Xiaomi Pad 7 first impressions: Noticeably better

is back with a new tablet – Xiaomi Pad 7. The Android tablet, which will make its debut in the country on January 10, builds on the performance of its predecessor, the Xiaomi Pad 6, by offering significant upgrades across the board. We're talking about a more powerful processor, a brighter display, and more.
While our full review is in the works, we’ve spent some time with the Xiaomi Pad 7, and we're ready to share our first impressions. Here’s what we’ve found so far:
Design and display
Out of the box, the Xiaomi Pad 7 wears a familiar look, sharing design elements with its predecessor, the Xiaomi Pad 6. There’s a squarish camera module, pogo pins that attach with the completely new keyboard, quad speaker setup and a dedicated spot for a powerful stylus.
The Xiaomi Pad 7 sports a sleek metal unibody design with a flat frame. Our review unit came in the Miraj Purple colour, which features a matte finish that effectively minimises fingerprints and smudges. If you are looking for something flashy, there is a Sage Green colour option and for those who have a liking for minimalistic colours can go for the Graphite Grey colour. The tablet boasts an 11.2-inch display, giving it a tall form factor that generally requires two-handed use for optimal comfort.

The 11.2-inch IPS LCD has got a boost from a 2.8K resolution on the Xiaomi Pad 6 to 3.2K on the Xiaomi Pad 7. It gets the support for a 144Hz adaptive refresh rate and the ppi count has also increased from 309ppi to 345ppi.
Other display-related features include DCI-P3 colour space support, Adaptive Sync and 800 nits brightness. The display is complemented by a good quad-speaker setup, which can get fairly loud to fill a small room. Xiaomi says they can emulate 7.1 surround sound.
The tablet features slim bezels around the display, which is essential for comfortable handling and prevents accidental touches. When held horizontally, the power button is located on the left side, while the top edge houses the volume rocker and a dedicated space for magnetically charging the stylus.

The Xiaomi Pad 7 features a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 SoC, an upgrade from Snapdragon 870 on its predecessor. The SoC is paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The Xiaomi Pad 7's rear camera module takes design cues from the company's flagship smartphones, featuring a square-shaped module that houses a 13MP camera sensor and an LED flash. For video calls and selfies, there's an 8MP front camera located on the longer bezel.

The Xiaomi Pad 7 packs an 8,850mAh battery and Xiaomi does ship a 45W charger and cable in the box. The tablet looks impressive on paper, but its software experience will ultimately determine its success against competitors like Apple's iPadOS and other Android tablets. The Pad 7 runs Xiaomi HyperOS 2.0 for Pad based on Android 15, a custom skin with multitasking and productivity features that we'll explore in depth in our full review.
Apart from this particular tablet, Xiaomi is also launching a top-of-the-line variant with a nano-texture display that is said to eliminate 99% of glare and 65% reflections. The company is bringing its updated stylus, Xiaomi Focus Pen, and Xiaomi Pad 7 Focus Keyboard, both of which can be purchased separately.

The keyboard has got an overhaul and is getting a trackpad. Xiaomi showed us a bunch of gestures that work in tandem with the touch screen, which we will talk about in more detail later. The Focus Pen is also more powerful with a support of a bunch of functionalities. The tablet weighs about 500gm.


The Xiaomi Pad 7 makes a strong first impression with its sleek design, vibrant display, and powerful processor. The upgraded 3.2K display with a 144Hz refresh rate is a noticeable improvement, and the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 SoC promises smooth performance.
While the software experience will be crucial in determining its overall success, the Xiaomi Pad 7 appears to be a compelling contender in the Android tablet market. The addition of accessories like the Xiaomi Focus Pen and Keyboard further enhance its versatility. We're eager to put it through its paces in our full review to see if it truly lives up to its potential.