using the Tab as a light all-in-one device pretty seamless, especially when paired with a keyboard and mouse over Bluetooth. No external monitor support, as well as an underpowered chipset, means potential as a true productivity device is limited, but Dex remains impressive.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus also serves as a gateway to Samsung’s recently expanded Galaxy AI suite. Bixby and Google Gemini are both available as AI assistants, with tools that are integrated into One UI 7 but not always clearly signposted. For example, the AI object eraser tool – one of Samsung’s most impressive software tools – is hidden behind a tiny Galaxy AI logo in the photo gallery.

Software score: 3.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Performance

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus playing Asphalt 8 — (Image credit: Roland Moore-Colyer / Future)

When it comes to performance, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus' Exynos 1580 chipset is fine for day-to-day browsing, media consumption, and even gaming – I didn’t clock any slowdown in Call of Duty Mobile. I also rarely felt the need to close apps when multitasking, 8GB of RAM seemingly enough to handle several everyday processes at once. I also enjoyed using the responsive S Pen to jot down notes and try my hand at drawing in the pre-installed PenUp app.

I also used CapCut to edit some video and made liberal use of Dex for multitasking, both of which the tablet handled well. With all that said, the tablet does seem to suffer from some stuttering and slowdown when navigating the UI, though, even during basic tasks like opening the app drawer or closing an app, which is a real let-down at this price point.

Another issue lies with how the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus fits in to the rest of the market.

Future Labs test results found that the rival iPad Air was twice as fast in single-core processing and two-and-a-half times as fast in multi-core processing than the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus. The 2025 base-model iPad is also about twice as fast in single core processing and 50% faster in multi-core processing for a starting price of $349 / £329 / AU$599

In fact, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus scored worse in our performance tests than the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro, which offers a 12.7-inch screen for $349.99 / £379.99. It is plainly ridiculous that Apple and Lenovo can outpace the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus for around $300 / £300 / .AU$500 less.

Even though Android tablets aren't known to support many intensive professional workflows, at this price point I'd want to see Samsung at least keeping up with the competition.

Performance score: 2.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Battery and connectivity

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus' USB-C port — (Image credit: Roland Moore-Colyer / Future)

The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is one of its most impressive aspects. It almost seems reductive to measure the longevity of this tablet in hours – with moderate mixed use I typically managed two days without a recharge. Samsung quotes up to 21 hours of video playback on the official specs sheet, which seems reasonable based on my experience – even blasting through gaming sessions on full brightness doesn’t eat up the battery life too quickly.

When it does come time to recharge, the tablet supports charging speeds of up to 45W over USB-C, but does not support wireless charging – that’s pretty quick for a tablet. As the tablet doesn’t ship with a charger in the box, I topped up with a 25W charger from another manufacturer, taking around 4 hours to charge the 10,090mAh cell from empty to full.

When it comes time to top up, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus connects to power via a single USB-C port, which doubles as the tablet’s only data transfer port. As for wireless connectivity, the tablet supports WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and 5G cellular connectivity (an optional spec available in the UK and Australia).

A three-pin adapter on the bottom of the device provides connection to first-party keyboards and accessories. The tablet also has a tray for storage expansion via microSD card.

Battery and connectivity score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: Score card

Attributes	Notes	Score
Value	The Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus offers a fair amount of utility and features. It's cheaper than the 13-inch iPad Air, but is undercut by more powerful rivals.	3 / 5
Design	Samsung minimalism, a sturdy all-metal build, and a surprising IP68 rating.	4 / 5
Display	The 13.1-inch display is beautiful, and by far this tablet's best feature.	4 / 5
Cameras	Tablets don't need great cameras, but these still feel subpar.	2.5 / 5
Software	One UI 7 is full of customization and Dex is the best multitasking system on a tablet, but the stuttery UI is a letdown.	3.5 / 5
Performance	Handles most apps well enough, but One UI 7 is prone to stuttering. At this price point we'd want to see more impressive results.	2.5 / 5
Battery	A huge battery that lasts days with mixed use, offset by long charging times.	4 / 5

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus

Buy it if...

You want a great, large screen

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus has a fantastic screen – one of the best you’ll find on a tablet for this price. It’s by far the tablet’s best feature.

You want something well-built

With an all-metal frame, solid build, and rare IP68 dust and water resistance rating, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is about as sturdy as tablets come.

Don't buy it if...

You want something simple

One UI 7 feels less cramped on a tablet than it does on a phone, but Samsung’s mobile OS is still a step up in complexity versus Apple’s market leading iPadOS.

You’re on a budget

All things considered, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is pretty expensive - there are cheaper and more powerful rivals out there.

Also consider

iPad Air 13-inch (2024)

Apple's large mid-range tablet is more expensive than Samsung's offering, but has access to a much wider range of professional apps, some of the best accessories around, and the profoundly greater power of the M3 chipset.

Read our full iPad Air 13-inch (2024) reviewView Deal

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE

If you're set on getting a Samsung tablet but want to save a bit more money or want a smaller screen, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is the way to go. At a starting price of $499 / £499 / AU$849, the smaller Tab S10 FE offers better value performance wise. View Deal

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus: How I tested

I spent five days testing the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus, putting the tablet through a number of specific use cases designed to make use of the tablet’s full feature set. The model I tested had 128GB of storage and WiFi connectivity, and came in the Blue color option.

I watched videos and listened to music on YouTube, browsed articles on Google Chrome and the Samsung Internet browser, played games, typed notes and documents with a keyboard and mouse connected, and doodled with the included S Pen on the pre-installed PenUp app. I edited video on CapCut and made liberal use of Dex mode for multitasking.

I also ran the battery to zero and measured the time taken to fully recharge, and dove deep into the settings app to tune the display, UI, and S Pen to my liking.

I then applied my knowledge of mobile hardware and journalistic training to offer a balanced assessment of the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus’ capability and value for money.

Reviewed May 2025

PocketBook’s InkPad Eo improves on the build quality of its forebears – it’s a shame this E Ink writing tablet is so frustrating to use

5:11 am | June 25, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers eReaders Gadgets Tablets | Tags: Europe, North America | Comments: Off

PocketBook InkPad Eo review

My first thought as soon as I took the InkPad Eo out of its packaging was, “Ooh, that’s different.” It’s physically unlike any PocketBook device I’ve tried before, with a premium and hefty build that it’s borrowed from Bigme – made possible after the Chinese brand became a co-owner.

This was a good move as the metal-bound chassis feels nice to hold and, despite an 8MP rear camera, there’s no bump, so it lies completely flat on a table. However, the use of metal edges and the camera could be what’s made the InkPad Eo heavier (at 470g) than some of its competition, like the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 (375g), and uncomfortable to hold for long sessions. I've tested other 10-inch E Ink writing tablets and most of them are more comfortable to hold than the InkPad Eo.

Other than its design, there’s just a couple of other positives I appreciate about the PocketBook InkPad Eo. One is the adoption of the global handwriting feature – aka the ability to write on third-party apps – which is not always supported in other epaper note-taking tablets and could well sway some potential buyers. The other is the color palette – while not as well optimized as the Kobo Colour Libra's screen, book covers on the InkPad Eo look lovely in color. However, this has not quite translated to the ink colors when writing or drawing and those look far more washed out.

A book cover displayed in color on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

And that's where my positives for this device stop. While I commend the attempt at giving the Onyx Boox devices competition, the Eo is unable to hold its own in other areas.

For starters, it’s very easy to lose the stylus as it doesn’t secure magnetically to the side of the tablet itself. Moreover, the eraser on the top of the pen doesn’t quite behave as expected – it’s more a selector, and the erasing happens after you’ve selected something in the notes app. It’s not a massive lag, but I much prefer the way the Kindle Scribe’s Premium Pen or the Kobo Stylus 2 behaves – erasing as you move along the writing (or drawing), much like an actual pencil eraser would do. Even the reMarkable’s Marker and the Boox pens erase in real time.

The camera, despite being a nice touch, isn’t worth having at all. It doesn’t actually ‘scan’ a document as your phone might do – instead it takes a photo. And the quality of the image isn’t great either, much like the Onyx Boox Palma 2.

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The boot-up page for the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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An ebook's page displayed on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The one thing you expect to do easily with any ereader is transfer files, but even that basic task was frustrating with the InkPad Eo. While there’s Dropbox support (and I’m not a user of this cloud service), there’s no cable transfer possible from a MacBook (I’m not a Windows user either). All possible solutions recommended by PocketBook that I found online to move ebooks to the library application didn’t work and I had to resort to using a microSD card instead. That worked well, along with allowing me to add custom fonts, and a restart enabled the latter easily enough. Even Boox devices don’t have Apple support, but it’s still a lot easier to transfer files without resorting to using a microSD card, and that's thanks to BooxDrop and Google Drive support.

It’s also not easy to check if a file import (in my case via the microSD card) has been successfully completed on the InkPad Eo. There’s no progress bar and the files don’t uncheck when the import is done. Strangely, there is a greyed-out Import button with a check mark, but it’s barely visible.

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The global handwriting feature on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The Google Play Store on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The Apps pane on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Even ghosting is a massive issue. Nearly every app and every page turn results in a light overlay of the previous screen, which can get distracting after a while because you keep expecting it to happen. And that’s despite PocketBook adopting the multiple refresh rate options that Boox devices also have, and yet the latter does it better. I found that the best refresh rate setting to successfully minimize ghosting on the Inkpad Eo is the Regal option, but the only way to select that is to choose Custom Mode, otherwise it’s greyed out. It’s a simple thing and should be available as one of the default options.

The InkPad Eo is the first epaper writing tablet from PocketBook that I’ve tested, but the user interface was instantly familiar. It’s like a love child of reMarkable and Boox, inheriting more from the latter. And, of course, that means the Eo struggles with similar issues that I’ve previously complained about with Boox. The interface is clunky and not very streamlined, with important submenus tucked away when they should be easier to access.

I’m also not too chuffed about a tablet released in April 2025 running Android 11. That’s outdated now and, even though I don’t expect security to be an issue on a device like an E Ink note-taking tablet, surely it’s time to move on – even Boox has adopted Android 13.

Ghosting of the keyboard on the Google Play Store sign-in page on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

There are a whole lot of other little bugs which can be fixed via a firmware update, but are, at present, rather annoying. For example, tapping on the Home icon doesn’t take you to a home screen at all – it just refreshes the screen you’re already on or takes you to the home page of the app you were using.

Another example is that even though PocketBook has thought about adding a Night and Bedtime frontlight setting, they’re both very bright by default and require manual adjusting anyway. So having those presets was of no use, at least to me who prefers dim screen light when reading at night.

Long story short, PocketBook needs to do better. The InkPad Eo has the makings of a good epaper writing tablet but, as it is now, it’s hard to recommend when there are other brands that do a far superior job at the same or lower price.

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The power button on the top left corner of the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The USB-C port and the microSD card tray on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

PocketBook InkPad Eo review: specs

Display type:	E Ink Kaleido 3
Screen size:	10.3 inches
Screen resolution:	300ppi grayscale; 150ppi color
Processor:	Mediatek MT8768 (octa core 2.3GHz)
Frontlight:	Yes (SMARTlight)
Storage:	64GB (expandable via microSD)
Battery:	4,000mAh
Speaker:	Yes (stereo)
Water protection:	None
Software:	Android 11
Connectivity:	USB-C, Wi-Fi (dual band), Bluetooth 5.0
File support:	14 document, 3 image, 2 audio
Dimensions:	226 х 191 х 7 mm
Weight:	470g

PocketBook InkPad Eo review: price & availability

Announced March 2025
Available now in North America and Europe from authorized sellers
List price: $550 / £449 (about AU$850)

The PocketBook InkPad Eo was announced at the end of March 2025 and has been available to buy in select markets from third-party sellers since April. With a price tag of $550 / £449 (about AU$850), it’s an expensive E Ink note-taking tablet, but then so is the Bigme InkNoteX from which it takes its cues, as are other color 10-inch E Ink writing tablets.

For example, the reMarkable Paper Pro will set you back $579 / £559 / AU$929 at the very least. For that kind of money, you’re getting a much better device too – an e-paper screen that displays color better and a very streamlined, minimal user interface. That said, it’s not the best for using as an ereader as well – its sole purpose is to be a writing tablet.

While we haven’t tested the Boox Note Air4 C, we’ve liked the previous generations and, for a color e-note taker of the same size as the InkPad Eo, with the same screen tech and very similar UX, it could be the better buy at $529.99 / AU$874 (ships to the UK via the EU warehouse for about £465).

At the time of writing, the InkPad Eo isn’t being listed at too many US stores, although Amazon has it listed for $579. It seems to be well stocked in the UK, though, although prices vary a little. For example, Amazon UK has it down for £504.26, but Currys lists it for £499. Laptops Direct is the only UK retailer stocking it for £449 at the time of writing.

PocketBook devices aren’t officially available in Australia, but imports are listed on Amazon AU and eBay, but at high markups.

Should I buy the PocketBook InkPad Eo?

Buy it if...

Global handwriting is an important feature you need

Not all epaper writing tablets support handwriting in third-party apps. In fact, it's pretty rare. But PocketBook has enabled it on the InkPad Eo, which gives it a major edge over the competition.

You're a PocketBook or Bigme loyalist

There's no denying that PocketBook or Bigme fans will appreciate this tablet – it's well made and inherts Bigme's global handwriting feature. For everyone else, it might be worth looking elsewhere for an alternative.

Don't buy it if...

You don't have the patience to deal with bugs

There's a heck of a lot that's not executed well with the PocketBook InkPad Eo, and it's more than just bugs. If things like ghosting and a clunky interface are going to annoy you, you're better off spending your money elsewhere.

You want value for money

For what it offers, the InkPad Eo is expensive. You'll find far more value for money by opting for a similar tablet from another brand. And if it's an Android one you're after, the Boox devices should be top of your list.

