After several generations of tablets without leaving China, Xiaomi finally decided to release this format internationally: the Xiaomi Pad 5 is the first of these devices. Good design, quality materials, and undoubted inspiration in the iPad. We review it.
Choosing a tablet tends to tip Apple’s field evaluations; the iPad has become strong in that segment. Despite this, there are no bad examples of tablets on Android; there is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 +, for example. And Xiaomi enters this segment in the best way it knows how: with great features at a reasonable price. The Xiaomi Pad 5 is such that so.
Design: slim, attractive, and inspired by the iPad
The Xiaomi Pad 5 is a tablet that surprises visually, and once you hold it for the first time in your hand: it does not weigh too much; it retains the aluminum frame to give that “premium” feeling that is appreciated in a device with high characteristics and … There is no doubt, Xiaomi was inspired by the iPad family, especially the iPad Air.
The resemblance to the competition is obvious no matter how much the rear face of the Xiaomi Pad 5 sees its materials reduced: the rear finish is made of plastic. Its touch is pleasant; it presents metallic glints in the white color of our model, it does not catch fingerprints and does not add extra weight to the device.
The front is largely occupied by its 11-inch LCD screen. The frames are very small for a tablet, the front camera is in the upper frame, and the biometric blocking methods are absent: no fingerprint reader or 3D facial recognition. Xiaomi does offer face unlock with the front camera, much less secure.
On the right side of the tablet (as viewed vertically) are the volume buttons (above) and the magnetic attachment of the Xiaomi Smart Pen; the top edge shows the power button (right) and two of the four external speakers; On the left edge Xiaomi places a magnetic pin connector to hook the keyboard cover, and on the lower edge the USB C connector and the two remaining speakers are located.
Xiaomi Pad 5
The rear face of the Xiaomi Pad 5 appears dominated by the plastic sheet with the vertical photo module in the upper left corner. The general appearance exudes attractiveness, elegance, and very good finishes: the Xiaomi Pad 5 surprises better in terms of design.
The finishes are very good even despite the plastic on the back. Quality is appreciated at all times.
It is not very annoying during use since its weight is not exaggerated, but it does make it uncomfortable to hold it for a long time (reading in bed, for example). On the outside, it gives the hit as a high-end tablet. It can even be mistaken for an iPad, as it happened when we left the device to friends and family.
Screen: large diagonal as a flag, high refreshment as a weapon
Xiaomi Pad 5
Although the design clarifies Xiaomi’s intentions to aim for the highest range, in terms of screen, it maintains the balance in panel performance while raising details that strengthen the fluidity of the device. There you have the 120 Hz refresh rate, a feature that is appreciated while traveling on websites and social apps, for example.
The 11-inch diagonal corresponds to an IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. It offers a high maximum brightness for a tablet (500 nits), it allows the visualization of the content outdoors as long as it is not directly affected by light, the automatic changes in brightness are somewhat lazy, the minimum brightness is very high for twilight situations (At night it is annoying to use the tablet, even with reading mode), the LED reflects the screen evenly, and there is a certain lack of clarity with the naked eye.
Xiaomi Pad 5
Xiaomi calibrates its Pad 5 with somewhat cold tones as standard, and there is also a certain saturation in the colors. From the screen settings, you can customize the temperature and color reproduction, although the screen’s density cannot be reduced: the icons look very large on the screen, there is also plenty of space on the interface.
The screen does not allow the size of the items to be varied from the settings (panel density). Yes, it can be reduced from the density setting in the developer settings.
We have not encountered any graphical problems using the Xiaomi Pad 5:
- The system works very smoothly.
- The animations look great.
- The touch control does not pose any problem.
The viewing angles are good. And the tactile use is complemented by the Xiaomi Smart Pen, the stylus compatible with the Pad 5.
We will talk about it later.
Power: an Android tablet suitable even for “gamers.”
Xiaomi Pad 5
Opting for an Android tablet usually implies a certain sacrifice if the buyer decides to focus on power. In general, these devices do not usually offer a processor with high characteristics. And, if it is included, the price rises accordingly.
Xiaomi manages to maintain the balance between the power of the chosen processor and the final price of the tablet. There’s the more than decent Snapdragon 860, an SoC that can chew on high-end graphics like jelly beans. This is appreciated when playing games like Genshin Impact; for example, the Xiaomi Pad 5 supports the highest settings without compromising the operation.
It is powerful, very fast, stable, the fluidity when moving the interface and the jump between applications is high and, on the contrary, we have not appreciated a high temperature, not even during long gaming sessions: although it does get hot, in no case does it get hot. To be annoying. The Xiaomi Pad 5 dissipates the heat from the processor well. Also, that generated during charging.
A biometric security system is greatly missed, even if it was a capacitive fingerprint reader on the side. For the rest, it is a tablet with which multimedia content is greatly enjoyed, both movies and series, and games. The Xiaomi Pad 5 is perfect for gaming, for example. And not only for its graphic capacity.
Sound: unbeatable in its price segment
Xiaomi Pad 5
Offering four external speakers already leaves indications that the Xiaomi Pad 5 does not leave the sound to change. Quite the contrary:
- External audio is powerful.
- The bass is boosted, does not distort excessively at maximum volume.
- Dolby Atmos support brings improvements in surround sound capabilities.
Watching a movie without headphones is a joy.
There is no major problem in terms of external audio, neither by power nor by quality: we have measured a maximum of 93 dB of sound pressure at about three centimeters from the tablet without distortions appearing in the music.
Sound from the external speakers is powerful, clear, somewhat sharp at high volume, and with hardly any distortion. The sound experience is up to the task.
Although the four speakers stand out on their own merits, there is an absence that ends up subtracting points from the Xiaomi Pad 5: lacking a 3.5 mm Jack. To listen to the tablet with headphones, you have to choose a USB C adapter (the DAC is in the device) or connect a Bluetooth headset. In both cases, the audio quality is good: clear, balanced, with just the right bass boost, and compatible with Hi-Res sound.
Xiaomi Pad 5
The sound settings offer activation of Dolby Atmos and customization of the equalization with a 10-band equalizer (includes presets). In addition, Xiaomi includes improvements for its headphones with the “Mi Sound” menu in the sound settings of the tablet.
The compatibility with Bluetooth codecs is very wide: apart from the SBC and AAC, the Xiaomi Pad 5 includes aptX (“normal,” HD, Adaptive, and TWS +), LDAC, and LHDC.
