Although it is expected to include 18:9 (2:1) resolution with 320 DPI, the number of pixels remains a secret. The tablet should run Android 8.1 at launch below the surface while the mandatory MIUI 9 sits on top of it.

OmiVision supplies the 13 megapixel rear camera OV13855 f/2.0 with portrait mode. The front shooter counts five megapixels and comes from Samsung S5K5E8 f/2.0. The battery size is 6000 mAh and, most importantly, the tablet is likely to run the rather powerful Snapdragon 660.

The Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 comes with four Kryo 260 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz at its peak. The SoC comes with Adreno 512, and in case Xiaomi goes with it, it supports the Snapdragon X12 600 Mbps capable modem too.

The Xiaomi predecessors didn’t have a modem in the previous iteration of the Mi Pad. The last one to launch, the Mi Pad 3 launched in April 2017 with a MediaTek 8176 SoC hexa core and 64 GB storage. This was a 4:3 form factor with 2048 x 1536 resolution and 326 PPI. It looks like Xiaomi is coming back to a less rectangular shaped 2:1 form factor.

Powerful SoC inside

It will be up to Xiaomi to announce the existence of such a device, but with the current track record the Mi Pad 3 will be replaced with the Mi Pad 4. Snapdragon 660 supports Quick charge 4.0 -  something that might make a difference in the charging time compared to its predecessor. This is always a burning issue with any mobile device and there is a hope that Xiaomi might use the 2x2 802.11ac with Mu-MIMO capable of peak speed of 867 Mbps. We will have to wait and see if the 2x2 802.11ac from Qualcomm finds its place in the final device.

Xiaomi is obviously aware of the market gap when it comes to tablets with significant SoCs. The tablet market is declining, but at the same time, the tablet form factor is nice to read and browse. Outside iPads and Amazon tablets, there are not many to choose from. Samsung and Huawei want too much money for their devices, which is one of the reason why they never reached popularity with them. The price of these devices simply isn’t right.

Xiaomi understands that.