Xiaomi Pad 6 in for review

Xiaomi unveiled the Pad 5 in August 2021 and finally introduced its successor Pad 6 a few months ago. The tablet is offered in blue, black, and gold colors, and it’s the blue model that we’ve received at the office for review.

The Xiaomi Pad 6 comes in a white-colored retail box with a USB-C cable, a 33W adapter, and some paperwork. Supporting accessories such as the Smart Pen (2nd Generation), Bluetooth Keyboard, and Smart Cover are sold separately.

The Xiaomi Pad 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 870 SoC and comes with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage onboard. It runs Android 13-based MIUI 14 for Pad out of the box. However, the company hasn’t made any promises about the Android version upgrades and security patches, which is a bummer.

The Pad 6 has a metal unibody design with an IP53 rating, and it is built around an 11″ 2.8K LCD with a peak brightness of 550 nits and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The display supports HDR10 and has a 144Hz 7-Stage AdaptiveSync refresh rate, meaning the panel can refresh at 30, 48, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 144Hz depending on the content on the screen.

There’s also an 8MP camera on the front for selfies and video calls, and around the back is the 13MP primary camera housed inside a squircular island with an LED flash, reminding us of the Xiaomi 13 Pro.

Keeping the entire package up and running is an 8,840 mAh battery charged through a USB-C port at up to 33W. It’s advertised to last more than two days on a single charge and go from 1% to 100% in under 100 minutes. Whether or not that’s true is something we’ll find out in our full review.

The rest of the Xiaomi Pad 6’s highlights include Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and quad speakers. The tablet also supports Hi-Res Audio (wired and wireless) and can be connected to a TV through a USB-C to HDMI cable to display the content on a bigger screen (up to 50″) at 4K 60 FPS.

On the software side, the Xiaomi Pad 6 comes with Split Screen, Floating Windows, and Multi Window features. It also comes with MIUI Smartphone Link that allows users to control their smartphone with the tablet, but it currently only works with the Xiaomi 13 Pro.

Talking about the Smart Pen (2nd Generation), the stylus has a 4096-level of pressure sensitivity and a 150-hour battery life. It supports magnetic charging and draws power from the Pad 6’s cell when attached to it. Xiaomi says a 1-minute charge provides seven hours of battery endurance.

The Smart Pen (2nd Generation) can take notes, paint, and draw. It sports two buttons – the one closer to the tip is the primary button, and the other is secondary. You can use both for scrolling a document or a webpage and long-press the primary button to open a blank note to make a quick note. Long-pressing the secondary button lets you take a screenshot. You can also mark the area with the stylus you want to capture.

The Xiaomi Pad 6 Keyboard has a 1.3mm key travel and 64 keys. It supports custom shortcuts, and the keys are coated with a “special luminous ingredient” to make them glow a bit more in dim conditions when light is reflected from the tablet’s display. That’s Xiaomi’s alternative to backlit keys, which “can play havoc with the battery.”