This summer has been full of tablets, at least as far as I'm concerned: I've tried dozens of them, all Android ones falling into a very interesting category, that of 200 euros, within which there is really a lot of competition and competition between the various products. The new RedmiPad SE, moreover, it also introduces itself into this slice of the market: it is configured as the economic version of the Redmi Pad that we have tried in recent months, it is no coincidence that the economic difference between the two models is around around the euro 100, at least when comparing the price lists.
La SE version, therefore, it saves us but puts us in front of some small sacrifices: I will explain why to buy it, and why perhaps it is better to spend a little more.
Index
Redmi Pad SE review
Design and Materials
the Redmi Pad SE stands out for its solidity thanks to the monobloc aluminum body which certainly does not go unnoticed in this market segment which is almost entirely pervaded by plastic; its dimensions of 255.5 x 167 x 7.36 mm and a weight of 478 g they even make it lighter than many other similar devices on the market which weigh more than 500 grams.
The buttons follow the typical style of Xiaomi: the one dedicated to power on and standby is located at the top left, while the volume rocker (in landscape mode) is positioned at the top left. Unexpectedly, Xiaomi has also made four speakers available on this economical variant of its Android tablet, positioned on the right and left, and the Dolby Atmos sound is more than satisfactory for the price range.
Furthermore, once again with great amazement, it is necessary to mention the presence of a audio jack from 3,5mm for increasingly rare headphones and a microSD slot for expand memory up to 1TB. Unfortunately, as you may have guessed, this model is not equipped with a telephone module for using a SIM card.
From the front, however, the frames around the display are quite pronounced; Redmi Pad SE is not the only cheap tablet to suffer from important bezels, because like him, also all the tablets in the €150-€250 range, he can't do better. Among the absences to mention, I would certainly tell you a magnetic connector for the use of an external keyboard as well as the native integration of a pen which, for many, still remains an essential accessory to have when purchasing a tablet.
Display
Il display from 11 inches that Redmi Pad SE is equipped with, adopts a IPS LCD technology with a resolution of 1.920 x 1.200 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 90 Hz, a balanced compromise between energy efficiency, visual comfort and usability. In automatic mode, the image automatically adjusts between 30/48/50/60 or 90 Hz, while manually the user has the option to choose only 60 or 90 frames per second, typical of Xiaomi software.
The maximum brightness of the display reaches 400 nits, values that I personally found a little low in some circumstances, especially in open environments; Even photographing it and recording clips was difficult, but overall for the price range the display offers satisfactory performance in normal conditions, with bright colors, good contrast and deep blacks. The only critical point could be the brightness and the anti-reflective treatment, which is not impeccable.
However, it is important to note that the device features Low Blue Light technology for eye protection as well as protection Flicker Free certification due to display flickering.
Hardware and Performance
The major limitations, and above all the tangible differences with the more expensive model of the same family, are seen on the hardware front; The RedmiPad SE It is equipped with a processor Snapdragon 680 with 6 nm technology. Although in China there is the possibility to choose between 4, 6 or 8 GB of RAM LPDDR4X, in our country only the version can be purchased on the official store 4 / 128GB, the most balanced. Too bad, however, for the 128GB eMMC 5.1 internal memory, which is a little slow, but on the other hand it can be expanded up to 1 TB via a microSD card.
Il Snapdragon 680 was first introduced in early 2022 and is successfully positioned in the mid-range of processors. The weak point of the processor is the Adreno 610 GPU. This is because, despite the 8 cores, they are slowed down by the limited graphics performance of the GPU in more elaborate games, and this is confirmed by all the benchmarks we have run.
This is to tell you that the Redmi tablet feels in its natural habitat when used on the sofa at home, to check emails, surf the Internet or read the latest news, but also watch some streaming content and poco other; playing isn't its strong point, loading times are a bit long and the graphic details may be too poor compared to expectations. If you want to play with it, therefore, I advise you to dedicate a few tens of extra euros in your budget to this purchase, so as not to incur limitations of any kind in its use: simply one Xiaomi pad 5 from a few years ago I would still recommend it to you today with my eyes closed.
Software
Il RedmiPad SE is equipped with Android 13 with the usual interface MIUI 14, which differs in poco and nothing from the classic Xiaomi approach that we are used to. At first startup, in addition to the basic selection of applications Google, we find useful pre-installed Xiaomi tools, such as a calculator, a file manager, an Internet browser or the Notes application. Among the only extra applications I found I have to mention you Netflix and WPS Office, which however do not represent a problem. There is no shortage of Widevine L1 certificates for streaming in FullHD on the various online platforms.
Of course, there are also the familiar features of floating windows and parallel windows, which we already know from the Chinese brand's smartphones. I found a little uncomfortable the native choice to leave the application bar hidden underneath, as well as the many gestures poco practical in quick daily use; however, these are all negligible details and can be changed at any moment in the various settings menus. For the rest the MIUI and the usual as always: cross and delight, as beautiful as it is cumbersome in presence. Not suitable for everyone.
Camera
Il RedmiPad SE of Xiaomi is equipped with two cameras, one from 5 MP on the front for selfies and video calls and a camera main 8 MP, which visually could be misleading given its size, but don't worry, it is the classic tablet photographic lens, very similar to many competitors.
At any rate Xiaomi worked well with the software and, contrary to my expectations, the photographic results are not bad at all, at least in sufficient light conditions. The colors of the plants correspond to reality, the details of the close-ups are captured well, and perhaps the only catch lies in the focusing which I didn't always find very fast.
There is the possibility of having it digital zoom up to 5x, but obviously it's not the best in detail preservation; there is also the possibility of recording videos in FullHD. In short, an emergency lens that can come in handy with a dead smartphone or when you have no other alternative: what must be said clearly is that these results obtained are far superior to many other "very Chinese" brands that we have come across. try.
Autonomy
autonomy offered by the robust battery from 8.000 mAh is remarkable. In reality, thanks to the efficiency of the Qualcomm processor, completely downloading the Redmi Pad SE is practically an impossible task. Over the last week, I've primarily used this device for viewing content and have managed to get about 3 days of use on a single charge on average.
In other words, I only had to charge it twice in the span of a week. Additionally, the tablet supports 10W charging, which allows you to go from 0% to 100% in around three and a half hours.
Price and Considerations
Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE arrives on the Italian market a €219,90, a figure that differs by 80 euros compared to the list price of the highest performing version of the same tablet; although it can be found online for around 190 euros, the Redmi Pad SE brings with it some limitations in terms of performance and display first and foremost, features which in the "Base" version are absolutely of a higher level and which, with the offers current, could make purchasing the Standard version more attractive.
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