The Honor MagicPad 4’s display does something I’ve never seen before, but there’s one thing that annoys me.
I can’t say exactly when I last got excited about a new tablet release, but it’s been at least a few years. Most tablets are a bit of a repeat of the previous version, and while that can be said to a certain extent about the Honor MagicPad 4, it’s the display that really pleased me this time around.
Not only has Honor replaced last year’s LCD display with a high-quality OLED, but this is the first OLED I’ve seen with 5320Hz PWM dimming. No, that’s not a mistake, and it means that Honor continues to push the dimming frequency in the right direction while most of the competition ignores the problem or feels that the current solutions are “good enough” for most people.
A display for everyone
As part of the spec sheet, I noticed that Honor has specifically started listing its displays as “low-dimming” OLEDs in addition to those that support high-frequency PWM dimming. This is important because it means that Honor’s display not only operates at speeds considered safe by the IEEE lighting standard, but also exceeds what the competition does.
The facts are clear that OLED tablets from Apple and Samsung simply do not qualify as “safe” under these lighting standards. They don’t even come close, as they rely heavily on 240Hz PWM dimming rates at all brightness levels. The result is a group of people who cannot physically use these devices without experiencing severe headaches from them. I have a quick 5 minute explainer video here, if you want to learn more.
This is where companies like Honor come in. Pushing the PWM values higher and lowering the modulation are two key factors in ensuring that even the most sensitive users can enjoy a modern device instead of using something from 2013 with outdated patches and security features.
The trick to getting the best results on the Honor MagicPad 4 is to set it to 165Hz in the display settings. The problem is that there is no way force maximum refresh rate. When using the display at 20% brightness or less – which is when the tablet switches from DC to PWM dimming – the display will cycle between 4320Hz and 5280Hz, depending on the content on the screen.
I’m not sure if this will bother any flicker-sensitive users, but the rapid switching between fade rates is known to bother some people, although that reaction is usually recorded at much lower fade frequencies than 4320 or 5280Hz. The only way to ensure that the display does not change the dimming rates is to set it to 60Hz in the display settings. Since this is an LTPS panel, it will run at 60Hz all the time, which means a 4320Hz PWM rate at 20% brightness.
Honor could really do with a setting to properly enforce a high display refresh rate for people who want to see the best all the time or who want to ensure that the dimming frequency doesn’t change. I’m not a big fan of Honor advertising this as 5280Hz. That’s not because it’s not true – the display can certainly reach 5280Hz PWM dimming – but because it’s only true under specific conditions and difficult to verify.
Despite using 10-bit OLED panels in many of their latest phones, the 165Hz OLED panel here is only an 8-bit panel. That’s no problem in itself, but the tablet’s sheet clearly shows that it increases color volume using a nasty trick called temporal dithering to alternate pixels between two colors to make your eyes see a color that’s “not there.”
It sounds cool on paper, and some fans of the show like this trick because it can make shows more effective, but it does so in a way that can trigger fall-level situations for some people. The MagicPad 3 display used this trick, but it doesn’t appear that the MagicPad 4 does, based on my extensive testing. I was also surprised to see that all of the tablet’s green light blocking options don’t use dithering to change things. True blue light blocking from the hardware level.
There is no guarantee that Honor will not enable 2-bit “upgrade” in the update, but, for now, this panel seems flawless. I agree with companies offering a bright color mode for enthusiasts who want bright, cartoony colors, but it’s important to offer a dither-free option for people who have trouble with flicker sensitivity.
My only real “disappointment” is that the display isn’t as bright as the company’s phones. I use this white HDR YouTube video for all display reviews because it gives me the highest HDR values using a common app that everyone has, and the highest I saw the display hit was just shy of 1,200 nits. By comparison, the Honor Magic 8 Pro’s display reaches 3,600 nits using the same test.
Given the large size difference between this display and the phone, however, it might be best not to reach that high. You don’t want to be blinded while trying to watch a movie, after all. And it’s still pretty bright when watching content on YouTube or Netflix, especially if that content supports decent HDR levels.
What I’m waiting for
Overall, this is a big step up from the MagicPad 3 display, not only in terms of motion clarity and refresh rate, but also because it doesn’t have to use dithering to display 10-bit colors properly. Not only that, but this tablet is a a lot a more manageable size than the MagicPad 3, which I found to be too large for any real device.
All together make this an incredibly impressive table that can be used for any kind of entertainment or work, especially with its compact design, excellent battery life, and the perfect ones. all of them Great IMAX speakers. I just wish Honor could make better use of the improved PWM rate, as it’s only available in apps that support a 165Hz refresh rate.
