Redmi Pad SE review: a reliable tablet for everyday tasks

The Redmi Pad SE might be an affordable tablet, but the company promises several compelling features. This includes a visual experience ideal for work, reading, and multimedia enjoyment. The tablet boasts an upgraded Reading Mode 3.0 for enhanced comfort, which provides an optimised reading experience with true-to-life colour options. Are these reasons enough to invest in Redmi Pad SE, or is there more to the tablet than meets the eye? Read this Redmi Pad SE review to find out.

Design and display

The Redmi Pad SE is a sleek and stylish tablet designed for effortless handling. It utilises an aluminium frame that elegantly covers the edges, and offers a comfortable grip. Additionally, the corners and edges of the tablet are smoothly curved, enhancing accessibility. Weighing 478 grams, it may feel a bit heavy for prolonged use. To enhance convenience, the company offers a flap-style case for an additional Rs 1,299. This magnetic smart cover can automatically wake up or put the tablet to sleep. Moreover, its flap can be folded backwards to serve as a stand for consuming content on the device.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 91mobiles (@91mobiles)

Moving on, the Redmi Pad SE sports a single 8MP rear-facing camera housed in a rectangular module. This module boasts a dual-tone finish, standing out from the rest of the body with its glossy texture, in contrast to the matte finish on the rest of the chassis. I was pleased with the matte surface as it kept fingerprints and smudges at bay; thereby, providing a clean look to the tablet. The tablet has quad speakers, a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s no fingerprint scanner, so the only way to secure your data is through software-backed features such as PIN, pattern, and facial recognition.

The viewing experience on the device is respectable for the price, thanks to the 11-inch FHD+ display that bears a 90Hz refresh rate. The display is also TUV Rheinland low blue light and flicker-free certified. There are visibly thick bezels all around the screen, which I don’t mind as they help prevent accidental touches. The typical brightness is 400 nits, which is acceptable for indoor viewing. The tablet might suffer outdoors under direct sunlight, but given its affordable price, it is excusable.

Be that as it may, the display is responsive to the touch, albeit with some lag here and there. Coming to the colour calibration, it looks pleasing with good contrast and natural whites. The overall experience is further amplified with Dolby Atmos-powered quad speakers, which provide stereo output and get sufficiently loud. The 90Hz refresh rate works well across supported apps and UI. The display can also switch to standard 60Hz to save some battery. The tablet is Widevine L1 certified, which means it can stream content in FHD resolution from streaming platforms.

Performance and software

At the core of the Redmi Pad SE lies Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 680 chipset paired with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage, which is expandable up to 1TB using a microSD card. The chipset ensures a seamless performance for the tablet for everyday use. There was no stutter or lag while browsing, watching videos, and scrolling through social media apps during our usage.

While we couldn’t run the AnTuTu test on the tablet due to compatibility issues, on Geekbench, the Redmi Pad SE scored 415 and 1,438 in the single-core and multi-core tests respectively. This should give you a fair idea that the tablet is not meant for power users. That is not to say you can’t enjoy gaming on this device. The tablet is capable of running graphically demanding games like Real Racing 3. After half an hour of gaming, there was roughly a 7 percent increase in thermals and a decrease in battery life, which is quite normal.

As for the software, the Redmi Pad SE runs Android 13-based MIUI 14 out of the box. It seems a bit dated, but it is due to get Android 14 and possibly Android 15 updates via OTA in the future. The current software experience remains respectable. The company has tweaked its custom skin MIUI 14 for the tablet to include useful features such as gestures for seamless multitasking with split screens and floating windows. Additionally, a handful of apps, along with task manager, have been optimised to make use of the full screen. The app content is presented in two columns so that you don’t have to jump between screens.

Besides all this, there is a Video Toolbox, which can be toggled on and off from the settings menu for a floating window when watching videos. The window provides you the option to apply special effects to a video based on your mood and enhance the audio quality with Dolby Atmos. Then there is Reading Mode 3.0 for those who are into reading books or e-papers on the tablet. While not entirely new, the mode can be enabled from the settings to reduce blue light and add paper texture to the background to reduce eye strain.

Cameras

In terms of optics, the Redmi Pad SE sports an 8MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP front-facing snapper for selfies and video calling. Similar to other budget tablets, these are simple point-and-shoot cameras that get the job done. Don’t expect them to be as good as smartphones, but you will be pleased with the results in well-lit environments. The images captured have a respectable level of detail, sharpness, and punchy colours. The facial detailing might appear underwhelming. The lowlight photography is nothing to write home about.

The camera UI has a Document mode to get a digital copy of a document in three different modes – Original, B&W and Enhanced. The quality remains satisfactory, with an additional option to crop the document.

Battery and charging

The Redmi Pad SE is equipped with a generous 8,000mAh battery. While the tablet supports 18W fast charging, only a 10W charger is provided in the box. With that adapter, the device takes more than 4 hours to achieve a full charge from 0 to 100 percent. The 18W charger should be relatively quicker in juicing up the Redmi tablet.

The full charge achieves an impressive 16 hours and 23 minutes on the PC Mark battery test, with 20 percent battery still left in the tank. On our 30-minute YouTube playback test, the tablet’s battery life was reduced by just 3 percent with 50 percent brightness and volume levels. This suggests the Redmi Pad SE should provide you roughly 9-10 hours of screen-on-time with video playback. Considering this is a budget tablet, the battery life seems adequate.

Verdict

The Redmi Pad SE can be yours starting at Rs 11,999. This is hands down the most feature-packed tablet you can find in case you are tight on budget. However, if you can extend your budget for the 8GB RAM option, which costs Rs 14,999, the Redmi Pad SE has a few competitors. The Realme Pad 2 and Honor Pad X9 are good alternatives since they features screens with higher screen refresh rates and faster charging speeds. You can read more about the Realme Pad 2 in our full review.

The Redmi Pad SE, meanwhile, is packaged well with higher RAM and storage configurations for the price. Additionally, it boasts a sleek design, decent display, and satisfactory performance. The battery life is also respectable, and the software features enhance the overall multimedia experience. Despite minor drawbacks like the lack of a fingerprint scanner and slow charging, the Redmi Pad SE presents excellent value for budget-conscious consumers seeking a reliable tablet for everyday tasks.