Xiaomi Redmi Pad Pro review

Camera

The Redmi Pad Pro has two 8MP cameras - one at the back, sitting alongside an LED flash, and one at the front for video call purposes. The rear one supports autofocus, while the front one does not.

The camera app has been optimized for tablet use, of course and the Pad Pro has Night Mode support.

When lighting is sufficient the 8MP images from the rear camera offer good detail, decent dynamic range and reasonably low noise. The colors have a cold cast to them though and the contrast is lacking.

Rear camera

Video recording maxes out at 1080p and there is EIS support. It share its quality characteristics with the still shots - detail levels are good, but color rendition is far from ideal.

Shots from the front camera have a nice mature processing, lacking the sharpening halos of the ones from the rear shooter. The faces are rendered excellently, which bodes well for its main use of video calls.

Front camera'

Video snapshot from the front camera

Our verdict

The Redmi Pad Pro is an excellent tablet for its €299 price point. It offers a great metal unibody, an excellent 12.1-inch Dolby Vision screen, four Dolby Atmos speakers, and very solid performance.

The Poco Pad is an identical device by Redmi's sister brand and it will offer you an upgrade in storage and a bundled charger for the same price but availability seems to be more limited.

Redmi Pad Pro (left) • Poco Pad (right)

It's good that you have the option to expand the Redmi Pad Pro capabilities by opting for the proprietary Keyboard or Smart Pen, but a trackpad would have made the high price more easily palatable. You can connect a regular Bluetooth keyboard with the same productivity benefits for a fraction of the price. And once you start piling on the extra costs for the accessories, the tablet's value proposition quickly diminished.

The same applies to getting the 5G version - sharing your smartphone's data connection makes so much more sense than getting a second plan specifically for a mid-range tablet.

These aside, the Redmi Pad Pro managed to impress us with its performance. And we do recommend putting it on your shortlist if you are on the lookout for a budget tablet.

Pros

• Comfortable and beautiful aluminum unbody.
• Great display.
• Very good loudness for the four Dolby Atmos speakers.
• Great performance and stability for this class.
• Clean OS, highly customizable.
• Memory card slot and audio jack.

Cons

• No charger in the box.
• Not the fastest to charge.
• The camera quality is subpar.
• Keyboard cover is expensive and lacks a trackpad.