Why buy an iPad? Xiaomi offers a far better tablet for less money in our review
Our Xiaomi Pad 9 review clearly shows that Xiaomi's mid-range tablet is vastly superior to its Apple rival when it comes to the display. Anyone who uses their tablet a lot will particularly benefit from a bright, sharp screen. While Xiaomi equips its Pad 9 with an 11.2-inch 144 Hz LCD with 3,200 x 2,136 pixels, Apple's entry-level iPad still has only a 60 Hz panel that is not even laminated.
This leaves a visible air gap between the glass and the LCD panel on the Apple tablet. As a result, content appears less immediate and less contrast-rich, and stylus input in particular feels less natural.
The higher refresh rate of Xiaomi's mid-range tablet makes scrolling noticeably smoother and animations more pleasant in everyday use. Anyone using a modern smartphone will immediately notice the difference compared with an iPad 11.
The same applies to brightness. While we measured a solid 802 cd/m² for the Xiaomi Pad 9 in our review, the iPad 11 trails well behind at 547 cd/m².
Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 in Xiaomi's tablet has more GPU power
Xiaomi also has a clear lead under the hood. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 with its Adreno 825 GPU delivers a significant advantage over the A16 chip in the iPad 11 in graphics tests.
In the GFXBench Manhattan offscreen test, the Xiaomi Pad 9 achieves a solid 334 fps in our review, while the iPad 11 manages just 205 fps. In the demanding Aztec Ruins High Tier test, the Xiaomi Pad even achieves more than twice the frame rate at 81 fps, compared directly with the Apple tablet's 40 fps.
The Xiaomi Pad 9 shows its strength in battery life
The difference in battery life is also more than apparent in everyday use. Xiaomi installs a 9,720 mAh battery with a dual-cell design, while the iPad 11 offers just 7,606 mAh.
In the battery test, the Xiaomi Pad 9 lasts over 19 hours. The iPad 11, by contrast, manages only around 11 hours. This gives the Xiaomi tablet more than eight hours of additional battery life.
Apple also shows little progress when it comes to charging. The Pad 9 supports 45 W fast charging, numerous charging protocols such as PD 3.0 and QC 3+, and 22.5 W reverse charging for accessories such as headphones or smartwatches.
Xiaomi Pad 9 offers much more tablet for the money
Anyone looking for a modern tablet with slim display bezels gets much more for their money with the Xiaomi Pad 9 (prices start at $525). Anyone who is not tied to iPadOS should take a look at our Xiaomi Pad 9 review.
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Review Xiaomi Pad 9
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