The Chinese consumer electronics juggernaut Xiaomi is all set to take on Apple Inc. in the mini-Tablet division with its latest product – the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. Xiaomi has announced the Mi Pad 2 which will run on an Intel Atom processor in China. Other products announced in Beijing, China, include the Redmi Note 3 and the Mi Air Purifier 2.
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While all three products will garner media attention and consumer interest, the Mi Pad 2 is likely to be the product that will get Xiaomi skeptics all riled up. This is because the Mi Pad 2 will be competing directly with the Apple iPad mini 4 Tablet without blowing a hole in your pocket.
The specs on the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 has a 7.9 inch display with 326 ppi pixel density. When it comes to the processor, the Mi Pad 2 has seen a significant change over its predecessor. Xiaomi decided to go with an Intel processor for the Mi Pad 2 instead of the NVIDIA Tegra K1 which powered the Xiaomi Mi Pad. The Mi Pad 2 has a 64-bit 2.24 GHz quad-core Intel Atom X5-Z8500 processor.
This shift could be a case of learning from your competitors. Xiaomi seems to have chosen the Intel Atom processor in light of some other brands, such as Asus in case of the Asus Transformer Book, opting for Intel Atom processors. This shift in strategy is significant because the Mi Pad 2 just became the first Xiaomi device to be powered by an Intel processor.
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 also boasts of Intel HD GPU and a 2GB LPDDR3 RAM. The cameras on the Mi Pad 2 are an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front camera. This is a pretty good camera configuration for a Tablet. The product will be available in 16 GB and 64 GB variants with expandable memory of up to 128 GB on offer. Another important component of any Tablet is the battery life. The Mi Pad 2 packs an impressive 6190 mAh battery.
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The Mi Pad 2 will be powered by the forked MIUI but the 64 GB variant will come with a Windows 10 option. This is a big move by Xiaomi because by introducing the Windows 10 variant the company has made it clear that it is open to hosting other platforms on its devices and will not restrict itself to the MIUI.
Why Windows 10 on a Xiaomi device?
Microsoft’s vision of making Windows 10 an OSAS (operating System as a service) offering seems to bearing fruits. Companies such as Xiaomi prefer offering their own software platforms on their hardware because of the level of control they can exercise on their products in case consumers point out issues with the hardware or software. But by making Windows 10 available to its fan base Xiaomi has played a brilliant stroke. This offers Xiaomi consumers an opportunity to experience the Windows 10 platform on a high quality hardware.
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Windows 10’s universal application architecture will allow developers to offer apps that will run across all Microsoft product families, which means eventually if you own a Windows 10 tablet, with varying degree of accessibility, you will be able to run apps that were built for platforms such as the HoloLens and the Xbox One.
The 16 GB and 64 GB variants for the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 are priced at CNY 999 (around Rs. 10,300) and CNY 1,299 (around Rs. 13,500) respectively. For now we will have to wait and see if these prices translate similarly when the Mi Pad 2 comes to India.