At a time when tablets have become quite accessible at a sub-Rs 25,000 price point, POCO has decided to venture into this zone with the POCO Pad. The tablet seems like quite an interesting proposition; there’s an attractive design, a 120Hz display, and 5G support. But is it an ideal and a value-for-money option in the price range? Especially, with competition around. Let’s find out in this review.
POCO Pad 5G
Rs 23,999
What Is Good?
- Good display quality
- Easy-to-use UI
- Lightweight design
- 5G support
- Well Priced
What Is Bad?
- Cameras are average
- Slow charging
- The back panel attracts smudges
POCO Pad 5G Review: Pricing and Availability in India
The POCO Pad 5G can be bought via Flipkart and comes in two variants. Here’s the pricing:
| Variants | Pricing |
| 8GB RAM + 128GB Storage | Rs 23,999 |
| 8GB RAM + 256GB Storage | Rs 25,999 |
POCO Pad 5G Review: Design and Build
The POCO Pad doesn’t go for a run-of-the-mill design and feels very luxurious at the first sighting. I got the one in Cobalt Blue colour, which feels very premium. The big rear camera housings might be polarising but I feel the design stands out and looks different for a tablet. The tablet has a slim and lightweight chassis, which makes it so much easier to carry it around. And trust me, if you are commuting in the metro, this is what you need.
| Design | Specifications |
| Weight | 571 grams |
| Thickness | 7.55mm |
| Colours | Cobalt Blue and Pistachio Green |
| Port and Button Placements | Bottom: 3.5mm headphone jack, USB port, Two speaker grilles
Top: Two speaker grilles, Power button Right Side: SIM tray, Volume buttons, Two microphones |
That said, the back panel is prone to smudges and this fueled the urge in me to clean it in short intervals. Coming to the good part, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack, which will be liked by those who still carry the OG wired earphones. It has an IP52 rating, which ensures protection against dust and water splashes. I know everyone’s mindful of not using a device such as a tablet near water but such a rating gives your mind some peace.
POCO Pad 5G Review: Display and Audio
The tablet has a decently sized display, which offers an indulging experience. The colours shown are accurate, the details are highlighted well, and everything appears quite vivid. Human subjects can appear a little blurry on the edges at times, but this doesn’t deteriorate the viewing experience. The viewing angles are good and even if you keep the tablet on the bed and watch while lying down, the experience won’t be impacted.
| Display | Specifications |
| Size | 12.1-inch |
| Type | IPS LCD |
| Resolution | 1600×2560 pixels |
| Refresh Rate | 120Hz |
| Peak Brightness | Claimed: 600 nits, Tested: 446 nits |
| Min Brightness | 02 nits |
The brightness levels are decent but aren’t exceptional. The legibility is slightly impacted outdoors and is okay inside. That said, tablets are mostly designed to function well indoors. So, if you fall into that camp, brightness should not be a dealbreaker.
The 120Hz refresh rate makes gliding through different apps smooth. The POCO Pad gets itself a quad-speaker setup, which is quite apt when you have a group movie-watching session. The audio is fairly loud and I didn’t encounter any distortion at higher levels.
POCO Pad 5G Review: Performance and Software
The tablet gets the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, which also powers the Redmi Pad Pro and phones like the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, the Realme 13 Pro, and the Redmi Note 13 Pro. You can see how the POCO Pad compares with these devices below, in terms of synthetic benchmarks.
The tablet gets most tasks fulfilled with ease. During my usage, I didn’t encounter lags and it was a smooth sailing experience. I mostly used it for watching videos and keeping my work organised. Of course, I mixed it up with some casual gaming (nostalgia hit me hard when I played Candy Crush Saga after years!)
| Hardware | Specifications |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC |
| RAM | Up to 8GB |
| Storage | Up to 256GB |
| Software Version | Xiaomi HyperOS, based on Android 14
Two years of OS updates and three years of security patches |
| Connectivity Details | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2 |
As for the software part, there’s HyperOS based on Android 14, which is a great addition. Even more so in the real world as the experience has been smooth and clutter-free. The UI has bloatware but nothing major and the added multi-tasking features like Floating Windows and Split-Screen appear quite helpful.
These also impressed me when I had my time with the Redmi Pad SE and I am glad to see POCO providing a similar experience. You also get Xiaomi Interconnectivity, which aims to create a sync between phones and the tablet. This includes the Clipboard feature to copy text and images to other devices and the ability to view the home screen and get notifications.
There’s also 5G support so making calls or receiving text messages won’t be a problem. But, I don’t recommend this as it would be rather inconvenient to use a tablet as a phone. But, it’s good to see such an inclusion.
POCO Pad 5G Review: Cameras
The POCO Pad’s rear and front cameras aren’t meant for those picturesque photos. Both are just average and you can find some noise in the day and even low-light shots. However, photos taken outdoors are decent and the colours are fairly accurate. The selfie camera photos are acceptable but the skin smoothening is pretty evident. Moreover, the colour balance now also leans towards the cool tones.
| Camera | Specifications |
| Primary Camera | 8-megapixel rear camera, HDR f/2.0 aperture |
| Selfie Camera | 8-megapixel selfie camera, f/2.28 aperture |
| Video Recording Capabilities | 720p at 30fps |
That said, these are decent enough for your regular office meetings or casual video calls. There are handy features like a document scanner and even the ability to create short videos.
POCO Pad 5G Review: Battery and Charging
The 10,000mAh battery is quite big and is sufficient for longer usage. During my 10 days of usage, I charged it thrice and this felt quite enough. However, the charging speeds could’ve been better as it took 1 hour and 37 minutes to fully charge.
| Battery | Specifications |
| Battery | 10,000mAh |
| Charging Adapter | 33W, charger in the box |
| Charging Time | 1 hour 37 minutes |
Nonetheless, the battery backup was good and I could use it for close to 30 minutes with only 8% of the charge left. Unfortunately, the PCMark Battery Life test failed twice on the POCO Pad. However, the Redmi Pad Pro 5G managed around 12 hours and 4 minutes, since the internals are somewhat similar, you can expect the numbers to be the same.
POCO Pad 5G Review: Verdict
The POCO Pad is a capable first attempt by the company to cater to people who don’t want to spend over 25K for a tablet. It offers an enjoyable viewing experience, good performance, a reliable battery, and an easy-to-use UI, which will help people easily warm up. The cherry on the top is 5G connectivity, which is rare in this price bracket.
It also comes with a stylus and a keyboard (I didn’t get to try them) but you will have to pay extra for the accessories. Other than this, the tablet is an easy recommendation. Moreover, it also undercuts the Redmi Pad Pro 5G (check review) with a price of Rs 23,999, which comes with similar specifications and features. If you want a 144Hz display and better cameras, the Xiaomi Pad 6 (check review) could be considered.
