Most popular tablets these days are quite large. Why? Well, because phones have gotten larger over time as well, not to mention that foldable phones are a thing these days as well. So, it’s not that odd to see a 12-inch or 13-inch tablets out there, in fact, those are the most popular ones. We’re here to review one such tablet, the HONOR MagicPad 3. This one has a 13.3-inch display, and it’s quite interesting.

Just to be clear, there’s also a ‘Pro’ version of this tablet, though that one launched very recently, months after the regular version. With that being said, the regular version will be more than enough for most people, not to mention that this is a global version of the tablet we’re talking about. The ‘Pro’ model did not arrive to markets outside of China yet, and we don’t know if it will at all. With that being said, I’ve used the MagicPad 3 for a while now, and I’m ready to share my thoughts. Let’s get to it.

HONOR MagicPad 3

Rating

£599.99 ($800)

HONOR’s MagicPad 3 gets the basics right — power, display, and endurance.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Great build quality
• Vibrant and sharp display
• Very good performance
• Plenty of features that take advantage of the display size
• Class-leading battery life
• Mature OS which is finally consistent
• Outstanding case/keyboard accessory you can buy separately

Cons

• No fingerprint scanner
• Poor camera performance
• Software support

Disclaimer

HONOR supplied us with a review unit of the HONOR MagicPad 3, but didn’t have a say in our opinion, nor did they see this review before you. We’ve been using the device for about two weeks before forming an opinion.

Buy from HONOR

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Design

The HONOR MagicPad 3 is a large, 13.3-inch tablet. If all you used thus far are tablets up to 10-11 inches, you’ll be quite surprised. That extra screen real estate can come in handy, but… the device is quite a bit bigger. The good news is that its bezels are quite thin, so it’s smaller than it could have been. Don’t worry, they’re not too thin, you can properly grip the tablet, no problem. With that being said, the MagicPad 3 is made out of metal, aluminum, to be more precise. It offers a metal unibody build. In all honesty, this is probably a better choice for tablets than placing a huge glass panel on the back. There’s a reason why so many companies prefer it.

The bezels are thin

There is no display camera hole on the display, HONOR opted to place that camera on the bezel, which is great. It’s placed so that you use it in landscape form, though, on the right bezels when you’re holding it upright. The sides of the tablets are flat, and the device is quite thin at 5.8mm. The power/lock button sits at the top of the tablet (when you hold it in portrait mode), and the volume up and down buttons are close, but on the right side. This is a Wi-Fi only tablet, by the way, there is no cellular connection, and thus no SIM card tray. There is also no expandable storage here.

If we flip it over, you’ll notice two cameras in the top-left corner. Once again, I’m talking from a portrait perspective. An LED flash is placed next to those two cameras, and all that sits on top of a slightly raised platform. HONOR’s logo is placed in the middle, though it has a landscape orientation. When you hold the device in portrait mode, it will be in the wrong direction. Way below that logo, at the bottom of the back side, you’ll notice three pogo pins. This is used for the keyboard/case accessory that HONOR also sent us. We’ll talk about that in the next section.

It is a large, metal-clad tablet

The device measures 293.9 x 201.4 x 5.8mm, just so you get the idea of how large the device is. It weighs 595 grams, which is not heavy for a tablet of that size, but a lot heavier than a phone, naturally. It all depends on how much experience you have using tablets. There is no protection against water and dust here, so be careful. The device also has eight speakers, which we’ll talk more in the audio section, but you’ll notice most of them on the frame all around the device. All in all, the HONOR MagicPad 3 is a well-designed chunk of metal that you’ll likely like using. It is quite slippery, though, so that’s something else that you should get ready for.

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Accessories

If you end up getting this tablet, we’d wholeheartedly recommend you to get HONOR’s official case for it. It is sold separately, but you get the case, keyboard, and stand all in one. The accessory is called the HONOR MagicPad 3 Smart Touch Keyboard, and it’s great. In all honesty, I’m so used to using tablets with cases like these, that I cannot imagine using it without it. I rarely even take it out, but you can easily do that thanks to magnets, it could not be simpler.

