Tech Next: Redmi Pad SE- A budget tab that doesn’t cut corners

CHENNAI: The early 2020s saw a spike in demand for tablets driven by hybrid work and study lifestyles. While that spike might have subsided slightly, we’re consistently seeing brands unveil new tabs. The new Redmi Pad SE lands in the sub Rs 15,000 price segment and is positioned as the ideal Content consumption device at an affordable price tag. Is this the best tab you can buy under Rs 15K?

The Pad SE certainly looks more expensive than its asking price. We approve of the elegant Metal unibody design; it feels quite light in your hand. The Pad SE weighs well under 500 gm despite a fully functional 11-inch display. It comes in three shades including our favourite - a very classy shade of Lavender Purple. The 11-inch FHD+ display (1920 x 1200 pixels) with a 16:10 aspect ratio, peaks at 400 nits and features a 90Hz refresh rate. Colours are quite vibrant and offer good visibility even under direct sunlight. You also get Dolby Atmos quad speakers but they don’t quite pack a punch.

The SE ticks key boxes on the Content consumption front. At its heart is a Snapdragon 680 chipset. The device comes in three hardware variants with 4GB, 6GB and 8GB of RAM; all variants feature 128GB of internal storage that is expandable with support for MicroSD (up to 1TB) cards. We found that this is enough firepower for everyday tasks, videos or even fairly graphic intensive games like Asphalt 9. The Pad SE notched a score of 1468 in our Geekbench (multi-core) benchmark test. Battery life is another plus. The 8000 mAh battery (with support for 10W charging) won’t let you down.

The Redmi Pad SE comes with some thoughtful inclusions like a 3.5mm headphone jack and also features a clean user interface minus too many pre-installed apps. You can buy an optional magnetic back cover for Rs 1,299.The tab is kitted with an 8MP rear cam and a 5MP camera. We would have liked to see a fingerprint scanner in the mix. Redmi’s all-new Tab is easily one of the best tablet buys under Rs 15K with a solid battery, refined design language and a large display.

(Rs 11,999 onwards including an instant discount of Rs 1,000)