I’m talking, of course, about Xiaomi’s latest entrant in the Android tablet market, the Pad 7. A successor to last year’s excellent Pad 6, the Xiaomi Pad 7 comes with a host of quality-of-life improvements, hardware and software refinements, which open the door to the possibility that this welterweight actually stands a fighting chance against the tablet heavyweight that is the iPad.
In fact, I’d venture as far as to say that the Xiaomi Pad 7 is better, both in terms of hardware and price (including all premium accessories), to deliver a better value than Apple’s base iPad.
To begin with, the iPad — with an unspecified amount of RAM and a paltry 64 GB of storage, costs ₹34,900. Throw in Apple’s official folio case (₹8,500) and the Apple Pencil (₹9,500), and you’re staring at shelling out ₹52,900.
The Xiaomi Pad 7, on the other hand, comes with 8 GB of RAM and twice the storage (128 GB) in its base variant and costs ₹27,999. If you buy similar accessories as above, it will cost you ₹1,499 for the folio case and ₹5,999 for the Focus Pen, which adds up to just under ₹35,500.
Also read: Redmi Note 14 Pro+ Review: Premium yet affordable device
If you want to go for the higher-end keyboard case, the iPad Magic Keyboard case will set you back an extra ₹16,400, while the Xiaomi Focus Keyboard will cost you an extra ₹7,500.
So, ₹69,300 for the iPad with all the bells and whistles versus ₹43,000 for the Xiaomi Pad 7 with top-shelf accessories.
Not to mention the fact that the base iPad comes with a Full HD (Retina) resolution with 60Hz of refresh rate, while the Xiaomi Pad 7 sports a 3.2K display with a refresh rate that can go as high as 144Hz.
Round 1 goes to the Xiaomi Pad 7.
All right. Enough cherry-picking Apple iPad features. Let’s focus on the Xiaomi Pad 7.
Design and display
The Xiaomi Pad 7 has an 11.2-inch screen with slim bezels, giving users more display area. Weighing 500 grams and measuring 6.18mm in thickness, its aluminium body feels light but strong. The tablet hits the sweet spot between portability and productivity.
The screen shows crisp images and lively colours, while the high refresh rate ensures a scrolling experience that is, to quote BTS, “smooth like butter.” The bright screen works well outdoors, but the glossy screen finish can be quite a bit distracting.
Xiaomi has introduced a nano-texture display option on the Pad 7. It costs a little more than the regular variant, but I noticed an immediate difference while previewing it a few weeks ago. The nano-texture diffuses light evenly and softly, reducing glaring reflections without compromising picture quality. That said, I haven’t tried out the nano-texture display outside of the demo — I have the regular-display variant for review — so I cannot really speak to its efficacy in different conditions.
The display is tuned for Dolby Vision, and the quad-speaker setup is tuned for Dolby Atmos, which makes media consumption a superlative experience.
Top-notch accessories
The Focus Keyboard and Focus Pen transform the Xiaomi Pad 7 from a media consumption device into a flexible work-play tool.
The focus keyboard features a floating cantilever design similar to Apple’s Magic Keyboard and allows you to connect the tablet to the case magnetically with a Pogo Pin connector. The connection is instantaneous, the keys are nice and tactile, the trackpad is splendid, and the keyboard backlight — thank goodness for that — elevates the typing experience.
Sure, it’s a little more compact that I would have liked, but it’s not a deal breaker.
The Focus Pen, in my opinion, is the star of the show. It would have been a great add-on in and of itself, but Xiaomi added three buttons — one to pull up a quick notes app for you to scribble on, one to take screenshots and annotate, and the Focus button which turns the pen into a pointer during presentations. The Focus Pen attaches magnetically to the tablet and charges, and the battery life, quite frankly, is ridiculously good.
Sure, Xiaomi has liberally borrowed from Apple’s tablets and accessories, but as the saying goes, imitation is the highest form of flattery, and consumers are better off for it.
The verdict
The Xiaomi Pad 7 brings great performance, excellent display and truly good accessories to the table. If you’re in the market for a good Android tablet, you may not need to look any further. The Pad 7 is a compelling choice on a budget.
Also read: HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 Review: Strong performance and battery, with a few quirks
