Tablets Take a Dive During the 618 Shopping Festival: Apple Holds Firm on Prices, Xiaomi Relying on Government Subsidies. Is the Price War Losing Steam?
Another 618 shopping festival is here. As we enter the late May, the atmosphere of the shopping festival is getting hotter. Despite the huge cost pressure brought by the rising storage prices, major digital manufacturers still don't want to completely miss this crucial marketing opportunity of 618 and are biting the bullet to participate in the promotions.
Not long ago, we just took stock of the actions of major brands in mobile phone products during the 618 shopping festival. Now, let's turn our attention to the tablet category.
In recent years, domestic brands have increased their investment in the tablet field. Tablet products with different sizes and positioning have been continuously launched, providing many consumers with new choices besides the iPad. So, will there be any surprises in the tablet field during this year's 618?
Are Apple and domestic brands no longer up for a price war?
Apple doesn't reduce prices officially and just rides on the platform subsidies
Since 2019, Apple has participated in the 618 shopping festival every year, and the main battlefield has always been the Apple Store flagship store on the Tmall platform. On May 15th this year, Apple officially announced the launch of the 618 promotion. The iPhone 17 series is mainly involved in the official price reduction, while there aren't many actions for the iPad product line.
(Image source: Apple)
When we open the official Apple Store flagship store on Tmall, we can find that the iPad series doesn't appear in the most prominent promotion position. When we go directly to the product details page, we'll see that its pricing hasn't changed much. Of course, it can't be said that the iPad has no discounts at all. The discounts mainly come from the following aspects: national subsidies, Tmall platform subsidies, and educational discounts. Take the 256GB version of the iPad 11 for example. The original price is 3,499 yuan. You can get a 150-yuan discount with the Tmall coupon. If you stack the national subsidy, you can get an additional 15% off.
(Image source: Tmall)
However, in the end, this discount is still quite ordinary and doesn't fully reflect the intensity of the 618 shopping festival. Other channels are actually more cost-effective. For example, on Pinduoduo, the price of the 256GB version of the iPad 11 after using the coupon in the 10-billion subsidy channel is 2,849 yuan, which is 650 yuan cheaper than the official price. On the Tmall platform, after entering the 10-billion subsidy channel, the price is about 3,099 yuan, which is still cheaper than the official store. The discount on JD.com is a bit smaller, but the price of this iPad is also only 3,199 yuan.
Huawei: High-end tablets have price cuts, and new models are on pre-sale before official release
Huawei's MatePad product line is already very complete, including multiple series with different sizes and positioning. During this year's 618, Huawei's main promotional model is the MatePad Edge, with a maximum direct price cut of 1,000 yuan. This is a 2-in-1 product launched at the end of last year and is also Huawei's first HarmonyOS 2-in-1 tablet.
It is equipped with a 14.2-inch ultra-large screen and has made many optimizations and adaptations around the productivity scenario. It not only has a professional painting app built-in but also supports the professional drawing software ZWCAD.
(Image source: Huawei)
Of course, the pricing of this tablet is relatively high. The basic version costs 5,999 yuan. If you choose the 24GB + 1TB capacity (including the keyboard), the price will reach 9,999 yuan (with a 300-yuan reduction during the 618). The 24GB + 1TB liquid-cooled version with a direct price cut of 1,000 yuan still costs 10,499 yuan after the discount.
In addition to the small price cut, if you buy this tablet now, you'll also get a 140W braided data cable, a Huawei Tag anti-lost device, and a pair of FreeLace wireless earphones as a form of price cut.
Moreover, Huawei will officially hold the new product launch event for the nova 16 series on June 1st, and the MatePad Pro Max will be launched at that time. This tablet started pre-sale on May 20th, and the official release date will be on June 1st.
Currently, not much information about this product has been released. Judging from the official pre-heating poster, it should still be a 2-in-1 tablet. Combining Huawei's claim of a "new professional productivity flagship tablet" and the product name, it is estimated that the screen size of this tablet will be further increased, and the performance will be significantly enhanced.
(Image source: Huawei)
Xiaomi: A 200-yuan price cut, and the rest depends on national subsidies
Xiaomi launched its 618 promotion on May 13th. Many products are involved in the promotion, including mobile phones and home appliances. For tablets and laptops, Xiaomi has also specially launched a "618 Computer and Office Special Offer".
