Xiaomi Pad 7 review: Cost-effective versatile premium Android tablet

The accessories Focus Keypad and the stylus Focus Pen make the work, such as creating presentations, writing, drawing digital art, and editing multimedia content, an effortless and joyful experience on the Xiaomi Pad 7.

Xiaomi's latest Android tablet Pad 7 comes with several upgrades over the predecessor. It has bigger display, a tad larger battery with faster charing speed capability.

It is available in two storage configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- with prices starting at Rs 27,999.

I used the Xiaomi Pad 7 for a little over a week and here are my thoughts on the latest Android tablet.

Design, build quality and display

It sports unibody design language with beatifully crafted metallic enclosure and curved corners. It is made of sturdy aluminium, which brings a premium touch the device. It weighs around half kg, but has a slim body. It is easy to carry around with ease. Also, it can confortably slip inside any regular backpack and inside, it doesn't take much space.

It measures 251.22mm (height) x 173.42mm (width) x 6.18mm (thickness).

Xiaomi Pad 7.

Besides a sturdy enclosure, the device comes with IP52 water-and-dust resistant certification, meaning it can withstand accidental water splashes. God forbid, if faced with water spillage on the device, be sure to clean the device with soft dry cloth. And also, let the device dry for at least one hour before plugging it to charge.

Xiaomi Pad 7 with Focus Keyboard cover.

No matter how durable the Xiaomi Pad 7 is, I still recommend prospective buyers to get a decent folio case. Xiaomi offers one for Rs 1,499. If you are looking for a more productive-oriented accessory, Xiaomi offers Focus Keyboard for Rs 4,999.

Xiaomi Pad 7's Focus Keyboard cover.

Our review unit is graphite grey. Xiaomi offers the device in two other colours-- mirage purple and sage green.

On the front, Xiaomi Pad 7 flaunts a gorgeous 11.2-inch (diagonal orientation) 3.2K (3200 x 2136p) display with pixel density of 344 ppi (pixels per inch) and 3:2 aspec ratio. It is a tad bigger than the predecessor (11.0-inch) and supports variable refresh rate (30-144hz), HDR 10, AI HDR enhancement, and Dolby Vision.

It also features quad speakers two on each side (on landscape orientation) to deliver a stereo sound effect. Also, it houses type-C port, and four microphones, which come in handy during video conference call.

Xiaomi Pad 7.

It delivers good on viewing experience. It had a great time watching multimedia content on OTT apps. I spend close to two to three hours in traffic while commuting between the office and the home via bus.

I never once faced tiredness in eyes watching content for long hours. With brightness put the max, the colours appear vibrant. The blacks appear darker and the quad speakers enhance the viewing experience at home.

Xiaomi Pad 7.

The display is great for reading too. It comes with hardware-level blue light reduction feature and hasTÜV Rheinland hardware-level low blue light certification. This helps in reducing the strain on the eyes while reading e-books at night.

Xiaomi Pad 7.

However, if you are outdoors with bright sunlight conditions, you may face a reflection issue.

To avoid such issues, Xiaomi offers a special Pad 7 with nano texture display, which comes with anti-glare and anti-reflection capabilities. It costs three thousand rupees more than the standard Pad 7 version.

Performance

The device is powered by 4nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 octa-core (2.8 GHz Cortex-X4 x 1 core + 2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 x 4 cores + 1.9 GHz Cortex-A520 x 3 cores). It is backed by Adreno 732 GPU.

It can clock a peak CPU speed up to 2.8GHz, which is more than enough to run any popular apps and gaming titles available on Google Play Store.

It comes in two configurations--8GB LPDDR5X RAM + 128GB storage (UFS 3.1) and 12GB LPDDR5X RAM + 256GB storage (UFS 4.0). Our review unit is the latter. The device is smooth performer. It supports most of the popular gaming titles.

It runs on Android 15-based HyperOS 2. It supports several generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) features such as AI Writing, AI Live Subtitles and Xiaomi Creation. With the latter, you can churn out photos with Mi Canvas app.

