Xiaomi Pad 5 Review: Winning combo of iPad polish, Android versatility

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Xiaomi has made a fortune out of copying the homework from Apple throughout the years. Its MIUI is a tasteful replica of iOS, while several of its prominent smartphones have always resembled the iPhone of that year. The same goes for its latest tablet, which despite all the differentiation from the regular MIUI ecosystem, is an unmistakable clone of the iPad. The Xiaomi Pad 5 may run on Android but in terms of its looks and feel, many will wonder why there’s no Apple logo on its back!

You may think it is an exaggeration but the Xiaomi Pad 5 is truly copying the homework from the modern-day iPad. That is not a bad deal considering the introductory starting price of Rs. 24,999 for the base 128GB storage variant. And, mind you — this is no cheap iPad knockoff. For an iPad loyalist like me, adapting to the MIUI for Pad-ways was a child’s play. But is it worth buying, considering the rest of the package? That is something I found out over the last 10 days.

The Xiaomi Pad 5 resembles largely the Apple iPad Air 5th Gen, considering its slim bezels around the display, and the same kind of flat sides. The build quality is almost as nice as the iPad, although the choice of materials is different. Unlike the all-metal body on the iPad models, the Xiaomi Pad 5 has a metal frame sandwiched between the glass display and the plastic rear. Plastic may trigger some critics and fanboys but be assured the Xiaomi Pad 5 is among the best built tablets you can buy today. And, plastics make for a fairly lightweight tablet that is manageable to flick around.

Now note that the Xiaomi Pad 5 is not exactly a new tablet and you can tell that from its Mi 11X-inspired rear camera hump. That camera hump holds a single 13MP rear camera. The tablet also