Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Review

I bought my Nook Tablet back in March 2012. I finally replaced it after 6 years. I’ve thought about buying a new tablet since 2014 but I was able to prolong the Nook’s lifespan by rooting and flashing a custom rom. The Nook still works but I stopped using it in January because of battery issues. At that time, it needed 6 hours to charge for around 6 hours of offline reading. I considered replacing the battery but the usb port has some problems, the sd card slot is dead, and the battery will immediately die after several minutes with the wifi on. After 2 months of deliberating between the Huawei Mediapad M5 8.4 and the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4, I decided to try my luck with Xiaomi.

Release Date and Price

The Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 was announced at the end of June 2018. It was on sale soon after. It is currently officially available only in China. There are 3 models available: 32GB+3GB RAM wifi (1099 CNY), 64GB+4GB wifi (1399 CNY), and 64GB+4GB LTE (1499CNY~12000PHP). I was initially going to order from Lazada but most of the listings have to be shipped from China. I tried looking for Xiaomi sellers on Google and I chanced upon AHH’s Xiaomi Manila‘s Facebook page. We talked a bit on Messenger then I told the lady that I’d pick it up the next day. For me, the best part about this seller is they’re within a walking distance from my work. Not only can I save on shipping costs, I can also check out the device before buying it.

I was initially going to get the 64gb wifi model but I picked the LTE model since it was only 1000 pesos more. The LTE model is the only variant with a compass. I paid 15,000 pesos for the tablet along with a tempered glass screen protector and TPU case included. Unfortunately the sales lady didn’t know how to put it on so I haven’t put on the glass protector. The tablet has a sort of matte pre-applied plastic screen protector but it feels a bit weird, blurs the screen a bit, and somehow attracts a lot of lint. I thought about putting on the glass screen protector myself but after weeks of using it, I’ve gotten used to the pre-applied one. Fingerprints aren’t obvious on the matte protector. There are some small bubbles but they’re only noticeable when the screen is off. The TPU case is not a good looking case but it works. I have sweaty palms so the case keeps the tablet’s metal back from getting moist. It also helps with handling the tablet.

Features/Bloatware

The Mi Pad 4 currently only has the China version MIUI. As of mid-September, there’s still no word of a global version. From what I’ve found online, the main differences are: the China version only supports a few languages, lack of Google apps and services, and inclusion of Chinese bloatware apps. It’s very easy to install Google services and the Playstore. I followed the instructions here.

Many devices have bloatware out of the box. The Mi Pad 4 has them too but they can be easily uninstalled. My Mandarin isn’t very good but before deleting the apps, I saw that there’s a finance news app, ebook store, social media/video sharing app, and a live video streaming app. The apps that I couldn’t remove are the core apps like Xiaomi’s app store, gallery, music player, etc. Xiaomi even has their own AI/voice search assistant. It only understands Mandarin though. When testing it out, I couldn’t think of any Chinese sentences so I just said the words for strawberry and banana. The words showed up on the screen but the AI could not understand what I was telling it to do.

Netflix isn’t available on the Playstore but it can be easily sideloaded, just make sure you get the apk from a reputable source. The widevine level is only level 3 so Netflix won’t stream in HD. When I tried it, it wasn’t as bad as I imagined. It’s not super sharp but it’s wasn’t a pixelated mess. If I wanted a great viewing experience, I’d stick with my laptop. For quick viewing sessions, the tablet is fine.

I did not expect to find a Chinese sim card inside. I don’t have any devices that have the sim slot at the side so I was surprised when the nanosim popped out. My Galaxy Note 3 has the sim and sd card slots located below the battery. During the initial boot up there was a notification about credits for video calls or something. I didn’t see it properly before it disappeared. I think that can only be used in China.

After the initial setup, I checked for MIUI updates. I got 2 updates on August 22. There was a minor update on September 13. It was around 126MB. It contained minor fixes. My tablet’s current version is 9.6.27.0.ODJCNFD. The security patch is dated August 1.

You can choose between an on-screen navigation bar or gesture controls. I initially used the nav bar then switched to gestures. I actually prefer the gestures. People are used to on-screen nav bars might take some time to adapt. I installed gesture controls on my old devices so I’m used to using swipes and pinches. I can’t add custom gestures on the Mi Pad 4 but the built-in ones are easy to learn. I think there are only three: swipe from the left or right edge to go back, swipe from the bottom to go to the home screen, and swipe from bottom but stop mid-way to see the recent apps. There’s a split screen feature but I haven’t found a reason to use it. It doesn’t seem to support full screen games.

