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Honor’s resurgence within the final two years has been dominated by foldables just like the Magic V3, however the model is doing a very good job within the pill class as properly. The finances Pad 9 delivered a large 12.1-inch panel and standout battery life, and it was ideally fitted to consuming content material on the go. Honor adopted it up with the Pad V9 final month, and it does a terrific job.
The model is constructing on that momentum with the MagicPad 2. While you get a good variety of choices nowadays if you need a very good Android pill, most merchandise nonetheless include an LCD panel. The MagicPad 2, in the meantime, has a 12.3-inch OLED panel, and that in itself is a large differentiator. The swap to OLED means you get richer colours and wonderful distinction ranges, and the MagicPad 2 is an leisure powerhouse.
There’s terrific built-in sound, highly effective {hardware}, and the pill has wonderful battery life. If you want a tool to devour media on the go, the MagicPad 2 is definitely the most effective mid-range pill at the moment accessible.
Honor MagicPad 2: Pricing and availability
Honor debuted the MagicPad 2 in July 2024, and the pill is on the market in choose world markets. It is bought in a single 12GB/256GB mannequin within the U.Okay., and it retails for £399 ($518) on Honor’s web site whenever you use the code APD2FE50. It prices £499 ($628) on Amazon U.Okay. as of writing.
If you are seeking to decide up the pill, I’d recommend doing so from Honor. The model completely sells the white variant of the pill on its website, and the most effective half is that it bundles the MagicPad 2 Smart Bluetooth Keyboard and Magic Pencil 3 with all orders, which is an extra financial savings of £160 ($200).
Honor MagicPad 2: Design
The MagicPad 2 appears and appears like a high-end pill, and the white coloration possibility that I’m utilizing is unbelievable. It would not have a glass again, with Honor as a substitute going with a fiber materials that brings down the burden. The white mannequin has a definite sample that evokes recollections of the OnePlus 11 Marble Odyssey, and the satin texture is nice to carry.
You’ll discover a slight inexperienced tinge when viewing the again at an angle, and a bonus of not utilizing a glass again is that it would not decide up any smudges. The mid-frame is made out of metallic, and the pill is comparatively skinny at simply 5.8mm. Coming in at 555g, it is on the lighter aspect of the size when you think about the scale of the panel.
The rear digital camera island would not draw an excessive amount of consideration to itself, and it would not protrude from the chassis, so there is not a wobble when utilizing it on a desk. The energy button is situated up high, and the amount buttons are on the suitable, and so they’re straightforward sufficient to entry.
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Honor did a very good job minimizing the bezels, the digital camera is appropriately positioned alongside the vanguard. If something, the one level of competition with the MagicPad 2 is that it would not have a fingerprint sensor — you solely get a PIN or passcode unlock and face unlock. I get that utilizing an optical fingerprint sensor provides price to the machine, however Honor ought to have a minimum of bundled a fingerprint module that is baked into the facility button; not having it in any respect is a notable omission.
Other than that, there aren’t any issues with the design of the MagicPad 2. It feels good to carry and use, and it is skinny and light-weight sufficient that you do not fairly notice you are utilizing an outsized pill.
Honor MagicPad 2: Display
Honor outfitted the MagicPad 2 with the most effective panel on this class; the pill has a 12.3-inch OLED display screen with a decision of 3000 x 1920 and 144Hz refresh, and it will get HDR10. It goes as much as a most brightness of 1600 nits, and whereas that is when viewing HDR content material, I did not see any issues viewing the panel outside. It would not get fairly as brilliant because the iPad Pro M4 — Honor would not use a tandem OLED — however it’s nonetheless greater than sufficient.
If something, the inclusion of the OLED panel offers the pill a definite edge over nearly each different mid-range Android pill. Colors are vibrant and distinction ranges are wonderful, and Honor continues to guide the business in the case of eye safety options. The pill will get Defocus Eyecare tech — which is on the Magic V3 and Magic 7 Pro — alongside 4320Hz PWM dimming, and a blue gentle filter.
Best of all, Honor’s e-book mode is on the market on the pill, and it makes the MagicPad 2 an absolute pleasure to make use of for studying books and long-form content material. While I’d nonetheless select an e-reader whereas touring, the monochrome mode is considerably simpler on the eyes when studying textual content, and I’m glad Honor retained it.
At the opposite finish of the size, HDR content material appears fabulous on the pill, with Netflix and YouTube profiting from the characteristic. The pill has highly effective built-in sound, and it is loud and detailed sufficient that you simply needn’t use a headset or earbuds whereas watching a TV present or film. Gaming is equally pleasurable, and I did not have any points even in demanding titles.
Overall, the large OLED panel and the feature-set mix to make the pill the most effective in its class, and in case you want a tool to devour multimedia on the go, that is the best choice within the mid-range class.
