Honor MagicPad 2 review – GSMArena.com tests

Introduction

The Honor MagicPad 2 was announced at IFA this year and we have been eyeing it for a while. It is an intriguing tablet with flagship specs all around, and you might get the Smart Keyboard and Magic Pencil 3 for free if you catch the right retail promo bundle.

The Honor Magic Pad 2 brings a large OLED display, a great update over the previous model. The screen has high resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, up to 4320Hz PWM dimming, and HDR10 and IMAX Enhanced certifications.

Then we have the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, which may not be the fastest on the market, but it offers plenty of oomph even for gaming.

There are a total of eight super loud speakers, also IMAX certified, for a completely immersive experience with compatible content.

The tablet also has a large 10,050mAh battery with support for 66W Honor SuperCharge.

The tablet launched at €599 price, but it is often discounted by at least €100 and Honor usually bundles it with the Keyboard and/or the Pencil, sometimes even Honor Earbuds X6, too, depending on your market.

Honor MagicPad 2 12.3 specs at a glance:

• Body: 274.5×180.5×5.8mm, 555g; aluminum unibody; Stylus support.
• Display: 12.30″ OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, IMAX Enhanced, HDR10, 1600 nits (peak), 1920x3000px resolution, 14.06:9 aspect ratio, 290ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X4 & 4×2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 735.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 14, MagicOS 8.0.1.
• Rear camera: 13 MP, f/2.0, AF.
• Front camera: 9 MP, f/2.2.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 10050mAh; 66W wired, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.3, aptX HD, LDAC.
• Misc: Accelerometer, proximity (accessories only); stereo speakers (8 speakers).

The Honor MagicPad 2 looks like a great all-around device at first glance, and we spot no obvious omissions.

Unboxing the Honor MagicPad 2

The MagicPad 2 arrives in a white box bundled with a 66W charger and 6A-rated USB-A-to-C cable.

Note that some markets are not getting the charger in the box by default, but depending on your retailer, you might get it as a separate boxed item for free or for 10 euros extra.