Comparisons
Comparison: Apple iPad 11 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE vs. Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro
For our latest comparison, we take a closer look at the three most exciting mid-range tablets from Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi.

With tablets, the mid-range segment is currently very competitive. The most exciting models are the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro, and of course the Apple iPad 11. Which of these three is better for whom? That’s exactly what you’ll learn in this comparison.
A quick word on prices. It varies a lot by market, of course, but usually all three cost between 350 and 400 US dollars.
Design & Build Quality
We’ll begin the comparison with design and build quality. All three feel very high-quality and all three have an aluminum body with clean transitions to the display. The iPad 11 is slightly thicker, but also slightly lighter than the other two. But roughly speaking, the dimensions are very similar.

The S10 FE is the only tablet in this price range that is protected against water and dust according to IP68. A useful unique feature.
I also like that all three have a fingerprint reader in the power button, and it works very reliably in each case. None of them have a headphone jack, and only Samsung includes a microSD card slot. The S10 FE, however, is the only one that cannot be connected to external monitors. That’s possible with both Xiaomi and Apple.
The Pad 7 Pro has the fastest USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, the other two are USB 2.0.
Display & Speakers
Even though all three tablets are about the same size, there are small differences in the displays and also in the aspect ratios. The iPad 11 is 11 inches in size and has a resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels, and the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro measures 11.2 inches with 3200 x 2136 pixels. The S10 FE has a 10.9-inch display with 2304 x 1440 pixels.
So the Xiaomi is by far the sharpest and even supports up to 144Hz. Samsung only reaches 90Hz, and Apple offers only 60Hz. That one is also the darkest with 500 nits, followed by up to 800 peak brightness on both Xiaomi and Samsung.

At least that’s what the specs say. In real life, the iPad is at least just as bright, sometimes even looks brighter, and has slightly better colors. Also with HDR content.
However, the iPad is the only one where the display is not laminated. So there’s an air gap visible between the IPS panel and the touchscreen. That bothers me, and also the 60Hz – but many won’t notice it.
In the end, you have to decide what’s more important to you: sharp resolution, high refresh rate, or better colors.

With the speakers, there is a clear winner: Samsung. They sound a bit more pleasant than the iPad 11, have more bass, and are slightly louder. The worst ones are from Xiaomi. In direct comparison, they sound a bit tinny.
Read: Lenovo Tab Plus Review: The Best Tablet For Music Lovers?
Hardware & Performance
While Samsung has the best speakers, it performs the worst in our performance test. Inside sits an Exynos 1580 chip with 8 to 12GB RAM and 128 to 256GB storage. The iPad 11 has an Apple A16 chip with 6GB RAM and 128 to 512GB storage. Xiaomi gives us a Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 with 8 to 12GB RAM and 128 to 512GB storage. Only Samsung and Apple can be bought with 5G.

Our Geekbench 6 benchmark comparison clearly shows that the S10 FE is slower than the other two. CPU performance is strongest on the iPad 11. It’s also interesting that the iPad 11 has better graphics scores in Geekbench, but in the 3DMark comparison, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro leads.
Our gaming test confirms again that the S10 FE is the weakest. In benchmarks it’s not that much worse. But many games are not optimized for Exynos chips and that’s why it performs a bit worse in reality than in benchmarks.

Fortnite only runs really smoothly on medium settings and 50% 3D resolution. That works well, but doesn’t look great. On the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro, you can choose much higher graphics and it runs smoothly. On the iPad 11, you can only select medium settings, but the graphics look much, much better than on the Xiaomi. The Fortnite settings differ from platform to platform.
In the end, the iPad 11 and Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro are both good gaming tablets. The iPad 11 has slightly better graphics in almost all games, but Xiaomi offers important features for gamers like a 144Hz display.
We clearly do not recommend the Samsung as a gaming tablet.
Read: Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 Review: 8-inch Mini-Tablet is a Gaming Monster
Stylus: Which One Writes Better?
But the Samsung is an excellent tablet if you want one with a really good stylus. Regarding this, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is the test winner in the mid-range. Not only is the S Pen included, but it also works almost as well as with the most expensive Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.

So for handwritten notes and drawing, the S10 FE is great and really good. That’s also because Samsung has great software support for the pen.
Apple is also great in terms of software. But the Apple Pencil is quite a bit more expensive and due to the non-laminated display, there’s that air gap. When you touch the display with the stylus, it looks like you’re not actually touching it. That’s not a problem when writing. But if you want to draw very precisely, it’s annoying.
The Xiaomi Focus Pen is a pretty good stylus and almost as good as the S Pen. But the software isn’t on the same level as from Apple and Samsung.
Read: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024 Review: The Truth About This S Pen Tablet
Software: Android vs. iPadOS
In terms of software, the S10 FE and iPad 11 do better than the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro. The latter doesn’t have a good desktop or multitasking mode, sometimes apps don’t feel polished, and especially the update policy is worse. The Pad 7 Pro is supposed to get only two major version updates from Android 15 to Android 17 and security patches until 2031.
Samsung promises Android and security updates for 7 years on the S10 FE.
Apple never says exactly how long their tablets will stay up to date. But in our experience, it’s very, very, very long. It’s just a shame that due to the 6GB RAM, Apple Intelligence and Stage Manager are not supported. On the other hand, the selection of tablet-optimized apps is larger than on Android. For example, not only is Adobe Photoshop available, but also many good alternatives.
Battery Life

In our battery test, LCD iPads always do poorly. This one reaches 5 hours, while the Pad 7 Pro gets 7.5 hours and the S10 FE manages 8.5 hours. For this test, we always play an HD YouTube video in a loop at maximum brightness.
iPad 11 vs. Galaxy Tab S10 FE vs. Pad 7 Pro: My Conclusion
In the end, you have to decide for yourself which tablet suits you best, of course. You’ve seen, all three have pros and cons. The Galaxy Tab S10 FE has the best stylus, the iPad 11 the better gaming performance, but Xiaomi offers the sharper and smoother display.

If you’re not sure which of the three tablets suits you, I recommend the iPad 11. I know I’ll get criticized for this in the comments, but you can’t go wrong with an iPad. It has strong performance, will get software updates for a very long time, the ecosystem of good apps and accessories is bigger, and you’ll be able to resell it later for more money.
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