Also consider

Onyx Boox Go 10.3

It looks lovely and it's arguably the thinnest and lightest 10-inch E Ink writing tablet I've used. It doesn't have a color display, but its feature packed and runs Android 12. It's my pick for being the best E Ink writing tablet as its more versatile than the reMarkable 2.
Read my in-depth Onyx Boox Go 10.3 review for more information.

reMarkable Paper Pro

If money is no object and you want a color epaper writing tablet, there's none better than the reMarkable Paper Pro. Instead of using the standard E Ink Kaleido 3 screen tech, it uses a customized version of the Gallery 3 display, so colors are more saturated in comparison. And as a reMarkable, it's a creator's tablet through and through.
Read our full reMarkable Paper Pro review to learn more.

How I tested the PocketBook InkPad Eo

Used every day for three weeks as ereader and note taker
Downloaded a few Android apps, including Kindle and Kobo for reading
Listened to some audiobooks and music files to test speaker quality

Handwriting in color on the PocketBook InkPad Eo — (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I've tested about 30 ereaders in the last eight years, so I've developed a routine when I begin a new review. First, I connect to Wi-Fi to set up the device, then immediately see if I can transfer some ebooks and comic files for testing. And if it's a note-taking tablet like the PocketBook InkPad Eo, I start a new notebook called Scribbles where I test writing, drawing and handwriting recognition.

I did all this for the InkPad Eo, then also signed into the Google Play Store to download some other apps, including some benchmarking ones as I'm always curious to see how the processor performs.

I spent about 30 hours over a period of three weeks reading ebooks, and took all my work-related notes on the InkPad Eo. This gave me plenty of experience with the workings of the tablet. I also tried out the rear camera a few times, plus tested all the refresh rate options and various settings.

Given my experience with different brands of ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, I was able to compare the InkPad Eo as objectively as possible with the competition from Onyx Boox, Kindle, Kobo and reMarkable.

OnePlus Pad 3: one-minute review

As someone who has sworn by iPads and iPadOS for over a decade now, consider me pleasantly surprised to discover just how much fun it is to use the OnePlus Pad 3. For my particular use case, as someone who likes to use tablet computers for a mix of productivity during the day and catching up on YouTube and Netflix in my spare time, the Pad 3 provided me with quality of life features I didn’t even know I needed.

Smart suggestions from Open Canvas that let you split-screen apps in seconds, not to mention having up to three apps open at once with extra capacity for apps sitting in a floating window, all add up to a great experience that’s further emboldened by a bright screen and fantastic battery life.

When you factor in the additional cost of accessories, the complete OnePlus Pad 3 package can set you back a fair bit, and I still think that the entry-level iPad 10.9 is the best value option for more people where tablets are concerned. It’s also a shame that a lack of Android optimisation gets in the way of the grand ambitions of OxygenOS. If something can be done to make key Android apps function more appropriately in tablet form, then the OnePlus Pad 3 could make a fine case for arguably being the best Android tablet out there.

OnePlus Pad 3 review: price and availability

OnePlus Pad 3 in a case on a wooden table — (Image credit: Future)

Starts at $699 / £529 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage
A 16GB RAM/512GB storage model is available in the UK, but not the US

You’d be justified for thinking that, with all the upgrades included and the current state of the world economy, that the OnePlus Pad 3 would bring about a hefty price increase over the OnePlus Pad 2, but thankfully that’s not the case.

The OnePlus Pad 3 boasts an entry level price of $699 / £529 for the 12GB RAM/256GB storage model, but that can leap up to £599 for the more robust 16GB RAM/512GB storage option.

Given that the OnePlus Pad 2 had a launch price of $549 / £499 at the checkout, seeing just a £30 uptick this time around (in the UK at least) isn’t too shabby, and I think it’s reasonable request when compared against the larger screen, faster processor, increased storage and improved speakers that you get with this newer model. Sorry, US users, but you know what you did.

What you do need to bear in mind however is that the OnePlus Pad 3 does not come bundled with any of its key accessories. In the US you get the 80W SuperVOOC charger, but in the UK you’ll only find OnePlus’ signature red USB-C cable included. This is where the cost can soar.

The OnePlus Pad 3 Stylo 2 will set you back $99 / £99, so you'll have to factor that in for digital drawing or note-taking, while the OnePlus Pad 3 Smart Keyboard and Folio Case cost $199 / £169 and $49 / £59 respectively. Of course, you can always opt for cheaper alternatives to help mitigate that cost, such as eschewing the Smart Keyboard in favor of one of the best wireless keyboards, but for the most seamless experience where everything complements one another in design language, it can add up.

Value score: 4 / 5

OnePlus Pad review: specs

Starting price	£529
Operating system	OxygenOS 15
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
Memory (RAM)	12GB/16GB
Storage	256GB/512GB
Display	13.2-inch 3.4k LCD, 144Hz
Weight	675g
Battery	12,140mAh
Charging	80W SUPERVOOC
Cameras	13MP main, 8MP front

Pretty much all of the key areas have seen an upgrade over the OnePlus Pad 2. There’s now the much faster Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset under the hood which OnePlus claims to provide a 45% and 40% boost in CPU and GPU performance respectively.

Helping to power that chipset is an increase in the default amount of RAM, with the entry-level option now boasting 12GB instead of 8GB, and that’s also paired with a higher starting storage of 256GB as opposed to 128GB. In the UK there is an upgrade option with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but that model isn't being sold in the US.

What’s sure to turn heads for those who use their tablets as all-day devices is the leap to a massive 12,140mAh battery which absolutely towers above the 9,510mAh cell found within the OnePlus Pad 2. There’s even an increase in charging speeds, now up to 80W, to help you fill up that larger battery even faster. In the US that faster charger comes in the box, but UK users will need to splurge on the faster plug.

OnePlus Pad 3 review: display

OnePlus Pad 3 close-up images — (Image credit: Future)

Gorgeous 13.2-inch 3.2K LCD panel
7:5 ratio is helpful for multitasking
Great depiction of colour

Because I’d become so used to using the much smaller iPad 10.9, which has been my go-to tablet for everything over the last few years, I was somewhat gobsmacked by the display that the OnePlus Pad 3 brings to the table. Sure, it’s not quite the 14.6-inch beast that you’ll find on the far pricier Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, but the Pad 3’s 13.2-inch 3.2K LCD display is an eye-catcher for a handful of reasons.

At the surface level, it just looks great. Whether you’re simply admiring the collection of landscape photography that OnePlus offers up for potential wallpapers, or streaming one of the best Disney Plus shows, it all leaps out of the screen with a level of vibrancy that really makes the OnePlus Pad 3 a joy to use. Whenever I had to go back to using my Windows laptop, I always found myself irritated at the immediate downgrade in screen quality.

When I was diving into a bit of Call of Duty Mobile to test out the performance of the device, I ended up playing for quite a bit longer than I usually do just because of how great the game looks on the OnePlus Pad 3. Particle effects really pop thanks to the larger than average sizing, and your eyes are drawn to character models which are given their due thanks to the detailed 3.2K resolution.

The high density of pixels also means that fans of animation will love using this thing for entertainment. Diving into Disney Pixar’s Elemental, the opening scenes in Element City are an absolute feast for the eyes, with your attention drawn equally to what’s happening in the foreground and all the smaller moments of background action.

Because of the unique 7:5 aspect ratio, the OnePlus Pad 3 has just the right amount of height in its display to have multiple windows open at one time, all without any of them feeling too cramped to the point where you’re forced to zoom in. In the time that I’ve been using the tablet, I’ve probably come to value this feature the most as it means I can really maximise its capabilities as a productivity device. I never like to bring a laptop with me on holiday, but for something like this that works so well for both watching content and responding to emails, the OnePlus Pad 3 is exactly the type of device I’d pack in my suitcase.

Display score: 5 / 5

OnePlus Pad 3 review: design

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Barely thicker than the USB-C port at the bottom
Fairly mundane colour options

When you lay your hands on the OnePlus Pad 3, you’ll no doubt notice, before anything else, just how slim this thing is. As soon as I took it out of the box, I became far more cautious in my handling of the Pad 3 until I was able to encase it in the Smart Keyboard accessory that OnePlus sent along with it.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is just 5.97mm thick, which isn’t too far off the 5.1mm thickness of the iPad Pro 2024. Despite its larger than average display, the Pad 3 doesn’t weigh all that much in the hand either, coming in at only 675g. Thankfully, all of this means that, even with the Smart Keyboard in tow, the OnePlus Pad 3 feels wonderfully lightweight in your bag, and it’s very easy to carry around one-handed.

Unfortunately, there isn’t really anything here in the way of visual flare to elevate the OnePlus 3 from competing tablets. There are two colors available in the UK, Storm Blue (the same as the review unit) and Frosted Silver. The silver model won't be sold in the US.

While I can’t speak for the latter, the Storm Blue looks anything but blue to my eyes, striking more as a darker grey. I know that this isn’t uncommon with tablets around this price range, but I would love to see more vibrant options like what you’ll find with the entry-level iPad 10.9.

It also doesn’t help that the ‘all metal unibody’ of the tablet loves to pick up the occasional smudge, which is never a good look. I also think that the design of the Smart Keyboard accessory could use a bit of an overhaul.

The keyboard itself is fine once you get used to it, but it would be nice if the keys were less mushy and a bit more clicky, similar to what you’ll find on Apple’s Magic Keyboard. The material underneath the keyboard also doesn’t have much grip to it either, and when working at a standard office desk, I found it would slip and slide all over the place with just a slight nudge, which forced me to be a bit more considerate in my typing. This wasn’t the case everywhere that I took the Pad 3, but it’s something that I would like to see fixed in a successor.

Design score: 4/5

OnePlus Pad 3 review: software

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Open Canvas is now better than ever
Android still needs better optimisation on tablets

Software has long been the Achilles heel for almost all Android tablets when weighed up against the seamlessness of Apple’s iPadOS, but to give OnePlus its due, the company has done its best to close the gap with OxygenOS 15.

Compared to some of the more cumbersome Android interface options out there, OxygenOS is clean in its aesthetic and easy to understand in its UI so that, even if you’re someone who’s knee-deep in Apple’s ecosystem and considering picking up an Android tablet for the first time, you’ll get on just fine here.

OnePlus made the excellent decision last year to bring the impressive Open Canvas software (originally found on the OnePlus Open) over to the OnePlus Pad 2. This ingenious bit of tech means that you can easily have up to three apps open at the same time, which has been incredibly helpful whilst writing this review as it means I’ve been able to cross reference my own notes with OnePlus’ official press release without having to constantly minimize and reopen windows.

Open Canvas was already great, but it’s just been given a handy upgrade that now makes launching it even easier than before. If the Pad 3 notices that you’ve quickly jumped from one app to another, it will ask if you want to split-screen these apps so that they sit side by side. The moment you tap this notification, both apps appear instantly – it’s that simple.

It’s such a small addition to the software but one that ended up saving me a decent chunk of time, and anything that helps to keep your flowstate going when you're in the middle of a tough deadline is fine by me. Apple should take note and bring this to iPadOS in the future.

As great as Open Canvas is, the OnePlus Pad 3 doesn’t completely avoid the optimization problems that plague Android on tablets. Regardless of which device I’m using, I frequently rely on Google Docs and Notion, both of which had issues when trying to run on the Pad 3.

Initially, Notion wouldn’t let me type anything until I was forced to delete the app and then reinstall it, while Google Docs would just flat out refuse to recognize the scrolling gesture on the Smart Keyboard trackpad, so I’ve been forced to use the touchscreen whenever I’ve needed to move through a document.

What I will say is that for a lot of these web-based apps, they do work rather well when you run them in the Chrome browser, similar to how you would with one of the best Chromebooks, but it’s hardly ideal given that it’s never an issue I’ve had to deal with when using iPadOS.

Unlike a lot of companies right now, OnePlus hasn’t gone so far into AI that it’s taken up the bulk of the upgrades, but there are some helpful AI features now baked into the ‘AI toolkit’ which appears when you’re browsing the web. This allows you to quickly summarise an article if you’re in a rush, or have an AI voice read out its contents for you, even as you dive into other apps. It’s unobtrusive yet well executed, so well done to OnePlus on this front.

Software score: 4 / 5

OnePlus Pad 3 review: performance

Flagship performance thanks to the latest Snapdragon chip
This is a tablet designed for multitasking

If you’ve already read the specs for the OnePlus Pad 3 then you may have raised an eye-brow at the inclusion of the super-powered Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset under the hood. Not only is this the same processor you’ll find in the best smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Honor Magic 7 Pro, but it also represents a major leap in speed from what we've seen before.

As previously mentioned, the claim is that the 8 Elite can provide a 45% boost in performance to the CPU, and 40% for the GPU. That all sounds great on paper, but what difference does it make to the day to day experience? Plenty, as it turns out.

Just for context, this entire review has been written with the OnePlus Pad 3, and I’ve had Google Docs open alongside a PDF press release, and a Chrome window with several tabs. Occasionally I’ve had a WhatsApp overlay in the corner to quickly respond to messages, and at one point I had Disney Plus playing Avengers: Endgame on top of all these apps, and it didn’t break a sweat. Sure, it did look like some kind of pop-up-filled nightmare, but I was impressed to see no signs of slowdown. Simply put, if you're after a productivity tablet that you can really push to the limits, you’ll get on well here.

The same can be said for gaming. Taking a quick break to enjoy a few rounds of Call of Duty Mobile with an Xbox controller connected via Bluetooth, the OnePlus Pad 3 kept up with every fast-paced moment and all the chaos that a typical match brings with it.

As a final point, I want to draw particular attention to the improved speakers on the OnePlus Pad 3. There are now eight speakers instead of four, and they collectively offer up the best sound I’ve ever come across on a tablet. Layers feel separated so that they each have noticeable depth, and vocals are elevated to make watching shows and films a really enjoyable experience.

Performance score: 5 / 5

OnePlus Pad 3 review: battery

Charging speeds and battery capacity have been upgraded
No charging brick included

While there have been plenty of upgrades elsewhere, OnePlus has still made sure not to forget about the battery and charging experience. The headline upgrade here is the change to a much larger 12,140mAh battery which OnePlus claims can play triple-A games for six hours, or endure video playback for more than 17-hours. That’s definitely impressive, but I think that the proof is in how it can handle a bit of everything over the course of a day.

