We had to wait three years for Xiaomi to return to the tablet segment, but it was worth it. The Chinese manufacturer introduced the Xiaomi Pad 5, the first tablet of the brand that finally won the global launch honors.
It is a very balanced tablet, priced at € 399.90 in Portugal. It’s not perfect, but I can safely say in advance that it is the best price-quality tablet of 2021. If you want to know why, follow me in this article.
Unboxing and first impressions of Xiaomi Pad 5
From the first moment we look at the Xiaomi Pad 5, it seems that we are facing a much more expensive product. With a construction of glass (on the screen), aluminum (on the side), it feels as robust as a tablet can be.
In addition to the manuals, in the box we find a USB-A to USB-C cable and a charger capable of powering it at 22.5W. Contrary to what happens in smartphones, Xiaomi chose not to put a USB-C adapter for 3.5 mm jack here (port that the tablet does not have). Which will make anyone who wants to listen to music with cables have to make an extra investment.
It is 512 grams and 6.9 mm thick. If we add to this the edges thick enough not to touch the screen while gaming or consuming media, it has a handle that transmits security.
At least in this dark color, the back of the tablet has a certain tendency to like fingerprints. But if you’re like me, you’re going to wear a cape, and that immediately ceases to be a problem.
A screen that shines on everything
The most important part of a tablet is the screen. After all, this is what we’re going to spend time looking at and what we’re going to interact with. For its value, the Pad 5 has an unmatched panel in this price range.
It is 11 ”inches, with a resolution of 2500 by 1600 (2K), obviously being an IPS panel. Add in this 120Hz refresh rate which makes the experience that much smoother. It has 600 nits of brightness, which is enough for regular use, even with light coming from the front.
The gestures work fine, as on any Xiaomi smartphone. If you are used to these mechanics, navigating this way with this tablet will be a real treat. For those who use the tablet for multimedia consumption, it is a real treat. It has support for HDR10, Dolby Vision and Netflix in Full HD.
High performance
Equipped with the Snapdragon 860 (the same processor as the POCO X3 Pro), 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s not much to say about its performance, which is top-notch and practically flawless.
You can do any task that throws you up, be it games, more intensive browsing, or video calls, which have become commonplace in the last year and a half. Unsurprisingly, it supports split screen in supported apps, but you will notice some performance difference from apps like Chrome.
If you play titles like PUBG Mobile or Mario Kart, this is a tablet that you will love. You can also progress on Genshin Impact, but don’t expect peak performance at maximum settings. Unfortunately for me, since the tablet does not have GPS, I was unable to install Pokémon GO. For my FIFA 22 sessions on Google Stadia, it’s great.
Battery that won’t let you down
As I mentioned earlier, this tablet has a 22.5W charger in the box. However, it charges at 33W, which you can take advantage of if you have a charger with that capacity at home.
That way, you can fill your 8720 mAh battery in less than 80 minutes. With the charger that comes in the box, it takes about two hours to charge. What is in line with the competition.
There are only good things to say about your autonomy. Depending on the task at hand, it has the potential to easily last you a full day of heavy use. What is required of a product of this type.
Quality audio, but …
The audio on this Pad 5 is of great quality. It has four speakers, with Dolby Atmos. But if you want to listen to music with wired headphones, you will have to use an adapter, as it does not have a 3.5mm jack input.
Competent cameras as requested on a tablet
Unless you are one of those people who take pictures, this is not the most important detail. The 8MP front camera is what really matters as it will be used for video calls.
It is a front camera that can be called competent and it has optical image stabilization. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sit on the side margin, which makes it awkward to use in a video call with the tablet in landscape mode. This is not an exclusive Xiaomi Pad 5 flaw, and one that I also have on my iPad Air. The 13MP rear camera will do for some emergency photography, but don’t expect miracles.
Missing details
It is not just the 3.5mm jack port that this tablet lacks. There is a detail that can be much more important, which is the absence of GPS. Which prevents you from getting off to install applications like Pokémon GO from the Play Store.
Another detail to keep in mind is that the tablet does not have a fingerprint sensor for unlocking. To compensate for this defect, it has a face unlock. It is important to note that it does not support microSD cards, but 128GB is more than enough for most users.
Xiaomi Pad 5 strengths
Xiaomi Pad 5 weaknesses
Final thoughts
Looking at the market, you cannot find a tablet with this quality for this price. The screen is ideal for watching your favorite series on Netflix and playing your occasional titles. If, like me, you like to play on Google Stadia, it’s great for that too.
The performance is great, considering that it costs less than € 400. Joining this 120Hz processor gives us a great sense of fluidity and I didn’t feel any throttling. Certainly the stylus and keyboard sold separately enhance that experience, but I didn’t get a chance to test them out.
Unsurprisingly, concessions were made to meet this price. In my opinion, the GPS is the biggest. The fingerprint sensor is “replaced” by the face unlock, and the lack of microSD card support for 128GB of storage.
For these reasons, I unreservedly classify it as the tablet with the best value for money to buy in 2021. If you don’t want to spend more than € 400 on a tablet and you want to be satisfied, this is the product to buy.
You can do it in the physical or online stores of PCDiga for the aforementioned € 399.99. The product is available in Pearl White and Cosmic Gray.
Learn more about Xiaomi Pad 5 pricing and shipping at PCDIGA
Xiaomi Pad 5 technical specifications
We thank PCDiga for providing the Xiaomi Pad 5 for testing
