A nightmare for bargain hunters? 14-year-old CPU technology in Xiaomi's new 2026 tablet
On paper, the new Xiaomi tablet sounds like an great deal with a modern design, a 120-Hz display, and solid specs. The Redmi Pad 2 9.7 even comes equipped with a latest-generation Qualcomm chipset. But upon closer inspection of the specifications, the name Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2 turns out to be somewhat misleading. That’s because the SoC, which hit the market in late 2025, features old CPU cores whose origins date back to 2012.
When buying the Redmi Pad 2 9.7, bargain hunters get “performance” cores based on the Cortex-A73 architecture, which was introduced in 2016. The situation is even more drastic with the four efficiency cores, which are based on the Cortex-A53 architecture from 2012. Qualcomm has simply adapted these ancient cores to a more modern 6-nanometer process.
This affordable Xiaomi tablet offers much less performance than its mid-range competitors
The graphics unit, an aging Adreno 610, also underscores the SoC’s outdated foundation. The GPU was released back in 2019. For users, this reuse of old technology is very frustrating overall.
While the Redmi Pad 2 9.7’s smooth 120-Hz display masks its performance weaknesses during everyday browsing, there is no performance headroom, and demanding multitasking or gaming becomes a test of patience.
Since the Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2 was already operating at its absolute performance limit during our testing period, future operating system updates will likely slow down the Redmi tablet noticeably.
Those looking for more power for their money will find the Redmi Pad Pro or Xiaomi Pad 8 to be interesting alternatives in the affordable mid-range segment. However, if you’re keeping your budget under $200, the Redmi Pad 2 9.7 is an exciting entry-level tablet - despite the Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2. Why? Find out about the advantages of this affordable Android tablet from Xiaomi (prices currently start at around $160, available on Amazon.com) in our review.
Source(s)
Redmi Pad 2 9.7 review
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