Honor Pad X9a vs Honor Pad X9
Here we compared two budget tablets: the 11.5-inch Honor Pad X9a (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 685) that was released on March 21, 2025, against the Honor Pad X9, which is powered by the same chip and came out 1 year and 9 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
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Key differences
Reasons to consider the Honor Pad X9a
- Comes with 1050 mAh larger battery capacity: 8300 vs 7250 mAh
- More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 13
- 12% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (515K versus 461K)
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
- 25% higher pixel density (254 vs 203 PPI)
- Supports higher wattage charging (35W versus 22.5W)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | TFT LCD | TFT LCD |
| Size | 11.5 inches | 11.5 inches |
| Resolution | 1504 x 2508 pixels | 1200 x 2000 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 5:3 | 5:3 |
| PPI | 254 ppi | 203 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 450 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.1% | 84.1% |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 267.3 mm (10.52 inches) | 267.3 mm (10.52 inches) |
| Width | 167.4 mm (6.59 inches) | 167.4 mm (6.59 inches) |
| Thickness | 6.77 mm (0.27 inches) | 6.9 mm (0.27 inches) |
| Weight | 475 g (16.75 oz) | 499 g (17.6 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Gray | Gray |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
| Area | 447 cm2 (69.3 inches2) | 447 cm2 (69.3 inches2) |
| Repairability | Good (3.05/5) | - |
| Drop resistance | Bad (E) ยท 10 drops | - |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (116th and 127th place)
Android Tablet Ranking (89th and 99th place)
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 |
| Max clock | 2800 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A73 |
- 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A73 |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 6 nanometers | 6 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon 686 | Hexagon 686 |
| Graphics | Adreno 610 | Adreno 610 |
| GPU shading units | 128 | 128 |
| GPU clock | 1260 MHz | 1260 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~322.6 GFLOPS | ~322.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 387 | 570 |
| Single-core score | 470 | 477 |
| Multi-core score | 1463 | 1551 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 185758 | 191663 |
| GPU | 30082 | 29731 |
| Memory | 162956 | 110054 |
| UX | 137172 | 129788 |
| Total score | 515968 | 461236 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [37 tests] |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 11364 | 8739 |
| Video editing | 4584 | 4586 |
| Photo editing | 16321 | 15530 |
| Data manipulation | 7431 | 7170 |
| Writing score | 10637 | 8896 |
Recent User Tests
Honor Pad X9a
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ 2026-08-11 (SkyBlack) | CPU Throttle | 94% |
| ๐ 2026-08-11 (SkyBlack) | GeekBench GPU | 385 |
| ๐ 2026-08-11 (SkyBlack) | GeekBench CPU | 470 / 1463 |
| ๐ 2026-08-11 (SkyBlack) | AnTuTu | 515968 |
Honor Pad X9
No benchmark results yet
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 6 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.2 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 | Android 13 |
| ROM | MagicOS 9 | MagicOS 7.1 |
| OS updates | 5 years | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 8300 mAh | 7250 mAh |
| Max charge power | 35 W | 22.5 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes (34% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 2:04 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1200 cycles | - |
| Web browsing | - | 08:56 hr |
| Watching video | - | 11:02 hr |
| Gaming | - | 07:03 hr |
| Standby | - | 155 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 8 megapixels | 5 megapixels |
| Image resolution | - | 2592 x 1944 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | No | No |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 8 MP |
1) Standard: 5 MP |
| Camera features | - | - |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 5 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor size | 1/5.0" (โ 0.2 inch) | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 5 megapixels | 5 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 2592 x 1944 | 2592 x 1944 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | - | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | - | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | No | Nano |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | March 2025 | July 2023 |
| Release date | March 2025 | July 2023 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $185 | $230 |
| Sensors | - Accelerometer | - Accelerometer |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on Pad X9:
- The memory card slot is available only in the 4G model.
- In some European countries, the package includes a charger, while others do not.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, battery life, software, and design are more important to you, then choose the Honor Pad X9a. But if the camera and gaming are more of a priority โ go for the Honor Pad X9.
Cast your vote
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