Laptops can have the same hardware as a powerful home computer. But they offer this power in a portable form, and for that reason, they are gadgets that are hard to replace. To solve the challenges of working with mobile phones, laptops provide the user with a much larger screen, physical keyboard, multiple ports, and extensive communication capabilities, and they handle complex and heavy tasks well; Whether you are a professional programmer, a video editor or a gamer.

Of course, the “special work” of each user can be different depending on the job or hobby of each person. You may be a professional reader who has decided to buy e-books instead of paper books; Or the mobile gamer who feels that the dimensions of the phone cannot develop all his talents in Call of Duty Mobile and needs a device with a larger screen for this. Or an employee who spends a large part of his daily activity reading e-mails, managing the flow of projects, and participating in video conferences, and needs a more specialized device than a phone, but more portable than a laptop to do these things.

But as much as iPads are successful in filling this technological gap, Android tablets are not welcomed by users. According to the latest statistics, in February 2024, Apple had more than 54% of the tablet market, followed by Samsung with 27% and Amazon with 3%. This statistic clearly shows that many users believe that “an Android tablet is just an Android phone with bigger dimensions”.

2023 was a relatively busy year for the Xiaomi tablet unit. Xiaomi Pad 6, Xiaomi Pad SE, Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro, and Xiaomi Pad 6 Max were the tablets that were introduced by the Chinese company and now it is time for the first model of 2024. The Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro is a device introduced to compete with the iPad Air 2022 and the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and aims to show that Android tablets are much more useful than you might think.

Although Samsung and Apple tablets share many similarities, the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro bears an undeniable resemblance to the iPad Pro. The aluminum body and frame with low bezels around the display and perhaps most importantly, the square-shaped camera island on the back of the device are undoubtedly reminiscent of the iPad Pro. Of course, considering Apple’s very high share of the tablet market, Xiaomi seems to have made the right decision regarding the design inspiration of the 6S Pro pad from iPads.

You probably also agree that years of using smartphones with glass bodies have made us forget the feeling of holding aluminum gadgets. But as soon as you hold the pad of the 6S Pro, the memories of the past come alive and you can again experience the pleasant feeling of touching a body with cold metal.

Although this number is by no means negligible, you should not forget that both Apple and Samsung tablets are 10.9 inches (against the 12.4-inch screen of the Xiaomi tablet). However, in the world of tablets and according to the size and model of the use of these gadgets, the weight is higher, much more than 1.5 inches, and the screen is bigger. The result of this greater weight is faster hand fatigue during work and the greater tendency of the user to place the tablet on a surface such as a table.

Borrowing from Apple’s design can be seen even in the location of the device’s physical keys. You can find the volume keys on the top right edge of the tablet, and the power key is located on the right corner of the top edge of the device, just like the iPad Air. As expected, this key also plays the role of a fingerprint sensor.

Around the body, you can also see a set of 6 stereo speakers of Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro. This set not only helps produce loud and clear sound in different audio frequencies but also supports Dolby Atmos, giving you a better experience while watching movies and video conferences. Of course, there are probably very few users who still prefer to hear the sound of the movie through the tablet speakers instead of using Bluetooth hands-free! Also, there is no news about the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

More than 85% of the device’s front view is covered by its 12.4-inch screen. The screen-to-body ratio in the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro is almost 4% higher than the same figure in the iPad Air and Galaxy Tab S9 FE, and Xiaomi should be given credit for its effort in reducing the screen margins. Of course, this issue can be looked at from a different angle.

When you hold a tablet in your hand, you need space around the screen to place your fingers. This procedure is unlike smartphones, in which mainly the hand that is behind and the finger that is placed under the phone are also responsible for protecting it. As a result, reducing the bezels around the screen of a tablet too much is probably not a very good decision. However, Xiaomi has decided to take a little risk and move a few more steps towards the limit and ultimate convenience of using a tablet.

Perhaps the use of a relatively high-quality screen has made Xiaomi accept the risk of reducing the margins around it in order to expose the screen in the best way to the users. The screen of Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro is IPS LCD type with 3K resolution, the maximum announced brightness is 900 nits and the refresh rate is 144 Hz, which is much higher than the 60 and 90 Hz screens of Apple and Samsung.

