Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Xiaomi ’s Poco sub - firebrand has almost become shorthand for gambling - favorable performance on a budget , at least in the smartphone space . Now with the release of the Poco Pad , there ’s a chance to apply that attack to the tab grocery store .
Poco ’s first tablet offer an unusually large and fluent 12.1 - inch 120Hz show , nice build quality , and solid performance at an expected depleted price .
At any rate , depart by the $ 329 guide price that ’s floating around online , the Poco Pad would likely be going up against the likes of theOnePlus Pad Go , the Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite ( 2024 ) , and theHonor Pad 9 in the engorged humbled - mid - range Android tablet outer space .
It ’s middling to say that while some Poco phones have managed to stand out from the crowd , others have blended into the background . So which style will the first Poco Pad go ?
mention : We have n’t yet receive any tidings on confirmed UK , US or European pricing or handiness , so we ’ve refrained from come forth a grievance at the fourth dimension of writing . We ’ll update this reappraisal as and when we listen more .
Design
The Poco Pad is a big tab that tower over likewise priced rivals like theOnePlus Pad Go . There ’s a self-coloured reason for this , in the shape of a vast 12.1 - inch display .
We ’ll talk about this component in more item shortly , do to say that it answer for for the Poco Pad ’s huge 280 x 181.9 millimeter footprint .
At 571 gee it ’s fairly heavy too , and at 7.5 mm stocky it is n’t the skinny tablet on the market either . With that say , the Poco Pad distributes its weighting quite evenly across its expectant eubstance , so it does n’t finger excessive .
Xiaomi has n’t been charm to cheap out or cut weight unit by adopting plastic into the outside body either . The unibody soma is utter aluminium , although the Gorilla Glass 3 front is a comparatively low grade option of fabric by mod standards . You ’ll probably want to invest in a showcase for that alone .
This is n’t the most heart - catching tablet , even within thebest garish tabletspace . Whether in Dark Gray ( the model show here ) or Blue , it ’s a blank ticket with a business - like air .
I do n’t sleep together whether the signature Poco yellow would go at this scale , but at least it would have been interesting . OnePlus manages to do something a little freshman with its pad , so it ’s something Xiaomi should think about for tablet phone number two .
There ’s been an pestiferous miniskirt - trend with these late cheaper tablets for omitting a fingermark detector , and the Poco Pad continues it . Just like theHonor Pad 9and the OnePlus Pad Go , you ’ll need to either bug in a code every time the screen buy the farm to sleep , list on an insecure and flaky facial recognition system , or live the maverick living with no hallmark at all .
It ’s good to see that Xiaomi has fall out the trend of moving the front camera to the landscape side , like theiPad Air 2024 . It make so much more sense for picture calls , which is the main use case for such a component .
Unlike the OnePlus Pad Go , this is very much an at home or in coffee shop affair , with no LTE option .
Screen
I ’ve already mentioned the Poco Pad ’s huge show , as it ’s kind of hard to cut . It ’s at the very core of what this lozenge has to offer .
It measures 12.1 inches , which is the variety of size of it you more commonly see further up the pricing graduated table . It ’s plenty sharp enough at 2560 x 1600 , or 2.5 K , and it also sports a fluid 120Hz refresh charge per unit .
There ’s always a worry with such a turgid and fluid screen that it ’ll prove to be a power hog , but the Poco Pad video display can flit between 30 , 48 , 50 , 60,90 , and 120Hz accord to the task when in the default dynamic mode .
Meanwhile , a 16:10 aspect ratio does n’t make the tab feel totally ridiculous when held in portrait predilection , though it ’s still very much about the landscape .
This sieve puddle for a lovely canvass for media and web mental object . It ’s not wholly unique , however , as the Honor Pad 9 offered the same size , closure , and freshen rate a picayune earlier in the year .
There are a couple of differences in the Poco Pad ’s favour , however . One is that its brightness can top out at 600 nit in in high spirits luminosity modal value ( HBM ) , while the Honor can only murder 500 nits . The other is that the Poco Pad hasDolby Visionsupport , and hence can show more HDR content off in all its glory – something that the Honor Pad 9 does n’t cope .
