Xplora Go Pad: a rugged Android tablet for kids with 4G and strict parental controls
HMD and Norwegian brand Xplora are working on a new kids' tablet called the Go Pad, and leaked specs suggest it's aimed squarely at parents who want more control than Amazon's Fire Kids tablets offer — along with 4G connectivity that works outside the house. Neither company has officially confirmed the device, but details shared by leaker @smashx_60 on X have been corroborated by multiple outlets. With 1.5 million users globally and products already on sale in the UK, Xplora is a real player in the children's tech space.
The hardware
The Go Pad has an 8.7-inch IPS LCD display — compact enough for smaller hands. Inside sits a Qualcomm Snapdragon 685, a 6nm chip with four Cortex-A73 performance cores and four Cortex-A53 efficiency cores. It's not a powerhouse, but it's more than capable for schoolwork, video calls, and YouTube. The tablet supports 4G and Wi-Fi, and charges at 18W. Memory, storage, display resolution, and battery capacity have not been confirmed.
The rugged credentials are meaningful: IP65 dust and water resistance, plus a design rated to survive drops from up to one metre. That combination is standard for serious kids' devices and puts it ahead of most consumer tablets in that regard, per Notebookcheck.
Xplora Go Pad by HMD
— HMD_MEME'S (@smashx_60) September 6, 2026
- IPS LCD 8.7"
- Snapdragon 685 4G
- 18W FC
- 100cm. Shock proof, IP65, Nude Harm Block, Parental Control, Web detector, Education AI etc. pic.twitter.com/TRpQSh88FS
The parental controls
This is where the Go Pad makes its case. Xplora is building in a full suite of tools parents can manage remotely:
- Web filtering blocks inappropriate sites out of the box - AI-based content moderation flags and removes harmful material - Contact whitelisting limits who the child can communicate with - Screen time limits let parents set daily caps per app or overall - Location tracking shows where the tablet — and by extension the child — is at any time
That 4G modem matters here. Unlike a Wi-Fi-only tablet that only connects at home or at school, the Go Pad can stay online anywhere, which means parental controls and location tracking work all the time, as IntoMobile notes.
What we don't know yet
Pricing, availability, and a launch date are all unconfirmed. Xplora's HMD Fusion X1 smartphone is already sold in the UK, so a UK release for the Go Pad is plausible. In the EU, pricing for similar Xplora hardware has historically landed in the €249–€349 range, but that's an estimate based on prior products. HMD and Xplora have not commented on the leak.
In the UK, the Go Pad would compete with the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids, the iPad with Guided Access, and the Lenovo Tab M10 Kids Edition — all of which have their own parental ecosystems. None of them combine IP65 durability with built-in 4G in a single package at a mid-range price point. Whether Xplora can deliver on that promise depends on the final specs and cost, both still to come.
