MANILA, Philippines — HONOR is going bigger in the Philippine tablet market, rolling out the Pad X9b Max with a massive 13-inch display, a 10,100mAh battery and an optional keyboard that pushes the device closer to laptop territory.
The HONOR Pad X9b Max will go on sale in the Philippines on September 19, 2026, starting at ₱19,999 for the tablet alone and ₱21,999 with a Smart Bluetooth Keyboard.
That ₱2,000 difference could prove important to HONOR’s strategy.
While the company is selling the Pad X9b Max partly as an entertainment machine, the keyboard option makes clear that HONOR also wants students, mobile workers and consumers who increasingly expect one device to handle streaming, browsing, documents and everyday productivity.
A 13-inch screen becomes the centerpiece
The biggest attraction is a 13-inch 2.5K LCD display with a 120Hz maximum refresh rate, giving users considerably more screen space for video, documents and multitasking.
HONOR’s official product page lists a resolution of 2500 × 1560 pixels, brightness reaching 700 nits under specified conditions and support for 1.07 billion colors. The company also promotes several eye-comfort technologies, including DC dimming and low-blue-light features.
The panel carries IMAX Enhanced branding, while four speakers are intended to strengthen its appeal as a portable entertainment device. Independent Philippine reports from REVU, Technobaboy and NoypiGeeks likewise identify the large 120Hz display as one of the tablet’s main selling points.
The sheer size comes with a trade-off, however.
At roughly 618 grams and 6.72mm thick, according to HONOR, the Pad X9b Max is substantially more screen-focused than a compact tablet designed primarily for one-handed portability.
HONOR is betting heavily on battery life
Behind that large screen sits a 10,100mAh battery, paired with 45W charging.
HONOR says its laboratory testing produced up to 16 hours of video playback and 13 hours of reading under its specified test conditions. Those figures should be treated as manufacturer claims rather than guaranteed real-world endurance, since actual battery life will vary according to brightness, applications, connectivity and workload.
Still, the 10,100mAh capacity itself is one of the more significant specifications of the device and helps explain the “Max” positioning.
Stephen Cheng, vice president of HONOR Philippines, said the company designed the tablet around people who move between entertainment, work and staying connected throughout the day.
The bigger question: Can it replace some laptop duties?
The optional Bluetooth keyboard is where the Pad X9b Max’s proposition becomes more interesting.
For ₱21,999, buyers get the tablet-keyboard package, just ₱2,000 above the standalone model. That setup is aimed at users who want something closer to a lightweight workstation for typing documents, handling email and browsing while retaining the entertainment advantages of a tablet.
The device runs MagicOS 10 based on Android 16, according to several Philippine technology publications, and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2 platform. It also supports the HONOR Magic-Pencil 4s for handwriting and annotation.
That hardware places the emphasis on mainstream entertainment and productivity rather than premium-tablet processing power.
It is also worth noting that published reports differ on some memory and storage details for the Philippine version. HONOR’s regional material advertises configurations reaching 6GB of physical RAM supplemented by RAM Turbo and up to 256GB storage, while some Philippine listings describe different capacities. Buyers should therefore check the exact local SKU before purchasing rather than assuming specifications from another market apply to the Philippine model.
There are compromises behind the big numbers
Large screen and battery specifications do not automatically translate into flagship-level performance.
An independent August review of an overseas Pad X9b Max configuration praised its large display, battery life and build but reported sluggishness in parts of the user interface and demanding video playback. Because that review involved a different regional configuration, its performance results should not automatically be assumed to represent the Philippine retail unit.
Another independent review described the tablet more positively as a versatile everyday device built around prolonged work, reading and entertainment use.
That makes actual Philippine-unit testing particularly relevant for buyers deciding whether the tablet can genuinely substitute for a laptop or is better viewed as a large entertainment device with productivity extras.
Price and Philippine availability
The HONOR Pad X9b Max costs ₱19,999 without the keyboard and ₱21,999 with the keyboard.
Retail sales begin September 19 through HONOR stores and the company’s official online channels, including Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop.
HONOR is also offering a JBL GO 4 speaker valued at ₱2,599 on qualifying purchases during the launch promotion, with multiple Philippine reports saying the offer runs through September 30.
For HONOR, however, the bigger story is not simply selling another Android tablet.
With a 13-inch screen, oversized battery and inexpensive keyboard bundle, the company is betting that consumers increasingly want tablets capable of moving between Netflix, schoolwork, email and office documents without immediately reaching for another device.
The Pad X9b Max clearly has the screen and battery capacity to make that argument.
Whether its midrange processor can make the laptop-like promise convincing in everyday use may be the specification that matters most once Filipino buyers actually get their hands on it.
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