Beginning my test at 9:30am, I used the OnePlus Pad 3 as my main work device for typing documents and responding to emails, but over the course of six hours of screen-on time, downloading apps, watching 30-mins of Disney Plus and similarly playing games for 30-minutes, I was able to make it to 5:30pm with about 35% battery left in the tank. Of course, the average work day (for myself at least) doesn't tend to have quite so much time set aside for entertainment, but to still have 35% remaining leaves me with plenty of confidence for the days when I want to hunker down with work.

Charging is a bit of a different story. The OnePlus Pad 3 now support fast charging up to 80W, up from 67W on the OnePlus Pad 2, but you’ll need to buy a compatible charger separately in order to hit those speeds.

For my charging test, I had a 65W charger to hand (which is still faster than most), and managed to get the Pad 3 from 5% battery to 100% in 121 minutes. It took about an hour to reach 56% so if you are strapped for time, that should give you enough power to get through a day with the power saver mode switched on.

Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the OnePlus Pad 3?

OnePlus Pad 3 report card
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	For all the upgrades the OnePlus Pad 3 packs, its small price increase is easily justified.	4 / 5
Display	The increased size and unique aspect ratio make the display ideal for work and entertainment	5 / 5
Design	The Pad 3 is incredibly thin and light to the touch, but its overall design isn't too inspiring	4 / 5
Software	OxygenOS is brilliantly intuitive, but Android still needs some work for tablets	4 / 5
Performance	The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset makes short work of multitasking and gaming	5 / 5
Battery	Plenty of longevity but charging can be slow if you don’t buy an appropriate fast charger	4 / 5

Buy it if…

You need a multitasking tablet for work

If you’re constantly juggling emails, documents and notes then the OnePlus Pad is perfect for jumping between them quickly.

You want one of the best Android tablets out there

Between OxygenOS and the improved battery life, the Pad 3 will leave you wanting for very little within the Android space.

You’re tempted to make the jump from iPad

As a long-time iPad user, I can safely say that I’ll be using the Pad 3 predominantly as my main productivity tablet going forward.

Don’t buy it if…

You aren’t prepared to pay for the accessories

The OnePlus Pad 3 is a great tablet, but it’s made infinitely better by buying at least one of its available accessories which should be factored into the overall cost.

You want the best value tablet

Compared to the iPad Air 2024, the Pad 3 is a bargain, but it’s still more expensive than great value offerings like the Galaxy Tab S10 FE which bundles in the S Pen for free.

You’re knee deep in the Apple ecosystem

Because of the seamless communication between Apple devices, those toting an iPhone or Apple Watch will still find a better overall experience with one of the best iPads.

Also consider

Not convinced by all the OnePlus Pad 3 has to offer? Here are some alternatives worth checking out:

	OnePlus Pad 3	Apple iPad 10.9 (2022)	Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
Price	£529	$349 / £329	$1,199.99 / £1,199 (now regularly discounted)
Base storage	256GB	64GB	256GB
Screen size	13.2-inch 3.4k LCD, 144Hz	10.9-inch LCD, 60Hz	14.6-inch AMOLED, 120Hz
Chipset	Snapdragon 8 Elite	Apple A14 Bionic	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
Battery	12,140mAh	7,606mAh	11,200mAh
Charging	80W	28.6W	45W
Cameras	13MP main, 8MP front	12MP main, 12MP front	13MP main, 8MP ultra wide, plus 12MP wide and 12MP ultra wide front sensors
OS	OxygenOS w/ Android 15	iPadOS 18	One UI with Android 15

Apple iPad 10.9 (2022)

Apple’s entry-level iPad still manages to defy expectations by offering plenty in the way of productivity and entertainment prowess, and since its successor hit the scene, it can now be found cheaper than ever.

Read our full Apple iPad 10.9 (2022) review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

If you know where to look, Samsung’s ultra-premium tablet of yesteryear can be picked up for a significantly reduced price, and it comes with the S Pen stylus included.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review

How I tested the OnePlus Pad 3

I used the OnePlus Pad 3 over a nine-day testing period, using it in my home office, connected to my home Wi-Fi, and also at a local cafe whilst using my OnePlus Open as a hotspot.

Testing the full speed of its 80W fast charging wasn’t possible due to only having a 65W adapter available over the course of this review, which should be taken into consideration when analysing the battery results.

When testing out the gaming performance of the OnePlus Pad 3, I played Call of Duty Mobile, GTA: San Andreas The Definitive Edition, and Dead Cells: Netflix Edition, all with a wirelessly connected Xbox controller.

First reviewed June 2025

I’ve used the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro for over a month, and Apple should be worried about this Android iPad alternative

7:00 pm | April 6, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Tablets | Tags: UK, US | Comments: Off

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: One-minute review

The new Lenovo Idea Tab Pro could be the best Android alternative to Apple's iPad 10.9 (2022) on the market right now, given its comparable price point

It’s a formidable general use tablet that boasts a number of key upgrades compared to Apple’s slab, namely a larger 12.7” 3K (2944 x 1840) display with a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate, which makes everything feel breezy, from scrolling social media feeds to watching videos and movies on the go.

The seriously impressive JBL-tuned speakers can easily go toe to toe with the sound systems of some of the best tablets around. With the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro, you have a formidable media consumption machine that’s a fantastic fit for those times when you just want to kick back with some Netflix or Amazon Prime Video on a convenient tablet screen.

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro tablet with stylus showing front screen and back with cameras — (Image credit: Dash Wood / Future)

Equipped with a mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 8300 processor and 8GB of RAM, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is no slouch when it comes to gaming. Graphically intensive titles like Zenless Zone Zero and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile look great and run smoothly, though the tablet’s heavy weight and large size definitely make it quite an unwieldy choice for those who rely on touch screen controls.

Even considering its larger size, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is a great pick if you’re looking for a capable tablet to keep yourself or the rest of the family entertained on all fronts.

The Lenovo Tab Pen Plus stylus is included in the box, too, and while it's not quite as accurate as the latest Apple Pencil, it comes pretty close with impressive pressure sensitivity. As a result, this would be a very good tablet for students or beginner artists, though users in the latter category should note that leading drawing apps like Procreate are still exclusive to Apple’s ecosystem.

I had some problems with Android on tablet, including the odd stutter and unoptimized app - though I can't fault Lenovo for a poor Android tablet ecosystem.

That said, Lenovo does have control over its custom Android skin and some decisions may prove divisive. I personally appreciate neat features like the desktop-style PC mode and useful Entertainment Space home screen tab, but an awkward set up process that forced me to fight tooth and nail to avoid installing mountains of pointless bloat makes a poor first impression and is a let down, even at this price.

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Price and availability

Starts at $349.99 / £379.99
Available in the UK, coming soon to the US
Lenovo Tab Pen Plus stylus included

The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is currently available from Lenovo in the UK and starts at £379.99. This price gets you the tablet in its 128GB configuration and the Lenovo Tab Pen Plus, which is included in the box and costs $39.99 / £29.99 as a standalone.

A 256GB model is also available and costs around £400. Outside of Lenovo's direct sales website, the tablet is easy to find at retailers like Amazon, Argos, and Very.

As for the US, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro isn’t available quite yet. It’s expected to launch in April 2025, with a starting price of $349.99.

Value score: 4/5

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Specs

Here's everything you need to know about what the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is packing under the hood:

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: design and materials

Sleek and understated
Premium look and feel
One color option

The design of the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro isn't the most thrilling, borrowing much of its overall look from its 2023 predecessor the Lenovo Tab P12, but it’s still good on the whole.

Its casing is a smooth metal that is both pleasant to the touch and gives the impression of durability. There are some hefty bezels around the large 12.7in display (about 8mm) but, rather than detracting from the user experience, they serve as a handy place to rest your palms without the risk of accidental inputs.

The back of the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro features an embossed, shiny Lenovo logo in its centre, plus the camera module in the top right hand corner. Next to the camera is a subtle striped pattern that seems purely decorative, and a magnetic area marked with a small stylus symbol. This is where the Lenovo Tab Pen Plus can attach to the tablet thanks to some strong magnets.

Unfortunately, the stylus is not able to draw power when it’s attached and needs to be charged separately via a USB Type-C cable. Luckily, it has great battery life with more than 150 hours of standby time, so this isn’t something that you’re going to be doing often. I’m not the biggest stylus user, but I still put it through its paces and only needed to charge it once during my testing.

The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro also has a MicroSD card slot (ideal if you want to quickly expand your storage or easily transfer files from a laptop) plus a fingerprint reader on its power key. It’s a very snappy fingerprint reader too, quickly and reliably unlocking the tablet in a single press.

On the bottom of the tablet are three accessory connector pins which allow you to slot it into the aptly named Lenovo keyboard pack for the Idea Tab Pro. This equips it with a tactile IdeaPad style keyboard and touchpad and, thanks to the Luna Grey colorway, wouldn't look at all out of place in an educational or office setting.

At 1.36lbs / 620g this is not the lightest tablet out there, but it definitely feels well built. It’s 6.9mm thick, so still a tiny bit slimmer than the latest iPad, but a little chunkier than the iPad Air.

Design score: 4/5

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Display

Colorful and smooth display
Fantastic for media consumption
Not the brightest around

The Lenovo Idea Pad Pro features a 12.7in IPS LCD screen at 2944 x 1840 (3K) resolution. It’s not quite as vibrant as OLED options, but it's still got punchy colors and benefits from a smooth 144Hz refresh rate. This is a huge upgrade compared to the 60Hz panel used on the Lenovo Pad P12 and is instantly noticeable when scrolling websites or social media feeds. The viewing angles are also surprisingly good, making it easy to use the tablet propped up against a stand and even when it’s flat on a table.

I tested the display with a wide range of videos in both 1080p and 2160p and was very happy with the results. The only area where I can fault it is in its brightness. Maxing out at 400 nits, it’s completely fine for indoor use but can start to struggle in bright sunlight. This won’t matter for the vast majority of users, but if you want to read magazines or comic books on a sun lounger then you will probably appreciate something brighter. Given the price and strong performance of the display elsewhere, however, it’s difficult to really complain about this.

The 12.7in size is more than enough for most day-to-day functions and perfect multi-tasking. Lenovo’s OS has some extra buttons specifically for this purpose too, making it easy to split the screen between two separate apps or view an app as a floating window - fantastic if you want to view multiple documents or take notes from a website.

Display score: 4/5

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Software

Some handy features
Brilliant PC mode
Annoying bloat

The software here is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, I really enjoy Lenovo’s Android skin. This is, of course, subjective, but I find its user interface approachable and packed with useful features.

The Entertainment Space on the home screen for example, which connects to most of your streaming services to provide an all-encompassing page of recommendations, is something that I actually regularly use and a great way to work out what to watch next.

The PC mode is also brilliant, enhancing multi-tasking with the ability to create multiple distinct windows with your apps on a virtual desktop. The tablet’s USB Type-C port supports DisplayPort too, so you could feasibly hook this up to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor with a compatible dock for an effective workstation in a pinch.

Menus are all snappy and the in-built smart connect app lets you connect the tablet to your PC to quickly share files and even directly control it from your desktop - though your mileage here is going to depend heavily on the strength of your internet connection.

On the other hand, the setup process is, in a word, dire. You have to flip through an entire menu of annoying ‘additional apps’ (that’s a polite way of saying ‘pointless bloat’) and even after thinking that I had managed to dodge every single one, I still somehow ended up with the likes of MyScript Calculator 2, Tide, and Nebo clogging up my home screen.

I don’t even know what ‘Nebo’ is and was in no mood to find out, so I had to spend my first five minutes with the tablet uninstalling everything that I could. It makes for a very poor first impression and feels a little like Lenovo is trying to take advantage of users that don’t know any better.

Software score: 3/5

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Performance,

Really superb speakers
Great for media consumption
Also a decent choice for gaming

Rather unexpectedly, the absolute highlight of using the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is its unbelievably good speakers.

Seriously, the quad JBL-tuned setup here is genuinely among the best that I have ever heard on a tablet at this price, absolutely obliterating the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and iPad 10.9 (2022). They can go impressively loud without losing detail and offer a great sound profile that’s punchy without being too heavy on the bass.

Throw in the Dolby Atmos support and you have a sound system that can handle intense action movie moments, catchy TV show theme tunes, or long video podcasts without breaking a sweat. One of my absolute favorite things to do on any tablet is watching music videos and that was a real pleasure here, even without any headphones.

It definitely helps that all types of media look great on the big, bright 3K screen though. The 16:10 aspect ratio also leads to minimal black bars in most scenarios. This is a real streaming powerhouse and, if you’re after a tablet to catch up with your favorite series, it comes highly recommended.

I put the tablet through its paces with a range of apps, plus plenty of internet browsing, and there was no noticeable slowdown to report. I encountered a few small stutters in the YouTube app when swiping to minimize a video and a handful crashes in the Firefox app, though these seem to be problems with Android itself that I have been able to replicate on other devices, so I won't blame the tablet.

If you’re in the mood for some gaming, then the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is a good choice. Call of Duty: Mobile ran perfectly smoothly, solidly maintaining above 60 fps even after I cranked the settings up to Very High. Paired with a Bluetooth controller, it was a fantastic experience.

The significantly more demanding Zenless Zone Zero ran at a smooth 30 fps on Low. Cranking the frame rate up to 60, the Idea Tab Pro was mostly stable, but the game did cause the tablet to heat up quickly. In more casual games like SimCity BuildIt, performance was flawless throughout.

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Battery

Lasts a day and then some
Holds charge well between uses
Average charging speed

Equipped with a large 10,200 mAh battery, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro delivers good battery life.

It can easily get through an entire day of use and then some, provided that you’re not running lots of downloads or gaming frequently.

To give you a practical example, I used the tablet to watch an episode of a TV series every evening and I didn't need to charge the tablet the entire week. The Idea Tab Pro also seems to hold its charge well when idle. This is a tablet that you can leave in a bag for a few days and come back to without needing to run for a charger.

