Engadget Logo Engadget Japan version Xiaomi Pad 5 First Impression: Finally, an Android tablet that can fight the iPad has come out

The other day, Xiaomi's high-spec tablet "Xiaomi Pad 5", which has been released overseas, has landed in Japan.

Xiaomi Pad 5 is a semi-high-end tablet equipped with Snapdragon 860 in SoC. The 11-inch display supports a refresh rate of 120Hz, and is characterized by the fact that you can enjoy crispy content on a large screen. It's amazing that such a tablet is available at the Xiaomi price of 43,780 yen.

This time I got such a Xiaomi Pad 5, so I will briefly introduce it.

Xiaomi Pad 5 (Amazon)

A tablet that works crisply with any content

The biggest feature of Xiaomi Pad 5 is its specs.

The tablet market is the strongest in the iPad. For this reason, Android tablets for the past few years have been low-priced but only work at a minimum.

On the other hand, the Xiaomi Pad 5 is an almost high-end model equipped with the Snapdragon 860. The performance of Snapdragon 860 is almost the same as Snapdragon 855, and it is said to be equivalent to the high-end model two years ago.

By installing the Snapdragon 800 series, the original god, which is said to be a game that is very heavy and can not move comfortably unless it is a high-end terminal, also moves smoothly. Although the image quality is inferior to the latest terminals, I was impressed by the fact that 3D games can be played on a large screen.

Xiaomi Pad 5 moves crisply and comfortably with content consumption such as watching videos and movies with powerful machine power that also moves the original god, reading e-books, and there is no stress at all.

Xiaomi Pad 5 is fully equipped to enjoy content.

The 11-inch display has high definition of 2560 x 1600 px (16:10, which is advantageous for movies). Although it is a liquid crystal display instead of organic EL, it has a beauty that sets it apart from other low-priced Android tablets that are equal to or better than the iPad.

The bezel is about the same as the iPad and has both ease of holding and design.

Xiaomi Pad 5 is not organic EL but supports a refresh rate of 120Hz. The iPad is a great bargain considering that only the iPad Pro from the 90,000 yen range supports 120Hz.

Also, the sound quality of the speakers as well as the display is not bad. The Xiaomi Pad 5 is equipped with four speakers on the top, bottom, left, and right, and the sound quality is well-balanced in both portrait and landscape orientation. The standard is compatible with Dolby Vision / Atmos.

You can also do simple creative work

Xiaomi Pad 5 can do some creative work as well as content consumption.

A magnet is embedded in the upper part of the long side of the tablet to which the Smart Pen of the genuine stylus that can detect 4096 levels of pen pressure is attached, and the electronic contact of the genuine keyboard cover is in the lower part. At the moment, only Smart Pen is sold as an accessory in Japan. (The price is a little high at 11,800 yen.)

Of course, you can also connect with a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse. In particular, Android can use the JIS layout Bluetooth keyboard as it is, so text input is faster than the iPad.

In the case of I

Read photos from a single-lens camera / iPhone with a cable from the USB-C terminal → Retouch with Lightroom using the large screen → Add graffiti with the photo app → Upload the completed photos to SNS

I was able to do such work with Xiaomi Pad 5. I also wrote all of this article on the Xiaomi Pad 5.

Of course, the Xiaomi Pad 5 doesn't have the ultra-high-powered chips like the iPad Pro's M1 chip, and the number of optimized apps and accessories doesn't even reach the feet of the iPad. However, despite the price of 40,000 yen, I think it is a big point to be able to do a little creative by taking advantage of the reasonably high specifications and expandability.

The rival is a 10.2-inch unbranded iPad

Considering the price setting of 43,780 yen for the Xiaomi Pad 5, I think that the 10.2-inch unbranded iPad (39,800 yen) released in September will be the best rival.

The 10.2-inch unbranded iPad's A13 Bionic has about the same performance as the Xiaomi Pad 5's Snapdragon 860, with different aspect ratios but the same level of display resolution.

The iPad is equipped with iOS that can use AirDrop and AirPlay, and is a very powerful rival with iOS-optimized apps, abundant accessories, and reliable resale value. To be honest, I personally prefer the iPad because I can recommend it for letting go.

However, if you just want to enjoy the content, Xiaomi Pad 5 is enough. On the contrary, there are some places that outperform the MUJI iPad, such as a 120Hz display that moves slimy and a well-balanced quad speaker.

Such Xiaomi Pad 5 is for Android people rather than iOS, people who consume more than produce content on tablets, people who like something different from people, and iPad with high quality and high specs for the first time in a while. I think that it is a model that can be recommended for those who are happy (I am this) that an Android tablet that is comparable to the one has come out.

By the way, please be aware that there is no fingerprint authentication and only simple face authentication, and that GPS is not supported and you cannot play games using GPS.

Xiaomi Pad 5 (Amazon)