The Mi Pad 4 doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner. It uses face detect to automatically unlock your device but I don’t think it’s as secure as iris scanning. It’s not instantaneous but it works fast enough. It doesn’t always work in low light or when my face is not facing the front camera. Strangely enough, it works even when the tablet is upside down or when my head is tilted.

Accessories

I tried using a cheap stylus and it was able to register the touches. I can write and draw a bit but it’s nowhere near as good as the Note’s S-Pen. According to the Mi forums, this device does not support video out. I only have a usb-c to usb-a OTG adapter. I paired it with a wireless mouse, a flash drive, and a portable hard drive. The wireless mouse worked perfectly. Left click functions as a press and right click serves as the back button. The flash drive works as well. I hit a snag with the portable hard drive. It’s formatted in exFAT. I can read files but I can’t write on it. I tried a regular usb hub and it worked. The mouse and flash drive had no problems. However, the screen had a bluish tint when I started using the hard drive on the hub.

Design

I am not a fan of putting all the buttons on one side. The only buttons on this device are the power and volume buttons. They are placed close together on the right side. I frequently pressed the wrong buttons. It might be because of the case. Also, all my other devices have the lock button and the volume buttons on different sides.

For some reason, phone manufacturers have declared war against bezels. I understand that having thinner bezels looks good but at some point they’ll go too far, such as with this tablet. The bezels on this tablet are too thin. It’s a bit hard to use one-handed. Apps frequently interpret my palm as touches. This is where the case proved useful. Aside from improving the grip, the edges of the case provide a space for my palm and fingers. 

Audio

Having 2 speakers is better than 1 but they are both located at the bottom. In landscape mode, sound will be coming out from only 1 side which can get annoying. They are loud and clear though. When gaming, my big hands can easily cover up both speakers. I played a few songs and I was impressed. There was little to no distortion even at full volume. The speakers are so loud that I rarely go over 70%. It lacks bass but that’s to be expected.

I tested out my Audio Technica M50 and Coloud Pop in-ear buds on this. Videos and music sounded fine. The headphone effects improved things a little bit. I like the “general in-ear” setting with the Coloud and “Mi Headphones” with the M50. Playing around with the equalizer can make things sound better.

Display

The 8″ display has a resolution of 1920×1200 (16:10) which is great for watching videos. It’s also great for graphic novels. There is only a little wasted space when reading single pages in portrait mode. There’s a lot of wasted space when reading 2 page spreads in landscape mode. However, since the screen is just 8″ diagonally, it is almost impossible to read the words this way. It’s good enough though when viewing 2 page spreads with only a few words or with giant fonts. Mangas have a bit more excess space at the top and bottom. They tend to use larger fonts so they’re very legible. Epub books can adjust their text formatting so there’s no problem there. It can get annoying with pdfs though. From previous experience, pdf files are closer to the 4:3 aspect ratio of iPads so there’s a lot of wasted space when viewing it on a 16:10 screen. I have to zoom in a lot to read words.

The screen isn’t as good as the AMOLED panel on my Note 3. It’s sharp enough for reading and watching videos but the colors look lacing. I already tried changing the display settings but it still looked underwhelming compared to my Note. I don’t think professionals can use this tablet to check the color accuracy of photos and videos.

Performance

I don’t care about benchmark numbers so I did not run any of them. The last gadget that I bought was a Samsung Note 3 (which I still use) back in 2013 so my perception of what’s fast will not be the same as other people with current gen devices. The Snapdragon 660 in the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 is a mid-range SoC. It feels much faster than the Snapdragon 800 in my Note 3 but that is not a fair comparison. I haven’t encountered any lag in any of my apps. It can also play 10-bit 1080p x265 videos.

Most reviewers use PUBG or some MOBA game as benchmarks but I don’t play those types of games. I usually play games like tower defense or board games. Those are not graphically intensive. I tried out emulators for GBA, PSX, and PSP. They work great. I was pleased with the PPSSPP performance because the stuttering on my Note 3 makes it unplayable. I used my iPega 9068 controller during testing.

I used an app called GPS Status, first in airplane mode and the second with an LTE connection, to test out the tablet’s navigation features. I was in a car on a wide road with little to no obstructions above. The GPS locked in less than a minute. When I tested it with an active LTE connection, it took just a couple of seconds. According to GPS Status, I was connected to 20+ satellites out of 36.

LTE Connection

The tablet doesn’t have a dialer app or an earpiece so I could not make phone calls with it. I tried calling it from my phone but it didn’t work. I was able to send and receive text messages using the built-in messaging app. It asked me if I want to sync with Mi Cloud but I didn’t try it. I don’t know if it’s supposed to work like iMessage or if it’s just a way to backup messages.

