It can be difficult to find an excellent productivity tablet. In the US, there are some clear competitors, such as Samsung and Lenovo, but abroad, things can get more convoluted, but in a good manner. The Honor Pad V9, which I tested in March 2025, is just one of many more possibilities available. Tucked away among them is a Xiaomi tablet that is not only a formidable competitor as a productivity-focused tablet but also reasonably priced.
I wanted to spend some time with the Xiaomi Pad 7, the larger sibling of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, to see if it lived up to the hype, as I was so eager to try it. What I discovered was a cute small tablet with minimal glitz but also performs well in terms of efficiency, which is crucial for me and my work.
With a few restrictions, of course, this tablet may accompany me as a writing tool without requiring me to purchase a full-fledged laptop. This is my complete evaluation of the Xiaomi Pad 7, which I’ve been using for approximately three weeks, mostly while traveling.
Common Hardware
The most obvious connection that comes to mind when I look at this tablet is probably with Apple’s iPad (2025). It may take a moment to quickly distinguish between this tablet and an iPad Air if you place them side by side on a table. That isn’t always a positive or negative thing. The tablet has a somewhat generic appearance overall.
Things start to change a little as we get into the details. This tablet features an 11.2-inch screen with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz and a resolution of 3.3K. The screen supports Dolby Vision and has a maximum brightness of 800 nits. The most significant change is the processor, a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 that is distinctly midrange and very different from the M3 found in the 2025 iPad Air 11. Additionally, it lacks the maximum capacity of the iPad Air 11 with 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB or 256 GB of storage. There isn’t even a microSD port for memory expansion, which makes me wish there was more onboard storage.
The smartphone has two cameras: an 8-megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera. Although it is the only biometric unlock that this tablet offers, the front-facing shooter is excellent. Despite HyperOS 2’s need that you input your PIN again every 72 hours, I never had any problems unlocking the tablet.
In relation to the software
I mostly like HyperOS 2, which is a fairly basic build of Android that uses the same dual row multitasking scheme as its phone build but is oriented horizontally rather than vertically, making it much more standard in that regard. Similar to the phone OS (like the one that was running in our Xiaomi 15 Ultra Review), you can lock apps open in the background so the OS doesn’t kill them without your knowledge; this is less helpful on a tablet, but it’s still there.
You can have a 50/50 or 75/25 view of your side-by-side apps, with a third floating window if you want, though that gets cluttered. You can also switch between apps in each column of the split screen view, which is nice. Split screen functionality is also available, and it functions exactly like other Android tablets.
Even adding the split screen app view to your home screen is possible, although it’s a little awkward, just like adding any other program. You have to long-press the task bar icon and select “Add to home screen” instead of dragging and dropping the two apps from the task bar onto your home page (which is possible, but the apps don’t stay on the home screen). Okay, but why can’t I just drag? Additionally, switching between the applications isn’t the most user-friendly.
More Applications Than You’ll Require
The quantity of junk that is preinstalled on this tablet is the only thing I can say negatively about the OS. There are several games and other apps installed in addition to the standard collection of apps that come with an Android device. About twenty was when I quit counting.
Games like “Blockblast,” “Cat Tile,” and “Fish Solitaire” are common, as are a few Xiaomi apps like “Mi Browser” and others. Bloatware apps are obnoxious, and I wish they weren’t there in the first place, but it’s easy to ignore or even remove them.
The “Settings” app isn’t in the notification shade by default, which is another software annoyance. There’s just no reason not to include it by default, but you can and I did. I suppose it’s okay that it’s labeled as a separate app in the app drawer, but it’s one of those quality-of-life adjustments that most definitely doesn’t make life better.
The Focus Keyboard from Xiaomi
Along with the tablet, Xiaomi also sent along its Focus keyboard, which is essentially the same as Apple’s Magic Keyboard for the Xiaomi Pad 7. I love it, but it has some peculiarities. The tablet attaches to the keyboard magnetically and floats above it like Apple’s Magic Keyboard, but I would prefer that it lean back a little more because it’s not quite angled enough for my taste.
It’s a pleasure to use the keyboard itself. The big keys provide nice travel and pitch. They’re not squishy at all, and they type with pleasant clicks.
Although the keyboard has a backlight, there is no button on it to switch it on or off. The automated backlight tends to overestimate how much brightness you need, but you can also change it in the options.
Additionally, there is a little trackpad on the keyboard that is big enough to move the mouse across the screen. Regretfully, there is no option to alter the touchpad’s scrolling direction. It’s bothersome that even if the choice is available, the behavior remains unchanged.
You can use Xiaomi’s Focus Pen as well. Since a stylus isn’t really necessary to my workflow, I didn’t use it myself, but it is available for those who desire one.
Battery and Performance
The Snapdragon 7S+ Gen 3 is a competent midrange performer in terms of performance. It receives 1,867/5,004 single/multi-core ratings from Geekbench. Those figures aren’t astounding. This tablet isn’t capable of running AAA games or exporting 4K video in a hurry. However, it is more than sufficient for a writing tablet and can undoubtedly run two programs simultaneously.
A battery capacity of 8,850 mAh powers the Xiaomi Pad 7. When in use, the tablet may run on a charge for the most of the day. It will last for several days before needing to be recharged while not in use. It also functions as a kind of laptop substitute in that regard. The tablet weighs about 500 grams without the keyboard shell, even with the larger battery. It’s a bit heavy for something like reading a book, but it’s still not horrible. Of course, there is no problem if you have it on a desk and connected to the keyboard.
Cost, Availability, and Evaluation of the Xiaomi Pad 7
Similar to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, it is not widely available to American buyers. If you choose to purchase the Xiaomi Pad 7 from a third-party importer through Amazon, you will have to spend at least $519. The tablet is available online from Xiaomi and through a few other vendors for about £369 for the base model, which is now equivalent to about $450 in US dollars. Although prices vary, they often hover between $400 and $500, which is a reasonable amount for the features this tablet provides.
This will suffice if you want something more than a Netflix box. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a gaming or video editing tablet, but it’s incredibly capable as a writing, surfing, and content consumption tablet. Simply put, it’s not designed for that. But it doesn’t have to be for $450.
When searching for a tablet, it usually falls into one of two categories: either productivity or consumption. This falls somewhere in the middle. Perhaps a Fire tablet, even an earlier one, would be a more affordable option, but this tablet will work perfectly for viewing movies. This will accomplish your goals if you truly want to, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+, which is much more costly, might be a better option.
Although I think this tablet is great, it fills a strange niche. It’s a very great piece of gear, but it’s not directly available inside the United States – you’ll have to acquire the gadget through 3rd-party sources and will likely need to have it properly imported. This device would be a serious challenger if it were made available within the United States.