Realme Pad review

Introduction

It was only natural for Realme to launch a tablet. It may have all started with smartphones, but Realme quickly harnessed its popularity and released a number of headphones, watches, TVs, vacuum cleaners, power banks, even a laptop. And that's why it was all but surprising to hear about the Realme Pad.

Just like Realme's smartphones, its first tablet is all about getting the most bang for the buck. And the Realme Pad does look incredibly promising - the Pad has a sleek aluminum unibody housing a 10.4-inch display, four Dolby Atmos speakers and a large 7,100 mAh. The slate works with Android 11 with a reworked realme UI for Pad.

The Realme Pad is a cheap tablet at INR13,999 (about $190/€160), and that's why some cost-cutting choices had to be made - like the Helio G80 chipset with 3GB RAM and 32GB base storage, as well as the basic 8MP snappers on both ends.

Yet, powerhouse or not, it is a robust multimedia device with a large enough display, a great speaker setup, dual-SIM LTE capabilities, a 3.5mm jack, a microSD slot, fast 18W charging for the adequate battery, and a clutter-free interface, of course.

Let's look though its specs now.

Realme Pad specs at a glance:

• Body: 246.1x155.9x6.9mm, 440g; Glass front, aluminum frame, aluminum back.
• Display: 10.40" IPS LCD, 360 nits (typ), 1200x2000px resolution, 15:9 aspect ratio, 224ppi.
• Chipset: Mediatek MT6769V/CU Helio G80 (12 nm): Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G52 MC2.
• Memory: 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM; microSDXC (shared slot).
• OS/Software: Android 11.
• Rear camera: 8 MP.
• Front camera: 8 MP, 105˚ (ultrawide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 7,100mAh; Fast charging 18W, Reverse charging.
• Misc: Optional LTE connectivity, dual-SIM with telephony, accelerometer, gyro, proximity; 3.5mm jack.

There is no stylus support for the Realme Pad, not that we expected it to have such at that price. But we are still mentioning it as it's been somewhat a trend lately.

We are going to be honest and say we are not thrilled about the Helio G80 chipset. Its 2+6 CPU should be fine, but we cannot be sure for the GPU yet. If it can offer lag-free browsing, scrolling, video playback and streaming, then it can surely put our worries to rest.

Unboxing the Realme Pad

The Realme Pad ships within a tablet-sized paper box. Inside you will find that Pad itself, a USB cable, and an 18W charger.

You will also find the SIM/microSD ejection pin inside one of the paper compartments.