Xiaomi did well with the Mi Pad 7.9 and they know it. Very few compact, affordable tablets end up as solid as this. They need to travel light( and stay within budget) but compromises weigh them down. Well, not the Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9.
It’s got a different kind of problem - at least from a certain perspective. To be fair, it takes a great deal of confidence to go after the top dog right from the very first try. And we think most of Xiaomi’s confidence is well founded.
It’s just that trying so hard to look like the iPad doesn’t feel right, not where we come from. True, it will cost you much less and offer similar, and even superior specs, but the Mi Pad 7.9 does get carried away trying to impersonate the iPad. On the other hand, this may be a valid strategy in China and Asia Pacific where - we should not forget - this device is mostly meant for.
This by the way is easy to spot in our device, which was handed to us stripped of Google services and an interface that borrows heavily on iOS to begin with. Yep, our review unit is one of those you can get only in China, where Android isn’t exactly what we’re used to.
There’s no app drawer for starters and most of Google’s apps and services would’ve been replaced by their Chinese equivalents. By the way, Xiaomi’s business model is no stranger to monetizing online services and customization options.
Good thing the Play Store wasn’t a big deal to install, so we got the Mi Pad 7.9 in familiar shape in no time.