Tablets appear to have suddenly regained their lost recognition, thanks to the spurt in demand during the lockdown phase and the need for online classes and courses. Xiaomi’s new Pad 5 is a well-priced Wi-Fi only entertainment and productivity powerhouse.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 has a basic design with a matte-finished plastic back and metal frame. The device is lightweight and slim, and the bright 10.95-inch screen offers WQHD+ resolution (1600 x 2560) with a support of a 120 Hz refresh rate. The display can reproduce the full DCI-P3 color gamut and supports HDR10+ and HLG. The display is indeed a joy to use, with good details and sharp colors. The device houses 6GB RAM and is available in two variants with 128 GB and 256 GB storage choices. Under the hood, the tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 processor with an Adreno 640 GPU. The tablet is game-ready, but we found ourselves not too keen on gaming on an 11-inch tablet.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 houses four speaker units placed at the corners for some surrounded-sound like experience, but to experience true surround, you need to pair it with Bluetooth headphones since it does not have a headphone jack. The device offers support for Dolby Atmos along with Dolby Vision. The speakers are not too loud but sufficient for most content consumption. Dual microphones ensure that your voice is always attended, irrespective of the device’s direction.
An enormous 8720 mAh battery assures that the device has sufficient power to survive your extended binging sessions. Xiaomi claims over 16 hours of video watch time, which we found to be correct, depending on display brightness, sound levels, and other aspects. The Pad 5 supports 33W fast charging, and a 22.5W charger brick comes bundled. The charger takes nearly three hours to fully charge the battery from 0 levels.
Tech Specifications
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 8 x – 3 GHz, Cortex-A76 / A55 (Kryo 485) |
| Graphics adapter | Adreno 640 |
| RAM | 6 GB LPDDR4X |
| Display | 11.00 inch 16:10, 2560 x 1600 pixel 274 PPI, capacitive, IPS, WQHD+, 500 Nits, glossy: yes, HDR, 120 Hz |
| Storage | 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash, 128 GB |
| Weight | 511 g |
The Xiaomi Pad 5 is made for productivity and work in addition to entertainment. However, you require the proper accessories to utilize it to its maximum potential. Xiaomi provided us the Pad 5 along with the Smart Pen and Keyboard(sold separately). The tablet has a magnetic mechanism to dock with the keyboard, while the pen attaches magnetically to the opposite side. The keyboard is a delight to use, with excellent ergonomics and optimal key travel.
The good thing is that the MIUI for Pad offers a clean user interface without any bloatware. It presents various customizations and shortcuts, including floating windows and split-screen features. The device houses a 13 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front camera. The front camera is mounted on the top (in portrait orientation), which is not ideal for web conferencing in landscape orientation.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 is available in the Europe, UK and much of Asia, including India. It costs €349/₹26,999 for the 6GB+128GB model and €399/₹28,999 for the 6GB+256GB version. However, the price can differ slightly by market.
Finally, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is an excellent all-rounder tablet if you want one for day-long entertainment while you travel for work, particularly with the pen and keyboard.