On the subject of charging, the tablet supports up to 45W power delivery and took about two hours to get up to full juice from zero. Nothing exceptional in this regard, but fine for the price.

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro: Score card

Should I buy the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro?

Buy it if...

You’re after great sound
I still can’t get over how great the sound is with the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro. The quad JBL-tuned speakers are a delight and a top reason to buy.

You love watching movies
With its lovely 12.7in 3K display, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is a great fit for movie lovers. Plus the MicroSD card support means you don’t have to worry about running out of space for all your favorite series.

You want a good all-round tablet
This tablet is a great all-rounder. It’s ideal for media consumption thanks to its sound and screen, but also has the specs for productivity and gaming.

Don't buy it if...

You can’t stand the software
Lenovo’s Android skin won’t be for everyone, especially the frustrating set-up process. Consider options from other brands if you don’t think you’ll be a fan.

Also consider

Not sold on the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro? Here are two compelling alternatives to consider.

iPad 10.9 (2022)
Not quite the latest iPad anymore, but widely available for around the same cost as the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro. You get comparable battery life and decent performance, but a smaller, lower resolution screen and worse speakers. The big draw here, however, is the software which is a seamless delight and offers leading apps like Procreate. The camera is much better, too.

Read our full iPad 10.9 (2022) review

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus
If you have a bit of a higher budget, then the superior battery life, not to mention thinner design and wider range of colors, might make the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus a compelling option. The processor here is slightly less powerful than the Mediatek Dimensity 8300, though, so don’t expect better performance.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review

How I tested the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro

I used the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro tablet as my primary tablet for more than two weeks.

During that time I tried it out with a range of productivity tasks (including the writing of this review!) with apps like Google Docs, Gmail, Slack, and Firefox. I made sure to evaluate the quality of the included stylus using the in-built notes application.

I also relied on it for my entertainment needs, by watching series on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+. On top of this, I watched lots of videos on YouTube and listened to plenty of music in order to really make the most of its excellent speakers.

On top of this, I managed to squeeze in a fair few hours in Call of Duty Mobile, which I played with both touch controls and an Xbox Wireless Controller, plus plenty of time in Zenless Zone Zero.

For battery testing, I ran the tablet from full charge until it ran out of battery over a few sessions - making a note of the length of each session plus the overall start and end time. I also measured the time it took to charge back up to 100% using a 45W charger.

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First reviewed April 2025

The phone-sized Onyx Boox Palma 2 is the compact ereader I can’t put down, even if it’s not the upgrade I was hoping for

1:24 am | April 3, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers eReaders Gadgets Tablets | Tags: Monument Valley, OCR, OS | Comments: Off

Onyx Boox Palma 2: Two-minute review

I might wish for more ereaders like the Onxy Boox Palma 2, but I also recognize that its form factor is exactly what makes it so unique – just like its predecessor. And if it had competition, I suppose I'd be hard pressed to appreciate it as much I do.

The 2:1 aspect ratio on this 6-inch ereader makes it resemble a smartphone, complete with speakers, a mic, side buttons and rear camera, and that's also what makes it so pocket friendly. It replaces the older Boox Palma as my favorite compact ereader as I have a sneaking suspicion the previous model could be discontinued in the near future.

Physically, the two generations are near identical and, while I don’t mind that, I’d have loved to see a slightly more premium-looking chassis to match the price tag.

There’s only one physical difference between the original Boox Palma and the Palma 2 – the power button. It’s oh-so-marginally longer and flatter to accommodate a built-in fingerprint scanner. While I appreciate the addition, I don’t see the need for it on an ereader that can be set up with a passcode if security is top of mind, but it also doesn’t function as expected. It’s more miss than hit as you have to place your finger just so for it to be effective.

I might find the fingerprint scanner superfluous, but learning that the Palma 2 got a new chipset to boost performance had me chomping at the bit to try it out. Strangely, the upgraded processor hasn’t made much of a difference in real-world use. That’s not to say the performance is bad, it's just not any better (or worse) than what I experienced with the previous generation.

The home screen on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — The Onyx Boox Palma 2 comes with a refreshed user interface, including redesigned app icons (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

What’s really a standout for me with the Palma 2 is its new user interface. Onyx has redesigned the app icons and NeoReader (native library app) settings, giving it a cleaner, more modern appeal. Even the settings list looks fresh thanks to less weight (thickness) to the text and the boxes. The whole setup is still more complicated than it needs to be – which is an issue I have with all Boox tablets – but it looks much nicer which, in turn, makes it easier to find the adjustments you need while reading.

Onyx has also upgraded the OS to Android 13, which is good news for getting security updates for a little while yet.

My biggest disappointment with the Palma 2 is that Onyx has stuck with using the same E Ink Carta 1200 display it did for previous model, and that stings when you consider how expensive the Palma 2 is over other 6-inch ereaders that sport the latest in E Ink screen technology.

I still think there’s a missed opportunity here to add more functionality to the Palma 2 – writing capabilities would have made it a lot more appealing, something I noted about the older Palma too. Being able to slip it into my pocket to jot notes at media events and meetings would have made the Palma 2 an integral part of my daily life, not just being a portable ereader.

Despite my complaints, I still can’t help but like the Palma 2, just for being the most compact and unique ereader I’ve tested.

A hand holding the Onyx Boox Palma 2 with a page of an ebook displayed — A palm-friendly size makes the Boox Palma 2 an enticing ereader option (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Price & availability

Announced Q3 of 2024
List price: $299.99 / €299.99 (about £250) / AU$499
Available now directly from the Boox Shop and select authorized retailers

The Palma 2 shares the same launch price as its predecessor and will set you back $299.99 / €299.99 (about £250) / AU$499 at full price. It’s possible to see discounts on the US and European Boox Shop online storefronts during major sales, but Australian retailers stocking Boox tablets don’t usually have offers to make these expensive ereaders more accessible.

Given its plastic build and features, it would be difficult for me to recommend the Palma 2 at its full price, but I can also see its form factor alone being a good justification to spend the extra cash. Also the versatility of running Android – getting you access to the Play Store to download third-party apps and games – might just convince some users to make the switch.

That said, the older Palma is now cheaper – listed for as low as $199.99/ €229.99 (around £190) / AU$399 on the Boox Shop and third-party resellers at the time of writing – and might be the better buy as there’s really no difference in performance between the two. The drop in price might also indicate that the original Palma might be discontinued once current stock has gone.

If the choice of ereader isn’t really about the form factor – which is the Palma 2’s biggest selling point – you can save cash by opting for a simpler 6-inch ereader like the 2024 Amazon Kindle or the Kobo Clara BW. The former will cost you $129.99 / £104.99 / AU$199 without ads, while the latter has a list price of $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95 – both considerably cheaper than either of the Palmas.

However, you have very limited storage on the Kindle and Kobo alternatives, while there’s 128GB of internal storage on the Palma 2, which is expandable via microSD.

• Value score: 3 / 5

A refreshed page formatting setup on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — The new page-styling setup in the native library app is cleaner and more modern (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Specs

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Design & display

Available in black and white colorways
Looks like a smartphone, but not designed to be one
Rear 16MP camera is fun to have but not great to scan documents

As I’ve already mentioned, the Palma 2 is physically identical to the older model with one very minor difference that’s easy to miss even if you’re familiar with the previous generation. That’s the slightly longer power button to accommodate a fingerprint scanner. And to make sure you can place your finger properly on it, it's also the only flat button on the device.

Strangely, though, Onyx thinks its Palma 2 really is a phone because when you go to Settings to save a fingerprint for the first time, it tells you that the sensor is at the back of the device (go figure!). This might confuse some first-time users, but if you know where the sensor is, you’ll know where to place your finger.

The power and volume buttons on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — The power button on the Boox Palma 2 is the only physical control that's got a flat surface (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Everything else from a design perspective is the same – dimensions, weight, physical buttons, speaker, microphone, microSD card tray and rear camera. I won’t go into too much detail for these – you can take a look at my Onyx Boox Palma review for an in-depth look – but I am disappointed that the Palma 2 still sports the same cheap-looking plastic body, and the device is anything but cheap. At least the white model has silver buttons for a touch of pizzazz, but the black model has no such feature to break the plasticky monotony.

What makes it look cheaper still is the white model – the one reviewed here – can quickly pick up stains and scratches, or get discolored with use. So it’s a good thing that it ships with a case in the box, which I would recommend you use. After being in my work backpack for just one commute to the office, my white Palma 2 ended up with a small pink stain near its USB-C port and a scratch on the rear, neither of which I can clean or fix.

Image 1 of 2

The custom button and microSD card tray on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — A customizable button and a microSD card tray are extras many other ereaders don't offer (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Image 2 of 2

The USB-C port on the bottom edge of the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — The USB-C port has OTG support but hasn't worked for me (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The display, as I’ve previously said, is the E Ink Carta 1200 display, which is now previous-generation technology. While it’s fantastic to read on, with plenty of contrast to render text in sharp relief, the responsiveness of the display isn’t as good as what I’ve experienced with ereaders featuring the Carta 1300 screen.

The 2:1 aspect ratio is still a novelty when it comes to e-paper devices which, when combined with the 6.13-inch display, is such a wonderful size for a compact and portable ereader. If you’re someone who typically reads on your phone when you’re commuting, you might want to consider the Palma 2 just for the reduced eye strain thanks to the e-paper screen.

I would, however, advise against being too close to water with the Palma 2 in hand as the plastic body is only splashproof – there's no waterproofing certification that Onyx has revealed, which was the same with the previous model too.

• Design & display score: 3.5 / 5

The same page of a book displayed on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 and Onyx Boox Palma — The Boox Palma (left) and the Boox Palma 2 (right) offer the same reading experience (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: User experience

OS updated to Android 13 from Android 11
More modern interface makes for a cleaner user experience
Native apps are great, so you don’t necessarily need third-party options

Just because it looks like a phone, doesn’t mean it should work like one – the Palma 2’s functionality is limited by its screen tech and yet it can do a fair few things most other mainstream ereaders can’t.

For example, it can run a plethora of third-party apps thanks to running on a trimmed-down version of Android 13 (an upgrade from the older Palma’s Android 11), including music streaming platforms and mobile games. That said, you will have to contend with a rather slow refresh rate compared to the standard smartphone, but I will admit that even some graphics-heavy mobile games aren’t too bad on the Palma 2.

If you want to stick to reading applications, both the Kindle and Kobo apps work quite well on the Palma 2. That said, the native library application – NeoReader – is very good and the refreshed interface makes it a lot nicer to adjust fonts and page styling now.

Even the little niggle I’ve had with the Fonts folder not set up correctly within Storage in previous Boox devices has been sorted, which makes me happy.

The library app on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — Even the ebook titles have less text weight than before, making the library app look clean and nice (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I'm still disappointed with the inability to plug the Palma 2 (or any other Boox device for that matter) into an iMac or MacBook to transfer ebooks and other files via a wired connection. This method of sideloading files works fine if you have a Windows machine, so I really don’t see why connectivity with an Apple computer should be exempt.

I’m also unable to take advantage of the OTG support on the USB-C port to transfer files directly from an external hard drive. While the Palma 2 can read my 2TB Samsung T7 Shield Portable SSD, it refuses to let me move ebooks back and forth. It’s the same with my older 1TB Samsung T5 Portable SSD as well.

Thankfully, BooxDrop is an easy enough tool to use – if you have your files saved on any PC – Windows or Mac – you can use the web platform to transfer files via the cloud.

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The different page styling setups on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 and the Onyx Boox Palma — The older page-styling setup (left) was cluttered, but the Palma 2 (right) is easier to use (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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Onyx Boox Palma 2 beside the Onyx Boox Palma — New icons and less weight to the design gives the user interface of the Palma 2 (right) an airier look compared to the older model (left) (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The sleep screens of the Onyx Boox Palma 2 and the Onyx Boox Palma — The default sleep screen is different between the two generations, but these can be changed in Settings (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The identical rear panels and cameras of the Onyx Boox Palma 2 and the Onyx Boox Palma — The rear camera is identical – the Palma 2 is the one on top (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The one other issue I faced with using the Palma 2 is the responsiveness of the screen. While page turns are fine, using the on-screen keyboard isn’t as smooth as I expected it to be. I had to occasionally tap on a letter or number a couple of times before it registered. It wasn’t a consistent issue, and another colleague said he had no such problems when he tried it out for a short period of time, so I’ll put this down to being an isolated problem (or blame it on my sausage fingers).

Using the fingerprint scanner is a lot more frustrating though. While easy to set up, I found you have to place your finger just right for it to work every time, something I don’t think any of us can do unless we’re concentrating. Using the fingerprint scanner to wake the device up or make purchases would have been a lot faster than a passcode, but if it doesn't work each time, what's the point?

The rest of the user experience is quite good, particularly if you're judging it as an ereader. While the built-in speaker is perfectly fine for listening to audiobooks, I’d advise against using it for music – the sound quality isn’t good and you’ll be better served pairing a set of Bluetooth headphones or a speaker with the Palma 2.

• User experience score: 4 / 5

The camera app on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 being used to take a photo — Taking pics with the Boox Palma 2's camera can be fun, but don't expect much (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Performance

Updated processor, but no difference in performance in real-world use
Handles graphics quite well for an e-paper device
Scanning and OCR performance could be better

The older Palma already had a decent processor in the form of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, but Onyx has stepped it up by using a Snapdragon 690 chip in the Palma 2. On paper, the latter is the more powerful chipset and running Geekbench 6 benchmarking proves it to be so.

In real-world use, though, that doesn't translate as well as I had expected. There's no improvement in page turns, for example, and neither is there any discernible difference in app performance and multitasking, although individual apps open a smidge quicker. As I've already said, that's not a deal breaker as the performance of the older model was just fine and the Palma 2 barely beats it by the skin of its teeth (figuratively speaking).

With integrated graphics and 6GB of RAM, the Palma 2 handles mobile games – albeit in black and white – just as well as its predecessor. Games like Alphabear 2 and Two Dots work smoothly, but more graphics-heavy games like Monument Valley 2 and Sky: Children of the Light aren’t too bad either. I can only imagine how much the experience would improve if the next Palma came with a color screen!