I checked online and it seems that the Mi Pad 4 is compatible with most of Globe’s LTE bands. Here are the results using the Speedtest by Ookla app. My Note 3 and the Mi Pad 4 were side by side during every test. The download and upload speeds are in kB/s. The ping and jitter are in ms.

	House		Outside House
	Note 3	MP4	Note 3	MP4
Download	x	375	x	1903
Upload	x	13.9	x	636
Ping	x	17	x	65
Jitter	x	15	x	20
	x	LTE	x	LTE

My phone could only connect to Edge for unknown reasons while I was inside the house and when I exited the building. I was able to get an LTE connection after rebooting my phone.

Road 1		Road 2
Note 3	MP4	Note 3	MP4
5624	7251	602	2912
2094	1262	288	243
53	18	55	19
4	6	7	3
LTE	LTE	LTE	LTE

These are the results in a moving car on the way to SM San Lazaro. I was surprised that the Mi Pad 4 got much higher speeds than the Note 3.

Uniqlo entrance 1		Uniqlo entrance 2		Auntie Anne’s
Note 3	MP4	Note 3	MP4	Note 3	MP4
556	6.02	254	381	185	88.1
72.5	0.1	11.6	30.1	0.34	2.66
38	39	49	39	51	80
3	46	562	15	57	131
H+	LTE	H+	LTE	H+	LTE

My internet speed dropped significantly when I entered the mall. For the first test, I stood outside Uniqlo near Yellow Cab. For the second test, I stood at the other Uniqlo entrance, the one near the mall entrance. I did the third test while waiting in line at Auntie Anne’s, on the other end of the mall. My phone could not get an LTE connection the entire time.

Starbucks (Makati)		Starbucks (Mandaluyong)
Note 3	MP4	Note 3	MP4
188	156	188	219
691	790	669	686
69	58	72	48
6	10	5	16
LTE	LTE	LTE	LTE

During my final tests I realized that the devices were connecting to different servers so I manually picked where they connected to. I chose Globe Makati for the first test then Globe Mandaluyong for the second. The final two results were the most consistent results. I don’t know why they were connecting to different servers even though both devices were side by side during the tests.

Camera

It has 2 cameras, one in front, one at the back. You can use it to quickly take pictures of documents. The front camera is serviceable for video calls. For me, that is all that matters in a tablet camera. I doubt that tablet cameras will ever be on par with modern day smartphone cameras.

Battery Life

I didn’t do a precise battery life test. After almost a month of using it, it can last me 2-3 days of moderate on week nights and 1-1.5 days if I use it a lot on the weekends. It has a big 6000mAh battery. It’s the same size as my Nook Tablet but that only has 4000mAh and weighs more (400g vs 343g).

Although the Snapdragon 660 supports quick charging, the included charger is a normal 5v 2A plug. Some people online claim that the quick chargers of Xiaomi phones don’t work with the Mi Pad 4. It takes a little over 3 hours to charge without using it. I always have it in airplane mode since I don’t have an extra sim card just for the tablet. Most people might find the 3 hour charging time annoying but coming from a Nook Tablet that needed 4-6 hours to charge, I’ll take the 3. My Note 3 also doesn’t support quick charging so it takes about 2-2.5 hours to fully charge.

Others

I installed the app Blokada to block ads. I noticed that it frequently intercepted connections to Xiaomi servers. I don’t know if it’s maliciously recording my device or it’s just typical data gathering/ad servers. The app interferes with the software update. I couldn’t even check for updates until I disabled it. One small surprise was finding out that it could fit inside the protective sleeves of my Nook. I’m glad that I can still use my 3 tablet sleeves.

Update Nov 10, 2018: I updated to MIUI 10 today. My tablet was able to detect and install the tablet even with Blokada turned on.

Conclusion

The Mi Pad 4 is great for reading and media consumption. Some people think that the mini tablet category is redundant because phones are getting a lot bigger. However, the big phones with 18.5:9 screens are way too thin for reading comic books and manga. The bigger tablets can display comics better but they’re not easy to use one-handed. I often brought my Nook with me when going out or traveling. I already found it heavy at 400g. The big tablets usually weigh more than that.

It’s not perfect but it’s very competent, especially for this price. The 2018 iPad (not Pro) costs just a bit more. It might provide better value for many people but I prefer the flexibility of Android. There are many other Android tablets out there but the Mi Pad 4 hits the right balance of price and performance for my needs.