During the COVID era, Android tablets experienced a resurgence, but now that we are back in offices and classrooms, the first question you should ask is: Why do you need a tablet? And what additional benefits does a tablet provide that a smartphone does not?I believe that tablets are a great addition to our smartphones and are a good thing to have. Simply because I can watch movies and play games on a larger screen, I would love to own a tablet. For a better audio experience, I would purchase it. When it comes to typing and internet browsing, I would use it as an alternative to my laptop.I would most definitely purchase a tablet with a larger battery that offers greater endurance. The Xiaomi Pad 6 and the OnePlus Pad are the two tablets that currently perfectly fit the bill. Nevertheless, the OnePlus Pad is more expensive than the Xiaomi Pad 6, with a starting price that is Rs 11,000 higher.
DISPLAY
The 10-Bit IPS LCD panels on the Xiaomi Pad 6 and OnePlus Pad refresh at 144Hz. They are obviously different in size. The OnePlus Pad has a larger 11.6″ display than the Xiaomi Pad 6, which has an 11″ display. But once more, compared to the Xiaomi Pad 6, the OnePlus Pad’s display appears larger than it is due to its unusual 7:5 aspect ratio. In addition, the Xiaomi Pad can reach 550 nits of peak brightness, compared to 500 nits for the OnePlus Pad. Additionally, both tablets are sufficiently bright for everyday use both inside and outside.
Which one provides a better viewing experience then? Since both tablets have properly calibrated LCD panels, it’s difficult to pick just one based on quality alone. Because both allow you to select a different colour mode based on your preferences. There are no complaints with the colour reproduction either because it is vibrant and rich. Third, both tablets have screens with high refresh rates, and it is encouraging to see that the majority of the apps I use are optimised for them.
Both the OnePlus Pad and Xiaomi Pad 6 offer rich and immersive multimedia experiences for content consumption. The quad speakers on both tablets are powerful and clear. Naturally, neither tablet has audio that fills the entire room, but when compared to my laptop, an M1 MacBook Air, both tablets sound loud and clear with no audio distortion. However, I would give the OnePlus Pad a slight advantage due to its superior bass output.However, the Xiaomi Pad 6 will be my overall choice for the best multimedia consumption device because of its manageable form factor, relatively wider view, and Video Toolbox feature, which lets you customise a variety of settings while watching content on streaming platforms. The OnePlus Pad, on the other hand, is an equally impressive option for those who enjoy large screens.
Design and build
Design is arbitrary. You might not like what I like, and vice versa. Therefore, the Xiaomi Pad 6 and the OnePlus Pad both have premium metallic designs, thin front bezels, full-HD cameras that are oriented in landscape, as well as a quad-speaker system and a type-C port for charging. Now, neither of these tablets has a fingerprint sensor for authentication, but for what it’s worth, you do have face unlock. Here, the OnePlus Pad is not given an IP rating while the Xiaomi Pad 6 receives an IP53 rating. Furthermore, I prefer the way the Xiaomi Pad 6’s rear camera module looks to that of the OnePlus Pad’s circular camera module.
In terms of handling, I found the Xiaomi Pad 6 to be more comfortable to use due to its lower weight of 490g compared to the OnePlus Pad’s 552g. The grip was better on the Xiaomi Pad 6 while the OnePlus Pad felt slippery to me despite being relatively light and thin for its size. This was due to the boxier build and squared-off edges of the Pad 6 as opposed to the curved edges of the OnePlus Pad. Therefore, the Xiaomi Pad 6 would be my choice in terms of design.
Software
Both the Xiaomi Pad 6 and the OnePlus Pad run Android 13 and are compatible with both manufacturers’ specialised builds. As a result, when it comes to long-term software support, Xiaomi does not specify how many years the Android OS will receive updates, but the company does guarantee that the Xiaomi Pad 6 will receive security patch updates for three years. On the other hand, 3 years of Android OS updates and 4 years of security patch updates are promised for the OnePlus Pad. Therefore, there is no question that the OnePlus Pad will provide you with better long-term software support.
Both OxygenOS 13.1 and MIUI 14 are well-optimized for the large-screen form factor in terms of the software experience itself. Multitasking features like split-screen, floating windows, dual windows, and more are included with both tablets. Video calls can be made on both tablets with ease. The front camera on the OnePlus Pad has a feature called Limelight that tracks your movement so that you always remain in the centre of the frame when making a video call. On the Xiaomi Pad 6, you can access helpful features during video calls thanks to conference tools, which once more bring a slide-out toolbar.