Of course, the IPS LCD screen and its similarity with the panel of competitors of the same price do not disappoint us, but maybe you also expect to see an OLED panel on a tablet with the specifications and of course the price of Pad 6S Pro.

The pixel density of 295 ppi is another strength of this display, but the best aspect ratio should still be given to the iPad Air. It seems that the 4:3 aspect ratio in Apple tablets provides users with the best possible mode for using a tablet. While the 3:2 aspect ratio on the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro is much better than the weird 16:10 that many other tablets (including Samsung’s) use, it’s still a step down from iPads in terms of usability.

Read more: Motorola Edge 50 Pro review, technical specifications

As you can see in the table, contrary to Xiaomi’s claim of a maximum brightness of 900 nits, in Zoomit tests the maximum brightness of the Pad 6S Pro screen in HDR mode is about 780 nits. Although under normal conditions, screen brightness is not a problem, when playing video or working with the device under sunlight, this point should be considered.

On the other hand, the accuracy of the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro screen should be considered one of the strengths of this tablet. The coverage of more than 99% of the sRGB color space and nearly 98% of the DCI-P3 color space and an error of less than 5% in both modes indicate the production of accurate colors in this display, which will be a positive point for those interested in watching video content.

Another noteworthy point about the display is the ability to adjust the temperature and brightness of the screen based on environmental conditions, which makes the tablet a suitable option for those interested in reading.

Despite the acceptable technical performance of the screen in Pad 6S Pro, it seems that the distance between the protective glass of the screen and the panel is a little high; For this reason, a little shadow can be seen on the edges of the page. If you have sharp eyes, such an issue may get on your nerves while working with a tablet.

Unlike Samsung, which has used the disappointing Exynos 1380 chipset for its representative in this price range, Xiaomi has gone to a more powerful competitor to challenge the iPad Air equipped with the M1 chipset. The SD 8 Gen 2 chip is the mastermind of the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro, which can easily turn the Chinese tablet into a tool to accomplish any task with any level of complexity and technical power required.

In terms of processing performance, Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro has recorded acceptable results as an Android tablet, but there are controversial points in the benchmark results of this tablet that cannot be simply ignored. First of all, the Xiaomi tablet’s chipset is a few steps below Apple’s M1. By comparing the numbers recorded by the Pad 6S Pro with the benchmark results of the iPad Pro 2021 (which uses the same M1 chip used in the iPad Air 2022), you can clearly see the difference in performance.

Aside from the benchmark results, one thing to note is that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will handle almost anything, and there is probably no usage scenario that will cause the device’s chip to hang or feel weak.

The UFS 4.0 storage space makes the speed of reading and writing information no less than the best tablets on the market. The Pad 6S Pro in the basic configuration offers 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space, which was also available to Zoomit for review. In addition, except for this model, users will also be able to choose versions with 12 or 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB or 1 TB of storage space.

When we talk about the hardware power of the tablet, it is not bad to keep in mind that unlike Samsung and even Apple, Xiaomi’s user interface does not provide the user with special features for multitasking, and features such as the ability to open four windows at the same time. In Workstation mode, they do not put any special pressure on the device. With this account, it can be said that the processing power of SD 8 Gen 2 for Xiaomi tablet is considered “Overkill” to some extent.

Perhaps the main distinguishing feature of tablets should be found in their user interface and user experience. After the retirement of MIUI, Xiaomi has tried to design its new user interface, Hyper OS, simpler and lighter and provide as many features as possible to users. Among the features of HyperOS in Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro is a special video conference mode (using artificial intelligence to remove microphone noise), a very powerful file management system (File Manager), which Xiaomi considers to be on par with the file management system of laptops, the possibility of using He mentioned the tablet as a second screen for photography and video cameras and of course a new feature called Interconnectivity.

The Interconnectivity feature is created by a Xiaomi user account between different devices and features such as a central hub for controlling smart home appliances, the possibility of Drag&Drop files between different devices, the ability to convert the main phone camera into a tablet selfie camera in video calls, or work with the phone. It makes it available to users through tablets.

After creating a Xiaomi account (or logging in) and issuing the necessary access to Interconnectivity, in the quick settings section of the tablet, you will have a new option called Mi Smart Hub through which you can access all other devices that support this feature. View and control.

