Redmi Pad 2 Pro Review | Geek Lifestyle

Recently, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Pad 2 Pro, an Android tablet that promises to be a great partner for productivity and play.

When it comes to Android tablets, users have plenty of options, ranging from budget-friendly devices to high-end models that promise to be capable enough to replace a laptop. One thing to note is that laptop-replacement-level tablets that have a stylus and other accessories are often quite expensive. On the flip side, the more affordable tablets typically don’t have a stylus option, not to mention that the chipsets of these budget tablets are typically not that powerful.

In this regard, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro is an interesting offering from Xiaomi. That’s because it has a range of accessories coupled with promising performance that should make it a great productivity partner for content creators, all while having a price tag that’s still relatively affordable. On top of these, the Pad 2 Pro promises to have great performance thanks to its Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset. This is further complemented by a large, high refresh rate screen, a large battery, and a quad-speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support.

Thanks to these, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro promises to be a great all-around tablet for productivity and play at a price tag that’s under PHP 20k. But does it deliver in actual use? Here’s our review of Xiaomi’s latest Android tablet offering.

Geek-sthetic

To start, let’s take a look at the tablet’s screen. The Redmi Pad 2 Pro features a large 12.1-inch IPS LCD screen with a 1600 x 2560 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. This display’s bezels look slightly thicker than other tablets in the market, but they’re still quite slim overall when you see the display in person.

Xiaomi doesn’t mention any sort of glass protection (like Corning Gorilla Glass) for this tablet’s screen, but the brand does say that it has wet touch technology, meaning you can still use the screen with damp hands. We tried this out, and the screen is still quite responsive even when our hands were damp. Of course, you still should be careful with this tablet as it does not have an ingress protection rating.

From the back, you can see only a small Redmi logo on the upper left corner, as well as the tablet’s rear camera. While the camera setup looks like there are two shooters, there’s only one, as the other module houses the flash unit.

The Pad 2 Pro has a unibody metal design and comes in three color options. The unit we got to review is in silver, and it looks quite nice, though looks aren’t a big deal for tablets, as most users will use one with a cover case or a keyboard case. If you do opt to go caseless with this, the tablet feels nice to hold. Plus, the flat edges give it a grippier feel.

While the Pad 2 Pro doesn’t exactly stand out looks-wise, we do like how it feels to hold and use. More than in-hand feel, what we loved about the tablet is the fact that it still has a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom, right beside the USB Type-C port. Many other tablets (even budget models) no longer pack a headphone jack, so it’s nice to see Xiaomi still add one for this. After all, this is certainly useful if you want to use this as a movie-watching device, given that you can still connect your wired headphones or speakers to it.

Binge-watching Factor

Speaking of movies, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro is a great partner for your binge-watching needs. The tablet’s 12.1-inch screen gets quite bright, and it also has pretty vibrant colors for an LCD panel. Coupled with the fact that it’s quite a big display, users won’t be disappointed with this tablet if they want a device they can watch their favorite movies and shows on.

Then, there’s the tablet’s quad-speaker setup. These speakers can get quite loud, all while having decent quality, though it sometimes sounds a bit tinny with some songs. Note that, as with many other smartphones and tablets, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro has a “Volume Boost” feature that artificially boosts volume to 300%. We don’t recommend going past 100% as the audio quality can suffer. Thankfully, as mentioned above, the tablet has a 3.5mm headphone jack, meaning you can easily connect your external speakers or headphones for a better binge-watching experience.

Gaming Performance

As mentioned above, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, and it’s paired with 8GB of RAM (with 4GB of extended RAM). While it’s not a top-of-the-line chipset, it should still offer good performance for popular mobile titles. It even has enough power to run more demanding titles.

You can run popular MOBAs and FPS titles on this tablet with no issues. For instance, we tried out League of Legends: Wild Rift, and that game ran smoothly at the High graphics quality setting. You can set the resolution even higher if you opt for a lower frame rate. While playing MOBAs on such a big tablet may not be the best experience, this result should mean the Pad 2 Pro will have no issues running less demanding titles.

As for more hardware-intensive games, the Pad 2 Pro does quite well. We tried out Genshin Impact on the tablet, and it was able to run the game smoothly at the Medium graphics preset, all without any heating issues. Even though this Redmi tablet isn’t billed as a gaming tablet, it should have enough performance for users who also want to do some gaming while on the go.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

Unlike smartphones, tablets are not great for photography, given that it’s way too cumbersome to take photos with such a large device. As such, many tablets often have fairly basic cameras, and that is also the case with the Redmi Pad 2 Pro. This tablet packs an 8MP main shooter at the back, along with an 8MP selfie camera.

As you can see in the samples above, the Pad 2 Pro’s main camera shots produce shots that aren’t the sharpest. Low light performance also isn’ the best, as you would expect with an 8MP shooter. Meanwhile, the front camera captures decent selfies, meaning it should work okay as a camera for video calls. For most users though, these should be non-issues, as camera capabilities aren’t a big deal for a tablet.

Everyday Reliability

For everyday use, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro does not disappoint, as its Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset also means you get good performance for productivity apps, as well as for multitasking. Given the large screen, multitasking is also quite good with this tablet, as you get enough screen real estate to comfortably use two apps side-by-side.

The tablet’s HyperOS is a good UI overall, as it’s easy to navigate and packs some helpful AI features like Google Gemini. HyperOS shines when you’re using a Xiaomi smartphone, though. That’s because this OS has great interconnectivity with devices that support Mi Share. With a Xiaomi phone, you can access the phone’s screen from the Redmi Pad 2 Pro, as well as easily exchange files between them.

For battery life, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro does not disappoint. Its massive 12,000mAh battery means the tablet can easily last for a day, even with fairly heavy use. If you only use the tablet lightly, you can even extend the battery life to two days.

For charging, the tablet has 33W fast charge support. While this seems quite fast, the fact that the battery is so big means you may have to wait a bit before it reaches full charge. For the most part though, this shouldn’t be a big issue.

Accessories

For a limited time, each purchase of the Redmi Pad 2 Pro in the PH comes with a free keyboard case, though the Redmi Smart Pen is only available to purchase separately. It would’ve been nice to see this pen bundled, but it makes sense given that the Pad 2 Pro has a fairly affordable price tag already. Plus, not all tablet users would want (or need) a smart pen accessory.

The keyboard case feels quite nice to type on, and despite its small size, I had no issues typing even longer articles on it. Note that you’ll need to charge this tablet via a USB Type-C port on the side. Beside the port is the on/off switch.

When it comes to connectivity, the keyboard is easy to connect to the tablet. Simply turn it on, and go to the Bluetooth settings. During the first time you connect the keyboard, there’s a handy prompt that you can click to find the keyboard. After this initial setup, every time you turn the keyboard on, it should automatically connect to the tablet, provided the Bluetooth is on.

The same can be said of the Redmi Smart Pen, as you connect it the same way. Plus, it also has a Type-C port for charging. Thankfully, it takes a while before it runs out of juice. As for usability, the smart pen feels nice, and while the drawing/writing experience isn’t as paper-like as other tablets, it’s still fine overall given the price tag.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The Redmi Pad 2 Pro is a solid tablet option, especially if you want a device for productivity and binge-watching that’s better than bare-bones budget tablets. Even with its performance capabilities and good display, it’s still priced well below flagship-level tablet offerings.

Overall, the Pad 2 Pro is a nice choice at its starting price of PHP 17,599. It also helps that there is a range of accessories for users who want to use this tablet for creative work.

Redmi Pad 2 Pro specs: