Mi Pad 3 Tablet Review: a Powerful Tech in an Aluminum Case

Hundreds of thousands of fans have waited to buy a Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 tablet. They’ve waited with great impatience, eager for any grain of a rumor. A MediaTek’s CPU, a 3 MP main camera, an impressive screen — every new piece of information made the fans of the Chinese brand wait for the gadget’s release with ever-greater excitement and count days.

And now it is finally here! A new tablet saw the light of day. It goes without saying that we could not pass by this ambitious device. The professionals of our test laboratory launched the operation code-named “Mi Pad 3 Review 2017”.

Packaging and box contents

Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is packed in a classic branded white box, with the logo of the Chinese company.

The box contents are also absolutely standard:

• USB Type-C cable;
• power adapter;
• adapter for local power sockets;
• brief manual in Chinese.

Traditionally, nothing new, only the most necessary items. 

Design

The design and forms of the gadget were inherited from the predecessor — Mi Pad 2. However, this had no effect on the positive reviews of the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3. The tablet boasts an impressive sand-polished aluminum case, featuring excellent tactile and practical properties.

The new device has put on some weight (328g against 322g in Mi Pad 2) while retaining the same measurements of 200.4×132.6×6.95mm.

Such adherence to the traditions is understandable. Xiaomi engineers are not in a rush to replace the comfortable old design. The familiar “classic” is better than questionable “innovation”.

Mi Pad 3 offers the same 7.9-inch display, the USB Type-C port is in the usual place — all the best features from Mi Pad 2 was left intact for the Mi Pad 3.

Technical Data

The new tablet embraces quite a few important differences when compared to the previous generation device. The full specs of the Mi Pad 3 are as follows:

• screen size: 7.9 inches;
• resolution: 2048×1536 pixels;
• screen matrix: IPS Retina;
• CPU: 2.1 GHz  6-core MediaTek MT8176;
• GPU: Imagination PowerVR GX6250;
• RAM/flash storage: 4/64 GB;
• main camera: 13MP;
• frontal camera: 5MP;
• battery capacity: 6600 mAh.

As to the availability of a SIM card slot, the rumor turned out to be a hoax — the slot is nowhere to be found. The impressive battery capacity is worth a separate mentioning, as it offers a rather long battery life.

User experience

As a start, we should mention the operating system: the device uses MIUI 8.2.8, which is based on the Android 7.0, a fresh version of that OS. This is quite nice, as there is literally no sense in basing a new tablet on the Android Marshmallow system.

As for the much-advertised high-quality case finish, we can confirm — everything that was written is true. Tactile sensations from the aluminum case of the new device are extremely pleasant — the Mi Pad 3 is very comfortable to hold, it doesn’t slip, and featured size and form allow you to confidently hold the tablet with one or both of your hands.

The addition of night mode, reading mode, and eye protection are also encouraging.

All this allow you to enjoy the beauty and juiciness of the 7.9-inch IPS Retina display with a resolution of 2048×1536 pixels.

Powerful 4GB RAM and 6-core MediaTek MT8176 CPU encourage the high hope for the gadget’s capacity to cope with all kinds of entertainment demands. The AnTuTu benchmark of the Mi Pad 3 only confirms this assumption.

The tablet scored 81685 points in the benchmark. But, of course, we decided to check these figures in practice, exposing the gadget to a heavy use. 

Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 performance in games had to show the real potential of tablet’s inner electronics and the power of its battery.

That’s why we’ve installed Real Racing 3, Angry Birds 2 and Modern Combat 5, and then, without disabling the Wi-Fi (which, by the way, works fine, both at 2.4 GHz and at 5 GHz), we played all these games at full power!

The result made us very happy. Apart from the fact that all of the above games didn’t show any glitches or freezing, after an hour of playing in Modern Combat 5 with Wi-Fi on, the battery level of the tablet reduced by only 18%. At the same time, the heating of the device was noticeable, but within the reasonable limits.

We should specifically mention the sound system: it is powerful, clear, and rich. No issues at all!

As you can see, the device completely meets the expectations in the fields of performance, visuals and design. But we didn’t stop there. What about the cameras? They are pretty good!

The main 13 MP camera uses autofocus and allows you to take good pictures, both in the normal mode and while zoomed.

Examples of photos

Lastly, there is one detail. which would count as a weak point. There is no Windows 10 version of the Mi Pad 3 at the moment. The gadget is available exclusively with MIUI.

Bottom line

What verdict have we reached? Of course — positive! The new tablet by the Chinese corporation is clearly a success. With its convenient forms, practical case, powerful specs, eyesight protection, an excellent display, this gadget can easily become your best companion in the world of electronic and video entertainment.