Xiaomi has released its flagship tablet in India, Xiaomi Pad 5 which is sized at 10.95-inch and supports a stylus pen and a detachable keyboard as an accessory. This appears another powerful flagship Android tablet in India after the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, the Xiaomi Pad 5 directly competes with it due to its similar size and hardware. A few highlights of the tablet are its 10.95-inch sized screen with 2.5K+ resolution (1B colors), 120 Hz refresh rate, Dolby Atmos quad speakers, a powerful Snapdragon 860 CPU, and an extra-large 8,720 mAh battery. Here’s our Xiaomi Pad 5 review.
Xiaomi Pad 5 Specifications
- Display: 10.95-inch IPS display, 10-bit (1B colors), 2.5K+ (WQHD+) resolution (2,560 x 1600 pixels, 275 ppi), 16:10 aspect ratio, 120 Hz refresh rate, 500 nits (typ.) brightness, DCI-P3
- Software: MIUI for Pad 13.0.3 interface, Android 11 operating system
- CPU: 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 octa-core SoC clocked at 2.96 GHz (Kryo 485 processor)
- GPU: Adreno 640 Graphics
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB internal storage
- Main Camera: Single 13 MP Camera, 4K Video Recording, dual-tone LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 8 MP
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- Others: 4x speakers, Dolby Atmos support, Hi-Res Audio, Hi-Res Audio (Wireless), Face Unlock
- Cellular: N/A
- Battery: 8,720 mAh battery
- Charging: 22.5W fast charging
- Colors: Pearl White, Cosmic Gray
- Weight: 511 grams
- Dimensions: 254.69 mm x 166.25 mm x 6.85 mm
- Price: ₹26,999 (128 GB), ₹28,999 (256 GB)
- Offers: Introductory ₹24,999 (128 GB), ₹26,999 (256 GB), Flat ₹2,000 off HDFC Bank discount
- Availability: 7th May 2022 on mi.com, Mi Home stores, Amazon India
Design, Display, & Build
The Xiaomi Pad 5 has a sleek and slim form factor and is backed with metallic frames on the sides, however, the back is actually plastic which may be disappointing for some folks but offers a solid build quality overall. This appears to be one of the slimmest Android tablets you will find in this segment. The overall build and finish of the tablet is quite impressive.
The most favorable part of this tablet is its display, sized at a stunning 10.95-inch with 10-bit color depth (1B colors) and a whopping screen resolution of 2.5K+ (WQHD+) resolution (2,560 x 1600 pixels, 275 ppi), it’s one of the best displays at this price that we have seen on an Android tablet.
Xiaomi has put a 2.5K+ display which is even higher than the Full HD+ resolution. The display uses an IPS panel and supports a 16:10 aspect ratio, a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, DCI-P3 color gamut, and 500 nits (typ.) brightness.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 supports a magnetic stylus and a detachable keyboard that is available separately, we didn’t receive the items so we can’t say much about the stylus and keyboard. Xiaomi says the Smart Pen has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity for precise and smooth pen strokes.
It can charge wirelessly via the magnetic charging spot on the Xiaomi Pad 5 and lasts up to 8 hours of non-stop usage. It takes about 18 minutes to charge fully 100% and lasts up to 20 mins in just 1 min of charge. The Xiaomi Smart Pen is priced at ₹4,999 which is available separately.
The Xiaomi Pad Keyboard can be connected in a snap using the Pogo Pin connector which is magnetic. The back cover supports the tablet, so you can work on it as a laptop. The keyboard offers 63 keys with a 1.2 mm key travel distance.
You don’t find a SIM tray as well as a fingerprint scanner, the tablet is Wi-Fi only which means you can’t use a SIM card on it and currently there are no SIM or 5G variants of the tablet. If you are looking for a SIM option, then this tablet won’t be suitable for you.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 offers an impressive audio experience, since you get quad speakers, you are likely to get amazing sound quality out of it, the 4x speakers support Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio Certification.
Holding the tablet landscape, you get volume controls on the top, dual microphones, and a stylus placeholder whereas the bottom side has a magnetic keyboard connector. The left side offers a power key, dual loudspeakers, and another microphone. The right side has one more mic, two more loudspeakers making them quad, and a USB Type-C to charge the tablet. No 3.5 mm jack is found which is clear due to its slim form factor.
Software & User Interface
Xiaomi Pad 5 is powered by its own MIUI for Pad interface version 13.0.3 software based on the Android 11 operating system. The security patch is dated 1st February 2022. The Android for tablets is slightly different from what you see on smartphones, for instance, the desktop or homescreen which you see in portrait view can actually be changed to landscape view.
The interface has been customized for the tablet experience and offers a chunk of Android features and customizations. Unlike smartphones, the Settings page as you can see is divided into two sections, the left side which holds all the Settings while the right which has the appropriate menu settings.
