Vivo has added the Pad 5c to its tablet lineup in China, and the pitch is familiar: a mid-range slate that borrows some of the appeal of pricier devices without pretending to be one. It pairs a 12.1-inch 144Hz display with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, up to 12GB of RAM, and a 10,000mAh battery, which is the kind of spec sheet that should keep rival Android tablets on their toes.
The Vivo Pad 5c also comes with stylus and keyboard support, making it a work-and-play machine rather than a couch-only slate. Android tablet makers have spent the last couple of years chasing a simple formula – big screen, fast refresh rate, long battery life – because that is what buyers actually notice.
Vivo Pad 5c specifications
The Pad 5c uses a 12.1-inch LCD panel with 2.8K resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and up to 900 nits of peak brightness. Under the hood, it runs on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and comes with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM plus 256GB of UFS 4.1 storage.
- Display: 12.1-inch LCD, 2.8K, 144Hz, up to 900 nits
- Chipset: Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
- Memory and storage: up to 12GB LPDDR5X RAM, 256GB UFS 4.1
- Battery: 10,000mAh with 44W fast charging
- Cameras: 8-megapixel rear, 5-megapixel front
Vivo is also pushing software features harder than most tablet brands bother to. The Pad 5c runs OriginOS 6 based on Android 16 and includes AI PPT Assistant, Vivo File Transfer, and floating window support. A 32,200mm² vapour chamber is on board for cooling, which is a sensible addition for a tablet aimed at multitasking, gaming, and the occasional overambitious spreadsheet session.
Battery, accessories and design
Beyond the core hardware, Vivo has equipped the tablet with a quad-speaker audio system, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, USB Type-C, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and facial recognition. It also supports the Vivo Pencil 3 stylus and the Vivo Smart Touch Keyboard 5, which broadens its appeal beyond media consumption and into light productivity.
At 6.62mm thick and 584g, the Pad 5c is not trying to be a featherweight. But that trade-off buys a large battery and a relatively slim profile, which is usually the more useful bargain on a tablet. The design choices also mirror what Apple, Samsung and Lenovo have been doing in this category for years: make the screen feel premium, then surround it with enough accessories to justify the tablet as a serious secondary device.
Vivo Pad 5c price in China
The Vivo Pad 5c starts at CNY 2,699 for the 8GB+128GB model. The 8GB+256GB version costs CNY 2,999, while the top 12GB+256GB configuration is priced at CNY 3,499.
- 8GB+128GB: CNY 2,699 (~$400)
- 8GB+256GB: CNY 2,999 (~$440)
- 12GB+256GB: CNY 3,499 (~$515)
It is available in Blue, Green and Grey, and is already on sale in China through Vivo’s official channels. The bigger question is whether Vivo plans to keep this tablet in China or use it as a template for a wider push, because the specs are competitive enough to travel well.