Xiaomi could be working on a brand new premium tablet to take on the iPad Pro M4 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.
Regular leaker Digital Chat Station has issued an interesting post to Chinese social network Weibo, predicting “Xiaomi’s new flagship tablet” (via machine translation) to feature a huge 14-inch display and speedy 120W charging.
If there was any doubt that we’re looking at a full-on iPad Pro M4 rival here, the tipster states that “the core materials and positioning are the top of the Xiaomi tablet line”.
According to another Weibo-using tipster known as Smart Pikachu, Xiaomi’s new high-end tablet will pack a 14-inch OLED display. It’ll also apparently benefit from extremely narrow bezels.
It’s also being speculated that the Xiaomi Pad 7 Max could be the first tablets to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which would make it the fastest Android tablet yet. It would join the other Pad 7 models which were just announced for global markets at MWC.
Might this be a Xiaomi Pad 7 Max?
Several outlets are bandying around a likely name for this new super-sized Xiaomi tablet: the Xiaomi Pad 7 Max. We’re struggling to pin down a source for that, but it certainly seems plausible.
For reference, back in the second half of 2023 Xiaomi launched the Xiaomi Pad 6 Max in select territories. This was a premium tablet that packed a 14-inch LCD. These rumours seem to point to a direct follow-up – albeit with a major upgrade in the screen department from LCD to OLED.
What’s a tad strange is that Xiaomi isn’t opting for the trend for using ‘Ultra’ as a model name, especially considering the Xiaomi 15 Ultra phone’s existence.
However, the names Xiaomi Pad 7S Pro and Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra have also been thrown around, all of which seem to point to a second wave of Xiaomi Pad 7 tablets aimed at the higher end of the market.
As the original tipster notes, Xiaomi has also been tipped to launch a 13-inch LCD tablet with a Dimensity 9400 chip and 66W charging, as well as a 13.2-inch tablet with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and 80W charging for the Chinese market.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Why it matters
The top of the Xiaomi tablet line is currently occupied by the recently unveiled Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro which, despite its deceptive name, retails for the mid-range price of £449 – or £549 for the Matte Glass Version we particularly love.
These latest rumours seem to suggest that Xiaomi is looking to slot at least one new tablet (and quite possibly more) above the Pro in terms of specs, size, and presumably price, too.
With the iPad Pro M4 13-inch retailing at £1,299 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra £1,199, Xiaomi has a lot of room to operate in whilst still undercutting its rivals.
At the core of these rumours is the idea that Xiaomi is working on a super-sized premium tablet – perhaps called the Xiaomi Pad 7 Max – that could well be unveiled in April.
If Xiaomi can launch a keenly priced, globally available, and clearly named (crucial, that one) premium tablet, Apple and Samsung might have something to worry about.
Author: Jon Mundy, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Jon is a freelance journalist who got his start covering mobile games at the dawn of the App Store. He has since covered everything from smart home tech and laptops to food and culture, but always seems to return to his fascination with smartphones.