Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 and Mi Pad 5 Pro: New tablets declare war on iPad Pro

With the new Mi Pad 5 & Mi Pad 5 Pro tablets, the Chinese company Xiaomi does not shy away from a direct comparison with the top dog Apple iPad Pro. Technology, features and even the design are very similar to the top model from California. Malicious tongues could almost speak of a copy.

What’s in the Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 & Mi Pad 5 Pro tablets

Design and technology on par with the iPad Pro and at a much lower price – this is the premise Xiaomi seems to have taken up with the new Mi Pad 5 and Mi Pad 5 Pro tablets.

Both models rely on an 11-inch LC display with a WQXGA resolution of 2,560 × 1,600 pixels and a high refresh rate of 120 Hz. The HDR10+ and Dolby Vision standards are also supported. The displays come to a brightness of 500 nits and offer a contrast ratio of 1,500:1.

The Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 & Mi Pad 5 Pro differ mainly in terms of the SoC. While a Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 with Adreno 640 does its work in the normal model, the Pro model relies on a Snapdragon 870.

Xiaomi also borrowed another idea from Apple: Just like in Apple’s tablet, the stylus can be magnetically attached to the tablet’s side and thus be charged. The new MiUI user interface and the keyboard cover are also very reminiscent of the bitten apple.

Other differences between the Mi Pad 5 models

The battery can be charged at 67 watts on the Pro, and the capacity is 8,600 mAh. The tablet is supposed to be fully charged in 67 minutes. The normal Mi Pad 5, on the other hand, only offers 33 watts at 8,720 mAh. A full charge is achieved in around 91 minutes here.

The tablets also differ in terms of the camera: The standard model has 13 megapixels, while the Pro version has 50 megapixels. Both wide-angle lenses are also supported by a 5 MP depth sensor. In the front, both tablets rely on an 8 MP front camera.

The Pro model also comes with a 5G modem and better speakers. Android 11 with MIUI 12.5 interface is preinstalled on both tablets. The Mi Pad 5 offers 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, while 128 GB or 256 GB of ROM is available. The Pro model is equipped with either 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM, which, however, relies on the faster LPDDR5 type.

Prices and availability

The Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 & Mi Pad 5 Pro tablets have only been officially announced for China so far. The Mi Pad 5 starts at the equivalent of €263, while the Mi Pad 5 Pro is priced at a minimum of €329. Details about the prices and availability in Europe are still pending.