Xiaomi Pad 9 Pro Max vs iPad Air 13" (3th Gen, 2026)
92
out of 100
VS
89
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship tablets: the 13.3-inch Xiaomi Pad 9 Pro Max (with Xiaomi Xring O3) that was released on September 7, 2026, against the Apple iPad Air 13" (3th Gen, 2026), which is powered by Apple M4 (iPad) and came out 6 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Pad 9 Pro Max
- Higher display refresh rate – 144 Hz
- Supports higher wattage charging (120W versus 20W)
- Comes with 1660 mAh larger battery capacity: 12000 vs 10340 mAh
- 42% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (5137K versus 3617K)
- 17% higher pixel density (308 vs 264 PPI)
- Reverse charging feature
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad Air 13" (3th Gen, 2026)
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Ready for eSIM technology
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
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Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Size | 13.3 inches | 13 inches |
| Resolution | 3408 x 2272 pixels | 2048 x 2732 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 4:3 |
| PPI | 308 ppi | 264 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1000 nits | 600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 87.6% | 86.8% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | - | 99.8% |
| PWM | - | Not detected |
| Response time | - | 19 ms |
| Contrast | - | 1563:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 296.2 mm (11.66 inches) | 280.6 mm (11.05 inches) |
| Width | 203.08 mm (8 inches) | 214.9 mm (8.46 inches) |
| Thickness | 5.67 mm (0.22 inches) | 6.1 mm (0.24 inches) |
| Weight | 645 g (22.75 oz) | 616 g (21.73 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Silver, Gray, Burgundy | Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
| Area | 602 cm2 (93.3 inches2) | 603 cm2 (93.5 inches2) |
| Repairability | - | Average (2.84/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Bad (E) · 16 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (2nd and 9th place)
Android Tablet Ranking (#1st place)
iPad Ranking (#4th place)
Performance
| Chipset | Xiaomi Xring O3 | Apple M4 (iPad) |
| Max clock | 4350 MHz | 4410 MHz |
| CPU cores | 10 (2 + 4 + 4) | 10 (4 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 3.15 GHz: C1-Pro - 4 cores at 3.68 GHz: C1-Premium - 2 cores at 4.35 GHz: C1-Ultra |
- 6 cores at 2.85 GHz: - 4 cores at 4.41 GHz: |
| L3 cache | 16 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Mali-G2 Ultra NX MP16 | 9 core Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 2048 | - |
| GPU clock | 1600 MHz | 1470 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~6554 GFLOPS | ~3763.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 33102 | - |
| Single-core score | 3539 | 3738 |
| Multi-core score | 13220 | 13702 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 1312458 | 1732068 |
| GPU | 2089734 | 945613 |
| Memory | 978562 | 349993 |
| UX | 756891 | 590286 |
| Total score | 5137645 | 3617960 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | Less than 3 |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Graphics test | - | 22 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 3027 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | - | 49 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 59 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 49 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 38 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 12850 |
Recent User Tests
Xiaomi Pad 9 Pro Max
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-08 (KarlderaL) | AnTuTu 12 | 5558210 |
Apple iPad Air 13" (3th Gen, 2026)
No benchmark results yet
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 17 | iPadOS 26.3 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) |
| ROM | HyperOS 4 | - |
| OS size | - | 26 GB |
| OS updates | 4 years | 0 years |
| Security updates | 6 years | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 12000 mAh | 10340 mAh |
| Max charge power | 120 W | 20 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes | No |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes (51% in 70 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 2:28 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1000 cycles |
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | - | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | - | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode | - Bokeh mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 0.64 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 32 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | - | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 0.61 micron | - |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | - | GPS, GLONASS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Type of SIM card | No | eSIM |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | - | No |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 8.0 | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | - | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2026 | March 2026 |
| Release date | September 2026 | March 2026 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $715 | $799 |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 120 W | Yes, 20 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display is more important to you, then choose the Xiaomi Pad 9 Pro Max. But if the camera, software, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPad Air 13" (3th Gen, 2026).
Cast your vote
Total votes: 2