Before the Redmi Pad SE 8.7 launched, it had been years since Xiaomi’s last sub-9″ tablet. The company is now putting more effort into it with the release of the Redmi K Pad in China and its global launch as the Xiaomi Pad Mini.
xiaomi pad mini
We received a test unit – check out our unboxing and hands-on post for a closer look. This slate features an 8.8” IPS LCD (165Hz, 12-bit color) and is powered by the outgoing Dimensity 9400+ flagship chipset.
But today we are interested in battery life and charging speed. The tablet runs on a relatively small 7,500mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging – our unit came with a 67W charger and a USB-A-to-C cable.
Xiaomi Pad Mini came with 67W charger and cable
The Xiaomi Pad Mini achieved 13:39 hours in our Active Usage Score test. That’s pretty impressive – the larger Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro (11.2” IPS LCD, Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, 8,850mAh) lasted just over 10 hours.
The RedMagic Astra is close in size – it has a 9.06″ LTPO OLED display and a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. Its battery is larger at 8,200mAh, which was enough for just over 11 hours.
Once the battery is empty, it’s time to plug in the charger. After 15 minutes, the Xiaomi Pad Mini reached 31% charge – not an impressive start (unless you’re comparing it to an iPad) and despite filling 700mAh more capacity, RedMagic’s 80W system went further.
By the 30-minute mark, the tablet was at 57% – that’s within the margin of error from the official numbers (58% at 30 minutes). It took exactly an hour to fully charge.
charging speed
- in 15 minutes
- in 30 minutes
- Time to fully charge (from 0%)
redmagic astra
80W turbocharged
redmagic nova
80W
xiaomi pad mini
67W Xiaomi HyperCharge
Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro
67W Xiaomi HyperCharge
iPad 11-inch (A16)
45W USB PD
Here’s a good example of why you can’t just look at the watt rating. The RedMagic Astra with an 8,200mAh battery and 80W charging was ahead of the Xiaomi Pad Mini at the 15-minute and 30-minute check-ins, but it was slower in the final stretch. In the first 30 minutes, it went from 1% to 69%, then it took a little more than 30 minutes to go from 69% to 100%. The Xiaomi tablet was actually 3 minutes faster on a full charge.
Additionally, the RedMagic Nova, a 10.9″ tablet, used the same 80W system to outlast its smaller brother by 5 minutes, despite having a larger 10,100mAh battery to fill (that’s 1,900mAh more than the Astra). Again, the last 30-40% has the biggest impact on the time it takes to get a full charge.
Back to the Xiaomi Pad Mini – although it’s not the fastest to begin with, if you charge to 100% it catches up and even surpasses some of its competitors. Plus, because it’s more efficient (look at the active usage score), it can last longer between charges, too.
Xiaomi Pad Mini has two USB-C 3.2 ports
Here’s something interesting we haven’t touched on yet – the Pad Mini has two USB-C ports! You can use it to plug in power (it also supports data). The second is DisplayPort 1.4, allowing you to connect an external display or USB hub via HDMI and an additional USB port – this is the port on the long side. This same port also provides a convenient spot to plug in external power so you can charge while gaming. With single-port models, the USB-C port is usually on the smaller side, but that means the USB cable gets in the way of holding your tablet comfortably.
The tablet also supports 18W reverse charging, so you can use it to top up your phone. This is also enough to run a portable USB-C monitor without external power – of course, plugging a power bank into another USB port is a trivial way to extend run time. Don’t you think more tablets should have two USB ports?
