Is Xiaomi working on new iPad-rival Mi Pad 4?

Xiaomi has some major plans for 2018 as rumors have hinted multiple product launches in the months to come. Following the launch of Mi 6X in China, there have been reports that Xiaomi could launch an affordable Redmi S2 smartphone, but that's not the end of it. The Chinese smartphone maker could also be working on an Apple iPad-rival dubbed as Mi Pad 4.

According to a report on XDA Developers, there is evidence of a new Xiaomi tablet in the works. The folks at XDA obtained firmware files showing proof of a Xiaomi tablet with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, which is largely believed to be the Mi Pad 4.

The firmware files offer insight on some potential features, such as a display with 18:9 aspect ratio, but there's a lot of uncertainty around that considering how odd it would look. Another key highlight is the decision to go with an LCD panel instead of an OLED display.

The report further revealed that the Mi Pad 4 won't have a microSD card slot based on the "nosdcard" property in one of the builds. Also, the tablet won't have NFC support as well, MIUI configuration file revealed.

Other features for the Mi Pad 4 revealed in the latest leak include a 13MP OmniVision OV13855 rear-facing sensor with f/2.0 aperture and a single 5MP Samsung SK5E8 with f/2.0 aperture front-facing snapper. The tablet won't support 4K video recording, but it is expected to have portrait mode support.

Under the hood, the Mi Pad 4 is expected to boast a large 6,000mAh battery, which is also a clear indicator for it being a tablet than a Mi Max series smartphone.

Since there are a lot of inconsistencies with devices in the rumor phase, we are not sure if and when the new tablet is coming. The last device Xiaomi launched was the Mi 6X, which is expected to be launched as the Mi A2 in India soon.

The Mi 6X features a 5.99-inch full HD+ screen with 18:9 aspect ratio, dual cameras with 12MP + 20MP sensors, and a 20MP front-facing snapper. Under the hood, the handset sports a Snapdragon 660 chipset with 4GB/6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB and a 3,010mAh battery.

The handset's price starts at ¥1599 ($253/€207/Rs 16,898) for the base model, while the 6GB RAM models with 64GB and 128GB ROM cost ¥1799 ($285/€233/Rs 19,011) and ¥1999 ($316/€259/Rs 21,123), respectively.