Realme Pad first impressions — Mostly borrowed but well packaged

• The Realme Pad is the company’s first tablet.
• It comes in Wi-Fi only and LTE models starting at ₹13,999.
• Here are our initial thoughts about the Realme Pad.

Realme has been expanding its product portfolio beyond smartphones and it now offers smart TVs, Bluetooth speakers, a laptop and even a tablet. Realme Pad is the company’s first tablet marking its entry into the Indian Android tablet market where competition is very limited. It’s actually good news for consumers as they now have more than a handful of choices when buying an Android tablet.

The Realme Pad’s highlight is that it’s the company’s debut tablet but other than that we find the usual workings that we usually see in an Android tablet. What could have it going is also its affordable price tag. The Realme Pad starts at ₹13,999 for the Wi-Fi only model and ₹15,999 for the LTE model. This makes it very close in comparison to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite that has a starting price of ₹11,999. But more on the performance and competition later as we talk about our first impressions of the tablet today.

Design

The design of the Realme Pad looks similar to the iPad Pro with its flat edges. It also reminds one of the old LeEco phones with the protruding camera sensor and thin line running along the rear panel which might confuse some for an antanna band. It otherwise looks and feels good and the gold colour adds a bit of a premium finish to the tablet. The Realme Pad also feels light on the hands but to get optimum usage a cover with a stand is recommended.

The Realme Pad has a USB Type-C charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom, power button on top and SIM tray and volume keys on the right side. The power button’s placement is comfortable and easy to reach but the volume keys could have been somewhere close to the middle. You also get a selfie camera on the Realme Pad which is actually placed horizontally on the right side of the tablet.

Display

The Realme Pad features a 10.4-inch WUXGA+ (2000x1200 pixels) display. It’s big so that’s good but the bezels are quite thick so if you’re switching from a bezel-less phone you might take some time adjusting to it.

You can also switch to dark mode, eye comfort mode or reading mode. The display is bright though with good contrast but more on that in our detailed review.

Software

On the software front, the Realme Pad runs realme UI for Pad based on Android 11. It’s a first of its kind but it’s basically a near-stock Android OS which is great since there’s no bloatware. You’re instead greeted with a bunch of Google apps on the home screen. During my brief usage, I found the tablet running smoothly with no noticeable lags or stutters although auto-switching between landscape and portrait mode is a little slow.

Speakers

The speakers are something that stands out for this tablet. The Realme Pad has quad speakers with two on each side and Dolby Atmos too. The speakers are very loud which is great for watching videos, TV shows and movies. The audio quality also seemed good during our brief usage with no complaints so far.

Thoughts so far

The Realme Pad appears to be a no-frills Android tablet with all the basics in place. It could be a good option for students or just anyone looking for an affordable Android tablet. Our detailed review will shed more light on the tablet’s performance and whether you should really go for it or not.

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