TechLife Pad Plus 12" is another entry-level Android tablet from the realme-led brand that is affordable and durable, like TechLife Pad (my review), which I still use. It recently launched in the Philippines with a budget-friendly price tag of 9,999 Pesos.
Besides being one of the most affordable in its department, the TechLife Pad Plus 12" highlights a large 12-inch 2K display, immersive quad stereo speakers, and a massive 8000mAh battery.
I did an in-depth review of TechLife Pad Plus 12", which you can check out below, covering the tablet's features, Antutu benchmark score, performance on various mobile games, and camera samples.
TechLife Pad Plus 12" Specs
- Display: 12-inch IPS LCD with FHD+ resolution (1200x2000 pixels, 195 ppi), 85 percent screen-to-body ratio, 180Hz touch sampling rate, 60Hz screen refresh rate, up to 450 nits of brightness, multi-touch
- CPU: MediaTek Helio G91 (12nm), Up to 2.0GHz octa-core processor
- GPU: ARM Mali G52 MC2
- Memory: 8GB RAM LPDDR4x (Expandable up to 16GB with 8GB VRAM Expansion)
- Internal Storage: 256GB ROM (eMMC 5.1), expandable up to 1TB via micro SD card
- Rear camera: 13 megapixels with f/2.0 Aperture; LED flash
- Selfie camera: 8 megapixels
- SIM slot: Dual SIM (nano), Hybrid SIM Tray
- Connectivity: 4G LTE (with VoLTE), dual-band WiFi (2.4GHz+5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, USB OTG, GPS
- USB port: USB Type-C
- Audio: Quad Stereo Speakers, USB-C audio output, mic
- Biometrics: Face unlock
- Operating System: Android 15 with TechLife Pad UI
- Battery and Charging: 8,000 mAh dual cell, 18W fast charging (wired), 5W reverse charging
- Dimensions: 278.8 x 174.42 x 7.6 mm
- Colors: Sky Blue, Moonlight Silver, Storm Grey
Unboxing
The front side of the neat white rectangular box simply shows the image of the tablet (front and rear) and the logo, TechLife Pad Plus 12" [LTE]. Meanwhile, you can see the tablet's key specifications on the back.
What's Inside The Box?
After I unboxed the TechLife Pad Plus 12", here are the contents:
- Pad Plus 12" (main unit) x1
- Charging Adapter x1
- 1m USB-A to USB-C Charging Cable x1
- User Manual x1
- SIM Ejector Pin x1
Design and Build Quality
My TechLife Pad Plus 12" is the Storm Grey variant, which looks very modern, stylish, and luxurious but slightly heavy. It has a smooth plastic back, flat sides, and rounded corners. Its roomy 12-inch IPS LCD display has a pre-installed screen protector, which, for me, is a plus because of its protection from minor scratches.
Though it has a premium feel, the device's back panel is a magnet for fingerprint smudges, but it's not too noticeable on my unit since it is color gray. Having a piece of cloth always ready to wipe it off, particularly when dirt and smudges build up, comes in handy in order to preserve its glossy appearance.
Since the TechLife Pad Plus 12" has a big display, I really expected that it would feel heavy. I was uncomfortable holding it with one hand for even just about 2 minutes, as my arm would get sore and numb. I usually use two hands or place the tablet on my lap while gaming to stay more comfortable.
The front panel is flat and has reasonably sized screen bezels. There is also a single front-facing 8MP camera for selfies and video calls. The back has a single capsule-like bump that houses the 13MP camera and LED flash. Since the device is large, there's no wobbling at all.
There are four symmetrical speakers on the TechLife Pad Plus 12" - two at the top and two at the bottom. They are situated in a 13-holed speaker grill. The bottom also houses the USB-C port. On the right side, there's the power button, the volume rocker, a microphone, and the card tray (it accepts two nano-SIMs but can swap one for a microSD card). The left side has a mic.
Display, Speaker Quality, and Biometrics
The 12-inch IPS LCD screen of the TechLife Pad Plus 12" features a 2K resolution, a standard 60Hz refresh rate, and 450 nits of max brightness. The tablet's display size, resolution, and 16:10 aspect ratio make it perfect for entertainment, online classes, and video calls.
Since TechLife Pad Plus 12" has a high-resolution display, details are so crisp that I can see any content clearly, whether video, text, or image. Despite having a 60Hz refresh rate, it is still smooth to navigate the interface and scroll through pages, but it is not so snappy compared to 120Hz screens. I can play YouTube videos in both 720p and 1080p quality when it comes to streaming. The screen shows deep blacks and has great contrast. Plus, the display is very bright.
For audio, TechLife Pad Plus 12" features four symmetrical speakers - two on each shorter side. The quad stereo speakers, though no certification, deliver impressive sound quality, and the balance is great. The volume control between 0 to 100 percent has fifteen increments.
Device security includes pattern, PIN (4 to 6 digits), password (at least four alphanumeric characters), and face unlock. Go to Settings > Device Unlock to set it up. Regarding biometrics, I was genuinely surprised by how swiftly the face recognition feature worked on this tablet.
Hardware and Software
The TechLife Pad Plus 12" has 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB storage and supports a micro SD card slot (via the Hybrid SIM tray). It can go up to 16GB of total RAM with the RAM Extension feature, which uses up to 8GB of the device's internal storage to act as Virtual RAM to allow smoother and easier multitasking. The high RAM capacity allows the tablet to handle multiple apps simultaneously without lag. RAM expansion facilitates keeping apps open in the background, leading to faster launch speeds and smoother management of resource-intensive applications like editing tools and games.
