Redmi Pad

 

Xiaomi has launched its most affordable Android tablet in India in the form of the Redmi Pad.

The Redmi tablet aims to strike the right balance by offering a large screen for multimedia consumption along with a performance unit that is no slouch. Xiaomi claims that the Redmi Pad is the right choice for budget Android tablet buyers in India. Priced under Rs. 20,000, it packs good hardware and offers a couple of features which are not even available in the more expensive Apple iPad.

The Redmi Pad came with an attractive introductory price in India, starting as low as Rs. 11,700 for the base variant with all the offers in place. However, the introductory offer was only valid for the first few days of the sale and now, the Redmi Pad is available at a slightly higher premium. 

Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Pad in three RAM and storage configurations. The base variant packs 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It is priced at Rs. 14,999. There is a 4GB RAM variant with 128GB of internal storage, that is priced at Rs. 17,999. Our variant of the Redmi Pad packs 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It is priced at Rs. 19,999. These prices could vary slightly based on seasonal sales.

The Redmi Pad, despite being a budget Android tablet, does not look like one. With an all-metal body, it offers a good in-hand feel. The flat frame design and good weight distribution make this Android tablet feel lighter than its actual weight of 465g. It is also fairly thin at 7.1mm. While the sides are flat, the corners curve smoothly to ensure they do not dig into your palms while holding the tablet in portrait or landscape mode.

I also like the Mint Green colour of the Redmi Pad, which has a matte finish. This also means that the tablet does not attract many fingerprints or smudges. If you want something more classic looking or versatile, there are the Moonlight Silver and Graphite Grey colour options.

The Redmi Pad supports storage expansion of up to 1TB via a slot on the right side (when held vertically). At the top of the right edge of the frame are the volume buttons, whereas the tiny power button is at the corner of the top edge. You also get four speaker grilles — two at the top and two on the bottom. The Redmi Pad does not get a 3.5mm headphone jack, which might be a bummer for some.

On the front, there is a 10.61-inch IPS LCD with a 2K (2000x1200 pixels) resolution. Compared to the competition, the Redmi Pad has a slight edge with its 90Hz refresh rate display and support for up to a billion colours. There is no HDR10 support, which is something I do not expect a budget tablet to have. I did expect the tablet to have some form of an oleophobic coating though, to prevent fingerprints and smudges. Unfortunately, the Redmi Pad does not have one and like me, you too might find yourself wiping the screen every time you use the tablet.

The 10-bit display also comes with a 15:9 aspect ratio and 400 nits of peak brightness. You will get the best viewing experience when the screen is placed right in front of your eyes, but view it from an angle and you will notice some colour shift. The Redmi Pad has a Widevine L1 certification, which means that you can consume full-HD content on Netflix and other OTT platforms. The quad-speaker setup on the Redmi Pad is tuned with Dolby Atmos and for the price, it is quite loud and clear.

On the software side of things, the Redmi Pad runs on the Android 12-based MIUI 13 skin out of the box. The software experience on the Redmi Pad is quite clean and smooth. There was no sign of any stutter across the user interface (UI). I also did not notice any bugs, particularly the automatic portrait/ landscape mode switch, which I have experienced in many tablets across different price points.

MIUI 13 for Pad comes with close to no bloatware, which is very rare to see in Xiaomi products. What is common to see is the number of features that MIUI adds on top of Android. These include split-screen, floating windows, etc. Some apps do not support split-screen natively but Xiaomi has stated that it is working with more developers to enhance the experience on the Redmi Pad.

Apps such as Instagram and Facebook are well-optimised to take advantage of the large screen but certain apps such as Twitter are basically stretched-out versions of the mobile app. MIUI 13 for Pad also has a dock at the bottom of the screen, which hides automatically when you open an app. The dock is dynamic and adds the recently-used apps on the right side in case you want to switch back to one.

Xiaomi has promised to offer at least two major Android updates, and security patches for three years for the Redmi Pad.