Latest news with #RedmiPad2
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Redmi Pad 2 Review: Suits users who want a tablet for routine daily tasks
Redmi is back in the budget tablet arena with its latest offering — the Redmi Pad 2. Positioned as a sequel to the original Redmi Pad and Redmi Pad SE, this version aims to pack more power, features, and versatility, all while staying comfortably under the ₹20,000 bracket. I am testing the Wi-Fi + Cellular variant, priced at ₹17,999 in the Sky Blue colourway — a device that instantly catches the eye with its sleek design. But does the user experience match its premium look? Let's find out! Design The Redmi Pad 2 makes a solid first impression with its aluminium unibody chassis that doesn't scream budget at all. It feels refined in hand, thanks to its slim 7.52mm profile and a smooth matte finish. The back panel is mostly monochrome, with just a subtle shade variation on one side, adding a hint of visual flair without overdoing it. You'll find the Redmi branding neatly placed in the bottom-left corner, and a solitary rear camera in the top-left. The side frame placement is practical — volume rocker and SIM tray on the right, while the left stays clean. The top side features two speaker grilles, a power button, and Dolby Atmos branding, whereas the bottom houses another two speakers, a USB-C port, and even a 3.5mm headphone jack — a rare treat these days. Despite weighing 510g, the Pad 2 doesn't feel cumbersome, thanks to excellent weight distribution. The matte finish, while premium to the touch, is prone to fingerprints and smudges, so you'll want a case. Good news — the build feels sturdy enough for everyday rough-and-tumble use. (For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today's Cache) Display The Redmi Pad 2 features an 11-inch LCD panel with a 2.5K (2000 x 1200) resolution and a 90 Hz refresh rate. On paper, it seems impressive — and to some extent, it is. The visuals are crisp, colours are decent, and the 10-bit colour support helps make videos and games pop with slightly more depth. But here's where it falters: brightness. Rated at 600 nits (outdoor mode), it struggles in brighter environments, especially outdoors or near a window on a sunny day. Even at full brightness, the screen feels dim compared to what other brands are offering in similar price brackets. The Triple TÜV Rheinland certification is reassuring for eye protection, but that doesn't help much if you can't see the screen clearly in all conditions. Software & AI The Redmi Pad 2 runs on Android 15 with Xiaomi's HyperOS 2 on top, offering a largely clean and straightforward experience. The large screen layout is intuitive, and split-screen multitasking works fine. HyperOS 2 brings subtle refinements to multitasking and visual fluidity, enhancing usability without overcomplicating the interface. Redmi has done well to keep the bloatware minimal, and the overall experience remains responsive and smooth. As for AI features, this tablet becomes the first to offer 'Circle to Search' out of the box, which is a neat touch — albeit one that might not see frequent use by casual users. Gemini AI integration promises smart suggestions and productivity boosts, but again, these feel more like add-ons than essentials. They work, but they don't really elevate the overall experience in any meaningful way. Performance The latest Redmi Pad 2 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G100 Ultra processor, a capable mid-range chipset that's built for everyday performance. Redmi claims an 80% GPU boost over its predecessor, and it shows. Paired with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, our review unit easily juggled web browsing, HD streaming, and app multitasking without noticeable lag. App launches are fast, UI transitions are fluid, and basic editing or note-taking is a breeze. The LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage ensure smooth read/write speeds. Heavy apps do take a second longer to open, but there's no stuttering in day-to-day use. The Geekbench scores — 729 (single-core), 1974 (multi-core) — reflect its upper-entry-level performance bracket. Gaming performance, while not top-tier, is still decent. Lighter titles like Subway Surfers and Clash Royale run without hiccups. Graphic-intensive games like Asphalt 9 are playable but with occasional frame drops. The GPU score of 1291 indicates it's fine for casual gaming but not your go-to device for demanding FPS titles. Camera Let's face it — tablets are rarely known for their camera prowess, and the Redmi Pad 2 follows that script closely. It sports an 8 MP rear shooter, which captures usable images in daylight but lacks detail and struggles with edge sharpness. There's a noticeable softness in the output, especially around high-contrast areas, giving photos a processed look. The shutter speed is a bit slow, which can lead to blurred results if you're not steady. Low-light