Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE rivals Galaxy Tab A8 at £179

Not one to shy away from launching plenty of new devices on a regular basis, Xiaomi has unveiled a new budget tablet under its Redmi branding. 

The Redmi Pad SE comes in at just £179, making it a key rival to our current favourite budget tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8.

Xiaomi says the slate is “Designed for young professionals and students” with a “winning blend of practicality and aesthetics to satisfy the needs of both work and leisure.” 

Whether you’re the target market or not (and at this price, perhaps Xiaomi shouldn’t pigeonhole the tablet so much) it looks like it could be one of the best budget tablets of 2023 when it goes on sale on 6 September. 

The Redmi Pad SE comes with an 11in Full HD+ LCD display sporting a 16:10 display ratio, 1500:1 contrast ratio and 400 nits of brightness. Furthermore, it has a refresh rate of up to 90Hz for a smoother user experience, while the Tab A8 uses inferior TFT technology stuck at 60Hz. 

The screen also has features such as Reading Mode 3.0 with dedicated Classic and Paper modes as well as reduced blue light output. 

“Engineered for a cinematic audiovisual experience anywhere you go”, the Pad SE has quad speakers and supports Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio. 

Xiaomi has fitted the tablet with a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor and there’s an 8Mp at the rear for any snaps you might need to take.  

The aluminum alloy unibody design comes in three colors: Lavender Purple, Graphite Gray, and Mint Green. It weighs 478g which is 30g less than the Tab A8. 

In the UK, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE will cost just £179 for a model with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, available from Mi.com. The Galaxy Tab A8 starts at £219 for just 32GB storage, though it’s widely available at £169 now it’s been around for a couple of years. 

If you’re in Europe, then there are three models of the Pad SE as follows: 

• 4/128GB – €199 
• 6/128GB – €229 
• 8/128GB – €249