REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro vs REDMI K Pad: Compact Performance Tablet Showdown

The market for compact performance tablets has long been dominated by the iPad Mini. However, the sales of the iPad Mini remain relatively weak compared to larger tablets. What about domestic performance tablets? The situation is even more dire. However, this year marks the explosive period for domestic compact performance tablets, and more manufacturers will enter this space. Today, we will bring you a comparison of two newly launched tablets in the gaming scenario: the REDMI K Pad and the REDMAGIC 3 Pro.

From the above comparison table, we can see that REDMI K Pad and REDMAGIC 3 Pro do not have identical configurations. Although both focus on performance, their understanding of compact tablets is vastly different. Due to limited space, the writer will not cover everything but will focus on the gaming scenario.

In terms of exterior design, the REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro and the REDMI K Pad are both in the small-screen tablet category, but the styles and details are significantly different, each showcasing the differences between gaming attributes and practicality.

The REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro continues the iconic “gaming aesthetics” of the REDMAGIC series, with a design full of technology and recognition. It features an all-metal unibody, with a transparent "window" covered by glass on the back, allowing users to see the internal circuit decoration, brand logo, and cooling fan, coupled with a collision between matte metal and gloss metal logos.

It also adopts a non-protruding rear camera design, making the entire back flat without bumps, completely solving the "teeter-totter" problem when placing it. The frame of the body is rectangular but rounded at the corners to effectively avoid a sharp feeling. The button layout is fully considered for horizontal grip scenarios—the volume button and power button are located at the upper left corner, while the Type-C port is moved to the right middle frame at the top, avoiding the palm grip area. The power button also integrates a fingerprint recognition function, and the iconic “gaming button” is also present.

The REDMI K Pad, on the other hand, follows a minimalist and practical approach. It adopts an all-metal unibody design, with no plastic stand. The design is simple and clean, with the new REDMI logo printed only on the corners of the rear shell. Next to the 13MP camera is an oval-shaped patch area marked "GammaAntenna" (gamma antenna), which houses a WiFi antenna, optimizing signal while maintaining design aesthetics.

The buttons are distributed on either side near the camera. The narrow edge has the power button, and the long edge has the volume button. The edges are CNC-machined with a silver rim, without integrated fingerprint recognition, only supporting 2D face recognition.

Not only in appearance but also in gaming functionality, the two tablets differ significantly.

The REDMAGIC gaming space function is comprehensive and practical. In game resource management, it covers a wide variety of large game libraries, supports high-speed downloads, background operation, and game collection classification, making it easier for players to quickly find and manage their favorite games.

In performance optimization, it provides various modes such as power-saving, balanced, and gaming modes, which can be switched according to needs. The system automatically optimizes resource allocation, reduces background interference, and monitors the phone's temperature, CPU, and memory status in real-time to avoid affecting the gaming experience.

Rich auxiliary features include one-click screen recording and screenshots, customizable touch buttons, and some models even support motion control for enhanced accuracy and fun. Players can change the theme skin, customize wallpaper icons, and adjust the order of the side shortcut bar to create a personalized interface.

On the social interaction front, it has an integrated community where players can share strategies, exchange skills, and form teams. The team-building feature supports quick team formation and real-time voice communication, facilitating efficient collaboration and enhancing the overall gaming experience.

On the other hand, REDMI has far fewer functions. The only interesting feature is the AI object pickup function for Genshin Impact, but the Bilibili client version cannot use this feature. Compared to smartphones, the REDMI tablet even has a sidebar toolbox like a smartphone.

Overall, the REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro showcases its gaming genes with transparent design, detailed optimizations, and rich gaming features, making it suitable for core players who pursue immersive gaming experiences. REDMI K Pad, on the other hand, focuses on a balanced experience with minimalist design, practical layout, and is better suited for everyday users.

Like the iPad Mini, the REDMI K Pad uses an LCD screen, but the screen resolution and refresh rate of REDMI are much stronger than the Mini. REDMAGIC uses an OLED screen. So how should we choose?

