HONOR's newest tablet in the Philippines is a screen-first pitch. The HONOR Pad X9b Max, launched locally on September 16, packs a 13-inch 2.5K display with IMAX Enhanced certification and a 10,100mAh battery into a 6.72mm-thin body — for ₱19,999.
Price, availability, and the launch freebie
The Philippine launch, reported by REVU, covers two options: the tablet alone at ₱19,999, or bundled with HONOR's Smart Bluetooth Keyboard at ₱21,999. Retail availability starts September 19 through HONOR's physical stores nationwide and its official Shopee, TikTok Shop, and Lazada storefronts.
Buyers during the promo period, which runs until September 30, get a free JBL GO4 Bluetooth speaker worth ₱2,599.
IMAX Enhanced, for readers new to the label, is a certification program from IMAX and audio company DTS: displays and speakers that meet their picture and sound standards get the badge, and compatible movies and shows on supported streaming services play with those enhancements. On a 13-inch panel meant for video, it is a meaningful extra rather than sticker decoration.
HONOR Pad X9b Max specifications
| Spec | HONOR Pad X9b Max |
|---|
| Display | 13-inch LCD, 2.5K (2,500 x 1,560), 120Hz, up to 700 nits, IMAX Enhanced |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen 2 (6nm), Adreno 610 GPU |
| Memory | 6GB RAM, 256GB storage |
| Battery | 10,100mAh, 45W fast charging, up to 16 hours of video playback |
| Audio | Quad speakers |
| Cameras | 5MP rear, 5MP front |
| Software | MagicOS 10 on Android 16 |
| Build | 6.72mm thin, Gray |
| Price | ₱19,999 (tablet), ₱21,999 (with keyboard) |
MagicOS 10 is HONOR's own interface layer running on top of Android 16. Its extras lean on productivity: AI Memo, a PC-style file manager, split-screen multitasking, and HONOR Connect for moving files across HONOR devices. HONOR's local launch materials list a single configuration — 6GB of RAM with 256GB of storage — and one Gray colorway; the company quotes up to 16 hours of continuous video playback from the 10,100mAh cell, with 45W fast charging to refill it.
What ₱19,999 gets you — and what it doesn't
The screen is the sell. Thirteen inches at 2.5K resolution and 120Hz, with IMAX Enhanced certification for compatible streaming content, is unusual at this price in the Philippine market; big-screen tablets here have mostly sat in a pricier bracket, such as the HUAWEI MatePad Air and its 12-inch 144Hz OLED. The 10,100mAh battery and quad speakers back the same use case: long viewing sessions and casual work.
The trade-offs are equally clear. The Snapdragon 6s Gen 2 is an entry-level chip — fine for streaming, browsing, video calls, and schoolwork, but not built for heavy gaming or demanding creative apps — and the 5MP cameras on both sides are strictly for meetings and document scans. The panel is LCD, not OLED, which is how the price stays under ₱20,000 at this size. The keyboard bundle at ₱2,000 extra turns it into a passable homework and light-work machine, though buyers who need sustained performance should budget for a different class of device.
The launch also lands as HONOR presses its Philippine expansion on several fronts at once — the brand recently broke into the country's top five smartphone vendors, and budget tablets extend that same value-first play to a second screen size. For students and households wanting the biggest reliable screen under ₱20,000, this is now the spec sheet to beat.
