Tablets have already achieved excellent value for money. This is what I found out after testing the Xiaomi Pad 6, which at a price of BGN 650 offers a device with which I can work remotely, watch movies and browse websites, while weighing a little more than my phone.
I admit I’m not the target audience for a tablet. I’ve always felt that for my needs, a smartphone and a laptop would provide the perfect balance for me to be mobile and able to do my work from anywhere. I was also convinced of this when I received the Xiaomi Pad 6 for testing, but after a few hours with it I began to hesitate.
Design and manufacturing
In fact, in this price segment I expected to find a device with a plastic body, but I was pleasantly surprised. The model offers quite good aluminum and glass construction, and the case has a characteristic shape with flat sides, which I like. The flat display also facilitates the application of protective glass.
On the two short sides we find 4 stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, and in addition, a USB-C port and a power button are placed on the sides. The speakers are loud enough and can be heard quite well. On one of the long sides are buttons for volume control, as well as magnets for attaching a pen, which will be discussed in a moment.
Display and chipset
The Xiaomi Pad 6 comes with a Snapdragon 870 chipset, which despite being almost 3 years old, delivers high performance and daily tasks are done with ease. I didn’t find a single case where everything wasn’t happening at the moment. The tablet also has 6GB of RAM, which can be expanded with another 2GB virtual, as well as 128GB of memory for files without the possibility of additional.
In fact, I liked the display the most out of everything, which, despite not being OLED, performed very well. It has a diagonal of 11″, supports a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and has a brightness of 550 nits, which is not small at all. I also took some test shots with the camera and I’d say it’s passable, but I’m sure the one in your smartphone would be more user-friendly and take better pictures.
The device comes with a battery with a capacity of 8840 mAh, which is charged at 33W. During the tests for about 5 hours of watching video, browsing web pages and downloading applications, the charge dropped to nearly 60%, so the device can easily last about 10 hours of continuous use. Naturally, if you play games, the battery life will decrease faster.
Accessories
The tablet came with the Xiaomi Smart Pen (second generation) and the Xiaomi Pad 6 Keyboard. The pen can be fixed with a magnet on both oblong sides, which is convenient for charging and storage. It includes two buttons that can be used to scroll up and down through web pages and social networks, and when held, quick links are available to notes and to selecting a part of the screen for a screenshot. The pen does not work with other devices.
I liked the keyboard, and if you often type texts (like me), you will easily get used to it. Computer shortcuts such as ALT+Tab to switch between apps or screens are easy to find at your fingertips, so the overall feel is pretty close to that of using a computer keyboard. It attaches to the tablet with a magnet that’s pretty strong, and includes a tablet stand that fixes it in an upright position with a slight tilt.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a tablet for work or for fun, it’s good to have the Xiaomi Pad 6 in your sights. Its size is perfect – not too small and not too big, with relatively thin bezels and feels solid with that aluminum body. Naturally, it would have been nice to see an AMOLED display as well, but that’s difficult in this price range. I think that in this case Xiaomi has found the optimal formula between a good price and performance.
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