OnePlus Pad: A Sleek Contender in the Mid-Range Tablet Arena

OnePlus has primarily been recognized for its smartphones in the Indian market. In the last three years, however, the brand has expanded its offerings to include smart TVs, monitors, personal audio devices, and smartwatches. Additionally, the company produces and markets its own range of smartphone accessories, backpacks, and travel items. At a recent launch, OnePlus even revealed a mechanical keyboard that has yet to be released in India.

Beyond its bragging rights, OnePlus is celebrated for its distinctive designs and optimized software. So, what can we expect when OnePlus ventures into the tablet market? Let’s explore.

OnePlus Pad pricing in India

The OnePlus Pad comes in a single color known as Halo Green. Fortunately, there are choices available regarding configuration. The base model features 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, priced at Rs. 37,999. The upgraded version includes 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for Rs. 39,999. Personally, I’d recommend opting for the higher-end variant.

Design and accessories of the OnePlus Pad

Typically, OnePlus smartphones exhibit a rounded design philosophy, excluding a few models such as the OnePlus 10R 5G. With the OnePlus Pad, the brand has adhered to this design tradition, allowing it to differentiate itself from other tablets on the market in India.

The aluminum unibody construction contributes to a premium aesthetic and feel. At just 6.5mm, the Pad is exceptionally slim, making contemporary Apple iPads appear bulky by comparison. Despite its lightweight design, the tablet is remarkably robust, showing no signs of flex or creaking under pressure.

The OnePlus Pad boasts a premium metal unibody design

Even though aluminum is used in its construction, the OnePlus Pad weighs in at 552g, which can feel hefty during regular use or when held one-handed for browsing. I found myself often resting it on the couch or laying it down, particularly when utilizing the separately sold keyboard accessory. The finely textured back gives it a unique look, but it is a magnet for smudges, which are challenging to clean. Luckily, two optional cover accessories are available to protect the rear surface at all times.

The rounded edges of the OnePlus Pad facilitate a comfortable grip, unlike various tablets with flat sides that can dig into your hands. While the bottom, left, and right sides are rounded, the top-middle section is flat to accommodate the magnetic connector for the OnePlus Stylo accessory, with three flat pins for connecting and powering the keyboard accessory located at the base.

The back of the OnePlus Pad easily attracts smudges that are hard to clean

Despite the rounded edges, the display glass is flat and seamlessly integrated with the frame, providing an excellent experience for swipe gestures near the display’s edges. Although the display glass gathers smudges, they are easy to wipe away.

The OnePlus Magnetic Keyboard accessory retailing at Rs. 7,999 in India offers robust quality and a premium feel with a textured faux-leather finish on both sides. It connects and gets powered via its three pins, meaning it must be physically attached to the tablet to function; it does not operate wirelessly like a Bluetooth keyboard.

The keys on the Magnetic Keyboard have decent travel and deliver satisfying tactile feedback, enabling confident and accurate typing. However, they may feel somewhat stiff, leading to fatigue after prolonged typing sessions. The keyboard features a compact layout that I unexpectedly adapted to quickly.

Equipped with a function key, it can activate specific functions such as navigation for back, home, and recent apps when combined with the number keys; it also includes a command key that lets you trigger various predefined shortcuts when used in conjunction with other keys.

While lacking backlighting, the OnePlus Magnetic Keyboard provides a reliable typing experience for light tasks

OnePlus has certainly enhanced the keyboard experience, which I appreciate for its minimal learning curve and the intuitive design that mirrors Windows and macOS conventions. The trackpad performed impressively regarding sensitivity and functionality. Gestures functioned flawlessly once I disabled the “tap to click” feature in settings. The trackpad is pressable with minimal pressure, but it’s a single large button, so there are no separate right or left click options. I mainly used it for selecting items or inputting text. Text selection requires using the shift and arrow keys, making this setup better suited for lighter tasks.

Nevertheless, I wish there was a small gap (around 1cm) between the top row of number keys and the screen when mounted, as I occasionally tapped the display inadvertently when pressing the number keys.

