Xiaomi Redmi Pad 11" Redmi Pad 2 Lavender Purple 2025

The Redmi Pad 2 is the budget media tablet to beat. Gorgeous screen, all-day battery, and a premium feel that belies its price, just don't expect to use it in sunlight or charge it quickly.

The MediaTek Helio G100-Ultra here is genuinely impressive. CPU and GPU scores land in the 92nd and 91st percentiles, which means this thing flies through everyday tasks and even handles light gaming without breaking a sweat. We were surprised by how smooth the 90Hz panel makes everything feel, but the eMMC storage is the bottleneck. It's fine once apps are open, but booting up larger games or transferring files reminds you this isn't a premium flagship. The 8GB RAM model we tested keeps things responsive, unlike the 4GB version that users say can choke on multitasking.

The obvious rival is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+. It costs significantly more but comes with a brighter screen, faster charging, and a stellar S Pen included in the box. The Redmi's stylus is an expensive add-on with limited features, so if you're a note-taker, Samsung wins. The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is another capable competitor, often at a similar price, with a slightly better processor and Wi-Fi 6, but its display and speaker quality don't match the Redmi's. For pure couch potato duty, the Redmi Pad 2 is the better buy.

The pricing on this thing is all over the map, we've seen it anywhere from $190 to an absurd $51,536 across vendors. The real sweet spot is around $225, and at that level, it's an absolute steal. For the lowest price we spotted at $190, there's literally nothing else that offers this screen, this build, and this sound. That vendor is the one to hunt down. If you need a tablet for work or outdoor use, spend more elsewhere, but for a pure entertainment slate, this is the value champion.

The Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 is the budget media machine we didn't know we needed. For about $190 from the right vendor, you get an 11-inch 2.5K display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a metal unibody that feels way more expensive than it is, and a battery that just refuses to die. It's not a productivity powerhouse and you'll definitely want to keep it indoors, but if you're after a tablet for Netflix, YouTube, and casual reading, this thing absolutely crushes it at this price.

If you need a tablet for outdoor reading or note-taking with a stylus, this isn't it. The dim screen will frustrate you, and the expensive, limited stylus add-on can't compete. Go grab a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ instead, it includes the S Pen and has a much brighter panel.

Get the 8GB/256GB model, find the vendor selling it for around $190, and you'll have the best budget media tablet available right now. This thing isn't built for spreadsheets or sunny park benches, but for streaming in bed or on the couch, it's close to perfect. The slow charging is a real annoyance, so charge it while you sleep and you'll forget about it.