Honor MagicPad 2: Hardware and battery
While it isn’t utilizing the newest silicon, the MagicPad 2 is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, and it does an admirable job in its personal proper. It handles demanding video games properly, and there aren’t any issues with overheating or aggressive throttling. It is available in a solitary 12Gb/256GB configuration, and there is not any option to get the 512GB mannequin globally.
Regardless, the pill would not have any shortcomings on this space, and it does a very good job with routine duties in addition to intensive workloads. The pill would not have mobile connectivity or NFC, however the Wi-Fi 6 modem maintains a robust sign, and I did not see any issues with connectivity. There’s Bluetooth 5.3 as properly, and also you get AptX HD and LDAC.
There’s an 8MP digital camera up entrance, and whereas it is not noteworthy, it does a good sufficient job in video calls, and that is probably the most I used the module. The again of the pill homes a 13MP digital camera, however even entry-level telephones have a lot better cameras, and I would not recommendation utilizing the one behind the MagicPad 2.
The MagicPad 2 comes with a ten,500mAh battery, and it simply has over ten hours of display screen time between expenses. That is in keeping with different tablets of an identical dimension, and there aren’t any points on this space. Honor bundles a 66W charger within the field, and it takes the pill simply over 100 minutes to totally cost the battery.
Honor MagicPad 2: Accessories
Honor sells two equipment with the pill: the MagicPad 2 Smart Bluetooth Keyboard, and Magic Pencil 3. The keyboard accent does a very good job safeguarding the pill, and it positions the panel at a 60-degree angle, making it handy to make use of. The keys do not have backlighting, however the important thing journey is astonishingly good, and I used to be in a position to get a good quantity of writing achieved on the keyboard.
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I did not see any points with Bluetooth connectivity both, and it stayed paired to the pill after setting it up. The Magic Pencil 3 can be first rate, and it’s good to take notes with. Handwriting recognition is first rate, nevertheless it continually corrected my title to Danish, and that simply made me wish to eat a pastry.
Honor MagicPad 2: Software
Honor debuted the pill with MagicOS 8, nevertheless it picked up an replace to the Android 15-based MagicOS 9.0, bringing a cleaner UI and loads of new options. Honor is positioning AI as a key level of differentiation, and that is evident when utilizing the pill; with utilities like Magic Portal, real-time translations, and a set of image-editing instruments, there’s lots to love on this regard.
Honor additionally did a very good job rolling out multitasking options on the pill, and the one quibble I’ve with the interface is the break up notification shade. The Control Center sits to the suitable and homes all of the toggles, and notifications get a devoted pane. A unified answer would have been higher, nevertheless it’s clear that Honor desires to take care of consistency with its telephones.
Outside of that, there aren’t any issues with the interface. The UI is fluid — because of the 144Hz refresh — and there is sufficient customizability accessible. The greatest situation with the pill is that it’ll solely get one software program replace and three years of safety updates, and that simply is not sufficient in 2025. With the MagicPad 2 making the swap to MagicOS 9.0, it won’t get another platform updates, and Honor wants to alter its insurance policies.
Honor MagicPad 2: The options
I just like the OnePlus Pad 2 on this phase; it additionally has a large 12.1-inch panel, nevertheless it makes use of an IPS LCD as a substitute of OLED. It has beefier {hardware} and higher multitasking utilities, however the battery would not final fairly as lengthy. It is the closest various to the MagicPad 2, however I’d nonetheless recommend getting Honor’s pill because it has an OLED panel.
Honor MagicPad 2: Should you purchase it?
You should purchase this if:
- You want a pill with an OLED panel
- You need good {hardware}
- You want terrific battery life
- You need helpful equipment
You should not purchase this if:
- You need long-term software program updates
- You want dependable biometrics to unlock the pill
Honor bought the fundamentals proper with the MagicPad 2; it has a modern design, standout battery life, and good internals. The greatest motive to select up this pill over its mid-range rivals is the OLED panel; the standard of the panel mixed with 144Hz refresh makes the MagicPad 2 the final word alternative for consuming multimedia at house or the go. This alone permits the pill to differentiate itself from its rivals, and whether or not you are seeking to stream TV reveals, motion pictures, play video games, or learn ebooks, the MagicPad 2 simply will get my advice.
The solely level of competition with the pill is that it will not decide up any platform updates; it made the swap to the Android 15-based MagicOS, and apart from three years of safety patches, it will not get another updates. Honor claimed a win by promising seven years of software program updates to the Magic 7 Pro — changing into the one Chinese model to take action — however that does not lengthen to its different gadgets, and it is a disgrace {that a} pill with as nice a possible is being hobbled on this method.
Even then, there is not one other machine that is pretty much as good because the MagicPad 2. So if you’re seeking to decide up a pill largely to observe TV reveals and films, it’s your best option on this class.
The OLED panel offers the MagicPad 2 a definite benefit towards its rivals, and the remainder of the {hardware} is sort of first rate too.
