Xiaomi Pad 6 has been launched as a new Android tablet under Rs. 30,000 in India, replacing the Pad 5 (Review), which was launched last year. The Pad 6 has some big things going for it, as its predecessor got most things right by offering value-for-money hardware at an attractive price. The new mid-range tablet has received some incremental upgrades over the outgoing model such as a smoother display, larger battery, and faster processor. To make the experience more productive, some assistive tools are also available.
With all these offers, is the Xiaomi Pad 6 a good deal? Here’s our full review to help you decide.
Xiaomi Pad 6 has larger bezels around the display
Xiaomi Pad 6 price in India
Xiaomi Pad 6 starts at Rs. The base variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced at Rs 26,999. The company sent us an 8GB RAM variant with 256GB storage, which is priced at Rs. 28,999. The top-end option of the Pad 6 gets more RAM at the same price as last year’s Pad 5. The tablet is available in two color options – Graphite Gray and Mist Blue.
Xiaomi has also launched the Smart Pen (Gen 2) for Rs. 5,999 and a keyboard case for Rs. 4,999. A cover case is also available for Rs. 1,499. To sweeten the deal, the Pad 6 can be purchased as a bundle that includes a combination of these accessories, making the effective price slightly lower than what you’d pay if you bought them individually. Decreases.
For example, the 6GB RAM variant with keyboard and smart stylus is priced at Rs. Whereas the price of 8GB RAM variant will be Rs 34,997. 36,997. There are also standalone bundle offers on the Smart Stylus and Smart Case.
Xiaomi Pad 6 speakers are quite loud
Design and display of Xiaomi Pad 6
Xiaomi has made some changes to the design of the Pad 6 that help in giving it a premium look and feel. Xiaomi Pad 6 continues to feature a flat frame design. Unlike the Pad 5, which had a plastic rear and a metal frame, the Pad 6 has an all-metal unibody design. The company has also managed to make the tablet slightly lighter at 490 grams, while measuring 6.51 mm in thickness.
The camera module design seems to be inspired by the Xiaomi 13 Pro (Review), the company’s flagship smartphone in India. Admittedly, the quality of the cameras is nowhere near the same between the two devices and the Pad 6 only has one camera sensor on the back. The bezels around the display are thick enough that you can hold the tablet comfortably. The front camera is placed top-center along the length of the bezel, which is perfect for video calls.
The Xiaomi Pad 6 features an 11-inch IPS LCD like its predecessor, but the resolution and refresh rate technology has received an upgrade. It now supports an adaptive 144Hz refresh rate and the screen is able to adjust it between 30Hz and 144Hz depending on the on-screen content. During my time with the tablet, I only saw the refresh rate go up to 120Hz (Smart Switch mode), which is quite comfortable in itself.
Xiaomi Pad 6’s keyboard accessory doesn’t feature a trackpad
The display also offers 2.8K screen resolution (2,880×1,800 pixels) with support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR certification. Indoors the display offers good brightness, colors and viewing angles, but outdoors in strong sunlight, I sometimes felt squinting when trying to view content due to the reflective panel. The maximum rated brightness of the display is 550 nits, which could have been higher. Completing the multimedia experience is the quad-speaker setup, which is quite loud and produces a good amount of bass. It also supports Dolby Atmos.
Like the Xiaomi Pad 5, the Pad 6 does not get a side-mounted fingerprint scanner or a 3.5mm headphone jack. The tablet has a USB Type-C port on the bottom that supports the USB 3.2 standard, which is good to see considering the more expensive OnePlus Pad (Review) has a USB 2.0 port. The Pad 6 also supports video-out on 4K monitors and even though not everyone needs this feature, the fast USB 3.2 standard should ensure fast data transfer speeds, which content creators can appreciate.
Another productivity-focused feature is support for two new peripherals. The Xiaomi Pad 6 supports the Smart Pen (2nd generation) and a keyboard cover. The latter can be connected using three pogo pins on the back of the tablet. This attachment is not as strong as the magnetic keyboard for the iPad 10th generation (Review). The Pad 6 fell out when I tried to pick it up using the keyboard. It also doesn’t have a trackpad.
However, the major journey is good. Xiaomi has also used a luminescent coating for the letters and symbols on the keyboard so that they glow in the dark, making it a cheaper alternative to backlighting. The smart pen is quite responsive and offers a number of features, which we will discuss in the performance section of this review.
Xiaomi Pad 6 has an 11-inch display
Xiaomi Pad 6 specifications and software
The Xiaomi Pad 6 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, which is a few years old but still quite capable. The tablet does not offer storage expansion support via a microSD card slot. It also has a powerful 8,840mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging.
