Xiaomi’s MiPad to Become First Tegra K1-powered Device Sold

It looks like China is once again going to beat the rest of the world in releasing the first device based on NVIDIA’s latest Tegra chip. Last year, it was ZTE, with a Tegra 4-powered “super phone”. This year, it’s Xiaomi leading the way, with its MiPad tablet.

At 7.9-inches, Xiaomi’s MiPad is a bit larger than the Tegra Note 7, but offers a far superior resolution of 2048×1536 – though “superior” could depend on how you see things, since a 4:3 aspect ratio isn’t for everyone. In fact, it’s pretty uncommon on the Android side.

Nonetheless, other features include a huge 6700mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 64GB of onboard storage, a microSD slot, an 8 megapixel camera at the rear, and a 5 megapixel camera at the front.

It goes without saying that the most intriguing part of the MiPad is its Tegra K1 processor under the hood. As we’ve discussed previously, NVIDIA packs 192 cores into the K1, which is an incredible gain when compared to the 72 cores found in Tegra 4. NVIDIA highlights some of K1’s capabilities in this marketing video:

The great thing about MiPad, when it becomes available next month, is that it’s attractively priced: $240 for the 16GB version, and $270 for the 64GB. With the Tegra Note 7 at $200, that might seem a bit steep, but the MiPad offers a number of benefits aside from the major performance boost; it has a larger battery, larger resolution, and a rear camera.

The worst thing about the MiPad? It’s exclusive to China, which means us over here in North America have to dream about owning a K1 tablet a while longer.