Xiaomi Pad 5 Full Review : Undoubtedly the Best Android Tablet in Nepal

If you look at the tablet market currently in Nepal, there’s less to no option if you want a powerful yet affordable tablet but things are changing now. Xiaomi is here to change things. Xiaomi has launched their Xiaomi Pad 5 here in Nepal too and the price is really competitive. 

The tablet features a 120Hz large 11-inch Display, Snapdragon 860 SoC, and more. So, for the last few weeks, I have been using Xiaomi Pad have and here’s the full review of Xiaomi Pad 5 from my side. 

Xiaomi Pad 5 Review- Specifications

Xiaomi Pad 5 – Overview 

Built & Design 

If you look at the current Android tablet market, there are few offerings from brands like Samsung and Lenevo but at this price point, Xiaomi has produced a banger. Xiaomi Pad 5 looks premium from every angle. Let it be its large display with minimum bezels, of its thickness which is just 6.9mm. Along with that the back is made out of plastic but has a matt-like finish which is smooth on touch. 

On the sides, we have a brushed aluminum finish with tactile buttons. Xiaomi Pad 5 features a pretty robust Quad speaker setup with Two on the top and two on the bottom. At the bottom, we also get a Type-C port. On the right side, we have a dual-mic and a magnet strip for the stylus, and on the left, we have POGO connectors for the keyboard, both of which are currently not available in Nepal. At the back, on the top left corner, we get a 13MP camera on a hump similar to that of the Mi 11 series of devices. 

Though it has some flaws like, we don’t get a cellular option with the regular Xiaomi Pad 5 as it is reserved for Pro’s, a 3.5mm Headphone jack is missing, also the tablet lacks the GPS sensor. Overall, Xiaomi Pad 5 is among the most premium-looking and well-built tablets currently available in the Nepali market. 

Display 

Coming to the display, Xiaomi Pad 5 features a large 11-inch 120Hz IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1600 x 2560 pixels, making it a 2K display with support for 10-Bit colors, Dolby Vision, and HDR10 with max brightness up to 470+ nits. This display on the Xiaomi Pad 5, really deserves appreciation. A large \as with a 120Hz refresh rate results in a smooth experience. 

Consuming content is a joy on this tablet. Though it’s not an AMOLED panel so you won’t be getting those inky blacks and full experience of the Dolby Vision. But I can assure you that it’s among the best LCD panels that you can get on any tablet. This display is pretty bright even under direct sunlight, so it won’t be a problem using it outside. This display coupled with the Quad speaker setup results in an immersive experience while consuming content and kudos to Xiaomi for that. 

Performance 

Xiaomi Pad 5 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 SoC, along with Adreno 640 GPU. Along with this you also get 6GB RAM and 128/256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The Snapdragon 860 might not be the latest and fastest SoC currently available in the market, but it is still very capable and more than enough for most users. The device was really smooth while navigating throughout the UI, playing heavy games like PUBG Mobile and C.O.D. I even tried editing 4K 60fps clips from my Redmi K20 Pro on Kinemaster and the device was able to handle it like a champ. 

Something which I really want to highlight is heat management. Due to the fact that the tablet has a huge surface area at the back, it manages heat really well. We never had any heating issues, even after running back-to-back games and benchmarks. Talking about the benchmarks, we did run GeekBench5 on the Xiaomi Pad 5 and got a single-core score of 756, and multi-core scores reached 2684. At the price tag of under 50K in Nepal, Xiaomi Pad 5 can provide you with the best performance and a flagship experience. 

Software 

Xiaomi Pad 5 runs on Android 11 with MIUI 12.5 for Pad on top. It’s a glorified version of MIUI with very minor changes for the tablet interface. But if you install a little add-on of a PC Launcher App by Xiaomi, you get a whole new experience. The PC launcher by Xiaomi is the software designed by Xiaomi for large displays, which is available for a few of the Xiaomi devices by default. We sideload the Apk on our Xiaomi Pad 5, and it provided a PC-like environment on the tablet with icons on the desktop, a taskbar at the bottom, and the ability to run 5 apps simultaneously. So, the MIUI of the tablet needs improvement and tablet-specific features, and the inclusion of a PC launcher by default. Other than that, the software is very stable, runs smoothly and we didn’t encounter any Ads. 

Camera 

Cameras on the tablet are generally overlooked. Talking about the Xiaomi Pad 5 here we get a single 13 MP, f/2.0 sensor at the back which does capture decent images at good lighting conditions as you can see in our samples and is more than enough to scan documents, capturing images of your homework and regular snaps of your pets. You can even capture 4K videos at up to 30fps from the rear setup.

At the front we get an 8 MP, f/2.0 shooter which is placed vertically, it would have been really good to see it being placed horizontally as it would make it easier to attend Zoom and team calls placing the device on landscape mode. Talking about the picture quality of the front camera, it’s better than most of the laptop webcams out there and gets the job done without any difficulty. 

Battery and Charging 

Xiaomi Pad 5 features a large 8720 mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging, though the device ships with a 22.5W adapter in the box. Talking about the battery life, it’s excellent. Even after using it constantly at 120Hz mode, the device provided excellent endurance. If you are not a heavy user and use your tablet mostly for watching videos and social media surfing, then you can easily use this tablet for two days or even more. Even if you are a heavy user, you will end up your day with almost 30-35%v left. Also, the stand-by time on this tablet is excellent. Talking about the charging speeds, with the adapter provided in the box, it will take around 2 hours and 15 minutes to charge this fully. But I used the 33W Xiaomi Charger and the device used to charge fully in around 1 hour and 45 minutes. 

Price & Availability 

Xiaomi Pad 5 starts at Nrs. 44,999 for the 6GB/128GB variant and for 6/256 GB it will cost you Nrs.49,999 and the tablet is available throughout the country via various Online and offline retailers. 

Final Verdict 

Xiaomi Pad 5 is an excellent tablet and excels in most of the departments. You get a premium design with an excellent build, that smooth 120Hz 2K display, flagship performance, and excellent Dolby Atmos Quad, speakers. So summing it up in a sentence, Xiaomi Pad 5 is the best tablet under 50K in Nepal. If you are in search of a tablet and your budget is around 40K, I highly suggest you stretch it a bit and get a Xiaomi Pad 5 cause, you can’t get a better deal than this. 

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