I’ve been keeping a close eye on the tablet market lately, and Xiaomi just dropped something that might actually make you rethink your next upgrade. While everyone was busy looking at their new flagship phones, the Xiaomi Pad 8 quietly made its global debut, and honestly, it’s packing some heat for a mid-range price tag. Starting at around EUR 450, it’s clearly aiming to be that “sweet spot” device for people who want Pro-level power without the eye-watering Pro price.
Design & Display
The first thing you’ll notice is that Xiaomi stuck with an 11.2-inch LCD panel, but don’t let the lack of OLED fool you. They’ve cranked the resolution up to 3.2K, which means everything from your Netflix binge to your spreadsheets is going to look incredibly sharp. What really caught my eye is the 144Hz refresh rate. If you’ve ever used a standard 60Hz tablet, the jump to 144Hz feels like night and day—it’s buttery smooth. I also appreciate the 800 nits peak brightness, which should make it much more usable if you’re working near a window or outdoors. It’s wrapped in a sleek chassis, available in a sharp Titanium Blue, and it’s clearly designed to work as a productivity tool, especially when paired with the new Focus Pen Pro and keyboard.
Performance & Features
Under the hood is where things get interesting. Xiaomi opted for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset, which is a powerhouse for multitasking. Whether you’re gaming or hopping between twenty Chrome tabs, this silicon combined with up to 12GB of RAM ensures you won’t see much lag. It’s also one of the first tablets we’re seeing ship with HyperOS 3 based on Android 16, giving you the latest software features right out of the box. To keep you going through a full workday, there’s a massive 9,200mAh battery. While the 45W charging isn’t the fastest in Xiaomi’s arsenal, it’s respectable enough to top up that huge cell in a reasonable amount of time.
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Display: 11.2-inch 3.2K LCD, 144Hz refresh rate
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Processor: Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
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Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4
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Audio: Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos support
Between the Wi-Fi 7 support and the 5G capability, this is a solid pick for anyone who needs to stay connected on the move. It feels like Xiaomi is really trying to bridge the gap between a casual media tablet and a serious work machine here. I’m particularly curious to see how that 13-megapixel rear camera handles document scanning and how the quad-speaker setup sounds in person.
I’ll keep you updated as more details on the regional availability come out, but for now, it looks like a very promising contender in the Android tablet space.
