With a diagonal of 8.7 inches, the Realme Pad Mini is one of the compact and inexpensive tablets. The design is successful, but there is a major weakness.
Small tablets in the format between 8 inches and just under 9 inches are much better for mobile use than their big brothers. These tablets fit in a handbag and can be used comfortably on public transport or as a second tablet in bed in the evening. It’s easy to use even with one hand.
However, the range of tablets in this format is manageable. Apart from the Realme Pad Mini tested here, hardly any small tablets have appeared this year. Among the Android tablets, inexpensive devices with simple hardware are usually used here. Examples of this are the Lenovo Tab M8 (test report) and Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (test report) or the Amazon Fire HD 8 (test report) from 2020. Devices with Full HD resolution are rare in the price range around 200 euros.
Realme has not been on the German market for that long . The company belongs to BBK Electronics, the parent company of Oppo and Oneplus. Realme has made a name for itself in a short time for strong smartphones with a good price-performance ratio. In addition to the Android tablet Realme Pad 10.4, the Chinese manufacturer has also been offering a compact device of this type since 2022: the Realme Pad Mini with an 8.7-inch display. Our test shows how well the device performs and whether it is an alternative to larger tablets.
design
The Realme Pad Mini makes a high-quality impression with its angular case made entirely of metal. The corners are strongly rounded, as is typical for a tablet. The metal back is interrupted with a small groove at the top and bottom. The camera lens on the back protrudes almost 2 mm with an elevation. The processing leaves an extremely high-quality impression, where the gaps are hardly noticeable. The pressure point of the power button and volume rocker is solid. Both buttons are on the same long side.
With dimensions of 212 mm x 125 mm x 7.6 mm, the tablet is about the same size as the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (test report) , but a touch thinner. This roughly corresponds to a Moleskine notepad in the size “Large” or a paperback in the “Legal” format, which is common for specialist and non-fiction books in particular. The size is about the same as DIN A5 in terms of height, but is about 20 mm narrower.
The weight is 386g, which is a little over 100g lighter than larger tablets of 10 inches and up. This allows you to hold the tablet with just one hand. Due to the compact format, unlike Android tablets larger than 10 inches, this device class can still be used upright to use news apps or read e-books, for example. The format of almost 15:9 contributes to this. However, the case does not offer protection against dust or water.
screen
The screen uses LCD technology with an IPS panel and measures 8.7 inches (22 cm) diagonally. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (test report) offers the same display size . The iPad Mini is a bit more compact at 8.3 inches. The Amazon Fire HD 8 (test report) or Lenovo Tab M8 (test report) tablets are even smaller at just 8 inches . Overall, the Realme Pad Mini offers a good compromise between a large display and a small case.
Let’s get to the first major snag with the Realme Pad Mini: the resolution is only 1340 x 800 pixels. This means that it is not possible to play videos in Full HD, for example, YouTube and Co. have a maximum of 1280 x 720 pixels. This leads to an only mediocre pixel density of 179 ppi (pixels per inch). As a result, some pixels can still be seen with the naked eye.
Admittedly, HD resolutions are not uncommon in inexpensive 8-inch Android tablets. However, a higher resolution would have been a real opportunity to stand out clearly from the competition. If you want higher resolutions, you have to go for the FHD version of the Lenovo Tab M8 (test report) , the waterproof Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 (test report) or the expensive Apple iPad Mini 6.
Colors and contrasts are pronounced. Viewing angle stability and maximum brightness are very decent for a tablet. In manual mode, the brightness is around 400 cd/m². With active adaptive adjustment, this even reaches over 470 cd/m². Most smartphones now offer more here, but only a few tablets in this price range achieve the same brightness.
When used outdoors, however, the readability reaches its limits. This is mainly due to the strong mirroring of the screen. This is less important when reading text than it is for video clips with a dark background. Nevertheless: only a few and above all expensive tablets do it better.
camera
The equipment of the camera is kept quite simple, as you are used to from most tablets. After all, taking photos with a device like the Realme Pad Mini doesn’t look quite as ridiculous as it does with an 11-inch tablet. The main lens on the back offers 8 megapixels, the lens in front above the display shoots selfies with 5 megapixels. The Android competition for small tablets is similarly equipped.
The shots are actually decent in good lighting conditions, and the camera is sufficient for snapshots. The images look natural, even if the colors could be a little more powerful. Image details are fine. Selfies are also satisfactory, but could perhaps do with a bit more image sharpness. The bokeh in portrait mode comes without any significant errors around the subject.