Now, you can read our reviews of the Xiaomi Pad 6 and the OnePlus Pad (found in the videos section) if you want to learn more in-depth information about the software on both tablets. However, if you were to ask me right now which software experience I favour? I’m aware that many people won’t concur with me here, but perhaps I don’t know where it is, but MIUI 14 has been so buttery smooth in daily use that I’ve completely fallen in love with the software’s speed and fluidity. Naturally, the OnePlus Pad is quick and provides a similarly clean software environment, similar to MIUI 14.Yes, you heard correctly: MIUI 14 provides a clean user experience. I’m happy to report that I didn’t encounter any bloatware or spam notifications, which is fantastic. I prefer MIUI 14 because it has slicker transitions and animations, not to mention how satisfying the rubberband effect is when scrolling.
Additionally, I frequently observed that my OnePlus Pad’s refresh rate was throttled to 60Hz. This may have been a bug. Additionally, I verified in Settings that 144Hz was always enabled. I had to restart the tablet in order to return to a smoother scrolling experience. Therefore, the OnePlus Pad with OxygenOS 13.1 generally performs well, and it also benefits from the three years of Android OS updates. However, if we are talking about the present, MIUI 14 has unquestionably felt more polished to me.
Performance
The Snapdragon 870 SoC, along with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, powers the Xiaomi Pad 6. The Dimensity 9000 chip, combined with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, powers the OnePlus Pad, in contrast.First off, both the Xiaomi Pad 6 and the OnePlus Pad perform superbly when it comes to handling daily tasks like browsing, social media, using WhatsApp, and the like. The excellent performance even carries over to gaming. Now, one might assume that the Snapdragon 870 would have provided a better gaming experience than the Dimensity 9000 chip. Surprisingly, though, I was unable to detect any visual variations while gaming.
For instance, Asphalt 9 ran smoothly and stutter-free on both tablets at high graphics and 60 frames per second, with only the occasional frame drop. Even Call of Duty: Mobile, which requires very high graphics and a maximum frame rate of 60 frames per second, ran smoothly on both tablets. Nevertheless, when it comes to thermal control, the Xiaomi Pad 6 tends to heat up considerably more than the OnePlus Pad during extended gaming sessions. The heating was quite noticeable, especially in the top-right corner. However, the good news is that I never felt as though the tablets’ performance was being throttled, so that was good.
Both tablets have sizable batteries inside that contribute to their long-lasting performance. Compared to the 8840mAh battery in the Xiaomi Pad 6, the OnePlus Pad has a 9510mAh cell. And when it comes to battery life, you should be able to get at least 3 to 4 days out of both tablets if you use them as an extension to your phone, which means using them for video calls, gaming, and content consumption for at least 3 hours each day. To give you an idea, a 40-minute Call of Duty gaming session on the Xiaomi Pad 6 used only 8% of the battery, compared to 10% on the OnePlus Pad.
Similar to this, the Xiaomi Pad 6 lost 11% of its battery after an hour of streaming, while the OnePlus Pad lost 13%. Overall, the results on both tablets are positive. Of course, the Xiaomi Pad 6 offers a marginally more effective battery here due to the better numbers, but the OnePlus Pad also benefits from a larger battery due to its larger size.Additionally, the OnePlus Pad takes a little over an hour to fully charge, whereas the Xiaomi Pad 6 takes about 2 hours 15 minutes using the included charger. This is due to the OnePlus Pad’s 67W support versus the Xiaomi Pad 6’s 33W support.
Accessories
Let me first discuss the accessory support for both tablets before wrapping up the discussion. So both the Xiaomi Pad 6 and OnePlus Pad have keyboard covers and support for styluses. Of course, if a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse are more your style, you can pair them with both tablets. However, you can use both the Xiaomi Smart Pen 2 and OnePlus Stylo styluses, which are both first-party accessories, for sketching and doodling in addition to using them throughout the user interface (UI).In terms of the actual experience, I discovered that the OnePlus pencil had lower pen input latency than Xiaomi’s solution. the Xiaomi Smart costs Rs. 1,000 less.For that reason, OnePlus does the stylus better if that’s what you’re interested in, and it costs Rs 1,000 less than the Xiaomi Smart Pen 2, or Rs 4,999 for the stylus.
Now, both businesses offer incredibly high-quality keyboard covers when it comes to the keyboard. Both solutions provide long key travel, and typing is a pleasure. But I believe the keyboard for the OnePlus Pad offers more functionality now that it has a trackpad. However, if you can live without a trackpad on the keyboard cover, Xiaomi’s keyboard cover for the Pad 6 will undoubtedly offer you more value because it is Rs 3,000 less expensive than OnePlus’ alternative.