For example, let’s say you have connected your tablet and phone through Interconnectivity. Here you can use the phone as an independent and external camera and take photos or videos through the tablet. If you’ve ever tried to record a video for YouTube or Instagram on your own, you know how much of a hassle it can be to adjust the frame, focus, brightness, and sidelights. But now with a tablet and a Xiaomi phone that support Interconnectivity, you can easily have your own personal studio!

The next interesting feature is the ability to type or navigate the phone through the tablet. If for some reason you intend to draw a shape on your phone, you can do it on the larger screen of the tablet with the help of a dedicated pen, which undoubtedly provides more precision and control. In such a case, applying changes at high speed and without slowness or lag is a very important point that Interconnectivity provides you.

Apart from these cases, Xiaomi has tried to add a feature similar to Airdrop to its devices. This feature, called Mi Share, works exactly like Airdrop in Apple products, and you can use it to transfer files between different Xiaomi devices. Of course, this feature seems to be compatible with other Android devices as well, but at least in our tests, it was not possible to transfer files from tablets to Samsung phones, which may be due to the presence of Chinese ROM, or a software bug that can be solved in the future.

Along with the Pad 6S Pro, a keyboard and a special pen called the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro Cover and Xiaomi Focus Pen have also been introduced to increase the productivity aspect of the tablet. The pen is magnetically connected to the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro and is charged in this way. With the support of a 240 Hz touch sampling rate and 4096 pressure levels, this pen is considered a very good option for designers. The interesting thing is that the focus pen of the Xiaomi stylus is very similar to the Apple Pencil and, like the overall design of the 6S Pro pad, it was directly inspired by Apple.

The keyboard is connected to the tablet through the pins on the back of the device and simultaneously plays the role of the cover. Of course, it seems that this keyboard was designed for the Chinese market, and some software limitations (such as not being able to set the Farsi language for typing) can be seen in it. A trackpad is not considered for this keyboard, which seems a bit strange, but as a means to get rid of the virtual and touch keyboard of the tablet, it will be a logical option.

Although probably no one expects photography from tablets, Xiaomi offers a camera with a 50-megapixel sensor for necessary occasions. The maximum aperture of this camera is f/1.8 and the dimensions of its sensor are 1/2.76 inches. With this camera, you can easily scan documents, or if you are in a business meeting or classroom, take a quick picture of the board and the information written on it. The quality of the images in this condition is quite acceptable and no particular fault can be found in them.

Another 2-megapixel camera is intended to help detect depth, which is not particularly useful in normal photography. The possibility of recording videos with 4K or 1080p resolution at a maximum rate of 60 frames per second is also available to users by the main camera.

Attending video conferences is one of the main uses of tablets. For better video quality in video calls, Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro uses a 32-megapixel selfie camera. This camera is placed on the vertical edge (when you hold the tablet in portrait mode), which is the best way to use it in video conferences.

The selfie camera also uses the Focus Frame feature, which, similar to the Center Stage feature on Apple tablets, keeps the subject always in the center of the frame when using the front camera.

Xiaomi has used a giant battery with a capacity of 10,000 mAh in the Pad 6S Pro, which is a leader in its kind and compared to competitors. It is worth noting that the battery used in the iPad Air 2022 has a capacity of 7600 mAh, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE uses a battery with a capacity of 8000 mAh. Meanwhile, while the Samsung tablet supports 45W fast charging, the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro can be charged with a 120W adapter, which, according to Xiaomi, charges the tablet from zero to 100% in just 35 minutes. Thanks to the use of Quick Charge 4.0 technology, you will only need 10 minutes to charge the tablet from zero to 45%.

In Zomit’s daily user test, Pad 6S Pro was able to record a charging time of about 8.5 hours, which is not a bad number considering the LCD display. We also obtained 17 hours of device performance in the video playback test. In general, and according to the results of the tests, we have to classify the charging of the 6S Pro pad as one of its strengths.

However, Xiaomi has a very long and difficult road ahead of it. Even in the Android world, there are exciting features like Samsung Dex that can attract more users, and cross-device integration shouldn’t just be limited to flagship phones and tablets. If Xiaomi can draw a clear vision in this direction and show that it is determined to achieve it, it will meet with more favor from users.