As temperatures drop and home entertainment becomes increasingly appealing, many are re-evaluating their late-night viewing setups. Smartphones prove inadequate for extended viewing, and tablets offer a potential solution, but the market is crowded with options. This review examines the Nubia Pad Pro, a 10.9-inch Android tablet featuring a focus on audio fidelity with its DTS:X Ultra support, to determine its suitability for immersive at-home entertainment.
Looking for a Tablet for Late-Night Streaming
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Recently, I’ve been spending more time watching videos in bed. The reason is simple: it’s too cold to get up and move around. Smartphones just don’t offer enough screen real estate for comfortable viewing, and the constant stream of notifications is distracting. While a tablet seemed like a good solution, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the options available.
That’s when I remembered the Nubia Pad Pro (priced at ¥79,800 directly from the manufacturer).
This 10.9-inch Android tablet boasts four speakers and DTS:X Ultra support, making it a potentially great option for movie nights. It seemed ideal for relaxed, horizontal viewing. I had briefly tested it before, but decided to borrow one for a more extended trial to really put it through its paces.
The Current Tablet Landscape: A Focus on Audio and Visuals
Before diving into the Nubia Pad Pro, let’s quickly assess the current state of the tablet market, specifically from an audio and visual perspective. Factors like Wi-Fi versus SIM capabilities and camera resolution will be set aside for this discussion.
Rear camera is 13MP, front camera is 20MP
Both Android and iOS/iPadOS tablets are increasingly adopting 11-inch displays as the standard. Screen resolutions generally exceed WUXGA (1,920×1,200 pixels), with many models now offering 2.5K (2,500 pixels) or higher horizontal resolution. OLED displays are becoming more common, but more affordable LCD models remain popular.
On the audio side, many tablets feature dual-speaker stereo setups. However, models with four or even eight speakers, combined with spatial audio technologies, are gaining prominence. Support for spatial audio technologies is a key consideration.
With this in mind, the Nubia Pad Pro stands out.
It features a 10.9-inch TFT LCD display with a resolution of 2,880×1,800 pixels (2.8K) and a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. The four speakers are positioned at the top and bottom edges, providing a stereo experience when held horizontally. It also supports “DTS:X Ultra,” a relatively new addition to the tablet space.
Speakers are positioned on both sides
I wanted to evaluate the Nubia Pad Pro specifically from a “visual and audio playback” perspective.
A Tablet with Gaming in Mind
The Nubia Pad Pro feels substantial in hand. It features approximately 8mm bezels around the 10.9-inch display, with dimensions of 253.34×164.56×7.3mm (height x width x depth) and a weight of 523g. For comparison, the 11-inch iPad (A16/Wi-Fi) with an IPS LCD screen weighs 477g, making the Nubia Pad Pro slightly heavier.
The Nubia Pad Pro’s body is constructed from a single piece of aluminum. The bottom of the display incorporates a six-layer cooling system featuring a cooling alloy, high-conductivity copper foil, and high-thermal-conductivity gel, suggesting a focus on thermal performance. Combined with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 840Hz, it’s clear this tablet is geared towards gaming.
Frame rate is manually adjustable
The speakers are positioned on either side of the screen, slightly offset from the center along the top and bottom edges. It’s important to avoid covering the speaker mesh, but with a weight of 523g, prolonged handheld use for AV purposes is unlikely. A stand is recommended, which mitigates this concern.
Speakers are positioned on both sides
The Nubia Pad Pro’s DTS:X Ultra technology is designed for headphones and speakers, targeting devices like laptops and tablets.
It’s engineered to enhance immersion in gaming and XR content, and doesn’t necessarily require multi-channel sources. Stereo sources are sufficient, meaning streaming apps or recorded broadcast television will work.
Testing Visuals and Audio Performance
First, I watched a movie.
I chose “Oblivion” and “No Country for Old Men” specifically to test areas I was curious about with the Nubia Pad Pro.
When I started playing “Oblivion” on the U-NEXT app, the sound appeared to move with the rotating “UNIVERSAL” logo. This is likely the effect of DTS:X Ultra, and it was immediately noticeable.
During the scene where Tom Cruise awakens in darkness, the impact sounds and Morgan Freeman’s voice seemed to resonate within the room, creating a sense of spaciousness. As the lights turned on one by one, the sound appeared to emanate from each individual source, demonstrating the benefits of DTS:X Ultra. This audio technology significantly enhances the viewing experience.
However, the visual performance has some drawbacks. To assess black levels, I focused on the scene where the camera shifts to Morgan Freeman. All that was visible were his sunglasses and the glowing ember of his cigar. While I’ve watched this scene countless times to evaluate the contrast and black level reproduction of LCD televisions, the TFT LCD display struggled to deliver deep blacks.
2.8K/330PPI results in smooth gradients
“No Country for Old Men,” known for its meticulous sound design, also sounded excellent. Javier Bardem’s portrayal of Anton Chigurh is particularly impactful, with the sound’s directional cues adding to the intensity.
The desert scenes were vibrant and colorful, and the color gamut appeared wide. However, during the nighttime gunfights, while the sound of bullets was present, the lack of black levels made it difficult to discern the characters.
I then tested the “DMM TV” app with a live news broadcast, and found no significant issues. Skin tones appeared natural, there was no color bleeding, and the announcer’s voice was positioned accurately. The wide viewing angle of the TFT display also ensured consistent color reproduction when viewing from the side, making it suitable for multitasking while working on a PC.
Color gamut is reasonably wide, rendering flowers vividly
The Immersive Experience of “Moving” Sound
After testing the Nubia Pad Pro with its 2.8K resolution and DTS:X Ultra spatial audio, I wondered if it would be well-suited for AV consumption. While the black level performance could be improved, the DTS:X Ultra effect was surprisingly significant.
DTS:X Ultra settings screen
While it doesn’t offer the fully enveloping experience of a dedicated surround sound system, the spatial cues in “Oblivion’s” claustrophobic, reverberant interiors and the directional audio in “No Country for Old Men” effectively captured the essence of a high-quality surround sound setup. The sound pressure could be a bit stronger, and the low-end could be more robust, but as a “near-field handy theater” experience, it’s quite impressive.
Frame rate can be manually adjusted, reflecting the tablet’s gaming focus