The OnePlus Stylo stylus, available for Rs. 4,999 in India, performs as expected, charging swiftly when placed on the tablet’s magnetic area. However, locating the perfect contact spot on the stylus for docking can be tricky, and there were instances when it didn’t attach securely and would easily come off with minor nudges.

Specifications and software of the OnePlus Pad

Equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC, the OnePlus Pad features hardware typically found in high-end smartphones. My review unit was outfitted with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Notably, the tablet does not support SIM cards, thus lacking mobile data access and expandable storage options.

For connectivity, it offers Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and support for standard satellite navigation systems. Even without cellular capability, OnePlus facilitates hotspot data sharing through its Cellular Data Sharing feature, which allows the tablet to connect to a OnePlus smartphone automatically when within a range of one to five meters. Powered by a 9,510mAh battery, the OnePlus Pad comes with a 100W charger; nevertheless, charging is capped at 67W.

The OnePlus Stylo performs well and attaches securely to the top edge of the tablet

OnePlus has made some compromises by omitting the 3.5mm headphone jack and not incorporating a secure biometric unlock method, like a fingerprint sensor. The tablet can be unlocked using the standard PIN or by facial recognition with the front camera, which isn’t the most secure method, but functions reliably in good lighting conditions.

Despite the lack of cellular services, I was able to make voice and video calls via WhatsApp from the OnePlus Pad, functioning properly with clear audio quality courtesy of the built-in microphone. The selfie camera features OnePlus’ Limelight camera technology, which effectively centered my face during video calls assuming I didn’t move outside the camera’s framing.

Running on OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13, the OnePlus Pad includes several tablet-oriented adjustments. These include a bottom dock for pinned and recently used apps, reminiscent of the Apple iPad experience. A swipe up reveals the app drawer.

OnePlus has introduced additional software functionalities that enhance OxygenOS on a larger display. For instance, you can utilize one application in a resizable floating window, or two applications side by side with the split-screen feature, enabling three apps to be active concurrently. However, not all applications resize effectively for floating windows, including some Google apps like Drive, Docs, and Sheets, suggesting that this needs to be addressed in future software updates.

Performance of the OnePlus Pad

The OnePlus Pad features an 11.61-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2800 x 2000 pixels. The display is impressively bright at roughly 500 nits, allowing it to be used outdoors even in sunlight. Viewing angles are also quite decent, though colors come off as slightly oversaturated in the default Vivid mode. While the blacks are respectable, they do not match the depth of an AMOLED panel. The tablet’s display is Dolby Vision-certified, ensuring that content on Netflix and YouTube appears as intended. The device also comes equipped with a quad-speaker configuration that delivers loud and immersive audio thanks to Dolby Atmos compatibility.

This display sets itself apart from the competition due to its aspect ratio. OnePlus has adopted a somewhat unconventional 7:5 aspect ratio for the Pad. While this provides slightly increased vertical space for web browsing or working on spreadsheets, it does result in a somewhat cramped design when viewing two apps in split-screen mode. This is primarily because the display only offers two scaling options, Standard and Small, without a higher setting to accommodate additional content on the screen.

The OnePlus Pad showcases a vibrant, yet somewhat oversaturated, 7:5 aspect ratio display

The LCD panel on the OnePlus Pad supports a variable refresh rate of 144Hz, switching between 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz as required. During my review period, I discovered that the 144Hz rate is only available in specific applications, like Chrome, that have been “whitelisted” by OnePlus. In general use, the display mostly alternated between 60Hz (idle) and 120Hz (active).

Most games, including casual titles that support high refresh rates, were limited to 60Hz, with only a few, like Call of Duty: Mobile, being able to function at 90Hz using the ‘Ultra’ frame rate setting. I did not observe the screen dropping to 30Hz during my testing, nor did it consistently use its full 144Hz capabilities.

The SoC in the OnePlus Pad operates as anticipated, scoring 8,29,370 points in AnTuTu (v10). Graphically, the tablet achieved 32fps, 55fps, and 60fps in GFXBench’s Car Chase, Manhattan 3.1 and T-Rex benchmark tests respectively.

