Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro in test: the cheapest tablet

If you’re looking for a tablet for surfing or streaming, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Xiaomi’s Redmi Pad Pro surprises with good performance and features at an affordable price. Xiaomi has been offering mobile devices with excellent price-performance ratio under the Redmi and Poco brands for a long time. With the Redmi Pad Pro, Xiaomi is giving real competition to Samsung, Lenovo and Honor in the affordable price range with a large 12-inch tablet. This test shows how good the Redmi Pad Pro is and what weaknesses it has.

As a 12-inch tablet, the Redmi Pad Pro is about 10 percent larger than 11-inch tablets like the Acer Iconia Tab P11 (test report). With dimensions of 181.85 × 7.52 × 280 mm, it largely matches the Honor Pad 9 (test report). The size is a good compromise between an 11-inch and larger 13-inch tablet. You can still hold it with one hand, although it becomes a bit uncomfortable after a while as the weight of 571 grams is quite heavy.

The workmanship is high quality, the angular housing with rounded corners is made entirely of metal. However, the body can be folded slightly; Honor’s Pad 9 feels a little more stable here. The design is successful; The camera and LED flash are housed in a circular, black element on the back, which gives the tablet a freewheeling touch. Practical: The power button is on the short side and the volume rocker is on the long side. This means there’s no risk of confusing the keys with the solid pressure point. There is no protection from dust and water – which applies to all tablets in this price range.

The LC display measures 12.1 inches with an IPS panel and has a resolution of 2560 × 1600 pixels. The display is so sharp that the pixels are barely visible to the naked eye. The aspect ratio is 16:10, so it’s a bit tall when used upright. It is ideal for watching movies in landscape format.

The image quality is convincing. Colors are clear, contrasts are harmonious, but there’s still some room for improvement compared to the competition. Viewing angle stability is guaranteed in all conditions, even if visual brightness drops significantly at viewing angles. Compared to the Honor Pad 9 (test report), the colors appear a little lighter. If you want stronger tones, you can switch the mode from “Vivid” to “Saturated” in the display settings. The touchscreen responds quickly to input and replicates content at up to 120Hz, resulting in a smooth image for moving content.

We were able to measure maximum brightness around 480 cd/m², Xiaomi actually promises up to 600 cd/m². The tablet is still easy to read outside, but the surface is highly reflective. If the sun shines directly on it, readability is significantly reduced.

An 8 megapixel lens has been used at the back and front. You shouldn’t expect too much from photo quality, but we tend to underestimate cameras on cheap tablets. The Pad Pro’s lenses are more aimed at taking snapshots in an emergency or photographing a document. Image detail and dynamic range are low. At least the front lens also offers Full HD for video chat.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 2 works inside. The mid-range CPU offers strong performance for the price range, making the Redmi Pad Pro significantly better than most competitors in terms of performance. In the PCMark benchmark we achieved a strong 13,000 points – a value previously reserved for tablets costing more than 400 euros. 3000 points in 3Dmark’s “Wild Life” is also impressive for the price. However, this is not enough for serious gaming in high resolution; We recommend using lower graphics details and lower resolution so it doesn’t stutter too much.

Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro in test: the cheapest tablet

Xiaomi offers Redmi Pad Pro with 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM. 128 GB and 256 GB memory is available. There is also a slot for a microSD card to expand the storage if necessary. The connection only offers the slower USB-C 2.0 standard, but that’s normal in this price range. There is also a now rare 3.5mm input for the jack plug. The sound from the four speakers is convincing, but not on par with the Honor Pad 9 (test report).

The Pad Pro uses Wi-Fi 6 for home networks, there is also a version with 5G for mobile use via SIM card. Bluetooth 5.2 with AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive is available to connect wireless headphones (best list), but a keyboard or stylus is also available as accessories. Unlike the competition, there is no fingerprint sensor. Unlocking via facial recognition is possible, but it is less secure against photo fraud attempts due to the 2D technology.

Xiaomi offers Redmi Pad Pro based on Android 14 with Hyper OS 1.0.7 user interface. There are some third-party apps on board, but these can largely be removed. At the time of testing, the security patch was still from August and therefore no longer fully up to date. Software updates should be available for three years. Xiaomi doesn’t say anything about the number of planned Android versions, but an update to Android 15 will most likely happen – but nothing more. Lenovo and Honor don’t do it any better, but Samsung is in a much better position here, with four years on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ (test report).

The battery offers 10,000 mAh. In the PCMark battery test, we achieved about 8.5 hours of simulated runtime at 120Hz. This is right in the middle of our tablet tests. But if you just watch the video, you’ll stay longer. If you set the refresh rate to 60Hz, you can get the most out of it. However, when under gaming load, runtime should be roughly halved. Power supply is not included. The Pad Pro charges fully within two hours, up to a maximum of 33 watts.

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Alternatively, select this Xiaomi 14T (256 GB) and redmi pad pro In Tariff bundle on Freenet For 25 euros per monthyou pay once 20 euros for equipmentthere are 25gb lte in telecom networks (maximum 25 Mbit/s) as well as flat rates for SMS and telephony. If you take your phone number with you, you will get an additional bonus of 150 euros. This means that you will effectively pay 20 euros per month for a period of 24 months. This offer is valid only till midnight today (October 10, 2024).

The Redmi Pad Pro is aimed at users looking for a large tablet at a low price, especially for surfing, streaming, and occasional gaming. The tablet offers excellent value for money. With a bright 12-inch display with WQHD resolution, good performance and attractive design from the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, it offers solid features for everyday use. Weaknesses in the camera, battery life or the promise of fewer updates are tolerable for the price. This is currently the best option in this price range.