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A benchmarking application running on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — It's an Android device, so running a benchmark app is easy enough (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The Floating Toolbar of the library application on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — Readability is fantastic, but overall performance hasn't seemed to improve much (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

One of the biggest issues I’ve had with other Boox tablets while reading is ghosting, wherein a light overlay of the previous page can be seen. Thankfully this isn’t a problem on the Palma 2, and I didn’t even have to adjust refresh rates.

The performance of the rear camera hasn’t improved at all. It’s the same 16MP lens from the original Palma and it’s not intended for taking photos, although I will admit it was fun doing so for a short while. While you see the frame in grayscale, you can export the images in color, just not in very good quality.

The camera is meant for scanning documents but, again, the quality isn’t great and I think your smartphone will do a better job if it has scan functionality.

If you do use the rear camera to scan a document, the native DocScan app has an OCR (optical character recognition) feature to convert the words on the scan into text. There's a marked difference in performance here with the text converting well, compared to the "gibberish" I experienced with the previous Palma.

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The Onyx Boox Palma 2 being used to scan a document — Scan quality is quite dismal with the Boox Palma 2... (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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The black-and-white photo of a person taken on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 — ..but the photos aren't half bad – just don't expect phone-quality pics (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

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A scanned document on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 with OCR text — OCR text conversion on the DocScan app is now much better than before (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I can’t fault its battery life, though. It’s still the same 3,950mAh pack from the previous Palma and, if you read for an hour a day, you’ll easily get around 6-7 weeks out of a single charge. Battery life, however, is dependent on a lot of other factors, including the apps you use, the screen brightness and the refresh rate. Even with more extensive use, you can eke out four weeks before plugging it into the mains.

Charging speed will also depend on whether you use a wall adaptor or your PC/laptop to charge the Palma 2. The former will be the faster top up, and it took about 2.5 hours to go from about 20% to full the two times I had to give it a charge during my testing period using an USB-A to C cable plugged into a port of a 65W adaptor. The only time I had it plugged into a dock for my laptop, it took an hour for the battery level to go from 25% to 38%.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

The power and volume buttons on the side of the Onyx Boox Palma and Palma 2 — The only difference between the two Palmas is the power button, which is slightly longer and flat on the new model (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Palma 2?

Buy it if...

You want a unique device

There’s no other ereader quite like the Palma devices, which makes them quite the novelty. And I can tell you that the novelty doesn’t wear off quickly either. It’s not the 6.13-inch display that makes it so, but the 2:1 aspect ratio that no other ereader brand has on offer at the time of writing.

You want a very compact ereader

Like its predecessor, the Palma 2 is the most compact ereader on the market. It’s phone-like size means it can be carried around in your pocket or slipped into any bag. It’s also very lightweight, making it perfect for travel.

You want to ease eye strain because you mostly read on your phone

The LCD and OLED displays on smartphones emit more blue light than e-paper displays, making the latter easy on the eyes. So if you find yourself tiring after reading a page or two on your phone, consider getting a similarly sized ereader.

Don't buy it if...

You want a cheaper 6-inch ereader

The Palma 2 can be versatile, thanks to access to the Google Play Store. But if you only want to use it for reading, you’ll save a lot of cash by opting for a 6-inch Kindle or Kobo alternative.

You want more bang for buck

A device like the Palma 2 needs to justify its price tag better, and one way to do that is to offer more functionality – aka adding writing capabilities. That would make it really easy to recommend the Palma 2 at its price point.

You need a bigger screen

If you typically use larger font sizes, you might get frustrated by the small screen of the Palma 2. A larger e-paper screen – perhaps 7 or 8 inches – would be ideal in those cases.

Also consider

As with the original Palma, there's not a lot that can be directly compared to the Palma 2 and I'm hesitant to offer up the older model as an alternative in case it gets discontinued.

That said, there are other 6-inch ereaders that are lightweight and portable, but not necessarily pocketable. I've picked three that I think would cover a few bases, including budget and usability. I've also listed some of their basic specs as a comparison with the Palma 2.

Amazon Kindle (2024)

Also using the older E Ink Carta 1200 screen, but getting software upgrades that make it a slightly more responsive/faster ereader than the 2022 edition, the latest Amazon Kindle is also an affordable option. It misses out on any kind of waterproofing, but it's great for a basic ereader.
Find out more in my in-depth Amazon Kindle (2024) review

Kobo Clara BW

It's my pick for the best budget ereader on account of getting a waterproof body, adjustable light temperature and baked-in OverDrive support to borrow library books in select countries. It also features the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen and is repairable.
Read more in my full Kobo Clara BW review

Onyx Boox Poke 5

If you want an ereader that runs Android, the Boox Poke 5 is the better option than the newer Onyx Boox Go 6 as it's got a few less bugs than the latter. Giving you a similar reading experience to the Palma 2, just in a different form factor, it's also a lot cheaper.
Learn more in my Onyx Boox Poke 5 review

How I tested the Onyx Boox Palma 2

Used as daily reading device for nearly 6 weeks
Sideloaded all content via BooxDrop, including ebooks and music
Downloaded Android apps for benchmarking, reading and streaming music

The Onyx Boox Palma 2 lying on a pile of books — The Boox Palma 2 is a unique device, thanks to its form factor (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

As with every Boox device I test, I began by following the on-screen setup instructions to connect to Wi-Fi, then customized some of the settings for refresh rate, power-saving and system navigation. There's a lot of customization options on a Boox tablet, far more than on a Kindle or Kobo, so it's always best to get familiar with them before you start using a Boox ereader.

Next, I used BooxDrop to access files (ebooks and music) from my Onyx cloud storage account that I've had from previous Boox reviews. I also connected to Google Drive to test other means of cloud transfer.

I downloaded a few apps from the Play Store, including benchmarking, Kindle and Kobo (the last two were deleted after a short testing period of a couple off days).

For the majority of the six-week testing period, I used the Palma 2 mainly as an ereader for an average of three hours a day. I occasionally used the native browser to surf the internet, and even used the native music player to play some sideloaded MP3 files. All other music listening was down via Spotify.

To compare the two generations of Palmas side by side, I scanned a document to test the rear camera, took some sample photos with both models and ran Geekbench 6 on them to determine chipset performance. I also used CPU X, an Android app, to find out what exact chipset is being used as Onxy doesn't reveal this spec.

Having tested nearly 30 ereaders in the past few years, I've got the experience to determine whether a digital reader is a worthwhile investment.

Onyx Boox Palma 2: Two-minute review

Physically, the two generations are near identical and, while I don’t mind that, I’d have loved to see a slightly more premium-looking chassis to match the price tag.

Onyx has also upgraded the OS to Android 13, which is good news for getting security updates for a little while yet.

Despite my complaints, I still can’t help but like the Palma 2, just for being the most compact and unique ereader I’ve tested.

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Price & availability

Announced Q3 of 2024
List price: $299.99 / €299.99 (about £250) / AU$499
Available now directly from the Boox Shop and select authorized retailers

However, you have very limited storage on the Kindle and Kobo alternatives, while there’s 128GB of internal storage on the Palma 2, which is expandable via microSD.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Specs

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Design & display

Available in black and white colorways
Looks like a smartphone, but not designed to be one
Rear 16MP camera is fun to have but not great to scan documents

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• Design & display score: 3.5 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: User experience

OS updated to Android 13 from Android 11
More modern interface makes for a cleaner user experience
Native apps are great, so you don’t necessarily need third-party options

Even the little niggle I’ve had with the Fonts folder not set up correctly within Storage in previous Boox devices has been sorted, which makes me happy.

Thankfully, BooxDrop is an easy enough tool to use – if you have your files saved on any PC – Windows or Mac – you can use the web platform to transfer files via the cloud.

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• User experience score: 4 / 5

Onyx Boox Palma 2 review: Performance

Updated processor, but no difference in performance in real-world use
Handles graphics quite well for an e-paper device
Scanning and OCR performance could be better

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The camera is meant for scanning documents but, again, the quality isn’t great and I think your smartphone will do a better job if it has scan functionality.

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• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Onyx Boox Palma 2?

Buy it if...

You want a unique device

You want a very compact ereader

You want to ease eye strain because you mostly read on your phone

Don't buy it if...

You want a cheaper 6-inch ereader

The Palma 2 can be versatile, thanks to access to the Google Play Store. But if you only want to use it for reading, you’ll save a lot of cash by opting for a 6-inch Kindle or Kobo alternative.

You want more bang for buck

You need a bigger screen

If you typically use larger font sizes, you might get frustrated by the small screen of the Palma 2. A larger e-paper screen – perhaps 7 or 8 inches – would be ideal in those cases.

Also consider

As with the original Palma, there's not a lot that can be directly compared to the Palma 2 and I'm hesitant to offer up the older model as an alternative in case it gets discontinued.

Amazon Kindle (2024)

Kobo Clara BW

Onyx Boox Poke 5

How I tested the Onyx Boox Palma 2

Used as daily reading device for nearly 6 weeks
Sideloaded all content via BooxDrop, including ebooks and music
Downloaded Android apps for benchmarking, reading and streaming music

I downloaded a few apps from the Play Store, including benchmarking, Kindle and Kobo (the last two were deleted after a short testing period of a couple off days).

Having tested nearly 30 ereaders in the past few years, I've got the experience to determine whether a digital reader is a worthwhile investment.

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: One-minute review

If you can count on Chinese tech brand Xiaomi to do one thing in its gadgets, it’s to load them up with top-end spec and then sell them for a relatively competitive price, and that’s exactly what it’s done with the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro.

This new mid-range slate is a relative rarity given Xiaomi’s focus on low-end tablets over mid-range ones (it doesn’t sell top-end ones to match the price of the iPad Pro or Samsung Galaxy Tab S10). It follows the Pad 6 which was released in the west in 2023, and it comes amidst many other Android tab rivals all vying for a spot in our list of the best tablets, including the recent Honor Pad V9 and Oppo Pad 3 Pro. It’s this latter that competes closely with the Xiaomi, in terms of specs and price – more on that later.

As is often the case with Xiaomi’s gadgets, the brand has laden the Pad 7 Pro with top-tier specs. It has one of the most powerful chipsets on Android devices right now, plus a screen resolution and charging speed that aren’t currently available on any rival products right now.

So it’s spec-heavy but it has its issues too. There’s a fingerprint scanner built into the power button that proved quite unreliable, the battery drained pretty quickly during gaming, and the tablet could heat up quite a bit. I also found some of the AI features to be unreliable.

Given its display size, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro could be considered an Android-powered iPad Pro 11 rival. It's less powerful but costs less and has a better-looking display... and the Xiaomi's accessories are just as pricey as Apple's versions.

So if you've been considering buying a fairly powerful tablet but don't need the top-end trappings of an iPad Pro, or the price tag that comes with it, the Xiaomi is a solid option. However if you're not as picky a buyer, you'll find that the Xiaomi doesn't offer quite as much value for money as more affordable options that you'll find detailed below.

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: price and availability

The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro on a bronze table — (Image credit: Future)

Released in Februay 2025
Starts at £449, but only on sale in limited regions
Accessories cost a pretty penny

The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro was unveiled in February 2025 alongside a suite of other gadgets from the company including the Xiaomi 15 series of smartphones, the Xiaomi Buds 5, a new smartwatch and the base model Xiaomi Pad 7.

You can pick up the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro for £449 (around $581 / AU$900, though it’s not on sale in the US or Australia). That price will get you 8GB RAM and 256GB storage but I’d recommend you pay an extra £50 (around $70, AU$100) for the higher-spec 12GB RAM and 512GB model, which gets you a lot more power. Add that premium again and you can get a special matte glass model of the higher-spec tablet, which will provide a more premium design but the same internals.

At that price, this is a mid-range slate, designed not as an entry into the tablet world but for people who are looking for a series tab with a lot of power but not all the trimmings and trappings of a top-price premium alternative.

Price-wise it sits between the standard iPad and the iPad Air, or at about £100 more than the non-Pro Xiaomi Pad 7. We’ll get to a few competitors later but suffice to say, you can expect a fair amount if you’re paying this much for a tablet.

I’ll briefly touch on accessories too: these don’t come with the slate but you can buy them separately. There’s a keyboard stand for £119 and a Focus Keyboard £179, and these are imitations of Apple’s Keyboard Folio and Smart Keyboard respectively. The main difference with the latter is that it has a trackpad and lets you tilt the display over different angles. Then there’s the stylus, which costs £89, and a standard cover-stand that costs £45.

Value: 3 / 5

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: specs

Here are the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro's specs at a glance:

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: design

Lightweight and pretty thin
Three color options plus one matte alternative
Unreliable fingerprint scanner

You may find the look of the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro familiar, and that’s because it boasts the same flat-edge unibody look that most slates have been using since the iPad Pro was introduced 7 years ago. Oh well: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and it’s popular for a reason: the design is svelte and slender, easily slipping into a bag and looking good to use.

The exact measurements of the Pad 7 Pro are 251.22 x 173.42 x 6.18mm, so it’s pretty slim. It weighs 500g, according to Xiaomi.

When held landscape the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro has a USB-C charging port on the right edge, but no 3.5mm jack, I’m sorry to say. There’s a volume rocker and a power button, and the latter doubles as a fingerprint scanner, but it wasn’t the most reliable sensor. When attached to a keyboard, I found that the lip of the folio overshot the edge of the tablet, so I had to angle my finger just right to press my finger on the sensor.

The keyboard case adds quite a bit to the bulk of this otherwise-thin and portable tablet. However, its added protection is worth the extra size, in my eyes, as gadgets like this are prone to scratches and bumps.

You’ll want to add a case or keyboard if you plan to lay the slate flat on a table. That’s because the square camera bump on the back of the Pad is pretty pronounced, so it’ll wobble quite a bit if you don’t use the case to level it out.

You can buy the tablet in gray, blue or green, and the aforementioned matte glass version is also gray – I didn’t test this model, so can’t talk about what difference it makes.

