Xiaomi has announced a new compact tablet in the shape of the Mi Pad 2, but the most interesting thing about it is a Windows 10 option.
Popular Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi used its recent launch event to reveal a new flagship phablet phone in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. However, of equal interest was the announcement of a new tablet.
The Mi Pad 2 closely resembles the iPad Mini 4, which is in keeping with the company’s general policy of borrowing judiciously from the Apple playbook.
Like the iPad, the Mi Pad 2 features a 7.9-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 2048 x 1536 resolution. Xiomi has ditched the Nvidia Tegra K1 processor of the original Mi Pad in favour of a 64-bit Intel Atom X5-Z8500 CPU, and has paired that with 2GB of RAM.
Xiaomi has also included a USB Type-C connector in with the Mi Pad 2’s all-metal construction.
But the most interesting thing here is the choice of OS. While the Mi Pad 2 comes with Xiaomi’s modified version of Android, MIUI, as standard, there’s another option. Customers in China will also be able to obtain it with Microsoft’s Windows 10 OS.
In Windows 10 guise, the Mi Pad 2 features 64GB of storage as standard – the MIUI model comes with a choice of 16GB or 64GB.
Related: Best tablets 2015
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 will go on sale in China this Friday from RMB 999, which works out to around £103. That’ll get you the 16GB Android version.
As for the Windows 10 model, Chinese customers will have to wait until December, and will have to pay RMB 1299 (around £135) for the privilege. Either way, that’s a bit of a steal.
Next, take a look at the main features of Windows 10:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
