Xiaomi's daughter brand, Redmi recently introduced its first ever tablet under the name Redmi Pad. It impresses especially with its high-quality workmanship with an elegant design and a large 2K display.
However, the fuss was caused by the processor used, as the manufacturer chose MediaTek's Helio G99. In our review, we will look not only at its performance, but we will introduce you to all our experiences that will help you in making a purchase decision.
Where to buy Redmi Pad?
The recently introduced Redmi Pad in the global version goes on sale through the well-known online marketplace DHgate. A verified seller sells the novelty there from a German warehouse, while delivering the product to you in Slovakia without the need to pay any additional customs fees. Postage is completely free and the shipment will arrive express within 7 days.
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Technical specifications
| Model | Redmi Pad |
|---|---|
| dimensions | 250.38 x 157.98 x 7.05 mm |
| Weight | 445 g |
| Display | 10.61 "IPS |
| 1200 x 2000 px resolution | |
| Refresh rate 90 Hz | |
| Brightness 400 nits | |
| processor | MediaTek Helio G99 (2.2 GHz) |
| Cameras | front 8 Mpx |
| rear 8 Mpx | |
| Speakers | 4 with Dolby Atmos support |
| RAM and storage | LPDDR4X + UFS 2.2 |
| support microSD cards | Yes |
| Battery and charging | 8000 mAh with 18 W charging |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3; WiFi 5 (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz); USB-C |
| Operating system | MIUI 13 |
| support SIM cards | nie |
Content and quality of packaging
The Redmi Pad is sold in a flat hard cardboard box with dimensions of 16.7 x 26 x 4.1 cm with a total weight of 829 g. After removing the top part, we are looking directly at the tablet, which is surprisingly protected namiesto silona with a higher quality textile.
Under the tablet we can also find a charging adapter and a USB-C cable, together with a brief manual and a warranty card. Unlike smartphones, we lack any case here, which this time is only sold separately as an additional accessory.
As for the overall quality of the packaging, the seller sent us the tablet wrapped in bubble wrap in a standard silicone envelope. In this case, a hard product box together with a layer of bubble wrap is sufficient for safe transport without damage.
Elegant design and top quality workmanship
Concerns about lower-quality processing compared to the popular Xiaomi Pad are completely unfounded. The construction of the tablet is similar to that of its competitor, metal. Thanks to this, the tablet has a really premium impression from the point of view of processing quality.
Its overall dimensions are 250.38 x 157.98 x 7.05 mm and the weight is 445 g. The edges are not rounded, on the contrary, they are angular. Thanks to this fact, it does not hold ideally in our hands. In this case, design won again over comfort.
We are testing the tablet in graphite gray, but silver and green are also available. Especially the green labeled Mint Green also looks very interesting and fresh.
Layout of control elements
As for the layout of the individual elements, when looking at the height, we have a charging USB-C port on the bottom side along with a pair of speaker grilles.
The top edge also contains a pair of grilles for speakers and a button for lighting the display or turning the tablet on and off. The left side is blank, while the right is home to the volume rockers, microphones, and micro SD card slot.
It is this edge that becomes the top if we use the tablet in landscape. From the front, this longer edge houses the front camera in a relatively thin black frame. It's a shame that we cover a pair of speaker grilles with both hands when using it wide.
Display with a diagonal of 10.61″
The pride of the tablet is also a large 10.61″ display with a high 2K resolution of 1200 x 2000 px. It is an IPS display, not AMOLED, which is not unusual for tablets. It can display more than 1 trillion colors, its contrast ratio is 1500:1 and the brightness is 400 nits.
This low brightness value is a bit scary, but you have to remember that the manufacturer indicates the standard brightness in this case. For many other models, manufacturers often state the maximum brightness that the display can achieve.
In general, the brightness is sufficient, but in direct sunlight it can be seen that the maximum brightness could be higher. Readability in sunlight is not the best. As for the refresh rate, it is set to automatic. It can reach a maximum of 90 Hz.
Overall, we rate the display positively. It has high resolution and pleasant color presentation. Of course, black is not completely black and the colors are not significantly saturated, but this is normal for IPS panels.
Performance with a processor from MediaTek
The Redmi Pad is powered by the May 8 Helio G99 2022-core processor, which is manufactured using 6nm technology. It consists of two Cortex-A76 cores with a frequency of 2200 MHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2000 MHz.
It is not a flagship processor, rather the opposite. It is one of the more affordable ones, it is more suitable for an undemanding user and you can find it, for example, in the new Poco M5.
