Realme Pad X review

13MP on the back and 8MP wide-angle selfie camera

The Pad X is equipped with a better-than-average rear camera for a tablet of this class. A 13MP f/2.2 camera sits on the back, and an 8MP f/2.0 shooter is on the front. The interesting bit is that the front-facing camera uses a relatively wide lens with a 105-degree field of view. That's essential for the so-called Limelight feature, which can follow you and keep you in the center of the screen during video calls.

The images taken with the main camera are looking pretty good - a nice color saturation, good contrast, decent enough sharpness and decently wide dynamic range. Compared to smartphones, the Pad X still has a long way to go, but for a tablet, the overall image quality is quite good.

Main camera samples

Selfie quality is also pretty decent as long as there's enough ambient light.

Selfie samples: Photo • Video framegrab

Video quality is lacking, but at least the color saturation is on point, the contrast is good, and the dynamic range is decent. It will get the job done if there's no alternative you can shoot a video with.

Verdict

We are quite disappointed to see the Realme Pad X is not offered outside of India, as it's an excellent budget tablet. There, you can get the Wi-Fi-only model for just around INR 20,000 (€250), and an extra INR 8,000 (€100) will buy you the 5G-enabled version. The display is bright, and of high quality, battery life is excellent, speaker quality is one of the best in class, the Snapdragon 695 SoC helps the Pad X edge out the competition in raw performance, and the software provides plenty of useful features and customizations.

Even if the tablet is sold at a considerably higher price in Europe, we think it would spark interest in consumers outside of India as well. Especially with the available smart Bluetooth keyboard cover and stylus. The former is a highly-recommended addition for just around INR 5,000 (€60).

Pros

• Very good IPS LCD panel.
• Premium look and feel.
• Excellent speaker system.
• Great battery life, fast 33W charging.
• Cellular model is DualSIM and has 5G connectivity and a GPS receiver.
• Very good camera performance for a tablet.
• microSD slot, USB OTG with reverse charging.
• Realme offers an optional pressure-sensitive Pencil with magnetic charging and a Keyboard Folio case.

Cons

• Heavier than other 10-inch tablets.
• Update, Oct 27: It works now. Widevine L3 limits it to SD streaming on Netflix.