Honor Pad V9 assessment: It’s a great time with extra Google than ever

Honor is placing the posh again into the inexpensive pill area with the Honor Pad V9, the corporate’s first new pill for 2025. With an aluminum chassis, a strong MediaTek processor, a beautiful 144Hz show, and eight audio system for the final word in encompass sound from a pill, this one means enterprise.

It’s the proper pill for productiveness and media consumption, providing every part you want to be ok with utilizing it full-time. It’s received full assist for the Honor Magic Pencil 3 and a keyboard folio case that turns it right into a laptop computer alternative, plus a ten,100mAh battery that’ll final all day lengthy on a single cost.

Honor’s strengthened partnership with Google implies that it is even received Google Kids Space assist out of the field, so you may set it up solely on your children to make use of with a particular residence display launcher and set of apps or simply make them their very own profile with all the identical nice parental management options. Really, it is arduous to know why you would wish another pill.

Honor Pad V9: Price, availability, and specs

The Honor Pad V9 was introduced on MWC 2025 on March 2, 2025.

The pill is predicted to retail for round $400 and is the follow-up to 2022’s Honor Pad V8 Pro.

Honor Pad V9: What makes it nice

The Honor Pad V9 has beautiful bodily options, and it is arduous to select one of the best one. The aluminum unibody design feels extremely high-quality and much better than you would possibly count on from a sub-$400 pill. The bezels across the show are simply the precise measurement — not too huge to look ugly and never too small to be uncomfortable — and the pill is skinny sufficient to be snug with out being so skinny that it is awkward to carry.

LCD screens aren’t essentially thought of “premium” nowadays, however the one on the Honor Pad V9 may need you rethinking that place. At 144Hz, it is buttery {smooth} and makes use of dynamic dimming and refresh fee scaling to save lots of on battery. The backlight seems very good and avoids a budget glow or mild bleed points some LCD panels undergo from. It’s additionally received unimaginable viewing angles and black ranges, as soon as once more displaying that that is higher than the common LCD panel.

Honor Pad V9 PWM and dithering exams – YouTube

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It’s a correct DC-dimmed panel and makes use of no PWM dimming, incomes the total TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free Eye Comfort Certification ranking. Plus, it blocks blue mild on the {hardware} stage and incorporates Honor’s Defocus Display tech, so you may really feel snug utilizing it evening and day with out eye pressure.

Aside from the standard, the show is coated with a NIL Nano-topography course of that retains it impressively fingerprint-resistant. I’ve let my son play on this factor for hours and might’t imagine how little there’s to scrub off the display. I’d like to see some type of anti-glare layer on this show sooner or later however it’s nonetheless lots shiny and simple to see in a well-lit automotive.

Among probably the most premium options is the IMAX licensed 8-speaker setup. Yeah, significantly, Honor packed eight audio system inside this pill, full with spectacular bass response. Movies and movies sounded greatest, with crystal clear voices and mind-bowing digital encompass sound.

I did a type of double-take greater than as soon as whereas watching movies on this factor, questioning if it by some means was hooked as much as my encompass sound system in the lounge. It sounds ok to take heed to music on on a regular basis and I had it pumping beats on my desk whereas I used to be working greater than as soon as in the course of the assessment interval.

Parents can be thrilled to know that this pill options Google Kids Space assist out of the field. When organising any account, it will ask you if the account is for a kid or an grownup. Choosing little one will allow a particular setup that requires a Google Family Link account, full with a particular residence display, app launcher, curated content material, and extra.

The MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Elite inside is a good processor that is someplace in-between a mid-range and a top-end processor. It appears like a high-end processor in most situations, together with on a regular basis utilization, shopping, and productiveness. Gaming on the pill is a pleasure though you will not have the ability to run Fortnite at max settings and nonetheless count on a buttery-smooth 60FPS framerate.

If you or your children are searching for a fantastic pill that helps a stylus, this can be a stable selection. It works completely with the Honor Magic Pencil 3, together with handwriting recognition and Honor’s actually cool math formulation recognition know-how. This performance together with Kids Space makes this a super household pill, particularly since you may have a number of account profiles.

Honor Pad V9: What wants work

As a extra inexpensive pill, you may discover that Honor sells different tablets with sooner processors, greater and brighter shows, and barely higher audio system. I would not say any of those are large variations from what’s supplied on the Honor Pad V9, however know that this is not fairly a top-of-the-line pill regardless of its premium leanings. It additionally has no water or mud ingress safety, so this one won’t be greatest for bathtub studying time.

On the software program facet of issues, Honor does a fantastic job of enabling laptop-level multitasking and efficiency in lots of areas, however it must tweak simply two issues to deliver this all the way in which to a laptop-replacement stage. The taskbar on the backside of the display can’t be pinned in Magic OS 9 as it may possibly on most different main Android-based tablets with the most recent variations of Android.

Second, the notification shade continues to be break up, so solely fast toggles seem while you swipe down from the precise facet of the standing bar, whereas solely notifications seem from the left facet. There’s no purpose these should not be in the identical notification shade as there’s loads of room for each — Honor’s design even leaves a goofy white area on every half of the notification shade that ought to include the opposite half.

Honor Pad V9: Competition

No matter the place you reside, one of the best Samsung tablets are sometimes the largest competitors for the Honor Pad V9. The closest particular competitor is the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which is in the identical worth vary because the Honor Pad V9. Samsung affords numerous comparable performance to the Honor Pad V9 together with stylus assist and a fantastic OS for multitasking. However, Honor outclasses Samsung in most different areas, together with processor efficiency, show high quality and refresh fee, eye-friendly show choices, and way more RAM.

If you are a wise residence aficionado and use Google Home as your major management level, the Google Pixel Tablet is a reasonably nifty selection. It’s received a fantastic charging stand that doubles as a strong speaker, plus a customized lock display that allows you to management your Google Home-powered sensible residence sooner than anything. It’s received a barely higher multitasking UI than Honor — the taskbar will be correctly pinned to the underside of the display — however the processor is quite a bit slower, and it solely has 8GB of RAM, whereas Honor affords a Pad V9 mannequin with 12GB.

Internationally, firms like Xiaomi provide tablets just like the Redmi Pad Pro that look very comparable on paper. Honor affords extra storage and RAM for its two fashions in addition to a more moderen model of Android, plus a a lot sooner processor. Xiaomi has the value benefit, although, and a few individuals might favor Xiaomi’s Android pores and skin over Honor’s.

Honor Pad V9: Should you purchase it?

The Honor Pad V9 sits properly between low cost tablets just like the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and extra premium choices just like the OnePlus Pad 2. It’s received a strong newer MediaTek processor, an unimaginable 144Hz show that’ll have you ever questioning why extra LCDs aren’t this good, in addition to a powerful 8-speaker system that sounds too good to be in a pill.

Honor even launched this one with the most recent model of Android, fixing previous errors. It additionally consists of Honor’s newest show eye care options, assist for its greatest pill equipment just like the Magic Pencil 3, and battery life that’ll get you thru the longest of flights. It’s an excellent selection, as long as you do not want one thing particular like ingress safety or mobile connectivity.