Earlier this month, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro hit store shelves in India, and the new tablet comes in two variants — Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 5G — with prices starting at Rs 21,999.
Here are my thoughts on Xiaomi’s latest Android tablet.
Design and Quality
The new Redmi tablet sports a slim look with an attractive two-tone sturdy metal case on the back and two circular islands at the top left corner housing the eye-catching camera and LED flash.
The Redmi Pad Pro (5G) will be available in two colours – Quick Silver and Graphite Grey – and the unit we got for review is the latter.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Weighing just over 570g and measuring just 7.82mm thick, this tablet is easy to carry in your hand or stow in a backpack.
The front panel has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield to protect it from scratches and also has an IP52 waterproof rating.
The company has taken every measure to ensure that the device is durable and protected from everyday wear and tear. However, the tablet is large, and even a small drop from knee height onto a rough surface could physically damage the display. As such, potential buyers are advised to purchase a folio cover case to prevent the display from cracking if accidentally dropped.
The company offers accessories such as the Smart Keyboard Case, which is made of a black polyurethane material with a textured finish. It not only protects the device from physical damage in case of accidental drops, but also adds value to the device. It has a standard keyboard layout, making it easy to type messages or write notes at the table. It is priced at Rs 3,999. The regular protective folio case is also available for Rs 1,499.
Smart keyboard cover accessory for Redmi Pad Pro 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The keyboard has a standard 64-key layout with a dedicated row of function keys at the top, 16x16mm key size with 19mm key spacing, 1.3mm key travel and optimal bounce back speed for a smooth typing experience.
The Redmi Pad Pro 5G smart keyboard cover comes with a standard 64-key layout keyboard.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
But it takes some time to get comfortable using a keyboard on your lap, and on a table, typing letters takes less effort and you work faster.
The keyboard is equipped with a 210mAh battery that can last up to 59 hours in normal use and 760 hours in idle mode. What’s more, it comes with a removable pen holder on the top for easy storage.
Display and Performance
The Redmi Pad Pro comes with a 12.1-inch 2.5K (2560 x 1600p) LCD screen, perfect for watching multimedia content and shopping on e-commerce apps.
You can also browse the web to check the latest news, read e-books, etc. It supports dynamic (30/48/50/60/90/120Hz) refresh rate and up to 600 nits peak brightness.
It supports Dolby Vision, making it the perfect medium for watching TV series and movies while commuting on public transport.
Even at home, it is good for shopping on e-commerce apps, and the large display helps owners, especially those who wear glasses (like me), to see all the detailed terms and conditions of the EMI offers of the product.
Also, if you leave the reading mode on at night, you can get through a chapter or two of your e-book without worrying about eye strain.
The new Redmi Pad Pro also supports a smart pen. It has a regular pencil form factor with a length of 6.18 inches. It has a pressure-sensitive tip, allowing you to write on the screen in different styles, whether that be taking notes like a regular pen or creating digital art like a brush.
The Redmi Pad Pro 5G supports the Redmi Smart Pen.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Xiaomi’s premium tablet is powered by a 4nm-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 octa-core processor with Adreno 710 GPU, 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, and 128GB/256GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable up to 1.5TB).
Coming to day to day activities, the Redmi Pro runs smoothly without any issues and supports most of the graphic rich games available on the Play Store.
But this mid-range tablet isn’t made for extreme gaming: It’s best suited for playing board games like chess, and classics like Angry Birds, Temple Run, and Fruit Ninja.
The device runs on HyperOS based on Android 14. It also guarantees two major Android OS updates (Android 15 and 16) and an additional year of software security support (up to 2027).
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The software is optimized to provide the best user experience on a large screen and also features a stylus for enhanced creativity and productivity. It supports split-screen option, allowing users to work with multiple apps on the same screen without having to switch between them.
The new Redmi tablet comes with an 8MP (f/2.0 aperture) camera at the rear and an 8MP (f/2.28) camera at the front, capable of recording videos at 30 fps (frames per second) in Full HD (1080p) and 60 fps in HD (720p).
The front camera is nicely placed in the center and can be used in landscape orientation, and with the folio cover accessory you can take part in video calls and virtual office meetings hands-free, simply by placing the tablet on a table and sitting in a chair.
The front camera has the amazing ability to record stable videos in high quality resolution.
The Redmi Pad Pro 5G has an 8MP camera on the back.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
While the rear camera can’t take photos like you can on a mid-range phone, it’s good enough to take clear pictures of documents and book pages, and there are feature-rich apps available in the Google Play Store that let you convert images to PDFs instantly and hassle-free.
The 5G SIM option allows the tablet to operate independently without the need to pair it with your main phone for internet connectivity.
Redmi Pad Pro 5G comes with a massive 10,000mAh battery – more than enough to binge-watch an entire season of a hit TV show while on the go all night – and can stream HD video for up to 12 hours on a full charge.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The company has included a 33W charger in the retail box, and it takes around 2 hours to fully charge the phone from zero to 100%.
lastly
The new Redmi Pad Pro is a great mid-range Android tablet for the price. It has all the features that make it perfect for both productivity and fun activities for the whole family. The display is great for watching multimedia and the device lasts for nearly 12 hours thanks to its large battery capacity.
With support for a stylus and smart keyboard, it’s the perfect gadget for taking notes and creating digital art, and it’s also a great option for writers and journalists to write books and articles on the go.
For children, this is a great medium (with parental supervision) to play educational games available on the Google Play Store and browse the internet for information to work on school projects.
The company is offering two configurations — 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage — priced at Rs 24,999 and Rs 26,999, respectively.
The standard Redmi Pad Pro (Wi-Fi only) will be available in two colours — Mist Blue and Graphite Grey — and a single 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant will be offered for Rs 21,999.
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Published August 19, 2024 14:00 IST