In terms of software, the Xiaomi Pad 6 boots Android 13-based MIUI 14 for the pad software. The custom Android skin is quite clean and offers a good amount of features that contribute well to most productivity and personalization needs.
Xiaomi has also provided several software features that take advantage of the larger screen, such as floating windows and split-screen. The latter requires you to open the primary app and perform a three-finger swipe from left to right on the display to open another compatible app. The software also gives you the option to pair apps and save them as an icon on the homescreen so that both can be opened with a single tap.
Some apps like JioCinema are still yet to be optimized for landscape mode
Xiaomi has also made sure that its own apps are optimized for the 16:10 aspect display. It has also worked with some developers of popular apps for this. For example, the homescreen of the Disney+ Hotstar app can also be viewed in landscape mode, which was not possible while reviewing the Redmi Pad (Review).
However, there are many popular apps that have not yet been optimized for larger screens, although this is more of an Android problem than Xiaomi. For example, Jio Cinema shows gray bars when you open the app in landscape mode, and Twitter and Instagram are simply enhanced versions of the mobile apps.
Regarding updates, Xiaomi has promised to provide three major MIUI versions for the Pad 6, but has not revealed whether these updates will include the new Android generation and for how many years it will be supported.
Xiaomi Pad 6 performance and battery life
The SoC in the Xiaomi Pad 6 still has enough power to handle most tasks, including gaming. I played BGMI and Asphalt 9: Legends on the Xiaomi Pad 6 and the performance was quite good. My issue was related to grip and comfort while holding the device to play games. I found the large screen and flat edges a bit inconvenient for playing games like BGMI, which require a lot of touch input. If you have a Bluetooth controller, the tablet can provide a fun gaming experience.
The Xiaomi Pad 6 has some software features to take advantage of the larger display
During my week with the device, I didn’t encounter any major bugs in the interface. RAM management is quite good in the 8GB variant. The tablet scored 755,321 points in AnTuTu (v10). It scored 1,308 and 3,371 points in single-core and multi-core tests in Geekbench 6.
Talking about smart pen, the stylus is quite responsive. There is no noticeable lag between input and output on the screen. The pen is also pressure sensitive, allowing you to draw a darker/thicker line in the Notes app if you press harder. The primary button on the pen can be long pressed to quickly open the Notes app. You can also use the pen to navigate between different writing and erasing tools. The secondary button can be used to take a screenshot. Additionally, you can also use it to scroll vertically on a webpage in Chrome.
The Xiaomi Pad 6 has three pogo pins on the back for keyboard accessories.
In terms of battery life, the Xiaomi Pad 6 can last a whole day on Wi-Fi with a little gaming. On the days that I played BGMI for more than an hour, the average screen-on time (SOT) was about seven hours. On days with light usage, SoT was around 8 hours and 30 minutes. In our HD video battery loop test, the Xiaomi Pad 6 lasted 12 hours and 4 minutes, which was surprisingly average. The device takes about an hour and 45 minutes to charge from 0-100 percent using the bundled 33W adapter.
Xiaomi’s smart pen can be charged magnetically and is claimed to last for around 150 hours on a full charge, which is a huge upgrade compared to the previous generation’s claimed output of just eight hours . Xiaomi claims that charging the new stylus for one minute should give users seven hours of battery life.
Xiaomi Pad 6 cameras
The Xiaomi Pad 6 sports a 13-megapixel camera on the back, whose main purpose is to scan documents. For photography, the output is good with good colors and dynamic range.
The camera module design of Xiaomi Pad 6 is similar to that of Xiaomi 13 Pro
For selfies and video calls, there is an 8-megapixel front camera that does a good job with colors and exposure in adequate light. It adds facial beauty filters by default. The camera offers support for Focus Frame, which is Xiaomi’s version of Apple’s Center Stage. This feature currently works on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger video calls where it tracks your face and adjusts the frame accordingly so that you are always in the center.
Rear and front camera samples of Xiaomi Pad 6 (tap to view full size)
decision
The Xiaomi Pad 6 ticks all the boxes when it comes to offering a seamless, value-for-money Android tablet experience. The advanced design, sharp display, powerful display unit and all-day battery life comes without attracting any additional cost compared to the older model, which is a big plus point. However, it’s been a full year since we received the Pad 5 and it would have been nice if the new model had a more recent processor. Things like a fingerprint sensor are still missing and there’s no cellular model either. And finally, we expected better battery life, especially for video playback.
The Xiaomi Pad 6 can also be used as a productivity machine with a set of optional accessories and with the bundle offers, it will actually cost less than something like the OnePlus Pad (Review). The latter is a more premium tablet that also costs a little more and may be worth increasing your budget if you want a more unique looking tablet, better processing power and good accessories.
