What is it?

The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 is the successor to the Nvidia Tegra K1 powered Mi Pad, this time around Xiaomi ditched the Nvidia chipset instead opting for Intel’s Atom X5 Z8500. The main reason behind this move is Xiaomi’s plan to release a Windows version of the tablet and dual OS, which the Nvidia being an ARM-based chip doesn’t support.
The Atom X5 Z8500 Gen8 GPU is around 25% weaker than the first Mi Pad model, so this move is interesting, Xiaomi had to downgraded performance in order to gain Windows support for the tablet. The build uses the same 2048 x 1536 Retina screen, but this time, the rear housing is metal instead of plastic and is 1mm slimmer.
Hardware & build quality: The build of the Mi Pad 2 is one of the best, if not the best I’ve seen on a tablet in this price bracket. The finish is class A all around and it’s as good as an Apple product. The tablet is only 6.9mm thin, the metal finish and fully laminated screen give the tablet a quality feeling to it that you just wouldn’t expect for the price.

It doesn’t look like a $185 tablet in the slightest (Android version starting price) but more like a premium top of the line offering like the 8″ Tab S2 or Apple iPad Mini 2 or 4. The build quality is superb.

The tablet has 2GB of DDRL3 RAM, 16GB or 64GB of storage (Windows version is only 64GB) and powered by the latest Atom X5 Z8500 Cherry Trail as seen in the Teclast X98 Pro and ASUS Transformer Book T100HA. One thing we loose over the first model is MicroSD card support which is disappointing to see. It can’t have been too hard or costly to add a MicroSD card tray for the tablet. But Xiaomi omitted this option and has also done so in their latest mobile phone releases in a new push to drop support for MicroSD cards across their new range of devices. A bad move if you ask me and I hope Xiaomi rethink this move before it’s too late.

Intel’s Atom X5 Z8500 dual-OS tablet with 7.9 IPS 2K resolution IPS wide color gamut touch screen

Why did you make it?

The original system of mipad2 is Android 5.1, which is currently unable to use most software, so changing its system to Windows 10 will make it more practical.

What makes it special?

Ultra-thin appearance, upgradeable hardware configuration, up to 8GB RAM + 256GB Flash.