Redmi Pad SE review

You won’t need a magnifying glass to tell that there are thick bezels surrounding the 11in FHD+ display. It has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 to be precise, with 207ppi and a refresh rate of 90Hz. For as little as ₹12,999 as a starting price, you won’t be disappointed with the display. The contrast, however, is a bit lacklustre. The 400nits brightness keeps things legible but there’s not enough punch in the colours to truly make use of it better.

The Redmi Pad SE doesn’t support HDR but Godzilla Minus One on Netflix looks crispy and bright. The colours in Cyberpunk Edgerunner do benefit from the high brightness, so expect colourful things to look pretty until you peek over to the better tablets higher up the budget.

The tablet doesn’t support an official stylus and doesn’t have an official keyboard case to go with it. Xiaomi says that in this budget the Redmi Pad SE is best used for entertainment, reading and browsing purposes. That checks out, because the processor inside this thing is meant for such duties. Editing and sketching are better on the mid-segment Xiaomi Pad 6, and if you want a bit more grunt from your device for gaming then the OnePlus Pad Go and Lenovo Tab M11 have a better processor for a wee-bit extra cash.

The MIUI Pad 14 is based on Android 13 which supports split-screen and pop-up windows and lets you arrange simple workspaces like Gmail and Chrome browser with drag-and-drop working between them easily. However, it’s not the smoothest experience. Generally moving around the UI has a few hiccups as well. It’s better to stick to ebooks, YouTube and movies on the Redmi Pad SE.

Apart from a good brightness, the speakers are also plenty loud. It sounds a bit sibilant on higher volumes and has a bright sound profile. Albeit, it’s good enough for movies, shows and social media. For music, you should pair it up with a Bluetooth speaker or TWS.

If you’re using this for entertainment on the go, the storage caps out at 128GB for all variants so it’s best you invest in an SD card, because the Redmi Pad SE comes with an SD card slot for storage expansion up to 1TB.

Surprisingly, the Redmi Pad SE doesn’t support fast charging. A mere 10W charging speed for an 8000mAh battery is like filling water in a bathtub with a shot glass. It’s not quick to drain but a stand-by battery is better on other tablets in this price range. 

The front camera is decent, but can produce noisy images. The biggest problem is that the Redmi Pad SE doesn’t have an ambient light sensor, so the auto brightness takes time to readjust while you’re moving. You also don’t get centre focus for meetings and video calls, and the microphone picks up external noise a lot. You should pair this with earphones for calls and meetings.

The Redmi Pad SE is a budget champion, offering a large display, long battery life, and loud speakers – perfect for Netflix binges and browsing. Don't expect powerhouse performance or fancy features though. The processor struggles with multitasking and editing, and the lack of an ambient light sensor makes auto-brightness wonky. 

While the camera is decent for casual snaps, the missing centre focus and noisy microphone make it a no-go for video calls. But hey, for the price, it gets the entertainment essentials right. If you just need a big-screen companion for basic tasks, the Redmi Pad SE won't leave you feeling empty… just maybe a little slow on refills with that 10W charger.