Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro review

Design, build quality, handling

Even if the Redmi Pad Pro is among the more affordable tablets out there it features an aluminum unibody. So while its looks aren't significantly different from the majority of its peers, it does have an edge when it comes to materials.

The screen has a flat piece of Gorilla Glass 3 on top of it. The frame and the rear side are also all flat. We have the blue colorway for review here, but you can also opt for dark gray and mint green options.

The tablet has no ingress protection, not that you can reasonably expect that in this price range.

The large 12.1-inch IPS LCD screen occupies most of the front, naturally. It has no interruptions and the bezel is reasonably thick. The panel offers 120 Hz refresh rate, 12-bit color depth and Dolby Vision support.

An 8MP camera is embedded in the top bezel (when you are holding the Redmi Pad Pro in landscape orientation), enabling video calls and, in case you really don't have anything better at hand, serving for selfie purposes.

The metal back is quite nice with its matte finish. There are two protruding rings for the 8MP rear camera and the LED flash, which weren't really neccessary as the sensor is tiny, but we guess Xiaomi decided the tablet looks better that way.

There are four speakers on the Redmi Pad Pro - two on each of the short sides. They are Dolby Atmos certified and complement the Dolby Vision screen.

Also, on the short sides you will find the Power/Lock key on one end, and the USB-C port and the 3.5mm audio jack on the other.

The tablet has two mics and a microSD slot on one of its longer sides (the top one if you hold it the way it's meant to).

The tablet measures 280 x 181.9 x 7.5 mm and weighs 571 grams, neither of which is an extraordinary number for the display size.

In short, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro is a tablet made by the book - a slim metal unibody that makes for excellent comfort and grip and usability, no notches on the display, a promising speakers' set and a big battery. A solid start then, let's see if the optional accessories are worth getting.

Accessories

€30 get you the Redmi Pad Pro Cover - a simple but rugged cover that lets the tablet stand on its own in landscape mode.

The Cover also contains a detachable Smart Pen holder. This is handy if you decided on buying the stylus as there are no magnetic spots on the tablet itself.

The Redmi Pad Pro Keyboard case is your next option priced at €100. It is your typical keyboard cover that doubles as a stand. There is no touchpad on it, though.

The Keyboard Cover has an integrated battery and charges via a USB-C port. It connects to the tablet over Bluetooth. Depending on market it has 64 or 65 keys with super nice tactile feedback.

The Keyboard Cover also contains two detachable smart pen holders, but has no backlighting.

Finally, there's the Redmi Smart Pen for €70. It has two buttons and charges via USB-C port placed near around its back end. The Pen works great for writing and drawing, supporting 4,096 pressure levels. The 240Hz touch sampling rate of the screen enhanced by Xiaomi's prediction algorithm, means you can achieve excellent results if you have decent drawing skills.

You can even write with the screen switched off or use the Pen to take instant screenshots.