Honor is working on a high-end tablet, will it be a new MagicPad?

According to the latest rumors from China, Honor would be at work on a high-performance tablet, probably destined to inherit the legacy of the current MagicPad series.

The news comes directly from Digital Chat Station, a well-known informant active on Weibo who has shared interesting details about a project identified with the codename “Yongle”.

What do we know about the Honor “Yongle” tablet?

honor magicpad 3
Credits: Honor

Initial information suggests that Honor has no intention of compromising on power. The SoC of this new tablet should be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a processor that would guarantee a notable performance leap over current generations.

To support the chip we would find RAM of type LPDDR5X, a choice almost mandatory to handle the heavier workloads and the advanced functionalities expected from a device of this caliber.

Esthetically, the device is described as powerful and elegant, but not compact. Rumors speak of two color variants at launch and, crucial for productivity, full support for a leather keyboard-case and a stylus.

This positioning suggests a clear business and creative focus, ruling out the idea that it is simply a device for multimedia consumption.

The MagicPad 3 legacy and the strategy shift

Although there are no official confirmations on the commercial name, the device profile points to a direct successor to the Honor MagicPad 3, since MagicPad 3 Pro already uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, more powerful than the non-Elite counterpart mentioned by the leaker.

To provide context, the current non-Pro MagicPad presents an IPS LCD display of 13.3 inches capable of a 165 Hz refresh rate, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and fueled by a generous battery of 12,450 mAh with 66 W charging, all wrapped in a slim profile of only 5.79 mm and 595 grams.

Another hint about the new tablet’s maxi nature comes from Digital Chat Station’s statements regarding Honor’s strategy for smaller formats.

It seems that the company has paused the development of smaller-sized tablets since last December, focusing its resources on devices with a larger, more versatile form factor, capable of partially replacing laptops.