Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro Hands-on, First Impressions

The Xiaomi 15 Series just went global at the MWC Barcelona today, and it is joined by a couple of new tablets: the Xiaomi Pad 7 and its Pro variant.

In this article, we’re going to focus on the Pro version and share some of our initial thoughts about it. At first glance, it looks exactly like last year’s tablet lineup, but it does come with incremental upgrades.

So, without further ado, let’s jump right in!

Design

Right off the bat, we see a familiar design.

The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro retains the sleek, unibody aluminum frame that goes incredibly thin at 6.18 mm. That’s relatively thinner than last year’s Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro that measured 6.26 mm thick. It’s also fairly lightweight at 500 grams.

It’s got a matte finish at the back and the square camera island on the right (in landscape orientation) also retains a similar look as its predecessor.

There’s the Xiaomi branding on the left, joined by the magnetic strip that allows for easy attachment to a folio case or a physical keyboard.

For biometrics, the tablet features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor along with face unlock. Unlocking the tablet is quite fast, and we recommend using the fingerprint sensor because, aside from being more secure, the button placement is comfortable.

The tablet doesn’t have any IP rating, so you have to be careful in handling this tablet around.

Display

Moving over to display, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro boasts an 11.2-inch IPS LCD panel with 3.2K resolution and runs at up to 144Hz refresh rate. It’s a glossy screen with a decent 800 nits of peak brightness and fairly good viewing angles.

The bezels here are relatively slim and equal on all sides.

The tablet has a quad speaker setup, enhanced by Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, and it appears to have four microphones as well.

As for the visual experience, we’ll have to save it for later in our full review.

Camera

For optics, there’s not much to write home about. It has a single 50-megapixel rear camera with phase-detect autofocus and a 32-megapixel ultrawide front camera.

The addition of an ultrawide sensor as the selfie camera makes a lot of sense for a tablet. This makes useful for online meetings or casual video calls.

Speaking of video, the tablet can shoot up to 4K at 60 fps from the rear, however just like we always say, you’re better off using your smartphones to shoot content.

Performance

When it comes to performance, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro does not disappoint. It’s got a flagship-level chipset, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. It’s not quite as powerful as the regular 8 Gen 3, but it does the job well.

Navigation is smooth and snappy for the most part, and if you’re looking to game on this tablet, you can expect an above-average gaming experience.

We did a couple of benchmark tests, and the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro yielded great results. In ANTUTU, it managed to get over 1,474,328 points. The same goes for 3DMark with a maxed-out score in our Wild Life test and 2,933 score in Wild Life Extreme (with 17.57 average fps).

Software and UI

Software-wise, the tablet runs on the latest Android 15 skinned with HyperOS 2.

There’s not much of a difference here from the previous iteration except this tablet gets some nifty AI features for productivity and photo editing.

These features are conveniently found in one place called “AI services” in the settings. It throws in neat tools in system apps like Notes, Gallery, and Recorder. There’s even AI Subtitles and AI Interpreter which should come in handy for those class lectures and online meetings.

Of course, there is Circle to Search as well, but for some reason, it doesn’t seem to work on this build. We hope it gets a fix as soon as possible in a future update.

Moving on, the tablet has this Workstation mode that essentially offers a desktop experience, or at least close to it. I personally like this mode as it allows you to open multiple apps in floating windows.

The maximum so far is up to four windows, and I think that’s more than enough for most productivity tasks.

There’s also the good ol’ Mi Canvas where users can make drawings, similar to that of Apple’s ProCreate.

Connectivity, Battery and Charging

On the subject of connectivity, the tablet supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard and offers convenient accessory attachments over magnetic connection.

Our unit is bundled with the Focus Keyboard cover, and the Focus Pen—both of which quickly paired by just attaching them to the tablet in specific places. The stylus goes at the top part while the case can be attached securely from the back.

Interestingly, the physical keyboard here is backlit and has its own trackpad. Meanwhile, the stylus has pressure sensitivity giving us more control of line weight when drawing.

Battery-wise, the tablet packs an 8850mAh unit paired with 67W of fast charging.

Initial Thoughts

To wrap things up, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro presents a solid package with a slim design, smooth performance, and nifty features that are ultimately useful for a tablet of this caliber.

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 ensures it handles most tasks without issue, while the smooth display and quad speakers provide an optimal viewing experience.

The inclusion of AI features and the Workstation mode are really nice additions for those looking to boost productivity, especially when combined with suitable keyboard and mouse setup. So far, this tablet is looking great!

As for pricing, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro starts at PHP 29,999 for the 8GB+256GB trim and PHP 33,999 for the 12GB+512GB option.

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro specs:
11.2-inch 3.2K IPS LCD
3200 x 2136 pixels, 144Hz refresh, 3:2 aspect ratio
800-nit (global) peak brightness
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
4nm, octa-core, up to 3.0GHz
8GB, 12GB LPDDR5x RAM
256GB, 512GB UFS 4.0 storage
50MP f/1.8 single rear camera, PDAF
32MP f/2.2 ultrawide selfie shooter
Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen1)
NFC tap-to-share (requires Xiaomi Interconnectivity)
Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
Quad speakers, Dolby Vision/ Atmos, supports stylus (magnetic), IR blaster
Xiaomi HyperOS 2, Android 15
8850mAh battery
67W charging (wired)
251.22 x 173.42 x 6.18 mm
500g
Black, Pine Green, Sky Blue (colorways)

Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro introductory price:

• PHP 26,999 | 8GB+256GB (PHP 29,999 SRP)
• PHP 32,999 | 12GB+512GB (PHP 33,999 SRP)