The Poco Pad ’s four - speaker unit set - up also supports Dolby Atmos , and they put up decent clarity even at loudness . They are a footling shrill though , with piercing highs and not quite enough low end to even it out .
Performance
Whilecheap phoneshave start get surprisingly fast – not least those from Poco – modernistic budget lozenge do n’t always cater outstanding performance .
The Poco Pad does n’t exactly hassle something like theSamsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra , but it performs pretty well within its price square bracket .
Xiaomi has equipped it with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 , which is a slightly downgraded version of last year ’s mid - range Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 . That does n’t fathom massively bright , but in benchmark terms , the Poco Pad hands down beats the OnePlus Pad Go and edges out the Honor Pad 9 .
There ’s a upstanding 8 GB of RAM backing it up , so there ’s ample electrical capacity for multitasking , as you ’d hope from a equipment with such a huge screen and a dedicated ( albeit optional ) keyboard cover .
I ’m a little defeated that Poco ’s first tab has n’t tender a more starkly realised gambling experience , but it still endure Wreckfest swimmingly with the default place setting bumped up a few notches . You wo n’t need to be running Genshin Impact maxed out if you ’re after a playable skeleton rate , but again I was able-bodied to dislodge the options up a few nick to focalize thing up a little .
That ’s passably much essential too . These advanced game look terrible at default small mount on such a huge 12.1 - column inch display , which magnifies all of the rough edges .
Elsewhere there ’s 256 GB of intragroup storage as monetary standard , and you may bolster up that through the bundled microSD slot .
Hopefully you understand how it is with tablet camera by now , but in case you require the TL;DR summary : they do n’t really count , and are only there to facilitate video calls .
This mean that for affordable tablets like this , the tv camera tends to be fairly unspeakable for photos and videos , certainly compared to even the budget selection in ourbest photographic camera phonelist .
The Poco Pad does n’t shake things up , and nor would we look it to . There are a brace of 8MP cameras here , one on the back , and one on the front . They ’re fine , when you accept the above parameter .
Having taken a span of snaps with both cameras , they execute well than expected . But then , as just mentioned , I incline to have very low-down expectation of such thing .
They ’re still bad at taking photos by smartphone banner , with lots of haphazardness and special active ambit , but both can just about be relied on to capture a minute or a selfie ( once you ’ve turned the awful Beautify fashion off ) if the Poco Pad happens to be the only cock to hand . permit ’s just desire you ’re never put in that position .
Software
Xiaomi ’s clumsy and ugly MIUI andHyperOSsoftware has never been a pet on its smartphones , and descale it up to tablet sizing does n’t particularly improve matters .
Indeed , the drop curtain - down control centre computer menu looks almost risible here – a Brobdingnagian ocean of plain grayness bollocks up to 12.1 inch . These menus need pull off if Xiaomi ’s OS is to sense aboriginal to the prominent - screen format .
Of course , there ’s an argument to be made that Android itself still does n’t properly suit the tablet shape factor – not as well as iPadOS , at any rate – so perhaps I should give Xiaomi a bit of a break here .
Especially in light of some of the enhancements Xiaomi has made . Most notably , if you have a Poco F6 orPoco F6 Pro(Xiaomi ’s hope that it “ May support more models in the future ” voice a little noncommittal ) , you may link them up to the Poco Pad . I put this to the psychometric test using a Poco F6 I had lying around , and after a small hassle setting it up ( an automated connexion prompt would have been nice ) , it work more or less as advertised .
After tapping the speech sound prompt that appears on the app prevention , the earphone ’s screen was mirror onto a little side menu . There ’s a sealed amount of retardation and jank when interacting with the phone in this way , but I could cart and drop Indian file between Files apps , and an selection appeared in the Notes app permit me to employ the F6 camera to add a photo .
Just about the only thing that did n’t really work for me was engage a call on the Poco Pad . I could accept the call on the mirrored headphone window , but the mic and audio subroutine did n’t port over . All in all , this Interconnectivity feature still experience a fiddling rough and in need of improvement , and it remains to be seen whether Xiaomi will really hold it , but it basically works in its current state .
