Xiaomi Pad 6 review

Cameras

The Xiaomi Pad 6 has one rear and one front camera. The rear one uses a 13MP OV13B 1/3.06" sensor with 1.12µm pixels. It sits behind a 28mm f/2.2 lens, and autofocus is supported, as well as 4K video capturing.

The front camera employs the 8MP 1/4" SK Hynix Hi-846 sensor with 1.12µm pixels behind an unusually wide 18mm f/2.3 lens. This camera supports the FocusFrame feature - it will keep you centered in video calls by smart cropping on the go. And if another person pops into the frame, the viewing angle will expand to accommodate them and then shrink upon their departure. Neat!

The camera app bears the standard MIUI marks, only adapted to the large screen. The shutter release button is always within easy reach of your right thumb, whether in portrait or landscape orientation, and modes are easily switched with side swipes in the viewfinder.

Camera app

The 13MP rear camera is proof you don't always need a fancy sensor with cutting-edge technology to capture great photos. The daylight shots from this 13MP imager are excellent with plenty of resolved detail, low noise, high contrast, accurate colors and wide dynamic range.

Rear camera, 13MP

The Auto HDR always triggers in low-light and saves good photos with nice colors and enough dynamic range, even if the noise is not as low as we would have hoped. Once you turn on Night Mode, though, you will get photos clean of noise, with improved dynamic range, and more saturated colors.

Standard • Night Mode • Standard • Night Mode

The 4K video from the rear camera is as good as the still photos - detailed, colorful, with good contrast and wide dynamic range. The rendition is balanced and natural-looking.

The 8MP front camera is a very good selfie shooter, plenty wide at that! All selfies we shot turned out well with good detail and contrast, wide dynamic range, and lively colors. We have no complaints at all.

Front camera, 8MP

The 8MP front camera maxes out at 1080p video resolution, and the video is good - the detail is passable, and the subject is always exposed, with good colors and contrast.

Screen grab from 1080p front camera video

Our verdict

The Xiaomi Pad 6 starts at €399 for the 6/128 version and that is one very tempting price. It is a good update over the €329 Xiaomi Pad 5 with an improved aluminum unibody design, higher-resolution and higher refresh rate display, faster hardware and charging, and some great first-party accessories.

The Pad 6 is great for multimedia of any sort, offers excellent gaming on the go, and its 11" Dolby Vision display is great even for book reading because of the color temperature sensor and the automatic screen adjustments. The powerful four speakers with Dolby Atmos add to the overall great experience.

The software, while rather clean, offers excellent multi-tasking options and is quite intuitive. Furthermore, with the help of the Smart Pen (€100) and the Keyboard Cover (about €100) you can even use the Pad 6 for some productivity.

Xiaomi's Pad 6 is fast and powerful, with great display, speakers, and surprisingly good camera quality. Its battery life is solid, too, and the charging speed, even if not the fastest, is improved over the previous model.

Overall, the Xiaomi Pad 6 is an easy recommendation. The reasonable pricetag is yet another reason to like it.

Pros

• Flagship-grade aluminum unibody
• Excellent 11-inch Dolby Vision display.
• Powerful Dolby Atmos quad speakers.
• Great performance and stability.
• Top-notch photos and videos from the rear camera, good from the front one.
• Good battery life and fast enough charging.
• Clean and yet powerful MIUI with superb multi-tasking.
• Keyboard cover and Smart Pen available for purchase.

Cons

• No cellular connectivity option, no GPS, no NFC.
• No fingerprint scanner.
• No microSD slot.