The Redmi Pad SE has emerged as a budget-friendly tablet offering several noteworthy features aimed at delivering a well-rounded experience for work, reading, and multimedia. But does it live up to the hype? In this review, we’ll delve into the design, display, performance, software, camera, and battery life of the Redmi Pad SE to determine whether it’s worth your investment.
Design and Display
At first glance, the Redmi Pad SE impresses with its sleek and minimalist design. The tablet is built with an aluminium frame that gives it a premium feel, despite its budget price point. The rounded corners and smooth edges make it comfortable to hold, even for extended periods. However, at 478 grams, it may feel slightly heavy for some users, especially during prolonged use.
The rear of the tablet is home to an 8MP camera housed in a rectangular module with a dual-tone finish. The matte texture of the chassis does an excellent job of keeping fingerprints and smudges at bay, maintaining the tablet’s clean and polished look. Additionally, the tablet features quad speakers, a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, the Redmi Pad SE lacks a fingerprint scanner, so you’ll need to rely on software-based security options like PIN, pattern, or facial recognition.
One of the standout features of the Redmi Pad SE is its 11-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The screen delivers a solid visual experience, especially for a budget device. It’s TUV Rheinland certified for low blue light emission and flicker-free operation, making it comfortable for extended viewing sessions. The 400 nits of brightness are adequate for indoor use, though the display may struggle under direct sunlight. The thick bezels around the screen might be off-putting to some, but they do help prevent accidental touches, which is a plus in our book.
The display’s colour reproduction is pleasing, with good contrast and natural whites, making it suitable for multimedia consumption. The quad speakers, powered by Dolby Atmos, enhance the overall experience, delivering loud and clear stereo sound. The 90Hz refresh rate ensures smooth navigation across supported apps and the user interface, while the display can drop to 60Hz to conserve battery life when necessary. Moreover, the tablet is Widevine L1 certified, allowing you to stream content in FHD resolution from popular platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Performance and Software
Under the hood, the Redmi Pad SE is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset, coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The storage is expandable up to 1TB via a microSD card, providing ample space for your apps, games, and media files. The Snapdragon 680 may not be the most powerful processor, but it handles everyday tasks with ease. Whether you’re browsing the web, watching videos, or scrolling through social media, the tablet performs without any noticeable stutter or lag.
While the Redmi Pad SE isn’t designed for heavy gaming, it can still run graphically demanding games like Real Racing 3 with minimal issues. After about 30 minutes of gaming, the tablet’s temperature increased by 7%, and battery life decreased slightly, which is typical for a device in this price range. On Geekbench, the tablet scored 415 and 1,438 in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively, indicating that it’s not meant for power users but should suffice for most other users.
The tablet runs on Android 13-based MIUI 14 out of the box. While MIUI 14 may seem slightly outdated, it is expected to receive Android 14 and possibly Android 15 updates in the future. Xiaomi has optimized MIUI 14 for the tablet, including features like gesture controls for multitasking, split-screen mode, and floating windows. These additions make it easier to manage tasks and enhance productivity on the larger screen. The tablet’s interface is designed to present app content in two columns, reducing the need to switch between screens.
Additionally, the Redmi Pad SE includes a Video Toolbox feature that can be toggled on or off from the settings menu. This feature allows you to apply special effects to videos based on your mood and enhances audio quality with Dolby Atmos. Another noteworthy feature is Reading Mode 3.0, which reduces blue light and adds a paper-like texture to the background, making it easier on the eyes for reading e-books or digital newspapers.
Cameras
Cameras aren’t typically a priority for budget tablets, and the Redmi Pad SE is no exception. The tablet comes with an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls. While these cameras won’t replace your smartphone’s camera, they perform well enough for basic tasks like scanning documents, taking quick photos, and video chatting.
The camera UI includes a Document mode that lets you scan documents in three different modes—Original, B&W, and Enhanced. The resulting images are satisfactory, with the option to crop the document for better alignment. Photos taken in well-lit environments show decent detail and sharpness, but low-light performance is lackluster. However, given the tablet’s price point, these shortcomings are understandable.
Battery and Charging
The Redmi Pad SE is equipped with a large 8,000mAh battery, ensuring that you can use the tablet for extended periods without worrying about recharging. On the PC Mark battery test, the tablet lasted an impressive 16 hours and 23 minutes, with 20% battery still remaining. In real-world usage, this translates to about 9-10 hours of screen-on-time with video playback, making it an excellent choice for long flights or road trips.
However, charging the tablet can be a bit of a patience test. While the device supports 18W fast charging, Xiaomi only includes a 10W charger in the box. With this charger, it takes over 4 hours to fully charge the tablet from 0 to 100%. If you want faster charging times, you’ll need to purchase an 18W charger separately.
Verdict
The Redmi Pad SE offers tremendous value for its price, making it an excellent option for budget-conscious consumers. It’s not without its drawbacks, such as the lack of a fingerprint scanner and slow charging, but these are minor inconveniences considering the overall package.
While there are competitors like the Realme Pad 2 and Honor Pad X9, which offer higher refresh rates and faster charging, the Redmi Pad SE holds its own with a well-rounded feature set.
In conclusion, the Redmi Pad SE is a reliable and capable tablet that delivers on its promises. Whether you need a device for work, reading, or multimedia, the Redmi Pad SE is worth considering.
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