Build Quality & Display
The Pad X features a sleek and solid design, with a plastic back and a heavily bezelled display on the front. The rear section gets a flat panel and curved edges, with a smooth metallic finish to the plastic material. The only thing interrupting the back panel is the Realme logo and the camera module, which is well-integrated into the body. In addition, Realme has made special efforts to ensure that the tablet's width remains even throughout, at a very slim 7.1 mm. This, combined with an overall weight of just 499g, makes it a very easy tablet to carry around.
The display itself is an 11-inch IPS LCD panel with a 2K resolution and 450 units of peak brightness. Even though it doesn't support HDR or a high refresh rate, just getting a high-resolution display in this budget is already a big deal. As we mentioned above, the display is surrounded by thick bezels, which hide the dual stereo speakers, and microphones, which need the extra space to produce a good soundstage, thanks to Dolby Atmos' support.
Connectivity & Performance
There is no 3.5mm jack if you were looking for external connectivity, although you do get Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as standard. You don't get GPS or NFC either, and no storage expansion for the Wi-Fi-only model. The cellular models do get a SIM card tray, which also features an SD card slot that allows up to 512GB of external storage. There is stylus support, but you will have to get that accessory separately. The setup is rounded off by a USB Type-C 2.0 port that doubles up as USB On-The-Go.
The performance part is handled by the affordable and efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G processor. It can be paired with up to 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. As you can see, none of these are flagship components but are still capable of offering excellent performance for the mid-tier segment. The tablet itself runs Android 12, with the Realme UI 3.0 for Pad on top. The company promises to provide future OS and security updates over the years, but we will have to wait and see how dedicated they are to a timely update schedule.
Camera & Battery
On the camera front, you get a simple single shooter setup on both sides, with the back getting a 12 MP f/2.2 wide-angle sensor and the front making do with an 8 MP f/2.2 105˚ wide-angle selfie setup. Both perform decently in both photo and video mode, given that the scene has enough light to avoid grain. The front camera even makes up for the lack of a fingerprint sensor by offering digital face ID recognition for hands-free security clearance.
The setup is powered by an 8340 mAh Li-Polymer battery, which supports 33W fast charging, along with regular reverse charging, and even USB Power Delivery. It will still take around two hours to power the entire battery, and you should get more than a day's worth of screen-on time in a single charge.
Conclusion
We don't know when the Realme Pad X will make it to international markets or what the final price will be, but if the rumors so far are any indication, it will be a solid contender in the budget Android tablet segment.
