Endangered species are coming back for real now
Everyone is making a tablet nowadays, even the used-to-be reluctant BBK already had two of four of its brands making one (Realme made four, Oppo made two). Samsung is already quite popular with tablets and has continued this tradition even when others are unenthusiastic about it. Lenovo is also a regular and a top seller in the tablet space, and TCL with its pride in screens obviously can manufacture tablets. Xiaomi did as well but it’s a little pricey for some, so Redmi stepped in to fill the missing gap of affordable yet premium-looking nearly bezel-less tablets.
Marketed as the “Pad for fun”, it looks like every other premium-ish tablet in existence, with some Xiaomi flavour added into the mix. It is equipped with a MediaTek Helio G99 into the mix because the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 is just overrated, or that Redmi just wants to be slightly different. It comes with two pairs of speakers located on the top and bottom respectively, and of course, with Dolby Atmos. Unlike smartphones, tablets are purposefully designed to entertain.
It comes with a 10.6in. 2K (2000x1200px) IPS LCD screen with a nearly bezel-less screen and 90Hz refresh rate. The tablet is indeed premium as it comes with a metal unibody and frame. We can’t say the same for the price and we’re saying that as a compliment.
It lacks any LTE services but you could at least expand the storage with a MicroSD card slot (up to 1TB). It comes with a concerningly low 8000mAh battery with 18W of fast charging. We say low because this is a large 10in. tablet.
It comes with a pair of 8MP cameras both on the rear and front respectively. While it does not have any stabilization, the front camera comes with a gimmicky FocusFrame, a motion-tracking feature intended for video conferencing.
It has MIUI 13 for Pad based on Android 12L. What’s cool is that despite being a budget tablet, you still get 3 years worth of security updates and 2 for major upgrades. That’s a rare thing to see for tablets, as even those with a more expensive price are far less supported.
The Redmi Pad comes in Mint Green, Graphite Gray, and Moonlight Silver colours. In India, where it is available first, the 3/64 configuration starts at INR 12,999 (~Php 9.4K), the 4/64 configuration at INR 14,999 (~Php 10.8K) while the 6/128 configuration at INR 16,999 (~Php 12.2K). Open sales start today, 5th October while Philippines availability is yet to be announced, so stay tuned and we’ll let you know.
SPECS:
- 10.61in. 2K (2000x1200px) IPS LCD, 90Hz refresh rate
- MediaTek Helio G99 (6nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 8MP (main)
- FRONT: 8MP, FocusFrame
- MIUI 13 Pad based on Android 12L
- 3 years security updates
- 2 years major Android upgrades (up to Android 14/14L)
- 8000mAh, 18W fast charging, USB-C
- MicroSD Card Slot (up to 1TB), Quad Speakers with Dolby Atmos, 3.5mm jack
- No LTE, Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth 5.2
- Mint Green, Graphite Gray, Moonlight Silver
- PRICE:
- 3/64: INR 12,999 (~Php 9.4K)
- 4/64: INR 14,999 (~Php 10.8K)
- 6/128: INR 16,999 (~Php 12.2K)
Source: Xiaomi