More generally , the Poco Pad does n’t suffer from the same bloatware problem as the brand ’s phone . I could have done without the duplicate web internet browser app , and I ’d have preferred Google Calendar to Xiaomi ’s home - brew alternative , but these thing are easily correct . In damage of third party app installations , all you get is Netflix and WPS Office , both of which are justifiable .
Accessories
It ’s deserving noting that Xiaomi is offering an optional stylus for the Poco Pad , call the Poco Smart Pen . It ’s sold separately , so I wo n’t commit too much time or space to it , but as I was send one to test I gave it a whirl .
It work nicely for such a budget tablet curing - up , with 4096 storey of pressure sensitivity enabling a courteous sense of step when using appropriate pen and brush tool in the preinstalled Mi Canvas app . There are two contextual push that do things like switching between pens and colours . A press and accommodate brings up a quick bill or a screenshot tool .
The Poco Smart Pen promises 12 hours of battery life , though you ’ll need to use the USB - C larboard to recharge . There ’s no cartridge clip - on wireless charging supplying through the tablet itself , and indeed there ’s no means to fasten it to the Pad magnetically when not in use .
you may mount the Pen on the Poco Pad Keyboard accessary that Xiaomi also supply singly , but the stick - on mounting system feels rather flash and fiddly . The typing experience it offers is likewise cheap - feeling , thanks to slightly shaky plasticky key , but it ’s reliable enough . There ’s no touchpad constituent , so you ’ll still need to interact with the touchscreen on a regular basis .
Perhaps my biggest issue with the Poco Pad Keyboard is that it ’s a powered accessory , yet it ’s siloed off from the Pad like the Smart Pen , meaning you need to charge it up separately . That ’s three disjoined items you postulate to ensure are charged up if you require the full Poco Pad experience .
There ’s also a remain firm - alone Poco Pad Cover , which takes the keyboard out of the equivalence for all - round folio - style protection .
Battery Life
Xiaomi has equip its Brobdingnagian lozenge with a similarly Brobdingnagian 10000mAh assault and battery . equate that to the similarly sized Honor Pad 9 , which only work with an 8300mAh battery .
Thanks to that sheer content , the Poco perform well . An hour of Netflix play out 7 % , which is superior to the Honor Pad 9 ( 11 % ) and adequate to the smaller OnePlus Pad Go . After 30 minutes of light gaming , it also lose 7 % , which is way better than the Honor Pad 9 ’s 17 % .
This is a pill that will last multiple days of scant use , with the odd bout of web browsing or video call , which is how most tablets are used . It ’s reassuring that you ’ll be capable to watch the odd film without taking a huge dent out of it too .
Xiaomi supplies a 33W charger in the box . That ’s solid for a mid - range phone with a barrage that ’s literally half the content , but not tremendously telling here . OnePlus bundles a like charger in with the Pad Go , which has a much minor battery .
Here it takes just under two hr to take on a full bang from empty , while a quick 30 second splash and bolt only flummox you from empty to 28 % . You ’ll need to spend a small more to get a pill that charges quicker .
Should you buy it?
At 12.1 inches , the Poco Pad gift you one of the bragging screens available in an affordable tablet .
The Poco Pad does n’t quite live up to late Poco phones , which have offered excellent gaming performance on a budget .
Final Thoughts
The Poco Pad is a decent affordable tablet that offers one of the biggest and honorable displays for its budget . This 12.1 - column inch 120Hz IPS LCD makes for a very sound media experience .
carrying out is decent , but this is no gaming car , despite the Poco stigmatisation . Meanwhile I am still not enamoured with Xiaomi ’s package , which could employ a little tab optimisation . Poco F6 Prophone exploiter might be concerned in the Interconnectivity features – they ’re a petty raw , but they form .
UK pricing is still to be sustain , but if it ’s as crummy as I would mistrust – and it does indeed launch in across-the-board market – then the Poco Pad will take its stead as another solid option alongside theHonor Pad 9andOnePlus Pad Go .
Trusted Score
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FAQs
Yes , Xiaomi includes a 33W charger in the loge .
There ’s no UK pricing as yet . Xiaomi has supplied a guide price of $ 329 , though it ’s not usable in the US .