Xiaomi’s website doesn’t list an IP rating for the Pad 7 Pro and I’d take that to mean that there isn’t significant protection against dust or water. Try to avoid getting the thing wet, or getting into a situation where fine particles could get into the ports (that includes sand, you beach-readers!).

Design: 4 / 5

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: display

11.2-inch display and 3:2 aspect ratio
2136 x 3200 resolution and 144Hz refresh rate

The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro has an 11.2-inch screen, making this a potential alternative to the smaller-sized iPad Pro which also has an 11-inch screen. Both have the same 3:2 aspect ratio, but the Xiaomi has more pixels.

Its resolution is 2136 x 3200, which Xiaomi classifies as 3.2K – enough for any movie, TV show or game you’d want to enjoy on the slate. In all my testing and research, I haven’t found a tablet with a higher resolution (and all Apple and Samsung options have fewer pixels), so if you want something really high-res, this is for you. It equals a 345 pixel-per-inch density.

The refresh rate is 144Hz, which only a handful of video games can hit, but by default the slate runs on an adaptive mode which changes the refresh rate depending on your task.

The max brightness is 800 nits, which is fairly luminous and it’ll make the colors in your chosen TV show pop more. However when I used the tablet in a coffee shop, I did struggle to see the screen due to glare from sunlight.

One other display feature to mention is that there’s official support for Dolby Vision here, a visual standard that’s used for movies if you stream from certain apps like Netflix.

Display: 5 / 5

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: software

Android 15 with HyperOS 2 laid over the top
AI features are hit-or-miss
Some bloatware

The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro runs on Xiaomi’s version of Android, HyperOS 2, which runs on top of Android 15. I couldn’t find official confirmation from Xiaomi for how long it plans to support the tablet with software updates.

HyperOS, for better or worse, doesn’t change many layout or design features of Android. Android has been in iPadOS’ shadow as a tablet-oriented operating system and while it’s come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, with features like split-view apps and a redesigned user interface, there are still some annoyances, like how squished the quick settings menu is.

Instead, Xiaomi has jumped on the AI bandwagon by loading the Pad 7 Pro full of features that bear the ‘AI’ name – though some didn’t work right, and a few didn’t work at all. I could never find a way to enable the AI art feature, for instance, which lets you circle your own works in the Mi Canvas app to create AI-generated images.

Using my own photos, the AI: 1) thought movie posters on my wall were documents, and wouldn’t let me edit any part of the picture except the posters 2) provided completely incorrect transcripts when I asked it to recognize text and 3) failed to identify items I wanted removed from shots.

Plus, you need to create a Xiaomi account, sign in and install these features to use any of them, so they’re not available out of the box, and features are spread between separate menus in the Gallery app instead of being in one place.

Some AI features worked better, like the speech-to-text conversion from the recorder app, so it’s not all doom and gloom. I find AI features incredibly situational at the best of times, and didn’t use any of the Pad 7 Pro’s during day-to-day use, so their unreliable nature won’t affect your using the tablet if you don’t plan to utilize these tools. Notably, they only seem to work from the Pad 7 Pro’s pre-installed apps; I couldn’t use the AI writing tool on Google Docs, for example.

As with many Xiaomi devices there’s bloatware with apps like LinkedIn, WPS Office and Gemini pre-installed, but it’s not as dramatic as on many phones from the company.

A few features make the Pad 7 Pro useful as a working tool, like the ability to wirelessly connect it to a Windows or Mac PC as a screen extension (without downloading any extra apps on either) or to turn it into a working hub for other Xiaomi gadgets you own.

Software: 3 / 5

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: performance and cameras

Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 provides lots of processing power
8GB/12GB RAM and 256GB/512GB storage
50MP rear camera and 32MP front-facing

Xiaomi has packed up the Pad 7 Pro with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, a chipset that was designed as a slightly less powerful alternative to the top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. So the Xiaomi Pad isn’t the most powerful slate on the market, not as long as Apple is offering desktop-class M2 and M4 chips in the iPad Air and iPad Pro, but it can still hold its head up high for most functions.

I tested a variety of games on the tablet and never saw serious stuttering or lagging, with titles able to run their highest graphics options if they were available. Perhaps for super-power-hungry tasks like video editing you might need a little more power, but for 99% of buyers, I’d say the 8s Gen 3 is enough. However when gaming, a common Snapdragon problem did arise: the slate could get pretty hot if I gamed for too long in one session. Take breaks!

In terms of speakers, there are four around the tablet. These provide Dolby Atmos audio for supported apps and Xiaomi has also included a Volume Boost feature that does exactly what you’d expect. However, movies and music only sound one step better than listening on a smartphone, and I found myself opting to use Bluetooth headphones when streaming movies.

The rear and front cameras of the Pad 7 Pro are both surprisingly high-res; you’re getting a 50MP camera on the back and a 32MP one on the front. There are a few photography modes (Portrait and Night on the rear camera), but you’re not getting nearly as many as on a smartphone.

A small LED mounted on the top bezel of the slate, just next to the front camera, lights up green when either camera is on; a bonus for privacy-conscious users.

Performance: 4 / 5

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro review: battery

8,850mAh battery drains surprisingly fast
67W charging powers up tab quickly
Battery health tech

Keeping the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro powered is a 8,850mAh battery, which is in the same ballpark as its competitors.

Xiaomi estimates that you can keep the tablet running for 19 hours of video playback with that battery, but while I didn’t personally watch Netflix for that long in my testing period, I did find the battery would drain a little quicker than I’d expect.

At least the tablet charges quickly: with 67W powering, this is one of the fastest-charging slates you’ll find on the market. Xiaomi’s says it should take about 80 minutes to power from empty to full and I’d concur.

If you worry about battery health, the slate also has two chips that Xiaomi designed for its smartphones; one helps extend the device’s battery life and the other ensures that fast charging doesn’t damage the battery capacity.

Battery: 3/5

Should you buy the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro?

Buy it if…

You care about screen fidelity
If your tablet use case necessitates lots of on-screen pixels, then the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro's high-res display will be perfect for you.View Deal

You want power on a budget
It's not the cheapest tablet, and it's not the most powerful, but the Xiaomi is a lovely marriage between value and power.View Deal

You're not great at remembering to charge
Tablets often take ages to charge, which isn't great for those of us who constantly forget to plug in the slate. The Xiaomi's 67W powering helps a lot with that.View Deal

Don’t buy it if…

You want accessories on a budget
I was surprised to learn how expensive the Xiaomi's accessories are. If you're on a budget but want a stylus or keyboard, you might want to look elsewhere.View Deal

You're reliant on AI features
If you are buying a tablet for its AI-enabled features, then you might find the Xiaomi doesn't reach expectations.View Deal

Also consider

Not convinced by the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro? Here are a few other options to consider:

iPad Pro 11 (2024)
You get more with the iPad: more processing power, more storage and lots of Apple features. However it costs a lot more, doesn't have as high-res a display and charges a lot slower.

Read more about the iPad Pro (2024)

Oppo Pad 3 Pro
Oppo's Android tablet costs roughly the same as the Xiaomi, and its specs are very similar too. Slight differences distinguish the two, but nothing huge.

Read our full Oppo Pad 3 Pro review

How I tested the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro

I used the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro for three weeks before writing this review, alongside the keyboard folio which you see in some of the accompanying pictures. The model used was the higher-spec option.

My use cases involved streaming movies, TV shows and music across various apps, playing several games titles, writing articles for my job and reading news stories online.

I've been reviewing products for TechRadar since early 2019, covering everything from tablets and smartphones to headphones, fitness trackers, and electric scooters.

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First reviewed March 2025

The XPPen Magic Note Pad is the drawing tablet-maker’s first digital writing tablet and after just two weeks, I can’t do without it

8:24 am | March 20, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Tablets | Tags: Clash Royale | Comments: Off

XPPen Magic Note Pad: Two-minute review

The XPPen Magic Note Pad aims to deliver the best of both worlds – a digital writing pad that’s easy on the eyes while also functioning as a true productivity tablet running Android 14. It claims to be the first of its kind, being a digital note pad with an X-Paper display featuring three modes: Ink Paper, Color Paper and Regular.

While other brands have provided similar functionality (like TCL's Nxtpaper series), I think XPPen's first foray into writing tablets is a home run. From the moment I unboxed and powered it on, I was hooked to its paper-like color tablet. While it might be a notepad first, my initial download was the Kindle app and my favorite comics were its first test.

I’ve had plenty of experience reading on tablets before, from cheap Android ones to an iPad Pro, and while the experience is fine, it can get tiring on the eyes after a while. With this tablet – which happens to use TCL's Nxtpaper screen technology – you can use the Regular display mode, which I found less harsh than other LCD displays, you can easily switch to color ink at a moment's notice. Of course, the colors aren't as vibrant when switching because of the filters on the screen, they're a lot better than when using a color ereader like the Kobo Libra Colour or the Kindle Colorsoft.

Reading comics on the XPPen Magic Note Pad — Reading comics in the Magic Note Pads 'regular' display mode (Image credit: Future)

This tablet sports a 10.95-inch display, offering what I think is the sweet spot in terms of portability for a digital slate, but adding in the extra dimensions of the chassis itself makes it a cumbersome device to hold in one hand.

Still, using both mitts, or resting it on your lap while cradling it with one hand is a small price to pay for the brilliant and versatile reading experience, although XPPen is keen to tell you that this is a secondary use case. It wants to be a writing tablet first.

And that's where it's caught me hook, line and sinker because now I don't ever forget to carry a notepad when I need to jot something down and I don't lose the pen I need to do said writing.

Taking notes on the XPPen notepad — Making notes on the Magic Note pad (Image credit: Future)

The X3 Pro Pencil 2, which ships in the box, sticks to the tablet via a strong magnet, stronger than any writing e-paper tablet I've seen.

While the industry-leading 16,384 pressure levels might seem an unnecessary gimmick in what is predominantly a writing tablet – 8,000 is agreed to be enough even for artists – there's no doubting its superb writing experience with soft nibs. There's even a helpful shortcut button on the stylus that can open the native notes app when the tablet is sleeping, or it can take a screenshot when you're reading something, then promptly take you to the notes app for marking up the image it just took.

Writing and drawing feel effortless, even with light pressure. It may not perfectly replicate the feel of pen on paper, but it comes very close and offers a different, equally satisfying experience.

I'm not much of an artist, but given how easy it is to write from even considerably tilted angles, and how precise the Pencil is, this tablet is certainly one that artists not only could consider, but should.

It's not just a writing, drawing and reading machine either. The 3-in-1 versatility of this tablet means it's a viable option for watching your favorite content on the best streaming services, too. It's not the greatest viewing experience, given the lamination on the screen and the 1920 x 1200 resolution of this device, but I still found it easy to watch, even in bright ambient conditions. It's not the main reason to buy this tablet, but in terms of added versatility, it's hard to beat.

Watching movies on the Magic Note Pad — Watching Avengers: Infinity War (Image credit: Future)

Further, the XPPen Magic Note Pad aims to boost efficiency in both work and creative expression. That's why this tablet includes a 13MP front camera and dual microphones that ensure you can easily pop into any meeting or online class. Plus, with multi-window display support, you can write notes and video chat at the same time.

Just 7mm thick and weighing 495g, the XPPen Magic Note Pad is incredibly easy to fit into any bag, even with the included magnet folio that increases its size considerably. And, in comparison to other writing tablets, it's well priced.

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Price and availability

Launched globally on March 19, 2025
List price of $439.99 / £399.99 / AU$629.99
Available directly from XPPen and will be sold via authorized retailers

The XPPen Magic Note Pad launched in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia on March 19, 2025 with a launch price of $439.99 / £399.99 / AU$629.99. At the time of writing, it seems like UK customers are getting short-changed as that £400 price tag is about $520 / AU$815 at the current conversion rate.

Still, I think it's competitively priced for what it offers and potential US buyers will benefit from an additional 10% early-bird discount, bringing the price down to just $395.99 at launch.

To put that price into perspective, e-paper writing tablets like the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) and Onyx Boox Go 10.3 will also set you back $399.99 / £379.99 / AU$649 and $379.99 / €419.99 (about £355) / AU$699 respectively, but you won't get the versatile screen on offer on the XPPen. Investing in a budget Android tablet might save you money, but you'll lose out on the writing and sketching features available natively here.

Value score: 4/5

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Specs

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Display

10.95-inch X-Paper display
1920 x 1200 resolution and 90Hz refresh rate
Low blue light

Reading on the Magic Note Pad by XPPen — Opening up a book in Regular mode (Image credit: Future)

It's rare to find a product that feels unique in a very crowded tech market, but the Magic Note Pad's color display does. Admittedly it's not the first of its kind – we saw the tech in our TCL Nxtpaper 10s review – but it is the first such device to offer three screen modes: Ink paper, color paper and standard tablet modes.

The tablet comes with TÜV SÜD certifications for low blue light and paper-like display standards, and features a respectable 1920 x 1200 resolution with a not too shabby 90Hz refresh rate.

While the Magic Note Pad aims to be a versatile device, its core strength lies in writing and XPPen has done a fantastic job optimizing the screen for that main purpose. I thoroughly enjoyed writing on this tablet, jotting down a to-do list, taking notes during a documentary, or brainstorming article ideas. The included X3 Pro Pencil 2 delivers an incredibly responsive and fluid feel, with even mimics the noise of a pen on paper.

The 90Hz refresh rate ensures minimal latency, making handwriting appear almost instantaneously on the screen. With 16,384 pressure levels – well beyond the 8,000 levels considered sufficient for most digital artists – the stylus allows for a wide range of strokes, from light scribbles to heavy, bold lines.

Writing pressure differences on the XPPen Magic Note Pad — Writing comparison with heavy and light pressure (Image credit: Future)

Writing remains smooth across all display modes, though the viewing exprience changes significantly. The XPPen Magic Note Pad includes a Reading Mode designed to reduce eye strain, but I found this feature to have minimal impact as the tablet's lamination (aka filters) already improves readability.

