Xiaomi Pad 6 Max debuts with 14" display and SD 8+ Gen 1, Smart Band 8 Pro also unveiled

2023-08-20

After the long introduction of the Xiaomi’s latest foldable, CEO Lei Jun moved on to the company’s largest tablet yet, the Pad 6 Max, and the latest and greatest Xiaomi smart band.

Xiaomi Pad 6 Max

The Xiaomi Pad 6 Max is one of the largest modern tablets on the market right now. It towers over the 11” Pad 6 Pro, but it also shares many features with it too.

The Max has a 14” display, giving you 62% more surface area to work with than the 11” Pro. This is a high-quality 10-bit display with 2,880 x 1,800px resolution, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support and 600 nits brightness. Gorilla Glass 5 is used for protection.

It has a 120Hz refresh rate and the display – just like the tablet itself – has been designed for both work and play. There are eight speakers on board with Dolby Atmos support for gaming and streaming videos.

The display is great for playing games too, but it also fits more of the document when using office apps. And it has been calibrated for color accuracy, so you can edit photos as well. Whether you are working or relaxing, the MIUI for Pad interface can fit up to 4 apps at a time.

All of this is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset (just like the Pro). The base configuration is 8/256GB, but you can have a slate with as much as 16GB of RAM and 1TB storage, more on the various configurations in a bit.

The tablet runs on a 10,000mAh battery, which should last for two days of regular use. Recharging is quick with the 67W charger – 30 minutes to 50% and 68 minutes to 100%. You can use the Pad 6 Max as a power bank for your smaller electronics too with 33W reverse charging. And if you use the slate sporadically, its hibernation mode will keep charge in its battery for over 40 days.

The tablet has a 20MP front-facing camera that’s placed in the middle of the long side. There is an LED to warn you that the camera is in use. Also, a 4-microphone array can focus on a single person (60° cone) or in group chat scenarios they can pick up voices from the full 360°. The rear is equipped with a 50MP camera.

This is best used with a case with a kickstand, like the official keyboard case, for example. Xiaomi says that the keys are full size and there is a large track pad too. Note that the keyboard is detachable, so you can leave the slate on its kickstand and type from a longer distance.

There is also an optional stylus. It has a durable tip and just 5ms latency when drawing or writing. For presentations, this can work as a virtual laser pointer too.

The Max has a metal unibody that measures only 6.53mm thick and weighs 750g. It is available in Black and Silver.

The Xiaomi Pad 6 Max is available in China starting today (there’s no word on a global release). The base price for the 8/256GB model is CNY 3,800, though for the first few days it will be CNY 3,600. This CNY 200 discount carries over to the other configurations too.

Once that’s over, the 12/256GB model will be CNY 4,000, the 12/512GB one will be CNY 4,400 and the fully-loaded 16GB/1TB model will cost you CNY 4,800. For comparison, the Pad 6 Pro started at CNY 2,700.

The keyboard case and the stylus are sold separately, they cost CNY 800 and CNY 500, respectively.

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro arrives with a larger display than its predecessor – it now measures 1.74”, up from 1.64”. With a resolution of 336 x 480px, it is slightly sharper to boot (336ppi vs. 326ppi) and is brighter too (600 nits vs. 500 nits). This display runs at 60Hz an is protected by Gorilla Glass.

The new Pro band is a couple of grams heavier at 22.5g, but it is thinner than its predecessor at 9.9mm (vs. 11mm). It is still as tough as before with a 5ATM water resistance rating. The body of the band is available in Black and Silver.

Also, its battery should last a bit longer, Xiaomi says up to 14 days (compared to up to 12 days for the 7 Pro).

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro is highly customizable with 100 watch faces and 10 straps: 4 silicone, 2 braided, 3 leather and 1 Milanese. This can be bought separately, more in a moment.

Like before, the band has a built-in GPS receiver, so you can go exercise outdoors and leave your phone at home. The new heart rate and blood oxygen (SpO2) sensors are more accurate to boot. Also like before, there is NFC, though that might not be available on international units.

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro with a silicone strap costs CNY 400, it’s CNY 450 if you want a leather strap instead. You can pick up an extra silicone strap for CNY 40, braided and leather straps are CNY 100 each. The fancy Milanese option is CNY 200.