Due to its 120 Hz refresh rate, everything on the tab that you interact, the MIUI interface, as well as, the app, and watching videos, especially at 60 fps, feel smooth and provide a very blissful experience. No bloatware is found which is great, we see a Netflix app that you can easily remove with a couple of taps.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
On the performance side, this tablet packs a punch, Xiaomi Pad 5 competes with the flagship smartphones equipped with Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 865. The Xiaomi Pad 5 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 860, an octa-core SoC that lies in the flagship segment, most probably between Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 865.
The Snapdragon 860 is clocked at 2.96 GHz and is paired along with Adreno 640 GPU for high-performance gaming. The Snapdragon 860 is very similar to the older flagship chip, Snapdragon 855 Plus which we have seen on the flagship smartphones, the Snapdragon 860 is a newer and upgraded variant of the former.
About the CPU, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 is a flagship SoC manufactured in a 7nm process consisting of a 1+3+4 Kryo 485 cores configuration, one high-performance Kryo 485 Gold core clocked at 2.96 GHz, three performance Kryo 485 Gold cores clocked at 2.42 GHz, and four power-efficient Kryo 485 Silver cores clocked at 1.78 GHz.
The tablet offers LPDDR4X RAM type and UFS 3.1 storage type for a faster and smoother experience. Compared to the current smartphones in this price segment, the tablet is much more powerful than you would expect. The Snapdragon 860 is quite close to the Snapdragon 865 which offers a faster LPDDR5 RAM instead, in terms of performance.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 comes in two storage variants – 128 GB and 256 GB while offers only a single RAM variant i.e. 6 GB. You can pick 6 GB + 128 GB Wi-Fi model for ₹26,999 and 6 GB + 256 GB Wi-Fi model for ₹28,999. Grabbing some offers and you get the tablet with as much as ₹4,000 off.
Gaming isn’t just extraordinary, the Adreno 640 is powerful enough to play all the current games at max settings. On top of it, you get a bigger display and quad stereo speakers to enhance the experience. No matter what you game on it, this tablet beats many smartphones and tablets in this price segment and it has the power to handle everything as far as gaming is concerned.
Camera
Cameras on the tablet are just mainstream, so you can’t compare them to a smartphone camera. The tablet carries a single 13 MP rear camera with support for 4K video recording and dual-tone LED flash while the front side has an 8 MP selfie shooter for video calling and selfie needs.
There’s nothing much to talk about its camera, you can do a few things, the good part is that it records 4K videos which is a plus, even though it has fewer features compared to smartphones. The selfie camera is decent, it can be useful for video calls, meetings, as well as some selfies in well-lit conditions.
Battery Runtime & Charging
The Xiaomi Pad 5 offers an extra-large battery of 8,720 mAh capacity which is surprisingly larger than its counterpart Galaxy Tab S7 and is very close to the iPad Air’s 8,820 mAh battery.
The battery life on the Xiaomi Pad 5 can survive a day and a half easily on moderate use, expect it to run up to 2-3 days on average use. The Xiaomi Pad 5 delivers at least 10 hours of gaming, 16 hours of video playback, and 5 days of music playback. If we count the 16 hours of video playback, you can watch eight movies 2 hours long in one go which is pretty good.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 supports 33W fast charging whereas the rival offers a slightly faster option i.e. 45W. You might want to pick a faster charger since the box provides a 22.5W charger while the tablet can support up to 33W.
Verdict
After a long time, Xiaomi has released an Android tablet this big, with a size of 10.95-inch, it competes with the 11-inch tablet models offered by its competitors, tablets such as the Apple iPad Air and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7. The Xiaomi Pad 5 has disrupted both the rivals with its highly affordable price. The price for the Xiaomi Pad 5 starts at ₹26,999 for 128 GB storage and ₹28,999 for 256 GB storage but is currently under special offer at ₹24,999 (128 GB) and ₹26,999 (256 GB) which you can cut down even further with flat ₹2,000 off bank offers.
What we liked about this tablet is the large 10.95-inch 2.5k+ resolution display, its 120 Hz smooth refresh rate, and 10-bit depth (1B colors), making it one of the best displays in the tablet segment. Aside from the display, we also liked the quad speakers which deliver great audio quality and provide an overall impressive multimedia experience. On top of it, you have the stylus support, the Xiaomi Smart Pen can be used for various activities such as note making, designing, drawing illustrations, and even navigating through the interface.
There’s nothing that beats the Xiaomi Pad 5 in the performance division if this is the price, at this price it’s certainly even more powerful than many smartphones in this price range, take note. The Snapdragon 860 CPU paired with the Adreno 640 GPU offers an amazing gaming performance. The Pad 5 offers an extra-large 8,720 mAh battery for longer runtimes and charges at 33W power.
The only thing we are concerned about is the LTE variant which we haven’t seen from the company. For those who are looking for a SIM-based tablet, this is not something you should look for, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is Wi-Fi only. Nevertheless, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is an extremely reasonable 11-inch Android tablet with a solid screen and solid specs under the price of ₹30,000.