This accessory connects via pogo pins, instantly

The tablet immediately connected to the case via the pogo pins, I didn’t have to connect anything manually. The back side of the case, which magnetizes to the tablet, can be folded right down the middle, and that part acts as a kickstand. The case does add much-needed grip to the table. It has that rubberized feel, but it’s very nice to the touch at the same time. The keyboard itself is nicer than you’d think. It’s a nice chicklet-style keyboard with more than enough travel. Well, those of you who are used to using a mechanical keyboard will have complaints, but if you’re used to a laptop keyboard, you’ll be fine.

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Display

The HONOR MagicPad 3 features a 13.3-inch LCD display. No, it’s not an OLED panel, but it’s still great, to say the least. You’re getting a 3200 x 2136 resolution here, so it’s ultra-bright. It has great viewing angles, and you can easily see it in the sunlight as well. Brightness was never na issue during my testing. The screen-to-body ratio is at around 91%, the display is very immersive. The bezels are thin, but they’re not too thin. I’d say that HONOR nailed the screen-to-body ratio here, actually. it’s just right.

This is a 165Hz panel

Does it offer a high refresh rate? Yes, for sure. It can go up to 165Hz at most, and down to 30Hz when needed. It has 7 levels of refresh rate, actually, in case you were wondering. So, yes, it’s not an OLED display, and those of you who are used to OLED panels will notice that. The colors on this display are great, and I did not wish for an OLED display at any point, if I’m being honest. I had a great time with what HONOR is offering here. Yes, an OLED panel would probably offer better color accuracy, but it’s not like you’ll be doing color grading on this display.

This display also protects your eyes

HONOR also refers to this display as the ‘Eye Comfort Display’, as it has the company’s eye comfort tech, which is effective only in certain applications, though. The display can project 1.07 billion colors, and it’s a flicker-free display as well. There’s really not much more you can ask for when it comes to a tablet display. The touch response was good, as per usual, and I also didn’t notice that the display is picking up smudges more than any other display in this price range. There’s not much to complain about here.

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 fuels the HONOR MagicPad 3. That is not the latest and greatest chip HONOR could have used, that’s for sure. However, it was Qualcomm’s flagship offering a couple of years back, and it’s still a powerful 4nm chip. That, combined with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, makes for a nice package here. I used this tablet for almost two weeks, and I never felt like it needed more muscles or anything like that.

The performance is on a high level

Regardless of whether we’re talking about regular users or power users, the HONOR MagicPad 3 held its own. It was smooth through-and-through, even when I dove into heavier multitasking with small app windows, split screen, and so on. Yes, there was a dropped frame here and there, as is the case with every device, but lag was not a part of the experience, that’s for sure. I expected such performance, so there was no surprise in that area.

HONOR has also improved the cooling system in this tablet, so that it can cope better with graphically-intensive tasks. By that I mainly mean games, as games are almost the only thing that can push this table to the distance in terms of system strain. I’ve tested Call of Duty: Mobile, Subway Surfers, and Chess on it, while as an added bonus, I pushed some Genshin Impact as well. I usually do only three games on devices, but in this case I made an exception.

You can game on this tablet, easily

I did not experience lag or a noticeable dip in performance with either of those games, though I did notice more dropped frames in Genshin Impact. That did not surprise me, but still, the overall experience was quite positive. You can easily use this tablet for gaming, if that’s what you’re about, it’s not a problem whatsoever. To cut a long story short, performance is not something you should worry about here, at least not at this point in time.

Benchmarks:

Geekbench:

3D Mark (Wildlife Extreme Stress Test):

Capcut video export:

Thermals:

3D Mark (Wildlife Extreme Stress Test):

Genshin Impact:

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Battery Life

The HONOR MagicPad 3 packs in a 12,450mAh battery, which is more than enough, actually. Just for comparison’s sake, this battery is larger than what the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra has to offer, despite the fact that tablet has a larger display. It packs in an 11,600mAh battery pack. On the other hand, the MagicPad 2, shipped with a 10,050mAh battery and a slightly smaller display. So, from the spec standpoint, it’s more than enough, what about in actual use, as that’s what matters? Well, the same thing applies, basically.