The paper modes are best for reading, though not quite on par with the best ereaders. For example, my Onyx Boox Page truly mimics paper, whereas the XPPen Magic Note Pad still feels like a tablet that's imitating an ereader as it's a modified LCD display and not an E Ink screen, but the black-and-white Ink Paper mode comes close to the ereader effect.

The color-paper and standard modes shine when reading comics or other image-heavy content. The color-paper mode is less saturated, making it easier on the eyes over long periods and the standard mode delivers vibrant, detailed colors you'd expect from a traditional tablet.

The display also handles video playback well. The eye-protecting screen lamination slightly affects viewing angles, but this has little impact on everyday use. Watching content ranging from Avengers: Endgame to Daredevil: Born Again, Moana 2 and Dune, I found the visuals impressive. The display doesn’t deliver deep blacks, but that’s expected given its nature.

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XPPen Magic Note Pad vs Onyx Boox Page — Comparing the XPPen Color Paper mode in Kindle to the Onyx Boox Page (Image credit: Future)

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Watching Invincible on the XPPen notepad — (Image credit: Future)

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Watching Invincible in regular mode and color paper mode — Watching Invincible in Color Paper mode (Image credit: Future)

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Reading Invincible on the XPPen Magic Note Pad — (Image credit: Future)

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It won't be used often by most people, but the paper-like modes do support video playback. While unconventional, I found the color-paper mode provided an unique and unexpectedly enjoyable experience while watching Invincible – though it took some time to adjust.

With excellent writing responsiveness, resistance to accidental touches, and enjoyable reading and viewing experiences, the only drawbacks in the display are expected of a device with this kind of screen technology. The XPPen Magic Note Pad stands out as a compelling choice for writers, artists, and casual readers alike, offering an outstanding writing display with solid versatility.

Display score: 5/5

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Design

Ships with the X3 Pro Pencil 2
No rear camera bump (flat back)
Easily portable

XPPen Magic Note Pad design — Magic Note Pad saying hello, with the stylus laying on the desk (Image credit: Future)

At first glance, the XPPen Magic Note Pad doesn’t stand out. Sure, it’s a nice-looking device, but there’s nothing particularly striking about it.

That said, XPPen highlights its 7mm thickness – or thinness – but several tablets on the market are slimmer, including the 13-inch iPad Pro at just over 5mm. Perhaps what makes it feel so thin is the absence of a rear camera bump (or any rear camera whatsoever), creating an exceptionally flat surface made for writing on.

And, while the front and sides feature sleek, metallic silver bezels, the back panel is a letdown. The matte white material feels cheap compared to the rest of the design.

The device has a USB-C charging port at the bottom alongside stereo speakers, while all the buttons are positioned on the top-right. The volume buttons sit on the right side, with the power button and Nxt Paper Mode button – used for display mode options – on top.

X3 Pro Pencil 2 from the XPPen Magic Note Pad — Holding X3 Pro Pencil 2 (Image credit: Future)

The real star here is the X3 Pro Pencil 2, and it's a pleasure to use. Powered by the X3 Pro smart chip, it requires no charging or Bluetooth pairing – ready to go straight out of the box. Its magnetic attachment is impressively strong too; there were a few accidental knocks that I thought would send it flying, yet it remained securely in place.

I’ll dive deeper into the pen’s performance in the software section, but as a physical tool, it’s fantastic. Lightweight, comfortable to hold and equipped with gel pen-inspired soft nibs, it provides an excellent writing experience. And it has some physical controls of its own

In the XPPen Notes app, the pencil’s down key – used for shortcuts outside the app – functions as an eraser. Positioned right where my thumb naturally rests, I frequently pressed it by accident. Fortunately, the eraser only removes what the pen has touched on-screen, so I never lost significant work. Still, when focused on taking notes, it became a considerable frustration, although it was easy to avoid once I was aware of it.

All said and done, while the Magic Note Pad might not have tickled my fancy from a design perspective, it does look nicer than some premium e-paper writing tablets (I'm looking at you, Kobo Elipsa 2E) and I can wax lyrical about the stylus because it's one of the best I've used on a digital display.

Design Score: 4/5

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Software

Runs Android 14
Minimal bloatware
Time-saving shortcuts

XPPen Magic Note Pad app icons and homepage — Homepage, app icons and the X3 Pro Pencil 2 in its magnetic holster (Image credit: Future)

Running Android 14, the XPPen Magic Note Pad will feel familiar to anyone who has used Android devices in the past. The most striking thing upon booting it up though, was the minimal amount of natively available applications, something I absolutely appreciate after coming off doing the Poco F6 Pro review.

The only apps I would consider bloatware are Facebook, Booking.com and Adobe Acrobat. Otherwise, all that's downloaded is the Google suite of apps, YouTube (Music and Kids), WPS Office, Google Play Store and necessary apps like Settings and Camera.

Opening up the settings, you can change the wallpaper as well as the colors of icons, text and backgrounds. You can also edit the lock-screen shortcuts.

The true customization is less about aesthetics, and more about how you like to use the tablet. On top of the three display modes – Regular, Color Paper and Ink Paper – you can also upgrade the Regular mode with image, video and game enhancement, as well as reading, eye comfort and sunlight display modes.

One of the things I really liked was the ability to hold the down key on the stylus and quickly tap the sleeping screen to immediately open the XPPen Notes app. It's a small gesture, but it was considerably faster than the alternative.

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Personalisation and settings within the Magic Note Pad — Display customization (Image credit: Future)

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Holding the down key and tapping the screen can also create a screenshot of whatever you are reading, then immediately open it up in the notes app for you to doodle on or mark up. You can change this button's function to go back, go to the home screen, recents or the shortcut panel. I also found the ability to screenshot by swiping down on the screen with three fingers helpful versus pressing the power and volume buttons simultaneously.

Also worth noting is the shortcut panel which can be hidden or left floating on-screen. Within, you can quickly open notes, screen record, write an e-signature, make a handwritten GIF and more.

The XPPen Notes app deserves its own special mention, too. The custom-designed application has more than enough tools for any writing scenario, from a 15 second purge of your thoughts to a dedicated list of lecture notes with dozens of formats across seven categories. You can even add your own images from the Gallery or via PDF.

With three pen types – fountain, ballpoint and pencil – an eraser and highlighter, you can do a heck of a lot within the native notes app but, since it runs Android 14, you can download your preferred application (like OneNote) if you wish. Personally, I found no need for any other.

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Magic Note Pad software — Shortcut panel (Image credit: Future)

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Shortcut panel and tools within the XPPen Notes app — Additional tools within the XPPen Notes app (Image credit: Future)

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Drawing on the XPPen Magic Note Pad — Drawing and colouring (badly) (Image credit: Future)

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Ink paper home screen on the XPPen Magic Note Pad — Homepage in Ink Paper mode (Image credit: Future)

There's a built-in AI assistant that can answer questions and read your document, as well as immediately convert your messy handwriting into text for a more orderly list of notes. I found the handwriting-to-text conversion inconsistent, but it usually got the gist of what I was writing – and my handwriting is messier than most.

Clean, easy to traverse and offering personalization that ranges from the quirky to seriously productive, the XPPen Magic Note Pad is a joy to use. I'd recommend reading the user manual though, as I found it quite complicated to figure out all the possibilities provided by the tablet and its stylus.

Software score: 4.5 /5

XPPen Magic Note Pad: Cameras and audio

13MP front camera, but no rear lens
Dual speakers and mics

Front camera of the Magic Note Pad — XPPen Magic Note Pad's front camera (Image credit: Future)

Admittedly the Magic Note Pad wasn't decided to take photos, but it does have a 13MP front-facing camera for video calls (and the odd selfie maybe). With a target audience of professionals and students who a versatile digital notepad, that's more than enough to meet the usual needs.

Sure, a rear camera would be nice, it would also be near impossible to write on – so the 13MP front camera is just fine for getting through online uni classes and your weekly 9am team meeting. The camera quality is clear, and the dual speakers and precision microphones made certain I could both clearly hear and be heard on the rare occasion when I wasn't using headphones.

And, while I would prefer to have used headphones in most scenarios, the dual speakers performed more than adequately when watching content.

It won't be competing for any prizes in the camera and audio category, but it wasn't designed to either.

Camera score: 3/5

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Performance

MediaTek MT8781
Struggles with heavy loads
Smooth regular daily use

The XPPen is not going to replace your laptop and handle your entire workload, but it's plenty powerful for what it aims to do.

Powered by the MediaTek MT8781 8-core processor, the Magic Note Pad was fast and smooth when I indulged in some light gaming, watched YouTube videos, wrote notes, reading or did several of them simultaneously when in a video call. It did struggle a little when it was multitasking, but it's not an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab S series to take a whole lotta load.

In the 3D Mark Wildlife test, which tests graphic performance, the XPPen Magic Note Pad scored 1244 at 7.45fps. For reference, the Lenovo Yoga Tab 11 and Alldocube iPlay 50 Pro, two cheap tablets, as well as the Huawei MatePad Paper, boast higher scores.

I used the Geekbench 6.2.2 benchmark to test the Magic Note Pads CPU performance for everyday tasks, and XPPen's latest tablet scored 728 (single-core) and 1949 (multi-core). These scores place it well behind even a tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 (1,198 / 3200).

Still, I didn't feel any performance issues in my time with the XPPen Magic Note Pad, and across writing, reading, watching and calling, you're not likely to. This XPPen tablet runs multiple apps with ease and lets you seamlessly write notes while on a call or watching a video, nailing everything a writing-focused productivity tablet should at this price range, but there are certainly similar, more powerful devices on the market.

Performance score: 4/5

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Battery

20W charging
21% charge in 30 minutes
9+ hours video playback at high brightness

Charging port and screen of the XPPen Magic Note Pad — Charging port and speakers (Image credit: Future)

Boasting an 8,000mAh battery, the XPPen Magic Note Pad has a greater battery capacity than some other tablets, like the 2021 iPad and ReMarkable 2, which has only a 3,000mAh battery. It's certainly not large for a tablet though, with big-screen devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 boasting capacities that far exceed 10,000mAh.

After watching Avengers: Endgame and Deadpool & Wolverine back-to-back at 83% brightness – that's almost 5.5 hours – the XPPen Magic Note Pad was still at a very healthy 40% battery. That means you'll see at least 9 hours of screentime before it taps out, and plenty more than that when just reading or writing on a lower brightness.

In fact, XPPen states that you'll get as much as one week of usage out of the Magic Note Pad with a daily usage of 3 hours at 50% brightness. In my experience, reading on the way to work, making a few notes throughout the day and even hopping into a quick online meeting or watching some YouTube, that approximation seems about right.

Streaming on the Magic Note Pad — Watching movies in Regular mode (Image credit: Future)

I also found that battery consumption is different depending on which display mode you're in and the activity being performed. I had assumed that paper modes required less battery, and this did seem to be the case, even if the difference was negligible during regular use.

Interestingly, I did find one hour of video in Ink Paper Mode used 13%, compared to 8% in Regular Mode – though these tests were done at different times and battery percentages.

Whether or not it lasts a week without charging isn't really the sticking point, though. As a work and study-focused tablet, it needs to be able to last the six to 10-hour days at work or school when it's needed. And, while battery drain will depend on what activities it's used for, it should have no issue doing so.

If you are planning on being a heavy user of this tablet though, draining the battery on a daily basis and requiring regular charging, you'll want to do so overnight. From dead, the device charges just 3% in five minutes, sitting on 21% after 30 minutes – putting a full charge at around 2.5 hours.

Battery score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the XPPen Magic Note Pad?

Buy it if...

You want a digital note pad and more
The Magic Note Pad is first and foremost a digital writing tablet that can also perform as a regular one and an ereader. If you want that kind of versatility, this one's for you.View Deal

Your eyes struggle with blue light
With a main focus on reducing eye strain, the XPPen Magic Note Pad is a must for those who find themselves having to step away from the computer. With three display modes and several eye-friendly settings, it's a great option.View Deal

You want to read and write in color
Whether you're an avid comic book reader or just want to be able to write, highlight and brainstorm in color, the Magic Note Pad is for you. Both the color paper mode and regular mode offer excellent color options in very different ways.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

Reading is your main focus
While this tablet performs well as an ereader, and could happily be used as such by owners who bought it for its overall performance, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this device as a reader first and tablet second.View Deal

You want a drawing tablet
While you can write, draw and sketch accurately until your heart is content on this tablet, if art is your main focus, you might be better off splurging on a larger screen with a higher resolution might be better, like the XPPen Artist Pro 16.View Deal

Your viewing experience is your main concern
While it certainly performed well enough for watching, if your main reason for buying a tablet is to watch content on the go, there are better tablets available without the layered screen.View Deal

XPPen Magic Note Pad review: Also consider

ReMarkable 2
If you're looking for an e-paper display to write on first, and read on second, there is no better device on the market. It's more expensive and lacks the Magic Note Pad's color display options, but for writing there is nothing better and it's cheaper than the color reMarkable Paper Pro.
Read our full ReMarkable 2 reviewView Deal

Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
The cheapest iPad that we still feel comfortable recommending, if you're looking for an affordable device to watch and read on, this iPad is a viable option. You won't get the paper modes or eye protection of the Magic Note pad, but not everyone will want or need that.
Read our full Apple iPad 10.2 (2021) reviewView Deal

XPPen Artist Pro 16
If you're an artist, this tablet offers 16k pressure levels with the X3 Pro Pencil and a textured surface and colorful display, as well as the ability to act as a true laptop replacement and drawing pad. It costs quite a bit more than the XPPen Magic Note Pad, though.
Read our full XPPen Artist Pro 16 reviewView Deal

How I tested the XPPen Magic Note Pad

Review test period = Two Weeks
Testing included = Regular daily use, writing, reading and watching content, video calls
Tools used = 3D Mark, Geekbench 6.2.2, built-in Android tools

The XPPen Magic Note Pad was my new best friend for two weeks, coming with me everywhere I went. From making notes in the morning and reading on the way to work to watching YouTube while working and joining online meetings with it, it was a crucial addition to my daily life.