The processor is assisted by the Mali-G57 MC2 graphics chip and, in our case, 4 GB of LPDDR4X type RAM. The storage has a capacity of 128 GB and is of the UFS 2.2 type. Other memory versions are also available, namely the lowest 3 / 64 GB and the highest 6 / 128 GB.
Unfortunately, we have to confirm that our fears were partially confirmed and the tablet does not impress with its performance. It is strange, however, that the applications and games themselves run smoothly, but the problem is the system in which various animations sometimes cut and most often the minimization of running applications. Hopefully Redmi can fix this problem by better optimizing the environment with one of the updates.
We did not forget to install the popular AnTuTu benchmark in the tablet, in which we scored 314 points.
MIUI environment
The Redmi Pad comes with the Android 12 operating system and a graphic superstructure from Xiaomi, MIUI in version 13, which is adapted for tablets. The home screen, like the other screen with applications, has a grid arrangement with four columns without the possibility of changing the arrangement.
In the lower part, there is a bar with quick access to selected applications, which can accommodate a maximum of 9. The positive thing is that there is almost no bloatware in the form of unnecessary applications in the new product. In addition to Google and system applications, we only find Netflix, WPS Office and the game Genshin Impact.
Functions such as floating windows or displaying two applications side by side are especially useful on a tablet. Among the special functions we find only Game Turbo mode, floating windows and video tools. For example, the sidebar of applications is missing.
Without 4G support or accessories
The biggest disappointment in the case of the new Redmi Pad tablet is the absence of 4G network support. You can't put it in a tablet like that SIM card and use mobile internet. Fortunately, there is a possibility to create a WiFi hot-spot through a smartphone, which will serve in case of emergency.
The tablet also does not have a fingerprint reader, so we can only unlock it using a PIN code, pattern or face. Face unlock only works with the camera, so it's not a high level of security.
The absence of accessories, such as a connectable keyboard, is also not pleasing. The tablet does not have magnetic pins for connecting the keyboard, as is the case with the Xiaomi Pad 5. The manufacturer does not even include a protective case in the package, but you can buy it, for example, on Aliexpress for as little as EUR 5.
Four speakers
As we already mentioned in one of the introductory chapters, the novelty has four speakers located on the shorter sides of the tablet.
When holding the tablet in the hand and using it horizontally, we cover two of the four speaker grills with our hands. As for their quality, it is very good. Although the bass component is slightly lacking, the overall impression of the sound quality is good. Support for Dolby Atmos technology will also please you.
Cameras
The main camera on the back is not as important for tablets as it is for smartphones. Most people use it only sporadically for taking pictures of documents or other objects.
With a tablet, the front camera, which has 8 Mpx, is more useful, as is the rear camera. It is placed in the frame of the longer side of the tablet, which makes it suitable for use in a landscape position.
The quality of the cameras is weaker and deteriorates significantly in low light where noise enters the scene, but it is sufficient for video calls and the aforementioned document photography. But the sharpness is not the best and the colors are dull. Below you can see some shots from the main camera.
Battery and charging
The large body of the tablet also offers space for a larger battery. In this case, it has a capacity of 8 mAh, which is a great prerequisite for good endurance on a single charge.
The manufacturer claims a battery life of 26 hours for reading, 21 hours for watching videos or 12 hours for gaming. Durability is very difficult to evaluate with tablets, as everyone uses a tablet in a different way. However, we personally felt during testing that our battery percentages were decreasing very slowly. For example, for an hour of watching videos on YouTube at maximum brightness we lost 12% of the battery.
The included charger is 22.5 W, but the tablet itself supports a maximum of 18 W charging, which is relatively weak. The battery charges from 20% to 50% in an hour, to 75% in 1 hour and 45 minutes, and it takes about 3 hours to fully charge.
Redmi Pad: Final evaluation
Redmi Pad is the first tablet from the Redmi brand, which impresses at first glance with its high-quality workmanship with a metal body and back cover, which creates a premium impression. The high-quality, 10.61″ IPS display with 2K resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate will also please you. We also positively evaluate the four speakers and the possibility of expanding the internal memory with a micro SD card.
However, we were not pleased with the performance of the tablet, especially through the MIUI environment, which is somehow not the best optimized. We often noticed various slowdowns or less smooth animations, especially when minimizing an open application or when switching between applications.
We believe that the manufacturer will release an update that will solve these problems, but in this state we recommend the Redmi Pad rather for an undemanding user who is willing to tolerate certain system hesitations. It should not be forgotten that despite the premium impression of the processing, it is more of a low-end tablet.
