PC-level productivity on the go is becoming the norm, with highly capable tablets springing up from numerous brands. Yet few manage to combine power, portability, and true PC-like versatility without a hefty price tag or compromising on features. Enter the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro, a new contender that combines all of the above into a do-it-all tablet, bringing PC-like functionality with features like Workstation Mode, multi-window multitasking, and stylus and keyboard support. Will it succeed? Read this review to find out.
Design and build
The Xiaomi Pad 8 comes in Black, Pine Green, and Blue. The unit I got my hands on is the Pine Green colorway, which exhibits understated elegance with its deep, subdued shade. It looks sleek and professional, making it right at home in workspaces, but has enough personality to suit varying tastes and styles.
In terms of portability, the device aces it with a lightweight form factor of just 485g and a slim 5.75mm profile, making it easy to carry for long periods without strain and slide into your bag without taking up much space. This is a huge advantage for users who work on the go, a device that can adapt to your lifestyle effortlessly.
Display and audio
Up front, the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro sports an 11.2‑inch 3.2K display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, HDR, and Dolby Vision support. Interacting with the interface feels smooth and responsive, but what truly stands out are the immersive visuals — the sharp details and vivid colors really pop. This isn’t just great news for gamers and binge watchers; creators who rely on color accuracy will benefit just as much.
On a different note, the 800 nits of peak brightness provide all types of users with ease of readability, even when viewing outdoors.
Equally important, the tablet boasts numerous protective eye certifications for peace of mind even with long screen time. These include the TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light, TUV Rheinland Flicker-Free, TUV Rheinland Circadian-Friendly certifications.
Complementing this experience are the quad speakers with Dolby Atmos support. They deliver crisp, clear sound with minimal distortion even at high volumes, and the audio feels well-balanced across mids, lows, and highs. I immediately noticed this when the Netflix “ta-dum” intro played; it was a mix of a deep rumble and bright high frequencies that really showcased the tablet’s immersive sound quality.
Productivity accessories
For purposes beyond entertainment, productivity can be achieved by purchasing accessories for sketching, note-taking, or typing. First off, Xiaomi introduced the Focus Pen Pro, which aims to provide pro-level precision with its unibody, button-free design for a cleaner look.
While a matte display may feel more satisfying for that screen-stylus interaction, I still appreciated the precision of every stroke. To add to that, I like that it offers several useful functions such as hover, brush preview, and quick actions. You can customize the commands for each action, like pinch to show shortcut panel and double press to switch between brush and eraser.
If your work requires a lot of typing, you can opt to get the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro Focus Keyboard.
PC-level productivity experience
Xiaomi introduced an updated split-screen layout, including a 5:5 vertical split for multi-window multitasking on the large display and a new horizontal 1:9 split for more flexible window management. For a true PC-like experience, the upgraded Workstation Mode offers a desktop-style interface, allowing users to keep more apps in the Dock for quick access.
Another productivity tool is WPS Office, which lets you edit documents, slides, sheets, and PDFs. Using it in Workstation Mode was very intuitive. At times, I still had to adjust to the layout when the desktop version wasn’t available and had to stick to the standard tablet interface. The experience felt familiar, with overlapping and resizable windows, an easy-access dock, among others.
The Pad 8 Pro also has a native tool for creatives: the Mi Canvas. It has tools for sketching, drawing, and note‑taking.
Performance and OS
Under the hood, the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, which the brand claims boosts the CPU performance by 81% and GPU performance by 103%. The unit I’m testing is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This performance was evident when multitasking without any hitches, as well as when gaming and running titles like Mobile Legends smoothly, with no lags or frame drops.
The tablet also comes with a wide suite of AI features to boost productivity, including AI Writing, AI Speech Recognition, AI Translate Conversation, AI Interpreter, AI Calculator, AI Creativity Assistant, AI Art, Circle to Search with Google, and Google Gemini — all of which can be useful for streamlining workflows.
Battery and charging
Despite its slim and lightweight build, the Xiaomi Pad 8 doesn’t compromise on battery. It comes packed with a large 9200mAh battery, which should comfortably last a full workday without having to recharge. And when it’s time to power up the device, the tablet supports 67W HyperCharge.
Verdict
Overall, the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro stands out for the power it packs under the hood, all while maintaining a light form factor. It doesn’t cut corners, offering an immersive audiovisual experience, a large battery, and fast-charging capabilities. Not to mention, it’s loaded with PC-level and AI features that make workflows more fluid and seamless. So if we’re talking about working and creating efficiently while on the go, this tablet delivers, and then some, all for PHP38,999 (8GB + 256GB), bundled with the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro Focus Keyboard.