conditions make things worse, with noise and colour bleeding evident in most shots. The rear camera does a decent job doubling as a document scanner or for casual photography when you have no other option. Up front, the 5 MP selfie camera performs fine for video calls — which, to be fair, is its main job. The quality is decent enough for Zoom or Google Meet, but don't expect detail-rich selfies. The shots come out soft and heavily smoothed, even in well-lit conditions. HDR support is available but inconsistent. Sometimes it helps bring out the dynamic range, but more often than not, the results are hit or miss. The teleprompter feature is a fun add-on for content creators, though it feels like a software band-aid rather than a hardware strength. Overall, the cameras are serviceable. They won't wow you, but they'll get the job done when needed — whether that's a quick scan, a video call, or a family picture in bright daylight. Battery If there's one department where the Redmi Pad 2 truly excels, it's battery life. The tablet packs a massive 9,000 mAh battery, which easily pushes through two full days of casual use. Whether you're watching videos, reading, or doing some light productivity work, battery anxiety is never on the cards. Redmi claims up to 19 hours of video playback and 22 hours of reading, and in real-world testing, it comfortably lives up to that promise. However, the 18 W fast charging feels more 'moderate' than 'fast' by 2025 standards. Topping up the battery from near empty to full takes nearly 3 hours, so overnight charging is still the best bet. Verdict At ₹17,999, the Redmi Pad 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular variant tries to check many boxes, but falls short in several key areas. Yes, it looks great. The aluminium build is commendable, the quad speakers are solid, and the battery life is reliable. But once you move past the surface, the shortcomings start showing. The display is sharp but underwhelming in brightness, performance is passable but unremarkable, and the cameras are below average. While it introduces some useful AI tricks and stylus support, these don't make up for the hardware compromises, especially when there are other tablets in the same segment offering better all-around value. The Redmi Pad 2 will suit users who just want a tablet for normal daily tasks like streaming, watching movies, or playing games. But for everyone else, this one might require more convincing — or a second look at the competition.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: ‘We stopped thinking of ourselves as a chip company long ago', company now aims….
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said that after artificial intelligence (AI), the chipmaker's next major business opportunity will be robotics. Speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting, Huang said both AI and robotics represent what he believes a 'multitrillion-dollar growth opportunity'. 'We have many growth opportunities across our company, with AI and robotics the two largest, representing a multitrillion-dollar growth opportunity,' Huang said during the conference. Nvidia's robotics division has seen fast growth in the past. Currently making up just 1% of Nvidia's total revenue, the revenue brought in $567 million last quarter – a steep 72% rise from the previous year. 'We're working towards a day where there will be billions of robots, hundreds of millions of autonomous vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of robotic factories that can be powered by Nvidia technology,' Huang said. We stopped thinking ourself as a chip company: Nvidia CEO Huang also emphasized a shift in how the company sees itself. 'We stopped thinking of ourselves as a chip company long ago,' he said, adding that Nvidia is now focused on being an 'AI infrastructure' and 'computing platform' provider. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo Self driving cars to be first commerce use of Nvidia's robotics technology: Jensen Huang During the annual shareholder meeting, Huang said that Nvidia's chips will be key not just for AI training, but also for software and hardware use in autonomous vehicles and robots. He named self-driving cars as the first major commercial use of Nvidia's robotics technology. Nvidia's Drive platform, a suite of chips and software for autonomous cars, is currently being used by Mercedes-Benz. The chipmaker recently introduced Cosmos, a line of AI models designed for humanoid robots. In a related news, Nvidia has surpassed Microsoft and Apple to become the world's most valuable company with a market cap of around $3.75 trillion. The company has rebounded strongly since a market dip earlier this year, which was caused by concerns about competition from China's DeepSeek AI. Redmi Pad 2: Know these Things Before Buying!
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Starting July 22, YouTube will limit live streams to users above….
