Just a few years ago, it was hard to recommend an Android tablet. There were few, either disappointing or overpriced. In 2024, neither of those things are a problem. Both Xiaomi and OnePlus have released some good Android tablets this year, the latest of which is the Redmi Pad Pro 5G, which offers a good all-round experience at a great price.
The Redmi Pad Pro 5G has been launched in India with a price tag of Rs 24,999. It is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC and offers up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The new tablet from Xiaomi features a 12.1-inch IPS LCD panel with 2.54K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. As for the battery, you get a 10,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. We have used this tablet for a couple of weeks now and here are some thoughts to help you decide whether to buy it or not.
Design and exhibition
Xiaomi has tried too hard in this aspect. Some would say that it has simplified things, while others may find the Redmi Pro 5G’s design boring. In any case, the Redmi Pad Pro 5G is well-built for a budget tablet. It has a metal body, and it feels solid and durable. It feels a bit thick at 7.52mm (I guess the iPad Pro has spoiled us all), but it’s actually not that thick. Also, at 571 grams, it’s not a heavy tablet, but the weight distribution isn’t that great. Plus, the size is just okay – 12.1 inches.
The only drawback is that the bezels surrounding the display are quite thick. Otherwise, the tablet is fine and justifies its price. It is available in two colors, with a two-tone matte finish on the back, a single camera, and an LED flash. It includes all the basics, such as a USB-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and stereo speakers.
The tablet also features Gorilla Glass 3 and IP52 protection.
The Redmi Pad Pro 5G is an entertainment tablet. For that, you need a big display, and it has that. The tablet features a 12.1-inch IPS LCD panel with 2.5K resolution and support for 120Hz refresh rate. Even though this is an LCD display, it can compete with any AMOLED panel both in terms of colors and sharpness. This is largely because Xiaomi has used a 12-bit panel on the Redmi Pad Pro 5G.
It’s great for viewing content: colors look good, the display is very sharp, and even the brightness is stable. On paper, Xiaomi claims the tablet can reach up to 600 nits. However, in our tests, it reached 459 nits, which isn’t bad at all.
The speakers are equally good and powerful for a good multimedia experience.
Performance and battery
The Redmi Pad Pro 5G is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, which is paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There’s also an option to expand the storage up to 1.5TB using an SD card. I’m not sure if you’ll ever need that much storage, but it’s still a plus. Honestly, this is where Xiaomi has cut some corners. Perhaps, rightly so. Because this isn’t supposed to be a very powerful tablet. So, I wasn’t even expecting top-notch performance or gaming experience.
However, I did encounter minor lags even during everyday use. For example, the tablet starts lagging whenever I open multiple apps. It gets warm during extended gaming sessions. These aren’t alarming issues, but they did affect my overall experience.
Benchmark scores also show mediocre performance. The Redmi Pad Pro 5G scored 539856 in AnTuTu, while the Geekbench 6 scores were 1028 and 2980 for both the single-core and multi-core tests. These were even better scores than the OnePlus Pad Go, which is likely the Redmi Pad Pro 5G’s only direct rival.
As for the operating system, the Redmi Pad Pro 5G runs on the latest HyperOS, which is based on Android 14. There isn’t much bloatware on the tablet, which is a good thing. Also, there are plenty of multitasking features such as split-screen, floating windows, etc.
As for the cameras, the Redmi Pad Pro 5G has a very basic setup: 8 megapixels on both the front and back. Nobody is going to use a tablet to take photos. The main use will be making video calls, attending virtual meetings, etc. and for that, the front camera is pretty good.
Lastly, the Redmi Pad Pro 5G has a 10,000mAh battery. This is supposed to be one of the largest batteries on a tablet. However, I have mixed feelings about it. I played COD for about 15 minutes and the battery drained significantly, at around 7%. About 30 minutes of YouTube streaming consumed around 6%.
It’s clear that the backup battery isn’t as powerful as it’s supposed to be. Moreover, Xiaomi ships the tablet with a 33W charger, which is too slow to charge such a large battery.
Accessories
The best thing about the Redmi Pad Pro 5G is that even though it is a budget tablet, it does have decent support for accessories. Xiaomi has launched a keyboard case and a stylus. Both of these work perfectly with the tablet.
Fina’s verdict
Firstly, the Redmi Pad Pro 5G is not overpriced in any sense. In fact, it offers excellent value for money. For Rs 30,000, you get a pretty decent set of specifications with good hardware support. So, from that point of view, it is a great deal. You can definitely buy it for basic office work, for your kids, or if you just want an extra screen to watch content.
Yes, gaming is one of the things that this tablet is not good at. Also, there are some heating issues. If those are your preferences, I think the OnePlus Pad 2 is definitely a better option. Let me know what you think about the Redmi Pad Pro 5G and keep reading Times Now Tech.
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