A dark gray POCO Pad M1 tablet seen from the back, lying on a wooden surface. The POCO logo is centered on the back, and a dual-camera module with gold accents is visible in the top right corner. The bottom of the image has a yellow banner with the text "Unboxing the POCO Pad M1: Built to Play to the Max" and social media handles for Unbox Diaries.

Unboxing the POCO Pad M1: Built to Play to the Max

🖋️ Justine Abalos 📅 December 4, 2025
🏷️ , , , , , , ,

After a year without an update to their tablet line, POCO is back with not just one but two new tablets. I say two because there is the X1, their flagship tablet, and the one we are taking a look at today, the POCO Pad M1.

Black retail box for the POCO Pad M1 tablet. The box features the "POCO Pad M1" text in large yellow letters at the bottom, a smaller yellow POCO logo label in the corner, and the Dolby Vision-Atmos logo.

You can think of the POCO Pad M1 as the spiritual successor to last year’s POCO Pad. Although we still do not know why POCO decided to call it the M1 instead of simply going with POCO Pad 2…

Unboxing

In terms of presentation, there’s really not much to expect with the POCO Pad M1. It comes in the usual black and yellow box that most POCO devices come in. Lifting the top cover reveals the POCO Pad M1 itself.

Close-up on the corner of the POCO Pad M1's black box, clearly showing the white "Dolby VISION · ATMOS" logo against a dark background with vertical wood grain paneling behind it.
Close-up on the corner of the POCO Pad M1's black retail box, showing the small, yellow rectangular sticker with the word "POCO" printed on it.

Set that aside and you’ll find the 33W charging brick, the USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, and a few documentations including the quick start guide and warranty information, all tucked inside their own little compartments.

Flat lay shot of the POCO Pad M1 tablet in dark gray on a wooden table, alongside its included accessories: a white 33W charger, a USB-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, and several instruction/warranty booklets, including a fun yellow-and-black sticker sheet.

But what you won’t find here are the POCO Pad M1 Keyboard and POCO Smart Pen which are sold separately.

Large But Not Unwieldy

If you’re like me and have small hands then you’ll find the POCO Pad M1 quite massive with its 12.1-inch display. The good thing is that despite its large footprint, holding the POCO Pad M1 doesn’t feel that much tiring, all thanks to its 7.5 mm thin body and 610g weight.

An overhead shot of a person using the POCO Pad M1 tablet, demonstrating the split-screen multitasking feature with YouTube on the left and a web browser article about the POCO Pad M1 on the right. A finger is tapping the screen.

And because of its sleek, metal unibody finish, the POCO Pad M1 feels solid and premium in the hand. Available in two colors: Blue and the one we’re using, Gray.

Extreme close-up on the glossy "POCO" logo text subtly printed on the side or corner of the black POCO Pad M1 retail box.

I can see this tablet being a fan favorite among students and young professionals looking for a run and gun tablet without the hefty price tag.

An Entertainment Powerhouse

A person is holding the POCO Pad M1 tablet horizontally, watching a video of a woman in a pink dress (Ariana Grande in a scene from 'Wicked'). The screen's bright display is the main focus.

As I mentioned the 12.1-inch display may seem a bit daunting at first, especially if you have hands like mine, but that large screen is also one of the biggest advantages of the POCO Pad M1. With a resolution of 2.5K or 2560 x 1600, the Pad M1 takes every movie, game, and presentation to a whole ‘nother level.

The POCO Pad M1 tablet standing on a wooden surface, displaying a vibrant, colorful, abstract liquid/marble-like pattern on its screen. The front-facing camera is visible above the screen.

The POCO Pad M1 supports Dolby Vision and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz which keeps animations buttery smooth. And for protection, the Pad M1’s display is TÜV Rheinland certified with Low Blue Light (Hardware Solution), Flicker Free, and it’s also Circadian Friendly.

Close-up on the corner of the POCO Pad M1's screen, highlighting the smooth, rounded corner of the display that shows a colorful, abstract, deep blue, purple, and red pattern.

However, as with most tablets in the market, the display’s brightness doesn’t match that of current smartphones. But let’s be real, you’ll mostly be using the Pad M1 indoors and away from the harsh sunlight. 

Power For What You Need and More…

I mentioned earlier that the Pad M1 looks to be the spiritual successor to the original POCO Pad, the main reason being that the POCO Pad M1 still runs on the Snapdragon 7 platform, specifically the latest7s Gen 4. If you’ll remember, the original POCO Pad ran on a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset.