To extend the TechLife Pad Plus 12" RAM, go to Settings > Storage > Memory Fusion, enable it, tap Expansion capacity selection, and choose 4/6/8GB. The modification will take effect after the tablet restarts.
Meanwhile, the massive 256GB eMMC 5.1 internal storage can store more than 59,000 images or songs (based on a 4MB file size each). It also supports up to 1TB via microSD Card and up to 2TB OTG storage for easy file transfers from the tablet to USB flash drives or other compatible external storage devices.
Additionally, TechLife Pad Plus 12" is powered by a 12nm MediaTek Helio G91 octa-core processor. It is a power-efficient 4G chipset at its price point. As a dedicated gaming chip for entry-level devices, it has adequate performance for the average user.
In my test, TechLife Pad Plus 12" managed to run most mobile games smoothly with minimal frame drops. Some of the famous titles I tried are Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), Teamfight Tactics (TFT), Honor of Kings (HOK), Call of Duty Mobile (CODM), and LoL Wild Rift (WR). Since it's summer season and I'm in a room without an air conditioner, the tablet slightly heats up mid-game. Having an entry-level CPU, I experienced some lag while playing the shooter game CODM. As expected, MOBA games MLBB, WR, and HOK were smooth because they are designed to run well on lower-end devices.
Further, the device has seamless LTE connectivity, supporting dual nano SIM cards. Since most areas are now covered by 4G networks (Globe, Smart, or DITO), enjoy fast mobile data speeds. It can also act as a WiFi hotspot, allowing up to 10 devices connected to the internet. Additionally, it supports Voice over LTE (VoLTE) for faster call setup times, enhanced voice quality, and the ability to use data services simultaneously with calls while using the 4G network. Other connectivity features include dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB OTG.
The TechLife Pad Plus 12" packs a massive 8,000mAh dual-cell battery with support for fast 18W charging via USB-C. In my test, charging time from 30 to 100 percent is 4 hours and 20 minutes on the first charge (which is slower, probably due to battery calibration), and it only took 2 hours and 30 minutes on the second charge. I'm also happy with its battery performance because I was able to do a lot of things in 2 days (not continuous usage), such as browsing social media, streaming videos, playing mobile games, and reading the news. It also supports 5W reverse charging, so if your other devices are low on power, you can use it as a backup power bank.
When it comes to software, TechLife Pad Plus 12" runs on an Android 15 OS with TechLife Pad UI skin, which highlights Google Gemini for better AI assistant integration. Other Google's suite of products pre-installed on the tablet are Calendar, Chrome, Drive, Files, Find Device, Gmail, Google, Google TV, Keep Notes, Maps, Meet, Messages, Phone, Photos, Play Games, Play Store, YouTube, and YT Music. Since it comes with TechLife Pad UI, it is pre-installed with other apps, which I do find helpful and can't be considered bloatware, such as Child Mode, Easy Launcher, Easy Share, FM Radio, FrozenApp, GameSpace, Health, Tablet Manager, and Theme. It also includes a split-screen feature that is useful for opening an internet browser and watching YouTube at the same time.
Benchmark Scores
I conducted a performance test of the TechLife Pad Plus 12" using the Antutu Benchmark app version 10.4.9 and Geekbench 6.
The tablet (TechLife TLPADP04) reached 257,021 points in the Antutu Benchmark. Here's the breakdown of its Antutu score: 78,233 (CPU), 39,582 (GPU), 64,861 (MEM), and 74,345 (UX). Temperature records for the battery were 35°C (initial) and 36°C (final), and for the CPU, were 35°C (initial) and 42.1°C (final).
For its Geekbench results, it recorded 408 Single-Core Score and 1418 Multi-Core Score in CPU, and 1154 GPU OpenGL Score.
Camera Quality
The TechLife Pad Plus 12" features one 13-megapixel camera (a decent sensor size with enough light intake) on the back and one 8-megapixel front camera (located on the right side in vertical orientation) for online video chats and selfies. The front lens can capture video in 720p at 30 frames per second (fps), while the back camera can record 1080p@30fps quality.
The camera app has various shooting modes: Photo, Video, Pro, Bokeh, Panorama, AR Sticker, Watermark, Time Lapse, and QR Code. Optional enhancements include HDR, beautify, AI, and filters.
Since the TechLife Pad Plus 12" is under the entry-level segment, I expected it to produce photos and videos of decent quality. Therefore, no expectation of high-quality shots.
See below the pictures I have captured with TechLife Pad Plus 12" using the device's default camera settings. The images are a little grainy and a bit dim because they were taken indoors.
Final Thoughts
With a large 12-inch screen that's perfect for watching movies, working on many office files, browsing the web, reading news, online gaming, and even split-screen multitasking, the TechLife Pad Plus 12" is a good tablet for students or even users of all ages. Further, this budget tablet has a long-lasting 8000mAh battery and 18W USB-C fast charging, which is very handy.
Despite being somewhat heavy, mostly because of its large screen and battery, I'm telling you guys, you can count on this tablet to perform well whether you use it at home, at school, or at work. – PinoyTechSaga
COMMENTS