Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 review: Up-and-comer

Phonebook

The Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 doesn't offer a SIM slot and there's no cellular option in the works so there is no dialer on the slate. There is a Contacts app which lets you organize your Google contacts. There's no Directory (a.k.a. Groups) tab here but you do get your favorite people with the option to add others.

Phonebook

Contact info is displayed as a list of all available details. You can edit contacts, add images or details and have countless information tabs available.

Email and text input

There is no messaging app on the Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 but you get two email clients to work with. The standard Xiaomi client has a clean simple white interface with your email folders on the left and your list of messages on the right. You can add more than one account and you get a Combined view of all your emails from both accounts. The Email app can handle Exchange, POP or IMAP inboxes.

Email

Moving on to email, the Gmail app (if included) has handy shortcuts at the bottom of the screen and supports batch operations, which allow multiple emails to be archived, labeled or deleted. The default app supports multiple Gmail accounts, but there's no unified inbox.

Gmail

MIUI relies on Google keyboard for the text input - it has always been pleasure to use and is one of the most preferred Android keyboards out there. On this screen the keys are comfortably large in both portrait and landscape mode. There is support for gesture typing, handwriting and voice input.

Google keyboard