The realme Pad 2 is a long-awaited successor to the original realme Pad which has been released over two years ago. This iteration features a handful of improvements in terms of processor, design, battery life, and even the camera. Likewise, the inclusion of 4G LTE connectivity is the cherry on top.
Pros
- Classy design
- Very capable LCD display
- Stereo speakers are great
- 4G-LTE connectivity
Cons
- No official accessory support
Unboxing
The realme Pad 2 comes with a white packaging. Inside the box, you'll find standard inserts like some documentations, 33W power adapter, SIM eject tool, and USB-C cable. You can check our unboxing video right after the jump.
Design
The realme Pad 2 covers a large footprint with its 11.5-inch display. On first sight, you'll definitely say that it's a two-hand tablet that could easily dwarf most of the tablets in its segment. Its back panel comes with a two-tone design with each section having their own texture. In landscape orientation, the upper portion has a textured matte finish, while the majority of the panel has a metallic feel. Don't get me wrong, the entirety of the backing is made of plastic.
The back panel features the circular camera module, which houses the main camera sensor, and the realme branding on the opposite corner. As for the ports and buttons, the top side has two microphones and the volume rocker, while the bottom side is a home to the SIM tray. Additionally, there are two speakers on the right alongside the USB-C port. On the othe hand, the left side also houses two speakers and the power button.
The front panel comes with a fairly thin bezels if we talk about tablets. The front camera is situated on the middle of the top bezel. Although there's a little heft to it, the tablet remains surprisingly manageable for an 11.5-inch tablet.
Display
As mentioned earlier, the realme Pad 2 frames an 11.5-inch IPS LCD display with realme's Ultra Vision Engine. It is a 2K display with 1200 x 2000p resolution and is treated with 120Hz refresh rate. On top of that, the tablet supports variable refresh rates depending on your device's screen activity; it could go 40Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz.
Plus, the screen has an 85.2% screen-to-body ratio and could go up to 450 nits of brightness level. The panel is good enough for outdoor use with the display performing better than other LCD panel in this segment. The panel looks good with rich colors, contrast, as well as viewing angles.
The tablet has a taller aspect ratio of 16:10 than the most common 16:9 or 4:3. This aspect ratio would still give you black bars when consuming content on your favorite streaming app. From the looks of it, the slate is designed for landscape use. Although I am not bothered with the tablet's size, its weight is not that friendly during extended use unless you have a stand.
Performance
The realme Pad 2 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 processor which is the same chip that powers the newly released realme 11. With this, the slate has 4G capability, which means that you can connect to the internet via cellular. This is quite a great feature since most of the users buy a tablet due to its portability, and with the support for 4G makes it even more easier to connect to the internet. Unfortunately, you're stuck with Wi-Fi 5 here as the tablet does not support Wi-Fi 6 connectivity.
Additionally, the chipset is coupled by 8GB of RAM with Dynamic RAM Expansion technology. This enables the tablet to utilize a virtual RAM of up to 8GB, collectively pushing the total RAM allocation to 16GB. This makes the whole app usage experience even smoother.
This tablet also excels in media consumption as it has a handful of features intended to improve the experience. There is the Widevine L1 certification for high resolution playback which covers Netflix and Prime Video. However, there's no HDR certification included for the tablet.
In terms of audio, the tablet boasts a great-sounding Dolby Atmos-certified quad speakers. With this in mind, I noticed that the overall soundstage tends to get loud; however, the quality focuses on mids rather than having an overall balanced frequency distribution.
We tried playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang with this tablet. Both the graphics and refresh rate settings default to High, but is capable of Ultra and Super settings, respectively. I suggest to stick with these default settings for a smoother gameplay.
Software
With the realme 4.0, the tablet takes advantage of the improved memory management feature of Android 13. Multitasking with the tablet under light to casual circumstances is such a breeze. I could definitely jump between apps without any hassle or app crashes.
On top of that, the Pad 2 also highlights realme ecosystem collaborative feature which works with some realme smartphones like the 11 Pro series. This covers the capability to mirror your smartphone's screen, and synchronize your clipboard of smartphone and tablet. I also find myself using the Split Screen in combination with a floating app to bolster my productivity.
The UI also features a dock that hosts your pre-selected and recently opened apps. However, this dock is not persistent so it goes away once you're not on the homescreen. Likewise, most third party apps is not supported in landscape orientation, including the most common apps like Facebook and Instagram.
Camera and Battery
There's nothing special about the tablet's 8MP rear camera as what you'd expect for a tablet. However, I love the dedicated document scanner which could be handy in converting hard copies to digital files. There's no LED flash embedded in the camera module. But the rear camera would certainly be handy in case you actually need to use a camera.
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| Front Camera |
The 5MP front camera, though, is better than the previous iteration. You can conveniently use it for online meetings and classes. We love the Limelight feature found from the previously released realme Pad X, wherein the camera follows you whenever you are in a video call; however, you can't find it here.
When it comes to battery, the realme Pad 2 is a winner. It packs an 8360 mAh battery capacity. The tablet could last for two days if your workflow is not demanding. With the power-efficient processor, the realme Pad 2 is giving me around 8 hours of continuous screen time; this includes a lot of gaming, Netflix streaming, music streaming via Spotify, checking social media apps, and more while using mobile data.
The tablet also supports 33W SuperVOOC fast charging which could charge the battery up to 50% in just 50 minutes. In our charging test, the tablet hits 100% around the two-hour mark.
Should You Buy the realme Pad 2?
First of all, the realme Pad 2 is definitely a worthy upgrade from the model it's replacing. It goes without saying that this slate is one of the best in its budget category with its high-quality large display, entertainment-centric quad speakers, power efficient processor, large battery, and of course, its 4G cellular support.
The realme Pad 2 would be a dependable device for someone who's constantly working on the go, or even for users who love to travel. Likewise, students could definitely take advantage of this tablet for their online classes, projects, and school work. Or if you're an entertainment junkie like me, you would find this tablet worthy of your time. I'm just hoping realme would release official accessories like keyboard or stylus to optimize the tablet's potential.
With that said, the Pad 2 still lets you experience premium features found in higher-end tablets for just a fraction of the price. It's definitely worth considering if you're in the market for a new tablet. The realme Pad 2 is now available starting at Php 13,999 SRP for the 6GB + 128GB LTE variant, and Php 17,999 SRP for the 8GB + 256GB LTE model.
