ZTE Nubia Red Magic Nova vs Xiaomi Pad Mini
76
out of 100
VS
83
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship tablets: the 10.9-inch ZTE Nubia Red Magic Nova (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) that was released on September 5, 2024, against the Xiaomi Pad Mini, which is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9400 Plus and came out 1 year and 1 month after. 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 ZTE Nubia Red Magic Nova
- Has a 2.1 inches larger screen size
- Comes with 2600 mAh larger battery capacity: 10100 vs 7500 mAh
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Fingerprint scanner
- Supports higher wattage charging (80W versus 67W)
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Pad Mini
- Shows 34% longer battery life (31:14 vs 23:20 hours)
- Higher display refresh rate – 165 Hz
- Delivers 31% higher peak brightness (678 against 518 nits)
- 22% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (2845K versus 2333K)
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 14
- 29% higher pixel density (403 vs 312 PPI)
- Much smaller footprint: 35% more compact case (42 vs 64.6 square inches)
- Has a built-in infrared port
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
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Size | 10.9 inches | 8.8 inches |
| Resolution | 1800 x 2880 pixels | 1880 x 3008 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| PPI | 312 ppi | 403 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz | 165 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | Yes |
| Max rated brightness | 550 nits | 700 nits |
| HDR support | - | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Touch sampling rate | 840 Hz | 360 Hz |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82.6% | 82.9% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | - | 99.8% |
| PWM | - | Not detected |
| Response time | - | 24 ms |
| Contrast | - | 1195:1 |
Screen space comparison
Nubia Red Magic Nova
10.9″ (16:10 ratio) = 53.4 in2
Pad Mini
8.8″ (16:10 ratio) = 34.8 in2
~53% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 253.3 mm (9.97 inches) | 205.13 mm (8.08 inches) |
| Width | 164.6 mm (6.48 inches) | 132.03 mm (5.2 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.3 mm (0.29 inches) | 6.46 mm (0.25 inches) |
| Weight | 530 g (18.69 oz) | 326 g (11.5 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Advanced cooling | Active fan | - |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black | Gray, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | No |
| Area | 417 cm2 (64.6 inches2) | 271 cm2 (42 inches2) |
Visual size comparison
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (47th and 28th place)
Android Tablet Ranking (33rd and 21st place)
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | MediaTek Dimensity 9400 Plus |
| Max clock | 3400 MHz | 3730 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 2 cores at 2.27 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 2 cores at 2.96 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 3 cores at 3.15 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 3.3 GHz: Cortex-X4 |
- 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 3 cores at 3.3 GHz: Cortex-X4 - 1 core at 3.73 GHz: Cortex-X925 |
| L3 cache | 12 MB | 12 MB |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | MediaTek NPU 890 |
| Graphics | Adreno 750 | Mali-G925 Immortalis MP12 |
| GPU shading units | 1536 | 1536 |
| GPU clock | 903-1000 MHz | 1612 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2774 GFLOPS | ~4952.1 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| Single-core score | 2197 | 2990 |
| Multi-core score | 7410 | 9086 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 643259 | 835859 |
| GPU | 818824 | 997763 |
| Memory | 348314 | 385910 |
| UX | 522888 | 626018 |
| Total score | 2333285 | 2845550 |
| Samples | [298 tests] | [2 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 76% |
| Graphics test | - | 16 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 2156 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | - | 38 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 40 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 39 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 9951 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 17430 |
| Video editing | - | 6789 |
| Photo editing | - | 34216 |
| Data manipulation | - | 17755 |
| Writing score | - | 23961 |
Recent User Tests
ZTE Nubia Red Magic Nova
No benchmark results yet
Xiaomi Pad Mini
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-01-20 (Butter) | AnTuTu | 2845550 |
| 📘 2025-11-12 (Butter) | AnTuTu | 2814063 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 4200 MHz | 5333 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 4.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 14 | Android 15 |
| ROM | REDMAGIC Space 9.5 | HyperOS 2.0 |
| OS size | - | 20 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 10100 mAh | 7500 mAh |
| Max charge power | 80 W | 67 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | Yes |
| Fast charging | Yes (66% in 30 min) | Yes (57% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:58 hr | 1:00 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:05 hr | 09:21 hr |
| Watching video | 08:54 hr | 14:30 hr |
| Gaming | 06:38 hr | 06:18 hr |
| Standby | 155 hr | 202 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 13 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 13 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | - | Omnivision OV13B10 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 20 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Aperture | - | f/2.3 |
| Sensor | - | Omnivision OV08F |
| Sensor size | - | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| 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 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| NFC* | Yes | No |
| Infrared port | No | Yes |
| Type of SIM card | No | No |
| eSIM support* | - | No |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2024 | September 2025 |
| Release date | September 2024 | September 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $499 | $429 |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 80 W | Yes, 67 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Xiaomi Pad Mini is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 20