Besides launching the much awaited Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G which we’d recently reviewed, Xiaomi had also brought along it’s first tablet (in over three years) to the local market.
The new Xiaomi Pad 5 officially marks the company’s return to the once competitive market, taking aim at some of the most popular mid-range tablets including the Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Review) and Apple iPad 10.2 (2021) to name a few.
While it’s true that the company isn’t exactly a familiar face in the tablet market of late, but that doesn’t means it’s not capable of launching some of the best tablet. After all, Xiaomi isn’t a newcomer in this segment and had launched it’s first tablet as early as 2014.
At S$449, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is one of the most affordable tablet you could probably get in Singapore. Despite it’s amazingly low-price, the Xiaomi Pad 5 offers a really juicy specs sheet that include a silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, powerful Snapdragon 860 chipset, gigantic 8,720mAh battery, as well as 33W rapid charging support.
This inevitably lead us to question (again) whether the Xiaomi Pad 5 cuts any corner to achieve such enticing price point. To find out, just check out our full review of the Xiaomi Pad 5 as follow!
Design
The Xiaomi Pad 5 is for sure, one of the best-looking slate in the market especially for it’s Pearl White variant that comes with a really gorgeous iridescent sheen which gives off a premium and expensive vibe of an actual pearl.
The adoption of a matte finish for it’s back panel is a huge plus as it helps to eliminate those unsightly smudges that would otherwise tarnish it’s overall appearance. That’s something I really appreciate.
To round out it’s rear package, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is also equipped with a square-shaped camera module that’s clearly inspired by the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite (Review). This module houses a single 13 megapixels wide camera that will probably come in handy whenever you need to take a quick snap of document and share it with your colleague.
Just like Apple’s iPad series slates, the Xiaomi Pad 5 adopts a flat-edged design with rounded corners that looks neat and tidy. On top of that, it’s also furnished with a brushed metal frame which is definitely much preferred over those plastic ones.
Blessed with a slim profile measuring just 6.9mm in thickness, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is also among the sleekest tablet within the segment and is a tad thinner than Apple’s iPad 10.2 (2021). Most importantly, it’s also pretty light at just 511 grams.
Display
Flipping the tablet to the front, we’ll be greeted by an 11” display with reasonably-thin bezels that are just enough for you to hold the tablet comfortably without causing errant touches.
Diving into the specifics, it’s front display is an IPS LCD panel that offers an impressive WQHD+ screen resolution for sharp visuals while viewing photos or watching videos.
This will be accompanied by a super-fast 120Hz refresh rate that promises smoother transition when navigating through the UI or scrolling through a web page. It’s worth noting though, that the refresh rate here isn’t adaptive in nature, so it’s slightly different from what we saw on the Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G (Review).
With majority the tablets getting a standard 60Hz refresh rate within this price range, the 120Hz refresh rate on the Xiaomi Pad 5 is certainly a standout feature that differentiates it from any of it’s competitors.
Adding to the list of impressive features are none other than it’s DCI-P3 color gamut coverage as well as 10-bit color depth that allow users to enjoy colors that are rendered more realistically.
Likewise, with a typical peak brightness of 500 nits, it’s front display can get decently bright whenever the situation calls for it. Hence, you’ll hardly encounter any visibility issue when using the tablet outdoor.
Performance
Under the hood, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is backed by an octa-core Snapdragon 860 chipset which is among the most powerful mobile processor within Qualcomm’s portfolio.
Those who’re well-versed in smartphones should probably know it’s the same chipset that powers the POCO X3 Pro which had received dozens of positive reviews about it’s blazing-fast performance.
As such, it shouldn’t came as a surprise that the Xiaomi Pad 5 too, packs a punch in this aspect with it’s slick multi-tasking experience even when you’re actively switching between host of apps for your daily workflow.
Other than that, the Xiaomi Pad 5 also shapes up to be a nice companion to work with for content creations that involve more resource-intensive tasks like video editing. During the testing period, I’d edited and exported a number of videos that were recorded at 1080p/ 60fps, and was impressed by the buttery-smooth process.
Therefore, unless you’re talking about editing 4K videos, you can well rely on the Xiaomi Pad 5 for video editing too. Not that everyone will use a tablet for video editing, but this is just to illustrate the impressive performance of the slate, especially for the price it commands.
The same goes for gaming. The Xiaomi Pad 5 hardly has any issue running graphics-intensive game titles like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile at default game settings. While performance isn’t a hurdle when it comes to gaming on the tablet, but gaming on a device of it’s size certainly takes some time to get accustomed.
Touching on entertainment, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is also equipped with a reliable quad-speaker system tuned by audiophile specialist Harmon Kardon that brings crisp and powerful audio for a more enjoyable entertainment experience.
Coming back, the Xiaomi Pad 5 also features 6GB RAM as well as an option between 128GB or 256GB built-in storage. For those who’re not intending to download tonne of apps on the tablet, picking a 128GB model should suffice most of the time since photos and videos can be easily synced to cloud storage platforms whenever the need arises.
Battery & Charging
On a day-to-day usage that involves four to five hours of productivity and binge watching, I can easily end the day off with around 50% battery juice remaining in the tablet. That means a single charge can typically gives me up to two days worth of battery life under moderate usage.
On days when I used the tablet more extensively, I still find myself having difficulty bringing it below the 15% mark, perhaps unless I push it’s refresh rate and brightness level to the maximum.
To sweeten the deal, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is also supports a relatively fast 22.5W wired charging which is capable of topping up a completely flat battery from 0 to 100% in around two hours.
Verdict
It is indisputable that the Xiaomi Pad 5 is a fantastic tablet for those on a tighter budget thanks to it’s all-rounded specs that make it a great productivity device which also doubles up as an awesome entertainment companion. For an average user, it can’t possibly go wrong with the Xiaomi Pad 5.
Pricing & Availability
In Singapore, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is currently priced at just S$449 and S$529 respectively for it’s 6GB+128GB and 6GB+256GB models, and could be purchased directly via Xiaomi Official Store over at Lazada.
