Xiaomi has had a pretty busy year, releasing plenty of new Android phones and tablets, but it looks like yet another is on the way. The Chinese tech giant has teased a new Xiaomi Black Shark gaming tablet via the sub-brand's Malaysian Facebook page, and while the details are pretty scarce, I've got pretty high hopes for what could be in store.
The teaser reveals that the Black Shark tablet boasts an 8.8-inch display, which is relatively small compared to some of the picks from our guide to the best gaming tablets, such as the Asus ROG Flow Z13 and iPad Pro. However, there are perks to the compact form factor. To start, it means the tablet is more likely to fit inside a mobile controller while also making it easier to hold horizontally, which suits playing games like Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile.
While Xiaomi hasn't officially confirmed what chip to expect inside the new gaming tablet yet, one of the teasers confirms it's a Qualcomm chip. A previous leak, courtesy of Notebookcheck, seems to point towards the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 as the likely processor. If that's the case, we can expect impressive performance from the device, and it should be more than powerful enough to run the best mobile games without having to tinker with the settings.
Outside of the compact form factor, we don't know what to anticipate from the Black Shark tablet's design, as all the teaser images just show off a silhouette. Traditionally, Xiaomi's Black Shark devices haven't been quite as garish as equivalent devices from the likes of RedMagic and Asus, but we won't know for sure until we get more information. One thing we are expecting is a pretty sizeable battery, with the leak we mentioned earlier pointing towards a 7,300mAh cell.
Unfortunately, if this Black Shark tablet is anything like most Xiaomi devices, it could be tricky to get your hands on in the US. It's a bit frustrating that this is still the case, as the Xiaomi Pad Mini was one of the best tablets I used this year, but I still can't recommend it to friends, as it's almost impossible to pick up in the US or even Europe. Hopefully, the Black Shark gaming tablet is at least available in Europe, as that makes importing it a whole lot easier.