Google-owned video platform YouTube will soon require users to be at least 16 years old to live stream alone on the platform. Confirming the new policy in a message on its Help support page, YouTube said 'As of 22 July, we are increasing the minimum age required to live stream to 16 years old. This means that creators will need to be 16 or older to be able to live stream on YouTube.' Until now, users under 13 could live stream only if an adult was visibly present. With the updated policy, that requirement will now apply to all users aged 13 to 15. 'Additionally, live streams featuring 13 to 15-year-olds who are not visibly accompanied by an adult may have their live chat disabled and the account may temporarily lose access to live chat or other features,' the message on the support page stated. Creators who don't follow the new age rule risk having features like live chat disabled or even losing access to livestreaming. 'Please note that, in the future, we plan to take down these live streams and the account may temporarily lose its ability to live stream.' YouTube further warned that repeated rule violations could result in content removal or account termination. 'If your channel has restricted live streaming, don't try to live stream on another channel. This will count as evasion and may lead to channel termination,' the company said. YouTube live streaming with an adult present Creators under 16 can still stream with adult supervision. The company says that 'If you are under 16 and would like to participate in a live stream from an account owned by an adult, that adult must be visibly present in the live stream.' YouTube allows them to assign an adult as an editor, manager, or owner of their channel. This adult will be able to start a stream from a linked account. 'If you're under 16 and an adult is willing to live stream with you, you can give the adult access to your channel as an editor, manager or owner. This allows the adult to start the live stream from your account while still reaching your audience through your own channel.' Redmi Pad 2: Know these Things Before Buying! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Tesla CEO Elon Musk agrees with Microsoft's Satya Nadella on AI goals: ‘If there's one lesson…'
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) where he said 'The real benchmark for AI progress is whether it makes a real difference in people's lives — in healthcare, education, and productivity.' Nadella recently appeared at Y Combinator AI Startup School where he talked about Microsoft's AI bets, hyperscaling, and quantum computing breakthroughs. His X post caught the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk who responded to Satya Nadella's statement, saying 'True'. In the post, Nadella also shared a video of him from the event where he said 'If there's one lesson history has taught is that if you're gonna use energy, you better have social permission to use energy. So that means you've got to make sure that the output of the AI is still to use'. Adding further, he said 'If we really are not creating social surplus (economic surplus) as measured by countries and communities, we just can' consume it. And so that, to me, is the bigger thing. Like, everybody is today, hot and bothered about what do I do about energy production?' Satya Nadella: 'I think the real question in the next five years is…' During the conversation, Nadella also touched upon challenges for the tech industry in the coming five years. He said 'I think the real question in the next five years is we've got to produce enough products that are creating great value, which I'm very confident of, in healthcare and education, in productivity. So there's many, many domains. But that's the real challenge for us as a tech industry, is to prove unequivocally that what we have created is showing up in real stats; that is not just an AGI or AI benchmark.' 'Like, in the United States, 18-19% of our cost is healthcare, and everybody talks about the magical drug except all of the cost is in work flow' he said, adding that 'the back end of an EMR system with just an LLM and a prompt…is going to save so much time and money and energy that you sort of paper itself.' Redmi Pad 2: Know these Things Before Buying!
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Nvidia beats Microsoft to become world's most valuable company: What's behind the rise
Nvidia has become the world's most valuable company , overtaking Microsoft, as demand for its AI chips continues to soar. Nvidia's market value rose to $3.34 trillion this week, making it worth more than Microsoft at $3.32 trillion and Apple at $3.29 trillion. Fueled by growing interest in artificial intelligence technologies, the chipmaker's stock has gained over 170% this year and more than tripled in value over the past 12 months. What led to Nvidia's rise as world's most valable company Nvidia's rise has been driven by its dominant position in providing chips used in AI systems, including those that power tools like ChatGPT. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are a key component for training and running large language models. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has often emphasized the AI revolution. Speaking during the company's earnings report, Huang said 'The next industrial revolution has begun — companies and countries are partnering with Nvidia to shift the trillion-dollar traditional data centers to accelerated computing and build a new type of data center — AI factories — to produce a new commodity: artificial intelligence'. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Laxmi Ji Idol For Wealth, Peace & Happiness Luxeartisanship Shop Now Undo Top 3 most valuable companies in the world are Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple are competing to be the world's most valuable company. Microsoft had long held the top spot among the world's most valuable companies, with Apple briefly overtaking it earlier this year. Nvidia's climb to the top marks a major moment for the chip industry, traditionally seen as a lower-margin hardware sector compared to software and services. While Nvidia's revenue is still much lower than Microsoft's or Apple's — it reported $26 billion in its latest quarter compared to Microsoft's $62 billion — investors are betting big on future growth. What's next According to experts, Nvidia's current valuation reflects high expectations for AI development and adoption. The company continues to launch new chips, including its Blackwell line expected later this year, which could further cement its market dominance. Whether Nvidia can maintain the top spot depends on continued strong demand and its ability to fend off competition from companies like AMD, Intel, and even its customers like Google and Amazon, which are building their own chips. As of now, Nvidia's success shows how the center of gravity in the tech world is shifting — from software to silicon. Redmi Pad 2: Know these Things Before Buying!