The battery life is great

No, the battery life is not good, it’s great. Even if you’re a power user, this tablet will just keep going, I don’t know how else to say it. I was able to get well over 11 hours of screen-on-time on a single charge. Yes, even when I was pushing it with multitasking, gaming, and so on. That battery pack is more than enough to keep the lights on even for the most demanding users. If you’re not pushing it with demanding use, you can go well above those 11 hours I mentioned.

What about standby? Well, that’s not really an issue either, not at all. I’m not a prominent tablet user, not at all. I noticed that after 3 days of not using the device, the battery life dropped only around 7%, which is not bad at all. There’s really nothing to complain about when it comes to battery life here, not at all. The HONOR MagicPad 3 delivers, easily, and yes, that is a silicon-carbon battery that HONOR used.

You can fully hcarge it in around an hour and a half

What about charging? Well, HONOR included 66W charging here, which is faster than what the rivals offer. Charging this 12,450mAh battery for half an hour will get you over 40% of charge. Things do slow down once you go over 50%, however, so a full charge takes about an hour and a half. That’s great, actually, as you do have to keep in mind that this is a huge battery. Besides, the tablet offers outstanding battery life, so you won’t really find yourself complaining about that at all. You’ll be able to charge it whenever you want, without worrying about the battery life or charging. Just note that a charger is not included in the box.

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Camera

Up until now, everything looks great, right? Well, the same cannot be said about the camera performance here. Granted, not many of you expect much from that section when it comes to tablets, and neither do I. Whenever I get to review a tablet and need to grab some camera samples from outdoors, I feel odd. Taking pictures with tablets is kind of frowned upon. Chances are you can get far better shots with your phone, so… why not?

There are two cameras included on the back, but they’re… forgetable

There are two cameras on the back of this tablet, a 13-megapixel main camera (f/2.0 aperture) and a 2-megapixel macro camera (f/2.4 aperture). Both of those cameras offer fixed focus, by the way, not autofocus. That’s noticeable when you’re using them. The main camera is not that good, and 2-megapixel macro cameras should not be used on devices at all, tablets and phones alike. Let’s talk about the performance.

You’ll see some camera samples taken during the day and night below. I never have high expectations from cameras on tablets, for a good reason. They’re not that necessary to begin with. Yes, you can take a picture with this tablet, but you shouldn’t. The images during the day lack color, and they seem to be a bit muddy. The white balance is not the best either, and the colors are off in general. Depending on the scene, reflections could also be a problem.

We don’t recommend using these cameras for low-light shots

When it comes to nighttime shots, they’re even worse, expectedly. The images do turn out noisy, and too dark, though that depends on how much light is in the shot, of course. The details are lacking in such scenarios as well, and the colors are all over the place as well. This may sound bad, but as I said, that’s not surprising. The focus here is definitely not on the cameras, nor should it be. This tablet has a lot to offer in the ways that actually matter. The rear cameras are here if you need them, but you should avoid using them, as on any tablet.

The front-facing camera is nothing to write home about, but it’s good enough if you need to take a quick video call or something like that. It’s not exactly great for taking selfies, but you can do that, if you really need to. The video recording in general is not that great, in case you’re wondering.

Camera samples (day):

Camera samples (night):

4K video recording thermals:

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Software

The HONOR MagicPad 3 comes with Android 15 out of the box, with HONOR’s MagicOS 9.0.1 skin on top of it. Thanks to MagicOS 9.0.1, it’s a completely different experience than you’d get with stock Android. Some of you will like it, others not so much, but MagicOS did improve over the last few years… quite a bit. There are also quite a few features included here that take advantage of that large display.

Multi-Flex feature is great

Let’s start with the basics, though. You can choose between a setup with the app drawer, or without it. There is a dock at the bottom, which contains your favorite app (customizable), and the last apps you’ve used on the right. You do have some options when it comes to this dock, but not a lot. You can also include an option for floating apps down there, which you can enable to run apps in windows, basically. This is great to use when you have the keyboard attached. It kind of feels like you’re using a tablet, in a way, and it works great. You can see a three-window layout below. It’s great for multitasking. This mode is called ‘Multi-Flex’.