Just do rough sketch of a cat or a dog with colours, you can describe it and select style of photo. It will develop artistic images, which can used to create a fully personalised digital greeting card to share during festivals or birthdays.

The HyperOS 2 also comes with several value-added features to support a stylus, and a smart keyboard to enhance productivity.

Thanks to deeper integration of software and hardware, Xiaomi Pad 7 Focus Pen works like charm. Be it taking notes, or drawing, the stylus delivers good on natural writing experience.

Xiaomi Pad 7.

The Xiaomi Focus Pen boasts of 8132 levels of pressure sensitivity and ultra-low latency, ideal for precise sketches and digital artwork. It supports Xiaomi Creation AI app.

Xiaomi Focus Keyboard is high quality accessory worthy every penny it costs. It is made of sturdy materials. It attaches to the Pad 7 through strong magnets and instantly establishes connection with Pogo pins.

It supports 0-degree to 124-degree stepless adjustment to view content on the Pad 7 from a comfortable angle for the user.

Xiaomi Pad 7's Focus Keyboard accessory,

Xiaomi Pad 7 with Focus Keyboard.

Be it placed on a lap or on a table, the smart keyboard case ensures comfortable viewing experience. Once the angle is set, it stays in the position sturdily. It can only be moved with a little force.

Also, it features sturdy back-light 64 keys with 1.3mm deep key travel and has 18mm large key pitch. Though it is very compact compared to the regular keyboards, it is very comfortable to type the words fast. Yes, it does take a some time to get used the size, but once you get the hang of it, it is smooth sailing there on.

At the centre, it has big trackpad, which allows users to navigate through websites on the screen. It also supports finger swipe gestures to perform actions.

Users can swipe two fingers from right or left edge to go back to the previous page of an e-book or website or UI of the device. With sliding up three fingers to the top, it will return to the home screen. And, if you swipe fingers down, it will take screenshot of the page. And by pressing on the trackpad and pause with three fingers, user can switch back to the previous app.

To switch between multiple apps, user has to swipe three fingers either to the left or the right side.

With both the keyboard and stylus accessories, Xiaomi Pad 7 is great for writers, creative artists, and designers to work on digital art or novels.

Xiaomi Pad 7 with Focus Keyboard cover and Xiaomi Focus Pen.

The Pad 7 boasts of 13MP camera (with 1/3.06-inch sensor, PDAF: Phase Detection Auto Focus) with LED flash on the back. It is great for capturing documents and with apps, it can be converted to PDFs. It can also record 4K videos at 30 frames per second (fps) and full HD 1080 at 30/60 fps.

And, on the front, it has an 8MP (with 1/4-inch OV08D sensor, f/2.28) camera. It is great for video conference calls. It takes a decent selfies, but it is more usefull for video conference calls. It can record up to full HD 1080p videos at 30fps.

With a big 8,850mAh cell capacity, it can deliver all-day battery life. It supports 45W wired charging capability. It can power up the device from zero to 100 per cent in around 80-90 minutes.

It doesn't support SIM or e-SIM. It is available only in Wi-Fi variant with Bluetooth to pair wirelessly with accessories.

Final thoughts

Considering the key features and the price range, the Xiaomi Pad 7 is a versatile Android tablet perfect for both productivity and entertainment. The accessories Focus Keypad and the stylus Focus Pen make the work, such as creating presentations or editing multimedia content, an effortless and joyful experience on the Xiaomi Pad 7.

It comes in two configurations--8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 27,999 and Rs 30,999 respectively.

Xiaomi Pad 7 series.

The Pad 7 with a nano texture display, which comes with anti-glare and anti-reflection capabilities-- is avaialble in 12GB RAM + 256GB storage configurations for Rs 32,999.

Xiaomi Pad 7 Focus Keyboard costs Rs 4,999, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Cover is priced at Rs 1,499, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Focus Pen will be available for Rs 5,999.