For gamers, screen quality is one of the most important factors.

First, let’s look at the advantages of OLED screens. OLED screens, due to their self-illuminating pixels, can control each pixel individually, and there are no light bulbs occupying the internal space. From an experience standpoint, OLED screens are narrower on the borders, offer higher brightness, higher dynamic contrast, and faster response times compared to LCDs.

In terms of visual experience, the REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro reduces the black borders to 4.9mm, achieving equal-width borders on all sides, making the visual effect more harmonious and premium.

However, from the perspective of eye care, LCD is better as it has superior dimming protection, even though REDMAGIC has DC-like dimming.

In terms of screen clarity, REDMI performs better with its higher resolution and higher PPI. Moreover, the LCD screen does not have any pixel loss, meaning there’s no visible graininess in terms of visual quality.

Overall, REDMI performs better in terms of screen display and clarity, but REDMAGIC has the advantage of narrower equal borders, making it visually more harmonious.

In my opinion, most consumers choose compact tablets for their portability. Tablets are getting bigger, but they are not portable and are not as fun to use for gaming. So, how should we balance the size and weight of compact tablets?

In terms of portability, REDMI does better. The dimensions of both tablets are roughly the same, but REDMI is slightly smaller.

Weight is also a factor in portability. REDMI weighs 326g, while the REDMAGIC weighs 370g, making the REDMI 44g lighter and thus more portable.

Of course, REDMAGIC has a bigger screen, a larger battery, and higher power. REDMAGIC’s 80W fast charging is faster, especially in the first 5 minutes, where it charges 27%. I believe that fast charging is a feature that enhances the user experience for gaming tablets.

Although REDMI charges slower, it has two charging ports. When gaming in landscape mode, using the long edge’s Type-C port to charge won’t block your hands. REDMAGIC only has one port, located at the top, but both have bypass fast charging. REDMI has Bypass Fast Charging Plus, which allows charging with low current to prevent the device from overheating.

Actually, Bypass Fast Charging Plus and regular bypass charging are essentially the same. The only difference is that Bypass Fast Charging Plus allows the power supply to charge the system while slowly charging the battery to avoid the situation where the battery slowly drains during bypass charging.

In summary, REDMAGIC has more components in the battery area, and its body is heavier and slightly larger. REDMI, on the other hand, has the advantage in portability and handling comfort.

The REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, while the REDMI K Pad comes with the Dimensity 9400+, both at the top tier of Android chips. From AnTuTu’s rankings, both have scores close to 2.8 million with the 16GB + 512GB configuration.

In terms of cooling, the two adopt different strategies. The REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro uses both active and passive cooling with a dual-layer VC plate, composite liquid metal 2.0, and a 20000 RPM turbo fan.

However, the fan in the REDMAGIC tablet doesn’t have intake and exhaust ports, so it creates airflow within the fan area to accelerate internal airflow, but its cooling performance is inferior to phones.

The REDMI K Pad, on the other hand, uses passive cooling. Its design highlights the center-mounted motherboard and SoC, positioning the SoC in the geometric center of the tablet to avoid uneven heating. Whether held horizontally or vertically, the temperature on the hands remains lower.

Next, I also did a 30-minute Genshin Impact performance test. To ensure fairness, REDMAGIC used the balanced mode, while REDMI used the extreme mode.

As shown in the chart, the gaming performance of both tablets is nearly identical, but the REDMI K Pad has a lower temperature, and its central SoC design prevents high temperature from being felt during handheld use.

In conclusion, both the REDMAGIC Gaming Tablet 3 Pro and the REDMI K Pad showcase the exploration and evolution of domestic performance tablets in different directions. The former highlights extreme gaming attributes, active cooling systems, and rich gaming features, making it suitable for core gamers seeking immersive experiences. The latter, however, offers better balance, portability, and visual quality, making it a more rational choice for everyday users.

Like the iPad Mini, REDMI K Pad chooses LCD, but its screen resolution and refresh rate far surpass the Mini. REDMAGIC uses OLED, so how should we choose?