Close-up shot of a hand tapping the "Boost" button within the "Game Turbo" feature on the POCO Pad M1, which offers options like clearing memory and monitoring performance.
Overhead shot of a person's hands holding the POCO Pad M1 tablet horizontally while playing a mobile first-person shooter game, displaying the on-screen controls and action (likely Call of Duty Mobile).

The included 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage should be more than enough for most everyday tasks, even with a bit of gaming. But if that’s not enough, you can expand the storage up to 2TB via the dedicated microSD slot.

Overhead shot of the POCO Pad M1 tablet resting on a wooden table, showing its home screen with a blue and yellow wallpaper and several app icons arranged on the display.

Out of the box, the POCO Pad M1 runs HyperOS 2 on top of Android 15 with a possible upgrade to HyperOS 3 in the future.

The POCO Pad M1 tablet screen displaying the results of an AnTuTu Benchmark V10.4.5 test, showing a score of 768874 and other information like device model and testing options.

In our brief testing, the combination of the powerful Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, the large memory and storage, and the efficiency of the HyperOS 2 ecosystem, propels the POCO Pad M1 to an impressive score of 768,874 on AnTuTu Benchmark v10.

Audio

Close-up shot of the side edge of the POCO Pad M1 tablet, showing the speaker grille holes and the "Dolby Vision · Atmos" branding text, emphasizing its audio capabilities.

If you look at all of POCO’s new offerings, you’ll observe a common theme among them, audio. While it may not have the 2.1 channel speaker setup with a dedicated woofer like the POCO F8 Ultra, it still offers support for Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res audio.

Extreme close-up of the POCO Pad M1 screen showing the volume control overlay, which displays a large vertical slider and the sound level as "300%" at the top, along with a bell icon (notifications) and a moon icon (Do Not Disturb).

And if you’ve ever found yourself in the middle of a busy coffee shop without a pair of earphones/earbuds then the quad speaker that can output to 300% should come in clutch. But if you do have one, you can either go wired or wireless, thanks to the included 3.5mm headphone jack.

Close-up of another side edge of the POCO Pad M1 tablet, showing speaker grille holes on both sides of a central USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Motolite Lang Ang Peg?

That large footprint wasn’t just because of the 12.1-inch display. Lies beneath is a massive 12,000 mAh battery that powers all the bells and whistles of the POCO Pad M1.

The POCO Pad M1 tablet next to its black retail box, connected to a white charging cable. The tablet's screen is black, displaying a bright blue circular charging animation with the battery level at 13%.

Taking the “Play to the Max” tagline to heart, by the time you’ve drained all 12,000 mAh, you’ll definitely feel all played out. While we don’t have the data with us as of the moment, I’m willing to bet that it can last all day of mixed usage, even from a power user.

Close-up of the top-right corner of the POCO Pad M1 screen while charging. A pill-shaped graphic shows the text "Charging" and a 13% battery level with a green lightning bolt icon.

If you do need to top it up, the 33W fast charging should be more than capable of handling that large battery. Just don’t expect smartphone level charging speeds.

Camera

There’s really not much to say about the POCO Pad M1’s cameras, apart from it serves all the basic functions you need from a tablet camera. Both the rear and front cameras are 8 megapixels, more than enough for taking pictures of documents or the occasional video calls.

Close-up on the back of the dark gray POCO Pad M1 tablet, showing the distinctive pill-shaped rear camera module with two circular lenses highlighted by gold/yellow accents.
Extreme close-up on the top bezel of the POCO Pad M1 tablet, focusing on the small front-facing camera centered just above the screen.

If you want a more premium front facing experience, the Cross Device Camera feature lets you use your phone camera for a higher quality video feed.

Initial Thoughts

After spending a bit of time with the Pad M1, it feels like POCO is trying to reclaim its spot in the budget friendly tablet scene. The design is solid, the display is large and vibrant, and the performance is capable for its class. The audio is loud enough to fill a room, the battery is massive, and the software experience feels smoother than expected.

Black retail box for the POCO Pad M1 tablet. The box features the "POCO Pad M1" text in large yellow letters at the bottom, a smaller yellow POCO logo label in the corner, and the Dolby Vision-Atmos logo.

Of course, it’s not perfect. The brightness could be better, the cameras are basic, and the accessories not being included will be a downside for some. But for a budget tablet that aims to give you the complete experience, the POCO Pad M1 is shaping up to be a very promising option.

Full shot of the back of the dark gray POCO Pad M1 tablet, standing upright on a shelf. The POCO logo is centered, and the rear camera module with gold accents is visible in the top corner.

What stands out most about the new POCO Pad M1?

Let us know what you think!