Review Xiaomi Mi Pad 3: EVEN MORE IDEAL TABLET?

China produces too many tablet PCs that can be used as laptop. Most of them are conventional transformers. Therefore, when it comes to classic tablets, many do not know what to buy in 2017. Especially it applies to Android tablets with a price $149-299.

Fortunately, we can always rely on Xiaomi. This brand is known for its wide range of products. Some days ago Xiaomi introduces its new tablet named Xiaomi Mi Pad 3. At the moment, Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is one of the best choices if you are looking for an ordinary tablet at an affordable price. On our review we look at the design and functions of new Xiaomi tablet.

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Packaging

Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 comes in a white cardboard box with the image of MI logo on the front face. Also you can see the inscription 4GB / 64GB in the right corner. Inside there is a user manual, charging device and white USB Type-C cable. The packaging is the most usual, the same as Xiaomi Mi Pad 2.

Design

As for design, before us is the same metal tablet iPad Mini. Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is available only in one version for 4/64 GB of memory and only in one golden color. Just under the display there are three touch keys: “Home”, “Menu” and “Back”. Above it the front camera for video calls.

The main speakers are located at the lower edge of rear panel, as well as a camera and a microphone for recording audio on video. There is a 3.5 mm audio output on the top and LED flash. As you know, tablets don’t have fingerprint scanners, as well as slots for microSD memory cards or SIM cards.

And the last: dimensions of Xioami Mi Pad 3 are following: 200.4 × 132.6 × 6.95 mm, and the weight is 328 grams. It is really very thin enough, light and portable tablet.

Display

New Mi Pad 3, like last year’s Mi Pad 2, also equipped with 7.9-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2048 × 1536 pixels (4:3 aspect ratio). By the way, all these parameters of the display are identical with iPad Mini. But compared to the 16:9 aspect ratio, the 4: 3 ratio allows you to display more useful information on one screen without the need for flipping.

Also we should say that screen Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is made using On-Cell technology. It means that protective glass and display layer are located so close to each other that the picture on the screen looks great. You can see it on the photos. As it hasn’t an additional air layer, the display provides a more transparent image perception. It is a big plus!

So, we see Xiaomi MI Pad 3 is identical to the previous generation tablet not only with design, but also display. Nevertheless, it looks great, so why should the manufacturer improve what is already perfect? All the changes are inside, let’s move on to specs.

Hardware

The hardware platform has changed a lot compared to Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. It’s hard for us to judge whether new tablet has become better or worse inside, so let’s leave it for you. The fact remains: Xiaomi Mi Pad any version has never received a Qualcomm processor. The first version was equipped with NVIDIA chip, the second – Intel, and Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 has processor MediaTek MT8176.

It is a mobile six core chip from MTK, which is not built on the most modern 28 nm process technology and operates with a maximum clock speed of 2.1 GHz per core. It has two computational clusters with two ARM Cortex A72 cores with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and four cores with Cortex A53 operating at 1.7 GHz per core. Graphics processing is handled by built-in IMG PowerVR GX6250 GPU system with a frequency of 600 MHz.

Many users complained about the performance of Xiaomi Mi Pad 2, especially Android version. The thing was not really in weak hardware (it was powerful enough), but in Intel processor. Software developers “had in mind” users of Android technology with Intel Atom X5-Z8500 processors and simply scored on adapting applications for new SoC. Thus, the apps flew, and some even refused to work.

Thus, Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 on MediaTek MT8176 looks more interesting purchase than “buggy” Mi Pad 2. Moreover, this processor was released in October 2016, and already many software developers began to adapt their applications to this processor. More powerful graphics should provide high-quality rendering and a decent frame rate per second in games. As for memory, Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash memory.

Performance (AnTuTu and GeekBench)

In Geekbench 4 test, the productive Cortex A72 cores allow Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 to score more than 1600 scores in a single-core test. For comparison, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820/821 processors have similar results in a single-core test. In the multi-cores test, it managed to get 3726 scores.

The graphical test produced 2100 scores, which is slightly lower than Snapdragon 650 and Kirin 950. The AnTuTu shows about 80618 scores, which is also quite good, as for the tablet.

Wireless interfaces and operating system

Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 comes in a single configuration with Android 7.0 Nougat on board with pre-installed firmware MIUI 8.2. Almost all functions of smartphones based on MIUI also available on tablet. Make a swipe with three fingers on the display and you will get a screenshot of the screen. MIUI on the tablet looks good, although for some users it may seem too mobile.

Among wireless interfaces, Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 has Bluetooth 4.1 and dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 / a / c. There is no NFC module, 3G / 4G in the tablet. But there is support for streaming the screen to TV via Wi-Fi Display and fast Wi-Fi Direct data transfer (via Mi Drop).

Battery and Cameras

Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is powered by a capacious battery of 6600 mAh and supports fast charging of 5V / 2A. Also here is a USB Type-C port, so you can connect your tablet to PC by either side.

The front camera module received 5-MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The main camera is equipped with 13-MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and can record FHD video. But there is no LED flash at the rear camera. It feels like the same cameras as Redmi Note 3, but without the phase (PDAF) autofocus.

Conclusions

Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is similar to its brother in terms of design. But the manufacturer made a lot of changes in the specifications. New tablet is equipped with a more software-friendly processor, as well as an enhanced graphics core. In benchmarks, it is gaining a lot of scores, almost like the flagship processors Qualcomm Snapdragon 820/821.

Also, Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 has got as much as 4/64 GB of memory, a slightly improved 13-megapixel main camera and a more capacious battery at 6600 mAh with support for fast charging of 5V/2A.

The price of Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is about $316.90 during pre-sales.

Pros:

Excellent display
Powerful specs

Cons:

No slot for SIM and microSD card
Price at the start of sales