Xiaomi’s products stand on their own merit, and devices like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra combine class-leading cameras with a gorgeous design and long-lasting battery. But every so often, the brand sees what its rivals are doing, and just decides to emulate those designs. That is the case with the Xiaomi Pad 7; a mid-range Android tablet that comes with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, a 11.2-inch LCD panel, and 8,850mAh battery.
There is a lot to like with the Pad 7, but before we get started, we need to talk about the design; Xiaomi did such a convincing job copying the design of the iPad Air that the Pad 7 looks nearly identical. I’m not kidding — even the packaging is similar to the iPad Air, and my wife just assumed it was the new iPad and not a Xiaomi tablet. Heck, even the keyboard accessory has the exact same design as the Magic Keyboard.
The Pad 7 costs just ₹27,999 ($324) in India, which is a downright bargain when you consider the hardware on offer. The same model is available for £369 ($477) in the U.K., and while it is still affordable, it isn’t quite as good a value — I’d suggest getting the OLED-based Honor MagicPad 2 instead.
To put things into context, the iPad Air retails for ₹59,990 ($694), which is more than double the price of the Pad 7. At £599 ($775) in the U.K., it isn’t twice as high as the Pad 7 in the country, but there’s still a sizable gulf between the two products.
An iPad Air clone running Android
It’s incredulous to me that Xiaomi was able to emulate the design of the iPad Air to such a level. Yes, I know there are only so many ways you can design a tablet with a flat profile, but the resemblance between the two is uncanny, and it’s clear this is what Xiaomi set out to do.
The Pad 7 has flat sides, and coming in at 6.2mm, it is just 0.1mm thicker than the iPad Air — the difference isn’t noticeable when using both products next to one another. It is 40g heavier at 500g, but you get a bigger 8,850mAh battery. The build quality is just as good, and the tablet has an aluminum construction with a balanced heft.
Where Xiaomi scores an advantage is the panel; the Pad 7 has a 11.2-inch IPS LCD panel, but it goes up to 144Hz, and the high refresh immediately makes a difference. It’s annoying that the iPad Air misses out on this mode; the tablet is limited to 60Hz, and only the iPad Pro models hit 120Hz.
Interestingly, the Pad 7 gets brighter with HDR content; this is only evident while streaming content via Netflix or YouTube, but it makes the tablet a great choice for consuming multimedia. There’s a good amount of customizability when it comes to adjusting the colors, and while it isn’t an OLED, you get good color vibrancy and contrast levels. There’s a reading mode as well, and I made good use of it in the month I tested the Pad 7.
Decent hardware with a big battery
The Pad 7 has decent internals thanks to the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to the Apple M3. Apple’s silicon is leagues ahead of everything else, and the iPad Air does an incredible job with console-quality games. While the Pad 7 does a good job in its own right when it comes to gaming, it struggles with demanding titles.
With quad audio drivers and good tuning, the Pad 7 delivers great onboard sound, and it does a terrific job while streaming TV shows and gaming. You get 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage with the base model, and that’s good enough, if a little annoying that the 128GB model uses UIFS 3.1 storage. Xiaomi also sells the tablet with 256GB of storage, and that configuration uses UFS 4.0 storage.
There isn’t much missing with connectivity; the tablet has Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.4, and uses the USB-C 3.2 standard. The 8,850mAh battery lasts longer than the iPad Air, and there’s 67W charging, with the tablet taking just over 90 minutes to charge the battery.
A big part of what makes the iPad Air great is the vast accessory ecosystem, and Xiaomi is trying to emulate that with the Pad 7. The tablet comes with two accessories — the Focus Keyboard and Focus Pen — and they’re both pretty decent. The keyboard accessory has a floating mechanism that’s similar to the Magic Keyboard. In fact, the design is identical to the Magic Keyboard, down to the style of the hinge at the bottom.
The keys have good travel, and while the keyboard on the whole is good, it doesn’t quite have the same quality as the Magic Keyboard. Same with the stylus; while it is decent, it doesn’t come close to the Apple Pencil.
Ultimately, it’s all about the value
The Pad 7 comes with Android 15 out of the box, and the software is pretty good. Xiaomi needs to overhaul the visuals, but the interface is fluid, and it is packed with features, including useful multitasking modes. But the biggest issue is that the software isn’t anywhere as extensible as the iPad Air; the reason I use the iPad is the software ecosystem, and whether it’s image or video editing tools, drawing utilities, or music production software, iPadOS has a distinct advantage.
That doesn’t mean the Pad 7 is a bad choice; if you need a tablet to consume media and get some work done on the go, it is still a good option. It’s just not as powerful as the iPad Air, but that’s a criticism I can level to pretty much any Android tablet. On that note, the Pad 7 won’t get as many software updates either, and Xiaomi usually tends to drag its feet in this regard anyway.
Overall, Xiaomi did all the right things with the Pad 7. While the design is unmissably similar to the iPad Air, there is enough differentiation on the hardware — particularly the panel — to make the tablet stand out. Also, there’s no arguing that it is a much better value, and at under $400, it is one of the better choices available if you need an Android tablet.
With an iPad Air-esque design and good internals backed by a sizable battery, the Xiaomi Pad 7 is a good choice if you need a value-focused tablet.