I like small tablets. The form factor makes them uniquely placed to fill the gap between the not-quite-enough screen real estate of a smartphone, and the productivity over portability approach of larger slates. The space has largely been dominated by affordable tablets like Samsung’s A series and the Amazon ecosystem-entrenched Fire tablet line, but there’s still ample room for disruption.
In fact, the category is ripe for some old-school Chinese disruption with high-end specs at cutthroat prices. Or at least that’s what I hoped for when I got my hands on the Realme Pad Mini a few days back. Unfortunately, having spent a week with the tablet, it is clear to me that the Realme Pad Mini is yet another example of Realme having the right idea but failing to stick the landing.