You have your standard notification shade and quick toggles setup here. By default, it’s separate, but you can change that via the settings. Swiping from the top-left corner will lead you to the notification shade, while swiping from the top-right corner leads you to the quick toggles menu. It’s all standard stuff many of you will be used to. MagicOS 9 does have a different look, though, but it does look modern. The UI is also a lot more consistent when it comes to design, that it used to be, which is always good to see.

The App Extender feature is also included, as are various HONOR AI features

Let’s talk more about the MagicOS 9 features, shall we? In addition to floating windows, you also have the ‘App Extender’ feature. This basically allows you to display an app in dual windows, for multitasking purposes, or as a fixed-ratio single window. This feature is limited to only some applications, though, so keep that in mind.

HONOR is all about AI lately. Well, it has been for years. There is a separate menu in the settings on MagicOS 9 that is called ‘HONOR AI’. This menu has a number of AI features that you can take advantage of, and it explains how you can use them. It’s very user-friendly, actually, HONOR did a great job of presenting this. Options like Magic Sidebar, Magic Text, Magic Portal, AI Subtitles, AI Writing, and AI Deepfake Detection are included here.

Magic Sidebar & Magic Portal are especially useful

Magic Sidebar, for example, is a feature that allows you to swipe inward from the edge of the screen, from where you can launch apps in split-screen mode or floating windows. You’ll also get some AI recommendations here if you enable that feature. The ‘Magic Text’ option allows you to extract text from an image, while the ‘Magic Portal’ is kind of a clipboard on steroids. For example, you can grab a quick screenshot with your knuckle and then move it to the Magic Portal, which appears to the side. It will stay there so that you can use it later on, if you want. There are a lot of useful features here.

HONOR also allows you to utilize themes, use the ‘Magazine Unlock’ feature for some great wallpapers, change the font, play around with icons (though not regular third-party icon packs from the Google Play Store), and so on. MagicOS really did become a truly compelling Android skin. It feels great to use, very smooth and very consistent, while it’s also packed with features. You may not use all of them, but many of you will be glad they’re there.

The software support won’t be long

One thing worth noting is that the tablet won’t get great software support, quite the contrary. HONOR promised at least one major Android OS update and two years of security updates. The company could opt to offer better/longer support, but it did not promise anything beyond this, so… there you go.

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Audio

Alright, what about the audio aspect? Well, the HONOR MagicPad 3 is actually pretty great in that area. Why? Well, there are 8 speakers included on this device. If, on top of that, you flip the switch for HONOR Spatial Audio, you’ll have a great time with the audio output here. You’ll get the feeling of a wide soundstage, and really impressive loudness and sound in general, much better than a phone can provide. If you decide to step away from Spatial Audio, the sound will sound weaker, and will be kind of centered. Either way, we’d recommend taking advantage of that setting, that’s for sure.

The device is also equipped with Bluetooth 5.4. In other words, you can connect your wireless headphones that way, and be done with it. It’s not the latest version of Bluetooth, but almost. Everything worked well on our end. We did not experience any disconnects or anything like that, so… just as you’d expect.

HONOR MagicPad 3 Review: Should you buy it?

Should you buy the HONOR MagicPad 3? Well, yes, actually. If it’s within your budget, you’ll hardly find a better tablet. This one offers great performance, great build quality, outstanding battery life, and a great case that you can get for it, amongst other things. MagicOS 9.0.1 is a great UI to have on the tablet, and there’s really not much we can complain about here. Yes, an OLED display would be a better option in terms of color accuracy, but the one we have here is great regardless, and 99% of you won’t really care. Yes, the cameras could be better, but that’s arguably the least important aspect of a tablet. Everything that matters here is… well, great. This is an easy recommendation.

You should buy the HONOR MagicPad 3 if you:

• Want a large-screen tablet
• Appreciate good, all-metal build quality
• Like using multiple apps on the screen at the same time
• Need a tablet that will offer really good performance
• Don’t want to pay a premium for a tablet
• Need a great keyboard accessory
• Use your tablets a lot during the day
• Like using MagicOS, and appreciate the features it offers

You shouldn’t buy the HONOR MagicPad 3 if you:

• The lack of a fingerprint scanner bothers you
• Need really good cameras on a tablet
• Expect good/long software support

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