Realme Pad X Review: 5G-ready tablet with some neat add-ons
Realme released a couple of neat tablets over the past year or so. While the Mini was decent, we truly liked the first Realme Pad. It wasn't exactly a performance topper, but it did have a sharp display and a sleek design. It was generally great for entertainment courtesy of its Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers. Despite all its goodness, like most budget tablets, it was better suited for content consumption rather than content creation. Enter Realme Pad X, which is essentially a Realme Pad with a more powerful chipset and 5G compliance. But there's more! There are a few UI changes and some useful camera tricks that caught our attention. The company also offers some cool accessories for this device that aid in content creation. So let's take a closer look at this tablet and check if it's worth your money.
More powerful than before with some new features
The Realme Pad X is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, which is a significant jump from the MediaTek Helio G80 SoC that powers the Realme Pad. You get two variants, one with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The storage can be expanded further up to 512GB with a microSD card, which is a good option to have. You get a Wi-Fi-only variant (4GB/ 64GB) or WiFi+5G variants with both the memory and storage configurations; we got the top variant for review. Yes, this tablet is 5G-ready and is compliant with 4G too in case 5G isn't available, which is the case in most areas currently. The 5G variant has a SIM slot for calling and mobile data. You get Bluetooth 5.1 and dual-band Wi-Fi with support for 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. You get a 13MP camera at the back of the tablet and an 8MP camera is located at the front. The rear camera is more utilitarian than for serious photography. The front camera has an ultra-wide lens with a broad 105 degrees field of vision that is quite a useful feature for video calls. The larger screen and FOV gives you more real estate for group calls. The Limelight feature works great and automatically keeps you at the center of the screen during video calls even if you move around a bit. Though the rear camera here is not for photography enthusiasts, it does have an interesting feature called Text Scanner. If you scan something with text on it, the captured image looks like a scan of the document, with the text particularly looking sharp. I can think of a few use cases for this feature already. You also get a face unlock option here but no fingerprint scanner, which is extremely rare on tablets anyway.
Elegant design, good build quality, sharp high-res display
The Realme Pad was quite stylish, and the Pad X is no different. You get Glowing Black and Glacier Blue color options. It has a matte aluminum frame and back, and looks quite elegant. The tablet is just 7.1mm in thickness and weighs a shade over 500 grams with good weight distribution. The bezels seem thinner than before, and yet offer a good grip from the sides. The company logo can be found on the back of the tablet. While you can use this tablet in portrait mode, just like its predecessor, it is ideally suited for landscape mode, especially when watching videos or during video calls. The front camera is placed at the center of the longer edge of the tablet, and a couple of Dolby Atmos-compliant speakers each are located on either side of the screen when in landscape mode. A power button, volume rocker, USB-C port, SIM/microSD card tray, and a couple of microphones are placed along different edges of this tablet. The Realme Pad X has a larger 10.95-inch display with a resolution of 2000x1200 pixels and support for 16.7 million color shades. It has a rated peak brightness of 450 nits. While Realme hasn't specified the panel type, it seems like an IPS panel and the viewing angles are quite broad. There is no mention of any scratch-resistant glass, but there were no scratches visible after a few weeks of use. It doesn't seem to have an oleophobic coating though as the screen attracts a lot of smudge marks. The screen is perfectly bright when you use it indoors and decently bright even when outdoors. However, the glossy display does attract a lot of glare in bright conditions. The contrast and color reproduction are very good, and the colors feel close to natural. The tablet is TUV Rheinland certified for low blue light emissions and eye comfort.
Clean UI, good battery backup, faster and reverse charging support
This tablet runs Android 12 with Realme UI for Pad. The Realme UI here is nothing like the one you get on their phones but isn't entirely like stock Android either. Certain elements of the Realme UI like the side bar, quick share, and the colorful settings menu can be spotted here. The UI is generally clean, smooth, and pretty much free of bloatware. With the exception of Facebook, most of the pre-installed apps are Google services. You also have a couple of kids friendly apps like Kids Space and YT Kids. Just like earlier tablets from Realme, while setting up the Pad X for the first time, the setup asks you who would be using the tablet (adults or children) and configures it accordingly. The battery backup here is quite good. The Realme Pad has a larger 8,340mAh battery that easily lasts for close to two days of moderate use that includes a couple of hours of watching content on OTT platforms, two hours of reading/browsing, and half an hour of video calling daily. It now supports 33W fast charging and a 33W Dart charger is bundled in the package. Though I didn't clock it from zero to full, the charging time is noticeably lower than the earlier Realme tablets, which is good. The tablet supports reverse charging and can be used like a powerbank to charge other devices if necessary. It also provides wireless charging for the Realme Pencil when you magnetically attach it to the side of the tablet, which is quite cool.
Good for content consumption, with some potential for content creation
The usual day to day operations on the Realme Pad X are lag-free. The Snapdragon 695 chip along with 6GB RAM can easily handle tasks like browsing, reading, audio-video playback and video calls with ease. You can also do a bit of gaming at low to medium settings. While most of the newer games work here, don't forget it's still a Snapdragon 695 SoC with Adreno 619 GPU, so manage your expectations and don't get too ambitious. Typing on most tablets isn't the most pleasant experience, and the Realme Pad X is no different. Replying to the odd email is fine but typing out long articles is no fun. However, you do get a wireless keyboard attachment (that you need to purchase separately) that makes typing a lot more comfortable. The Realme Pencil (stylus) is also available for this tablet to unleash your creative side. I was hoping the company would bundle it along with the top variant, but they don't. Browsing the internet or reading e-books works well here. You also get multiple viewing modes like reading, night, dark and sunlight for different lighting and activities. Reading mode for instance is easy on the eyes in a dimly lit room. Streaming videos on this tablet is fun. The four built-in speakers do a great job at close to peak volume. They are Dolby Atmos compliant and provide a fairly immersive experience that's better than what one expects from speakers on a tablet. You can switch to Bluetooth earphones or headphones if you do not find the speakers loud enough or do not wish to disturb others around you. You can add a nano SIM and make voice calls on the Realme Pad X using the built-in microphones and speakers or a Bluetooth headset. Given that it's an Android tablet, it lets you cast content from Chromecast-compatible apps to Android TVs.
Bit expensive, but does offer many extras over its predecessor
The Realme Pad X can be purchased starting from Rs. 19,999 for the Wi-Fi-only variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, while the top-end Wi-Fi+5G variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage costs Rs. 27,999. While the pricing of the Wi-Fi variant is fine, you obviously won't get any 5G benefits on that, but the other enhancements are available. As for the top variant, the pricing could have been a bit more competitive or the company could have bundled the Realme Pencil along to justify the extra premium. The Realme Pad X feels like a meaningful upgrade over its predecessor on most counts. It is a good all-round product that covers a lot of bases like audio-video consumption, reading, browsing, video-calling and 5G compliance. Add to that a recent version of Android with a clean user interface, elegant design, sharp display, robust battery backup and features like Limelight and Text Scanner. Courtesy of additional accessories like Realme Pencil and smart keyboard, you can get some work done on this device too along with quenching your entertainment needs. You need to pay extra for the cool tools, but at least there's an option available. All things considered, the Realme Pad X is not a bad buy at all. And if you don't need a tablet right away, it's a neat device to keep an eye on in online sales where it retails for a more attractive price.