To test it, I purposefully ran multiple apps during work meetings, multitasking and scribbling gibberish (and actual notes) during the meeting. I ran movies for hours on end and played mobile games like Clash Royale, Marvel Snap and Hearthstone.

I also used the 3D Mark Wildlife and Geekbench benchmarks to put a number to how the tablet was performing, and how it compared to other tablets on the market. I did all this while keeping in mind that this tablet is priced very fairly, aiming to help students and workers with productivity.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed March 2025]

The Honor Pad V9 is the mid-range, Android-powered iPad rival you’ve been looking for

7:16 pm | March 11, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Tablets | Tags: TV | Comments: Off

Honor Pad V9 review: One-minute review

It’s hard not to view the Honor Pad V9 through the lens of its potential as a rival to the new base-model iPad (2025) – it came out just days before (for roughly the same price), has comparable specs, and half of the best Android tablets on the market are trying to take on Apple’s market-dominating juggernauts, anyway.

The more I used the Honor Pad for this review, the more I recognized its strengths – it takes the basic iPad principle, strips away the unnecessary extras, and adds in some useful productivity tools.

Take, for example, performance: instead of burdening its tablet with more processing power than you’d ever practically be able to use, Honor has given the Pad V9 a more restrained mid-range processor. But it’s compensated with twice the storage of the basic iPad, and more RAM. From my testing, using the device felt as smooth and snappy as anyone would need it to.

Software is another important thing to note. In the tablet space, Android used to struggle compared to iOS, but a lot has changed in the last few years, with plenty of similar productivity and multi-screen features between the two operating systems. What's more, instead of burdening the slate with a million first-party apps that you may or may not ever use, Honor has only added a few useful apps to the default Pad V9 package. Some of these proved pivotal to my experience, too.

Specifically, there's a suite of pre-installed Microsoft Office-like apps that each offer some useful functions, like the ability to convert your docs into PDFs (or other file formats), compile documents from various apps, and also mark up PDFs. Where was this technology when I was doing my degree?

The Pad V9 is a dab hand at entertainment, too: it has eight speakers, unlike the iPad’s two, and I found it great for streaming music or creating a surround-sound effect when streaming movies and TV shows. The display, while only using LCD tech, supports a 144Hz refresh rate and 2.8K resolution, which should sate spec-heads.

Most of my gripes with the Honor Pad V9 are pretty minor, and ones you can level at the vast majority of Android tablets: there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, you can’t expand the storage, and there are some irritating software quirks – I’m talking specifically about the weird design of the quick settings menu, which is unduly cramped.

Like its Apple rival, I can see the Pad V9 being useful to students, or people who need a lightweight business companion and think a laptop is too bulky. It’s not as fully featured as it needs to be to be classed as a creativity powerhouse, and it’s a bit too advanced for those who want a simple on-the-go movie tool. That said, a few extras over the new base-model iPad mean it manages to beat Apple’s tablet at its own game (on paper, at least – we're currently in the process of reviewing the latter).

Honor Pad V9 review: price and availability

The Honor Pad V9 on a bronze table. — (Image credit: Future)

Costs £399.99, but only on sale in limited regions
Bundled with some accessories, depending on region

You can pick up the Honor Pad V9 for £399.99 (roughly $515, AU$820) in the UK. At the time of writing, it’s only on sale in a handful of European countries, as well as in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though Honor does sell some tech in the US and Australia.

The device you get varies by country. In the UK, there’s only one variant on sale, which has 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and you get a flip cover and stylus included in the box. Other countries have different combinations of storage, memory, and bundled accessories. So, in the interests of fairness, I’ve treated the tablet as independent of its accessories when weighing up its value.

At the time of writing, Honor's website (in the UK, at least) doesn't actually list any accessories to buy individually. So make sure you don't lose or break the ones you get in the box, because replacements may be hard to find.

The price roughly puts the slate in the mid-range of Android tablets, a fact reflected in its positioning in Honor’s line-up: it beats the Honor Pad 9 and Honor Pad X9, but doesn’t match the Honor MagicPad 2. For context, Apple’s new base-model iPad starts at $349 / £329/AU$599 for 128GB storage.

Its price marks the Honor Pad V9 as pretty good value for money when you consider its specs and features. It doesn’t quite veer right into ‘drop what you're doing and buy it now!’ territory, but if you find a deal that reduces its price tag by a healthy margin, I'd say it's a must-buy.

The Honor Pad V9 was announced at the global tech expo MWC 2025 in February 2025, and went on sale shortly afterwards.

Value: 4 / 5

Honor Pad V9 review: specs

Here are the Honor Pad V9's specs at a glance:

Honor Pad V9 review: design

Lightweight and easy to carry or hold
USB-C port but no 3.5mm jack
Camera bump creates some wobble

Honor hasn't shaken up the tablet world with the V9's design, but it echoes the premium cleanliness of iPads (and most other Android tablets on the market right now).

The dimensions of the Honor Pad V9 are 259.1 x 176.1 x 6.1mm – yes, it’s nice and thin, so it won’t take up much space in a backpack. It weighs 475g, so it’s pretty light, and I found it easy to hold for long periods of time (at least, the length of time it takes to watch a movie in bed).

You can pick up the tablet in gray or white, and as you can see in the images included throughout this review, my sample was a gray model.

When holding the tablet in landscape, the power button is on the left edge while the volume rocker is on the top-left corner. There’s a USB-C port on the right edge but no headphone jack to speak of. Holding the slate in this orientation means that the front-facing camera is in the top bar of the bezel, which I find to be the best positioning for video calls.

On the back are two circular mounds. One, which barely sticks up from the surface of the slate, houses the flash, while the second holds the camera lens. It doesn’t stick too far up, but it does mean the slate has a little wobble when put flat on a table.

As far as I can tell, the Honor Pad V9 doesn’t have an IP rating against dust or water ingress, so keep it protected.

You can get some extra use out of the Pad V9 with some accessories; the slate supports a keyboard folio and a stylus, the latter of which comes with its own features. As mentioned, though, I didn’t receive either, so didn’t test them, and can only see them on sale in some regions. In other regions, they come bundled with the tablet in various combinations – it’s a bit confusing, in all honesty. If you can’t pick up the keyboard or stylus in your region, it’s very possible that third-party equivalents will go on sale before too long.

Design: 4 / 5

Honor Pad V9 review: display

Large 11.5-inch display
1840 x 2800 resolution and 144Hz refresh rate
Range of eye comfort overlays

The Honor Pad V9 is pretty big, as mid-range Android tablets go – don’t go taking that ‘9’ in the title to be its screen size. Instead, the display measures 11.5 inches diagonally.

The display has a 2800 x 1840 pixel count, which is billed by Honor as a 2.8K resolution, and it supports a refresh rate of up to 144Hz (though you'll struggle to find an app or game that supports such a high figure). I couldn’t find a figure on the max brightness but suffice it to say, it’s really bright.

The screen uses LCD tech so it’s not got the same contrast or sharpness that your phone (or a more premium tablet) may have, but this kind of display is easier to see in direct sunlight if you’re working, say, in a well-lit cafe or coffee shop. And Honor is clearly pulling out all the stops to ensure it’s still valid as a streaming device.

The brand touts that the screen supports DCI-P3 color gamut and 10-bit color (basically, it can show a wide range of colors, making videos look realistic) and it’s also certified by IMAX Enhanced. This basically means that it reaches a set of standards in the visual and audio departments to accurately play IMAX content – this is mostly available on Disney Plus, according to IMAX’s website, though Bravia Core, iQIYI, and Rakuten TV also have some such content.

Like most rivals, Honor offers a few screen modes to benefit eye comfort or battery life. These include eBook mode (which makes the display grayscale), eye comfort (which reduces the prevalence of blue colors), and Dark mode (you've probably used this before, and it's a decent battery-saving option).

Display: 4.5 / 5

Honor Pad V9 review: software

Android 15 with MagicOS 9.0 laid over the top
Range of useful pre-baked working apps
A few user interface quirks to be ironed out

The default software for the Honor Pad V9 is MagicOS 9.0 – that’s Honor’s own skin, which is based on Android 15, and while it’s largely a graphical overhaul of Android, it brings a few useful extras.

One of these is Honor Docs, a pre-installed suite of document processing apps that look near-identical to the Microsoft Office equivalents (and may actually be them). There are extra tools, too, like the ability to convert various documents to PDF and the aggregation of documents across your tablet into one place, no matter their file format.

If you’re buying the Pad V9 for productivity reasons, I can see these tools being a core part of your user experience, and it was pretty handy to have them pre-installed on the tablet. They'll be especially useful for students, or people who already own Honor tech, as docs will be shared between devices.

Android software used to be poorly implemented on tablets, but in 2025, that’s not the case, with useful features that make the most of the large display size. It's still not perfect, though.

Case in point, the quick-settings menu on the Pad V9, which is summoned when you swipe down from the top-right edge of the screen, is unnecessarily cramped and clustered. It makes it rather hard to use, and I don’t see a reason why it has to be shoved so far to the side. Hopefully, an update can fix this. You can see it in the image above, and I don't understand why it can't be a bit wider to use more of the empty screen space.

All tech companies tout ‘AI features’ nowadays, and Honor has a few too, like the ability to create meeting minutes from your notes, summarize documents, or automatically add typesetting. They’re pretty light-touch, but that’s how I like it, and Honor hasn’t staked the entire use case of its tablet on a few AI features.

Software: 4 / 5

Honor Pad V9 review: performance and cameras

MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Elite offers middling processing power
8GB RAM and 256GB storage (depending on region)
Impressive octo-speaker offering

Powering the Honor Pad V9 is a MediaTek chipset called the Dimensity 8350 Elite. Despite the name, this is a mid-range chipset that we’ve seen in a few Oppo phones and tablets before.

Multi-core benchmark results attest to this: over multiple tests, I got an average score of 4409, while the best chipsets on phones and tablets right now reach up to 6000. That goes to show that this is a tablet designed more for streaming and working than intensive processing.

Most games I tested on the tablet ran just fine, but noticeably not as snappily or quick as tablets or phones running top chipsets. When graphical options were available, I didn’t push to the top graphics due to fear of how the slate would respond, and the same was true of framerate. So, the Pad V9 will be fine for gamers, but there are better options out there.

The slate has various memory configurations depending on where you live. In the UK, it’s on sale in a sole 256GB storage and 8GB RAM model, but the version I tested had 12GB RAM, and certain regions have models ranging from 128GB to 512GB storage. There’s no memory card slot, so you’ll have to stick to the storage of whichever variant you pick up.

I mentioned earlier that the tablet is IMAX Enhanced; that extends to the speakers too, with a whopping eight of them around the slate (on other tablets, you’re lucky to get four). They make movies and TV shows sound a little bit better, with audio spread out to the left and right as well as up and down (depending on the video you watch). However, the max volume isn’t exactly deafening – streaming a movie in bed was fine, but when I tried to put on some Netflix while I was cooking, I sometimes struggled to hear what was being said over the various cooking noises.

On the camera front, you’re looking at a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facer. They’re fit for scanning documents, conducting video calls, and facial recognition, but you’re not exactly going to take artistic snaps with sensors like these. There was noticeable noise in darker areas of pictures (even fairly well-lit ones), and I couldn’t see a difference in images taken in portrait mode versus the standard mode.

Performance: 3.5 / 5

Honor Pad V9 review: battery

10,100mAh battery will see you through multiple days of use
33W charging is slow for a battery of this size

The Honor Pad V9 packs a 10,100mAh battery, which is a sliver bigger than the ones seen on some comparably priced rivals.

Practically, this gets you about two days of heavy use before the tablet needs to be charged. In my testing period, which saw me replicate my usual tablet use (some word processing here, a movie night there, and a fair amount of music streaming), I reached about five days of charge before the slate needed powering up.

If there’s a slight disappointment with the Pad V9's battery, it’s the charging speed, which caps at 35W – on the global release of the slate, at least, though the Chinese version gets 66W. You’re looking at a charging time of several hours to fill that big battery, so remember to plug it in early if it needs a charge!

I found it easiest to charge the tablet up in dribs and drabs, so I could ensure it always had some charge, but never needed to part with it for an entire working day.

Battery: 4/5

Should you buy the Honor Pad V9?

Buy it if…

You're a student
If I'd bought the Honor Pad V9 when I was a student, I'd have saved hours of wrangling various apps and trying to use various features that the tablet can handle out the gate.View Deal

You like streaming movies and TV
Its display is good, but its speakers are great: the Honor Pad V9 is dependable for streaming entertainment.View Deal

You want an iPad, but running Android
Are you an Android fan who wants an iPad-like tablet? The Honor Pad V9 is one of your best picks, and it roughly matches its Apple rivals in price.View Deal

Don’t buy it if…

You need lots of storage space
While the Honor's 256GB built-in memory is extensive, that's all you'll get without relying on cloud space or external hard drives.View Deal

You like wired audio
There's no 3.5mm headphone jack on this tablet, so audiophiles will have to rely on USB-C converters, which can be annoying if you also want to charge the slate.View Deal

Also consider

Not convinced by the Honor Pad V9? Here are a few other options to consider:

iPad 11 (2025)
The natural rival, Apple's newest iPad will win fans simply by being an iOS device. But it's more expensive (when considering like-for-like storage), doesn't offer the same speaker quality, and will make you pay more for accessories. We've currently got the device in for review, so we'll have a full verdict on its quality soon.

Oppo Pad 3 Pro
For only a little bit more, you can get Oppo's new tablet, which boasts a more powerful chipset, a higher-res display, and faster charging.

Read our full Oppo Pad 3 Pro review

How I tested the Honor Pad V9

I tested the Honor Pad V9 by using it in lieu of my normal tablet (an iPad Pro from years ago) for several weeks, for all the tasks I normally use my iPad for.

This included typing up and editing documents, watching movies, playing games, and checking out the news. The model I tested had 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, and I used it without first-party accessories.

I've been reviewing products for TechRadar since early 2019, covering everything from tablets and smartphones to headphones, fitness trackers, and electric scooters.

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First reviewed March 2025

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