The video quality is also acceptable and allows recordings with Full HD. Unlocking via the front camera is also possible and usually works well. However, this method is not really secure, since only 2D technology is used, which theoretically can be fooled with a photo. We recommend using a PIN here.
Furnishing
The Unisoc Tiger T616 processor serves as the drive. You shouldn’t expect high performance from the octa-core CPU, but the processor offers decent performance compared to other inexpensive tablets. In everyday life, this is usually sufficient for smooth and trouble-free operation. With the benchmark Work 3.0 from PCmark we got an average of over 8200 points. This puts the Realme Pad Mini slightly ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (test report) or Nokia T20 (test report) and well ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (test report) .
However, the Realme Pad Mini is not a gaming device. The graphics chip is too weak for this, which only provides just under 500 points in the “Wild Life” benchmark from 3Dmark. For comparison: The Xiaomi Pad 5 (test report) for just under 330 euros achieves more than 3000 points here. It ‘s enough for casual games like Angry Birds , but it’s not enough for more complex 3D games like Asphalt 9 or Call of Duty Mobile to still run smoothly with high details.
Depending on the version, the main memory ranges from 3 to 4 GB. 32 or 64 GB are available as storage options – that’s a bit tight overall. We clearly recommend going for the 4/64 GB version here. Luckily, it can be expanded with a micro SD card. The Realme Pad Mini supports WLAN with a maximum of Wifi-5. Optionally, there is a variant with LTE mobile communications in connection with a nano-SIM card, this model then also offers GPS. We show a selection of suitable data tariffs in the LTE and 5G guide: The best and cheapest tariffs for mobile surfing .
The USB-C port only supports the slower USB 2.0 standard at most, which is normal in this price range. The speakers offer sufficient sound overall, but the focus here is heavily on the highs. If you turn the tablet up, it quickly sounds quite shrill. This makes it less suitable for listening to music, but it offers decent background music for streaming or gaming. If you don’t want to annoy those around you, you can use wireless headphones (guide) via Bluetooth 5.0 or use the available jack plug for a wired model.
The software is not up to date. Android 11 is still running on our test device, and the security patch is from January and is therefore out of date. This is annoying. Realme UI, which is strongly based on the original Android, is used as the user interface. There is almost no bloatware.
Striking: The app for Netflix cannot be installed on the test device. According to Realme, this is due to the test pattern, all models available in Germany should be able to use the app. According to the DRM Info app , the device still has a certificate for Widevine Level 1, which allows at least one HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels) instead of SD resolution (720 x 480 pixels) for streaming services. With Disney Plus , it worked with HD playback.
battery pack
The battery has an impressive capacity of 6400 mAh for a compact device. This leads to an excellent battery life, as the battery test from PCmark proves. With a brightness of 200 cd/m², we get about 12 hours. So far, only the compact Lenovo Tab M8 (test report) has lasted that long in this test . The inexpensive Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (test report) , for example, only manages around 8.5 hours in this benchmark.
The Realme Pad Mini does not support wireless charging. The included power adapter has an output of 19 watts. This charges the tablet in just over 2 hours.
Price
The RRP for the Realme Pad Mini with 3/32 GB is 180 euros. The variant with 5/64 GB is 200 euros. There is a moderate surcharge of 30 euros for the LTE version. It is available in the colors gray and blue.
The current best offer for the Realme Pad Mini with small memory is around 166 euros on Amazon . The variant with LTE and 4/64 GB is available there for 224 euros.
Conclusion
The Realme Pad Mini is a good alternative for anyone who prefers a compact tablet for mobile use. This makes it ideal for watching videos or reading e-books on the train. The LTE version is also only slightly more expensive than the pure WLAN version.
Design and workmanship are convincing, and it is also affordable with a price starting at 163 euros. The performance is more than adequate for the price. However, there is one big flaw: The display only has an HD resolution and is not entirely convincing despite the decent brightness. In addition, the software is not up to date.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite (test report) and the Amazon Fire HD 8 (test report) are significantly cheaper . However, both devices also only offer HD resolution and are also shockingly sluggish. The Lenovo Tab M8 FHD can do Full HD (test report) . Anyone who spends a little more money and prefers a larger tablet will find excellent devices in this top 10: iPad, Samsung or Xiaomi? The best tablets up to 500 euros .