However, the price cut for Xiaomi tablets is relatively small, with a maximum reduction of only 200 yuan. Specifically, there are five Xiaomi tablets participating in the promotion. Among them, the Xiaomi Pad 7S Pro 12.4 has a direct price cut of 200 yuan, the REDMI K Pad 2 also has a direct price cut of 200 yuan, and the Xiaomi Pad 8, REDMI Pad 2, and REDMI Pad 2 Pro all have a direct price cut of 100 yuan. To make the price cut seem more significant, the prices on Xiaomi's 618 tablet posters are the prices after stacking the national subsidies, which is a small marketing trick.
(Image source: Weibo)
The specific usage scenarios targeted by these five tablets are quite different. For example, the Xiaomi Pad 7S Pro 12.4 features a large screen, long battery life, and productivity attributes. Supporting PC-level WPS is one of its highlights in promotion. The REDMI K Pad 2 is a product targeting the e-sports scenario. Its 8.8-inch small screen, flagship chip, and optimized heat dissipation are all aimed at the pain points of game players. The Xiaomi Pad 8 is a more all-round large-screen tablet. Although its screen quality, chip performance, battery life, and productivity support are not top-notch, there are no obvious shortfalls either. The core selling point of the REDMI Pad 2 series is its low price. On this basis, it has a large screen and long battery life, mainly targeting educational scenarios such as online courses and online learning.
OPPO: New products are coming out one after another
OPPO regards 618 as an important marketing node and held a new product launch event on the evening of May 25th. In addition to the main Reno16 series, it also released two tablets - the OPPO Pad6 and the OPPO Pad Air5.
The OPPO Pad6 is equipped with a Dimensity 9500s and a 3K soft screen, targeting scenarios such as office work and learning. It has a direct price cut of 200 yuan during the first sale, with a starting price of 3,299 yuan. Its main AI functions include AI image matting, AI note-taking assistance, and AI voice-to-text conversion. In terms of productivity office work, it has PC-level WPS and can also be interconnected with a PC across screens.
(Image source: OPPO)
The OPPO Pad Air5 is positioned at a lower end. It uses a Dimensity 7300-Ultra and is equipped with a 12.1-inch ultra-large screen and a 10,050mAh large battery. This tablet is mainly targeted at student users, and it should be sufficient for learning scenarios. In terms of price, this tablet also has a direct price cut of 200 yuan during the first sale, starting at 1,899 yuan.
(Image source: OPPO)
vivo: A sharp price cut of 500 yuan, going all out for the flagship market
The main tablet model promoted by vivo during the 618 is the vivo Pad6 Pro, with a price cut ranging from 200 yuan to 800 yuan. The 12 + 256GB version, which is a popular choice, has a direct price cut of 500 yuan, and the price after the discount is 4,499 yuan.
This price still seems relatively high, but the vivo Pad6 Pro itself is positioned as a super flagship, with almost all aspects of the configuration fully loaded, so it is worthy of this high price.
(Image source: vivo)
Specifically, this tablet is equipped with the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Extreme Edition and a rare 4K screen on tablets. The battery capacity reaches an amazing 13,000mAh. More importantly, its thickness is controlled at 6.18mm, which is quite impressive in terms of thinness.
In terms of productivity applications, it has PC-level WPS, ZWCAD, CapCut Pro, etc. The prices of the keyboard and pen are also quite reasonable. Overall, the vivo Pad6 Pro is one of the tablets with the top-level configuration that can be bought on the Android side at present.
Honor: AI tablets have price cuts, with a significant promotion
The main tablets promoted by Honor during the 618 are the MagicPad3 Pro 12.3 and the GT2 Pro 12.3. They are both large-sized products but have different positioning. The MagicPad3 Pro 12.3 is an all-round product targeting the high-end market. Specifically, this tablet has a 4.8mm ultra-thin thickness, a high-brightness and high-specification OLED screen, a large battery, and the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 chip.
More importantly, in addition to the productivity office work realized through PC-like applications, it also supports AI functions, such as AI note-taking assistance and AI documents. Honor has even installed a Linux environment in this tablet, allowing users to deploy the Claw tool with one click and "raise shrimps" on the tablet.
(Image source: Honor)
During the 618 period, the official price of the MagicPad3 Pro 12.3 is directly reduced by 1,000 yuan to 3,999 yuan. In addition, we found that on e-commerce platforms such as JD.com, the price cut of this tablet is even greater, with the price after the discount being about 3,899 yuan. Considering that this tablet was only launched in April this year, this discount is quite good.
The GT2 Pro 12.3 is positioned as an e-sports tablet, using the third-generation Snapdragon 8 chip, which still has decent performance at present. In terms of other configurations, this tablet has a high-refresh-rate screen, a large battery, supports a stylus, and also has some AI functions. This tablet was launched in 2025, with a starting price of 2,699 yuan. Now the price after the discount on e-commerce platforms is about 2,299 yuan.
