Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Convenient, compact size
- Good battery life
- Reliable selfie camera
- Low price
Cons
- Washed-out screen with poor viewing angles
- Disappointing sound
- Questionable main camera
- Slow storage
Our Verdict
If you think an iPad mini is too expensive an investment, this is a solid tablet in a similarly compact form factor. But the list of things we wish were better is long. Everything from a tired old chipset and slow storage to a low-res screen and poor audio. You can’t ask for much at this price, but it’s worth spending slightly more to get a better tablet overall.
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As the name suggests Xiaomi’s Redmi Pad SE 8.7 is a compact tablet, with an 8.7-inch screen and 12.5cm in total widget. This was once a common format for a tablet, but as with phones, the size has grown over the years and tablets this small are now a rare sight.
That in itself can be tempting, and the starting price of just £119 in the UK makes it a very appealing option. How does it fare in real-world usage? Read on to find out.
Design & Build
Unfortunately, with this cheap tablet, you also get a lot of budget hardware. For one, it’s a device built entirely out of plastic, and it shows in everything from the look to the grip feel. A grey-blue, ribbed back transitions to flat sides and then to (the only thing that isn’t plastic) a Gorilla Glass 3 surface in front of the screen.
However, it quickly accumulates so much dust and dirt that it still gets a cheap vibe. On the plus side, the tablet is IP53-rated, which means it can withstand water splashes without damage. This can be reassuring if you’re outside with it and it starts to rain. No need to panic.
Mattias Inghe
Screen & Speakers
The display is a simple IPS LCD panel with 800 x 1340 pixel resolution, weak colours and narrow viewing angles. However, the screen can reach brightness levels of up to 600 nits, which means I can use it in daylight, as long as it’s not direct sunlight.
It has a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. It gives a little nicer scrolling in documents, and sometimes on web pages, if the processor and graphics can generate them fast enough.
So is it a good tablet to stream films on? Yes and no. Its Wi-Fi 5 connection is fast enough, which is what most 4K TVs still run on, so that should do the trick. But the screen isn’t the most attractive, and even the speakers aren’t the best quality, despite good stereo spread and Dolby Atmos support.
Specs & Performance
Unfortunately, they only do some of the time. The Redmi Pad SE 8.7 is powered by the 2020 MediaTek Helio G85 chipset.
At some points, its age is palpable, such as older DDR4 RAM memory, limited camera support and just 4G rather than 5G too. Elsewhere, the cameras in the tablet are very basic and the only connectivity you get is Wi-Fi 5, which isn’t a major issue, but the performance just isn’t good.
Mattias Inghe
With eight cores, including two “high-performance” ones that weren’t at their peak even when the chipset first came out, it’s not fast. Moderate RAM memory and slow eMMC storage contribute to slow app launches and a lot of micro-pauses on the interface, like when I change screen orientation or type on the on-screen keyboard. This isn’t disqualifyingly bad, but it can be annoying.
The Mali-G52 MC2 graphics aren’t enough to seriously play games with 3D graphics, but the tablet can handle some simpler titles. For some reason, GFXBench and 3DMark don’t seem to want to download and install their benchmarks on the Redmi Pad SE, so I don’t have any figures on how slow it is, but it’s anything but fast. Also, expect long loading times and the same risk of random bugs as there as in the browser.
Battery Life & Charging
However, you do get a battery that’ll last you from morning to night, if not well into the next day. It’s 6,650mAh in size, and with roughly the same power consumption if you’re watching films or browsing and running office apps, it can last a full working day.
Just be sure to avoid power-hungry apps such as Instagram and TikTok, otherwise battery life will be significantly reduced.
In terms of charging, the Redmi Pad SE 8.7 is limited to just 18W. There’s also only a 10W adapter included in the box, meaning going from empty to full will take a long time.
Mattias Inghe
Cameras
If you want to run video meetings on the tablet, the selfie camera is functional, but the microphone sound is poor, so you’ll want to connect a headset for that.
The selfie camera is actually more reliable than the rear camera, which has significant problems focusing and never gets pixel-level detail in either video or photos.
Software & Apps
The Redmi Pad SE 8.7 runs Android 14 with Xiaomi’s own HyperOS skin over the top.
That means a whole bunch of extra apps, from weather to its own security and system optimisation app and a music player. You also get Netflix pre-installed.
It’s easy to navigate on the whole, once you get used to some of the quirks of the interface. But it’s noticeable that it puts a lot of load on the graphics card compared to an Android tablet with less bloatware.
It’s not clear if Xiaomi has any Android updates planned for this tablet, but don’t count on it. Assume it hangs on and gets security patches for maybe two or three years. Then it might be time to get a new one. Or get a better tablet now. It’s up to you and your finances.
Price & Availability
In the UK, the Redmi Pad SE 8.7 starts at £119 for 64GB of storage or £139 for 128GB.
It’s available directly from Xiaomi or via Amazon, where there are often discounts available.
Like all Xiaomi products, it’s not available in the US, though you may be able to import one.
At this price, it’s one of the cheapest budget tablets you can buy.
Should you buy the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE 8.7?
The Redmi Pad SE 8.7 is relatively affordable, but there are too many compromises for most people to seriously consider buying it.
Instead, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 is a better all-rounder that’s often available for a similar price.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication M3 and was translated and adapted from Swedish.
Read the full article here
