Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 shows up with an Intel processor, Windows 10 support a reality?

Yash GargNovember 12, 2015

Rumours about a Xiaomi-Microsoft partnership have been rife ever since the former announced support (albeit limited) for the Mi 4.

With tablet PCs finally starting to be devices that aren’t just designed to consume media, popularity of Windows tablets is soaring. Needless to say, there have been rumours of the next Mi Pad — the Mi Pad 2, presumably — having Windows 10 support out of the box.

Earlier today, we caught hold of an image from a benchmark database that suggests the Mi Pad 2 will have an Intel processor. Desktop Windows requires an x86 processor, and like a tonne other Chinese tablet makers, it looks like Xiaomi’s Mi Pad 2 too will have an Intel Inside.

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As for the exact make and model of the SoC that will feature on the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2, it’s going to be the Intel Atom x5-Z8500 quad-core processor along with 2GB of RAM that’ll take care of the core of the tablet. On the software side, it’ll either be Android 5.1 Lollipop (that’s what the leaked device ran), Windows 10, or both.

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Interestingly, synthetic benchmarks report a loss in performance on this new Mi Pad 2 compared to the first-gen, Tegra K1 powered Mi Pad. Single and multi-core scores this time around are 985 and 3268 points on the new Mi Pad 2, while the original manages close to 1100 and 3400 points respectively.

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About the author
Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91

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That’d be a mere… meh!
AHappyKoalaBear
November 12, 2015
I hope it’s fake, 2gb ram come on
lKinder_Bueno
November 12, 2015
That’d be a mere… meh!
Joe mont
November 12, 2015
If they are releasing a laptop runnign Linux doesnt it make more sense to release this with Linux as well? I think jumping on this dying Windows ship is a bad idea.

Tajwar
November 12, 2015
The Mi pad was awesome an awesome tablet, Xiaomi do anything but don’t ruin everything.
- Airyl
  November 12, 2015
  There’s still some changes that I honestly feel could’ve made the device better.
  1. Change the rear finish. I don’t really mind plastic rears for tablets, they make the device more durable and keep me worry free, but the glossy finish on the old Mipad was disgustingly slippery and uncomfortable, just like the old Galaxy phones. In my opinion, a matte finish similar to the ones on the Mi4i or Redmi Note 2 would be fantastic.
  2. Make MIUI more customizable. The MiPad’s version of MIUI is honestly quite limiting compared to the phone versions. Themes are still around, but being unable to place widgets and apps in the same page is irritating.
  3. 4G LTE support. This one is a no brainer. Seriously, do I even need to explain this?
  4. A microSD card slot. I understand that Xiaomi doesn’t want to have microSD cards in their top of the line devices, but a tablet isn’t a smartphone. A tablet is a device that can be used by more than just one person, and sometimes people use these devices as a means to entertain their kids. Having a microSD card would make it much easier to store everything, as well as give everyone more room for apps and such,
  5. Bigger battery. OK, the old Mipad’s battery life wasn’t bad at all. That said, it’s still possible to improve it, so why not take the extra step to make sure everyone’s satisfied?
  That’s pretty much it.
  - Tajwar
    November 12, 2015
I hope it’s fake, 2gb ram come on

Jason45
November 12, 2015
Hopefully, there is no overheating issues on this tablet, because one Chinese tablet with this chipset has serious overheating problems.
Other popular Chinese tablet manufacturers (chuwi for example) seems to have similar problems to solve the overheating problems of this cherry trail chipset range (Z8300, z8500). One Chuwi tablet release has been delayed, because of this problem.
The GPU of the Cherry Trail chipset has been improved quite a lot compared to bay trail, but it seems you will get extra heat of that extra performance.
If someone of this site has contacts with these tablet manufacturers, could you ask if there are problems with the cherry trail chipsets?

Guest
November 12, 2015
If they are releasing a laptop runnign Linux doesnt it make more sense to release this with Linux as well? I think jumping on this dying Windows ship is a bad idea.
Guest
November 12, 2015
If they are releasing a laptop runnign Linux doesnt it make more sense to release this with Linux as well? I think jumping on this dying Windows ship is a bad idea.

Tajwar
November 12, 2015
The Mi pad was an awesome tablet, Xiaomi do anything but don’t ruin everything.
- Airyl
  November 12, 2015
  There’s still some changes that I honestly feel could’ve made the device better.
  1. Change the rear finish. I don’t really mind plastic rears for tablets, they make the device more durable and keep me worry free, but the glossy finish on the old Mipad was disgustingly slippery and uncomfortable, just like the old Galaxy phones. In my opinion, a matte finish similar to the ones on the Mi4i or Redmi Note 2 would be fantastic.
  2. Make MIUI more customizable. The MiPad’s version of MIUI is honestly quite limiting compared to the phone versions. Themes are still around, but being unable to place widgets and apps in the same page is irritating.
  3. 4G LTE support. This one is a no brainer. Seriously, do I even need to explain this?
  4. A microSD card slot. I understand that Xiaomi doesn’t want to have microSD cards in their top of the line devices, but a tablet isn’t a smartphone. A tablet is a device that can be used by more than just one person, and sometimes people use these devices as a means to entertain their kids. Having a microSD card would make it much easier to store everything, as well as give everyone more room for apps and such,
  5. Bigger battery. OK, the old Mipad’s battery life wasn’t bad at all. That said, it’s still possible to improve it, so why not take the extra step to make sure everyone’s satisfied?
  That’s pretty much it.
- Tajwar
  November 12, 2015

Ulti
November 12, 2015
Gotta echo the other comments; I find MIUI pretty RAM intensive so 3GB would be preferred. Although I do have to say I haven’t really noticed any slow down on my MiPad but I rarely upgrade my tablet so future proofing it with 3GB of RAM or more would be nice.

Jason45
November 12, 2015
Hopefully, there is no overheating issues on this tablet, because one Chinese tablet with this chipset has serious overheating problems.
Other popular Chinese tablet manufacturers (chuwi for example) seems to have similar problems to solve the overheating problems of this cherry trail chipset range (Z8300, z8500). One Chuwi tablet release has been delayed, because of this problem.
The GPU of the Cherry Trail chipset has been improved quite a lot compared to bay trail, but it seems you will get extra heat of that extra performance.
If someone of this site has contacts with these tablet manufacturers, could you ask if there are problems with the cherry trail chipsets?
Ulti
November 13, 2015
Gotta echo the other comments; I find MIUI pretty RAM intensive so 3GB would be preferred. Although I do have to say I haven’t really noticed any slow down on my MiPad but I rarely upgrade my tablet so future proofing it with 3GB of RAM or more would be nice.