It’s been two whole years since we checked out the original realme Pad. It was a successful first outing for realme in the tablet space with its large display and loud set of speakers. The new realme Pad 2 builds on that legacy with an even larger screen and beefed-up hardware across the board.

The realme Pad 2 starts at only P13,999 ($245) for the 6GB RAM variant with 128GB of storage. At P17,999 ($315), you could get the more generous model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing. These are attractive prices for an 11.5-inch tablet with 4G connectivity, especially when you see what else it has in store.

Larger means better

Nothing stands out more than the realme Pad 2’s 11.5-inch display. It’s larger than most tablets in its class, and it’s sharp at 2,000 x 1,200 pixels in resolution. Its 5:3 aspect ratio strikes a nice balance of being more elongated compared to the traditional 4:3 ratio but tall enough when used in landscape orientation. This also means smaller black bars when watching content on YouTube or Netflix.

The bezels are just right: thin enough to be ignored and thick enough to prevent mistouches. Its frame is equally impressive at 7.2mm in thickness. The 8-megapixel front camera is rightfully placed at the center of the longer bezel, same as on a laptop. At the right table height, other video call participants wouldn’t be able to tell you’re using a tablet instead of a laptop. The two microphones are situated right above the webcam.

You can tell the realme Pad 2 was designed to be used in landscape mode with the four Dolby Atmos-powered speakers found on the shorter ends. Although easy to cover while handheld, their placement is perfect when propped on a stand. Unfortunately, realme doesn’t include a protective case or any sort of stand in the box. You only get the 33-watt power adapter and USB-C cable.

You wouldn’t want to cover the realme Pad 2, anyway. The two-tone finish on the back looks sleek and doesn’t attract fingerprints. There are two colors to choose from: Inspiration Green and Imagination Grey. We just wish the camera bump were smaller since there’s only one 8-megapixel camera on the rear and no LED flash.

Big on multitasking too

Android tablets have often had issues translating the smartphone experience to a larger screen. In this case, realme made the Pad 2 a solid multitasker. Its realme 4.0 UI enables split-screen apps and floating windows for viewing two two apps at once. You could even combine the two features to display three apps at the same time; two would go on split-screen while the third app floats in its own adjustable window.

There’s a single card tray housing two slots: one for a nano-SIM and another for a microSD card that goes up to 1TB. The SIM connectivity is limited to 4G because of the chipset. Similarly, the realme Pad 2 is stuck at Wi-Fi 5 instead of the newer Wi-Fi 6 standard. Neither of these older connections are deal breakers, but they don’t future-proof the tablet either. Another omission is a fingerprint reader, forcing us to settle for either the less secure face unlocking or the usual PIN.

Enough power for the job

The realme Pad 2’s MediaTek Helio G99 processor isn’t particularly powerful. It’s enough for the tablet’s multitasking abilities but can’t push medium graphics settings on the latest games. We got our benchmark numbers using our 8GB+256GB review unit, so we’d expect the lower-end model to post weaker scores. It admittedly takes a lot to push the 2K-resolution panel and its 120Hz refresh rate.

We used Honkai: Star Rail as our gaming benchmark. It would stutter on medium settings and run smoothly on the low graphics preset at 30 frames per second. We tried to push the frame rate to 60fps, but it only caused more slowdowns during graphically heavy moments. Still, the chipset maintained stable temperatures and no throttling to speak of, as proven by the stress-test benchmarking apps.

Benchmarks

The realme Pad 2 managed a little over 16 hours in PCMark’s endurance test. That’s without a SIM card inserted, which would’ve shortened the total time. In real-world usage, we’d easily achieve two full days of use out of the 8,360mAh battery on a single charge. Using the 33-watt charger, it takes about one hour and 40 minutes on average to fully charge the tablet from an empty tank.

Average rear camera, better front

realme oddly built in a rear camera hump that could house two cameras. Instead, there’s just one 8-megapixel shooter with no LED flash. As you’d expect from any tablet, the rear camera produces average photos during daytime and mushy photos at night. Although realme advertises its AI capabilities, there are no clear AI shooting modes or settings in its camera app. You only get auto HDR, some filters, and 2X digital zoom.

As you’d expect from any tablet, the rear camera produces average photos during daytime and mushy photos at night

While not as impressive on paper, the 5-megapixel front camera is a better webcam than what you’d find on more expensive laptops. It adjusts exposure and enables HDR on the spot during Zoom calls. It’s smooth too and can record videos at up to 1080p and 30fps like on the rear camera.

The tablet’s front camera is a better webcam than what you’d find on more expensive laptops

Final thoughts

The realme Pad 2 boasts improvements over its predecessor in every aspect. From the bigger screen and battery capacity to the faster chipset and heftier RAM and storage configurations, it certainly makes other tablets look and feel small in comparison.

At the same time, you can’t beat a starting price of P13,999 ($245) for this kind of feature set. The realme Pad 2 behaves like a premium tablet in a lot of categories.

realme Pad 2 specs

• 11.5-inch 2K LCD, 120Hz refresh rate
• MediaTek Helio G99 processor
• 6GB/8GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB storage
• nano-SIM and microSD card slots
• 8-megapixel rear camera
• 5-megapixel front camera
• Dolby Atmos quad speakers
• 8,360mAh battery
• 33-watt charging
• realme UI 4.0 for Pad based on Android 13
• Colors: Inspiration Green, Imagination Grey

Video you may want to watch

realme Pad mini feature video

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