The Honor MagicPad 2 screen is crazy

The MagicPad 2 is one of Honor’s latest tablets and, like gastronomy, the best thing about it is that it is a feast for the eyes. With an excellent screen and an all-day battery, what can’t it do?

After the success of the Honor Magic V3 as the world’s thinnest foldable phone, the next Honor product we tested is one that foldables are trying to replace, the Honor MagicPad 2 tablet.

Although the tablet market seems to be stagnating, there is no excuse for not launching a good product with technical features, ease of use and good value for money that makes it worthwhile. Honor has achieved this with a tablet like the MagicPad 2, which has absolutely everything you could want in a product like this.

Of course, there is no such thing as the perfect product, but there are many things to recommend the Honor MagicPad 2 that make it very valuable and certainly an improvement over the previous generation.

A slim tablet with fewer edges and a comfortable feel 

There’s nothing worse than a heavy tablet. Although tablets spend a lot of time on a surface such as a table or our lap, lightness is always crucial, especially when they have large screens like this Honor MagicPad 2.

Weighing 555 grams and only 5.8 millimeters thick, it feels good in the hands because, although it is relatively light, it is not so light that it can be used with one hand for a long time.

Aesthetically, what you see is what you get: a large screen with reduced bezels, four speakers on the short sides, a power button, volume buttons, USB-C port and a rear camera in a round area that stands out a lot considering the pearlescent finish, which is nice, but unfortunately for most people will go unnoticed when they put a case on it.

It has a front camera on the long top edge, perfect for making video calls if you have it in landscape mode, and it also allows you to use it to unlock Android.

Connectivity compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 ensures maximum connection speed and compatibility with devices such as headphones, mice, keyboards and any other Bluetooth peripherals that require a low latency, low power connection.

A 144 Hz OLED screen that you won’t be able to take your eyes off 

There is no doubt that the star of this tablet is, as it should be, the screen. Honor has decided to go straight for the best it can integrate into a tablet and has put in an excellent 12.3-inch OLED screen.

In addition, it has a resolution of 3000 x 1920 pixels, is compatible with HDR10, has a very high brightness of 1600 nits and also has a refresh rate of 144 Hz.

This combination makes it wonderful to watch movies and series compatible with HDR10, either streamed or downloaded to the tablet’s memory. The 144 Hz, which I really appreciate in a tablet of this category, guarantees fast animations, which automatically makes the tablet feel faster.
The sound is clear, but surprisingly not very loud. This is one of those combinations that is positive for me, but I understand that it could be negative for other people. Music and TV series or films can be heard perfectly, but if you are looking for a tablet to play music on that will fill the room, I don’t think this is the one for you.
Although the maximum volume is high, I find it lower than that of other tablets. And again, this is positive for me because it prevents the sound from becoming very distorted at more than 75% volume.

Honor says that the MagicPad 2 has spatial sound, a feature that I understand and have experienced in products such as headphones, because it can create the illusion that the sound is coming from all around, but in this case I can’t find that 360º effect anywhere.

More than decent performance, but it’s the MagicOS that shines

At the heart of the Honor MagicPad 2 is a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip and 12 GB of RAM. These two features guarantee top-notch performance. And I couldn’t find a bottleneck, neither with games, nor with 3D rendering and video (even with CapCut it’s not that good), nor with opening all the possible applications I have installed.

The performance far exceeds the needs of a tablet for multimedia consumption, that is, for playing videos, browsing the Internet, checking email or reviewing a document from time to time.
When we compare this tablet with others in the same category that are relatively new, we find superior performance in practically everything that matters, such as graphics and basic performance.

If you want a tablet that can replace your laptop, I don’t think the Honor MagicPad 2 is up to the job. You’ll be able to use it for work, if your work is light enough to use a tablet for, but I’m not completely convinced, especially because of the size of the screen.

My recommendation is to reduce the screen size in the display settings so that the elements appear smaller and you have more space. And if you can, get the Honor keyboard case and stylus; it turns it into a kind of laptop, and the stylus is perfect for taking notes or drawing, although I couldn’t try it on this occasion.

Another outstanding feature of the Honor MagicPad 2 is MagicOS 8, the operating system based on Android 14, which, although not revolutionary compared to other “Android variants” such as Samsung’s OneUI, Google’s Pixel Experience or Huawei’s HarmonyOS, does some very interesting things.

MagicOS is a multitasking master, with the ability to have two windows open side by side, as well as a third floating window, which is something that almost all Android tablets can do, but in this case it works really well, even allowing you to move elements between applications.

Magic Portal is one of my favorites. Selecting a text, an image or almost any element and having a list of applications appear on the page with which to share it in a very simple way is a very useful feature.

Other elements such as the small capsules it inherits from mobile phones, the pills in the upper left that appear when you are on a call, playing music or when you have a timer. Expandable icons, which allow you to display the additional options that normally appear when you hold down an icon, can be displayed on the home screen. A small detail, but one that allows you to customize the home screen to your liking.

As you might expect, this MagicPad 2 is much better if you have an Honor phone. With Magic Ring, you can share items between your tablet and your phone, even with your Honor laptop. Even when your phone and tablet are connected, you can receive phone notifications on your tablet or even preview and control the screen.

More than 10,000 mAh that make a difference, especially when you’re not using it 

Maybe it’s the OLED screen, maybe it’s the processor, maybe it’s MagicOS 8, but the power management is pretty good for a tablet of this size.

It really helps that it has a 10,050 mAh battery, a large capacity that will make this tablet last for many hours.

On a full charge, the Honor MagicPad 2 can last between 8 and 10 hours in the best of cases. If you are going to use high-powered programs, such as games or playing videos at very high brightness levels, it is normal for the battery life to be significantly reduced, at least expect half the battery life.

The higher the battery capacity, the longer it will take to recharge. Fortunately, Honor has given it a fast 66 W charge (with a compatible charger in the box) and the option of reversible charging via cable at a speed of 5 W.

Verdict, is the Honor MagicPad 2 worth buying? 

The Honor MagicPad 2 proves that it is possible to produce a quality tablet at a reasonable price, and the OLED screen is a spectacle, it has good sound and performance complemented by a battery life that will last a working Jordanian.

The price is probably its biggest problem. It is close to 600 euros and although I think it is a more than reasonable price considering the technical characteristics and design details, in a market like that of Android tablets it is a difficult price to swallow.

It struggles to compete with high-end tablets such as the iPad Air or the iPad Pro, although its main competitor is something like the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, which is much more expensive, but the Samsung brand is a big seller.
Even so, I think the MagicPad 2 is such a complete tablet that it’s worth the extra investment to have a good product that will last for many years.