Overall gaming performance is commendable. The device did get warm while playing Call of Duty Mobile at ‘Very High’ graphics and frame rates, but it remained cool even after 30-minute gaming sessions. Asphalt 9 Legends appeared almost console-like in terms of graphics with extraordinarily smooth framerate due to the 60fps mode compatibility. However, I found the touch sampling rate at 120Hz/144Hz to be lacking while playing Call of Duty Mobile as it didn’t respond quickly enough, even after adjusting its sensitivity through the built-in gaming tools.

The OnePlus Pad can manage three apps simultaneously but is better suited for lighter productivity tasks

Despite a sparse selection of tablet-optimized apps in the Google Play store, the OnePlus Pad does an admirable job of handling stretched versions of smartphone applications. Unfortunately, certain apps from Instagram and Reddit continue to resist running or supporting horizontal layout, despite being available for tablets.

In terms of software performance, the 12GB of RAM provides ample support for multitasking and widgets while maintaining app pairs and floating windows in memory for extensive periods. OnePlus has managed to limit bloatware, pre-installing only Netflix and WPS Office—both of which are handy yet can be uninstalled if desired.

Camera capabilities of the OnePlus Pad

The image quality from the 13-megapixel rear camera on the OnePlus Pad is decent at best. Colours generally appear natural, but the detail is often lacking even in closer subjects. The 8-megapixel front camera does not perform well for selfies, as the details are minimal and images often exhibit an unreal HDR effect.

In auto mode, low-light still images yielded below-average results, and Night mode provided only passable quality, revealing a noticeable watercolor effect with flat textures.

Camera samples from the OnePlus Pad. From top to bottom: Close-up (primary), Portrait selfie, Night mode (primary) (Tap to view full size)

The rear camera is capable of recording video at 4K 30fps, delivering sharp footage with good dynamic range and detail, though it may be quite shaky. In 1080p at 30fps, electronic stabilization helps reduce shakes, but the footage can appear somewhat soft with less definition. Low-light video performance is not impressive, often showing significant noise and softer details.

Battery performance of the OnePlus Pad

The OnePlus Pad excels in battery longevity, offering over two days of use for typical casual activities. My usage included casual gaming, video streaming, social media browsing, and two email accounts syncing. This performance is particularly remarkable for a regular-sized tablet this slim. In our HD video loop test, it reached 18 hours and 10 minutes, which is commendable for a slim device.

The optional OnePlus Magnetic Keyboard accessory features an exceptionally premium appearance and feel

Moreover, I used the tablet in a work-like environment, performing tasks similar to what I would do on a laptop. With the display brightness set to 50 percent and a timeout of five minutes, it impressively lasted through two full workdays (approximately nine hours each).

Charging the OnePlus Pad proved to be quite rapid despite the restricted charging rates. It achieved 47 percent charge in 30 minutes, 85 percent in an hour, and a full charge in one hour and 29 minutes.

Conclusion

Until Google’s Pixel Tablet debuts in India (if it ever does), the OnePlus Pad could be seen as the best Android tablet experience currently accessible. This is amplified by its high-refresh rate display, quick charging, and quality accessories offered at attractive prices. Although I originally considered the starting price of Rs. 37,999 to be somewhat steep upon announcement, after using it I discovered plentiful raw performance suitable for light tasks or casual use, all in a package that is lighter than most laptops within this price range.

OnePlus has also effectively optimized the software, ensuring a balance of sustained performance with functionalities like split-screen mode and floating windows, all operating smoothly due to the capable hardware powering this tablet.

In summary, there is little to criticize unless an AMOLED display is a necessity for you; in that case, you might want to consider Lenovo’s P11 Pro Gen 2, which is comparable to the P11 Pro we previously reviewed. At Rs. 44,999, it lacks the same software experience as the OnePlus Pad.

On the Apple front, there’s the latest Apple iPad (2022) (Review) starting at Rs. 44,900 for the Wi-Fi-only model, which limits you to a standard refresh rate display and just 64GB of storage; only the variant with 256GB is priced at Rs. 59,900. Those looking for cellular services or a robust ecosystem of tablet-friendly applications may find the Apple iPad appealing. However, the accessories can be pricey, especially for those planning to use the iPad for work.

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