In a world dominated by smartphones, laptops, and hybrid devices, it’s a rare treat to encounter a new Android tablet hitting the market. The OnePlus Pad breaks this trend and offers consumers a chance to explore the pleasures of using an 11-inch Android tablet with impressive specs and a sleek design.
In this comprehensive review, we will unbox and delve into the features, performance, and overall experience of the OnePlus Pad. From its design and build quality to its software, display, audio, camera, performance, gaming capabilities, battery life, and more, we’ll evaluate whether this tablet stands up to the competition.
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Unboxing and Design
The OnePlus Pad comes in a minimalist package, with the focus solely on the device itself. Alongside the tablet, you’ll find a typically on-brand bright red USB cable, a quick start guide, and a membership card for the “Red Cable Club.” The inclusion of the membership card is a quirky touch that adds a bit of character to the unboxing experience.
When you first lay eyes on the OnePlus Pad, you’ll notice its stunning design. Constructed from aluminum alloy, the tablet boasts a unibody design with a matte finish, ensuring that it is fairly resistant to fingerprints and scuffs. Even after handling it for some time, you won’t find a plethora of greasy prints emerging on the surface. The subtle branding and sleek aesthetics give the OnePlus Pad a sophisticated and modern look.
However, one design aspect that might polarize users is the eye-catching camera bump. It’s undeniably massive, drawing attention almost immediately. To further accentuate this feature, OnePlus has cleverly introduced a radial pattern that emanates from the camera bump, adding an extra touch of visual flair.
Despite the large display size, the OnePlus Pad manages to stay surprisingly slender, measuring just a few millimeters thick. This slender profile, combined with a weight of just over half a kilo, makes the tablet comfortable to hold for extended periods. Even users with smaller hands won’t have any issues clutching this device while reading books or watching videos.
At first glance, you might worry that the narrow bezels surrounding the OnePlus Pad’s screen could lead to unintended touches or interfere with the user experience. However, the responsiveness of the touch interface is commendable, and OnePlus seems to have calibrated it well to avoid any accidental inputs.
Software and User Interface
The OnePlus Pad runs on Oxygen OS 13.1, a custom skin based on Android 13. If you’ve previously owned a OnePlus smartphone, you’ll feel right at home with the familiar Oxygen OS features and user interface. The software delivers a reasonably stock Android experience but comes with several bonus features that OnePlus fans will appreciate.
OnePlus has committed to providing three years of Android OS updates and four years of security updates for the OnePlus Pad. This support ensures that users can stay up to date with the latest Android features and security patches for an extended period.
In terms of biometric security, the OnePlus Pad offers Face Unlock using its front-facing camera. While it’s not as secure as a fingerprint sensor, Face Unlock is generally quick and reliable, offering a convenient way to unlock the tablet.
Customization is another highlight of Oxygen OS, and OnePlus allows users to personalize their experience by changing fonts, icon styles, and more. One notable feature introduced with the OnePlus Pad is the ability to split the screen by swiping two fingers down from the top edge. This multi-window feature comes in handy when you need to multitask or switch between apps quickly. Furthermore, the transition between the multi-window setup and full-screen apps is seamless, making it an intuitive feature to use.
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Keyboard Cover and Stylus Support
Like other tablets in the market, the OnePlus Pad supports a magnetic keyboard cover that allows you to transform it into a makeshift laptop. The keyboard cover does a good job overall, providing physical keys with adequate travel and a touchpad for navigation. However, it lacks backlighting, which can make typing in the dark challenging. Additionally, the lack of an adjustable screen angle limits the convenience of using it on your lap.
The OnePlus Pad also supports a stylus, and users can purchase the OnePlus Stylus separately. This accessory offers 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, making it a useful tool for note-taking, sketching, and more. While OnePlus didn’t provide a stylus for testing purposes, it is undoubtedly a valuable addition for creative professionals and students.
Display and Audio
The OnePlus Pad boasts an 11.6-inch IPS display that delivers respectable contrast and vibrant colors. Although it doesn’t feature an OLED panel, the display offers crisp visuals and excellent viewing angles. Dolby Vision support enhances the visual experience, making it a delight for cinephiles.
While the display is ideal for reading books or side-by-side multitasking, its 7×5 screen ratio may not be the best fit for watching movies, leading to letterboxing in landscape mode. Nonetheless, the 144Hz refresh rate ensures that navigating the user interface and supported apps remains smooth and fluid.
Audio performance is one of the OnePlus Pad’s standout features. The tablet is equipped with a quad-speaker setup, a configuration similar to premium tablets like the iPad Pro. The speakers deliver immersive sound with impressive clarity, making them well-suited for watching videos, gaming, and video conferencing. The stereo effect is particularly pronounced when holding the tablet in portrait mode, making it easy to distinguish between the two channels.
The inclusion of Dolby Atmos support further elevates the audio experience, allowing users to fine-tune the audio settings to their liking. The tablet’s performance in this regard easily places it among the best in its class.
Camera and Photography
The OnePlus Pad sports an 8-megapixel front-facing camera tucked into a small bezel. The camera features facial tracking and HDR support, making it adequate for video calls and conferencing. The built-in microphones capture clear audio, ensuring that your voice comes through loud and clear during virtual meetings.
While it’s not surprising to find a front-facing camera on a tablet, the OnePlus Pad also comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera—an interesting inclusion that might raise a few eyebrows. However, it’s worth noting that using a tablet for photography is far from practical, and the camera’s primary purpose may remain a mystery to many users.
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Performance and Gaming
Under the hood, the OnePlus Pad is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset, accompanied by 8GB of RAM. While the Dimensity 9000 may not be as renowned as some flagship Qualcomm or MediaTek chipsets, it still manages to provide a smooth and responsive performance in everyday tasks. Multitasking, browsing, and running multiple apps side by side pose no significant challenges to the OnePlus Pad.
In benchmark tests, the OnePlus Pad may not achieve top-tier scores, but it does deliver a satisfactory performance. Geekbench 6 scores reveal a single-core score of just over a thousand and a multi-core score of 3245. While these numbers might not impress hardcore performance enthusiasts, the average user will find the OnePlus Pad more than capable for their daily needs.
Mobile gaming on the OnePlus Pad is a pleasant experience. Though it may not handle the highest graphics settings in demanding games like Genshin Impact with absolute smoothness, tweaking the graphics settings can lead to a satisfying gaming experience. The device handles less demanding games flawlessly, ensuring an enjoyable gaming session without significant frame drops or heating issues.
OnePlus offers an Oxygen OS Game and Toolbar, allowing users to optimize their gaming experience further. The Pro Gamer mode, in particular, dedicates all resources to the game, blocking notifications and ensuring a smooth gaming session. The gaming performance is commendable, making the OnePlus Pad an attractive option for mobile gamers.
Battery Life and Charging
With a substantial 9510mAh battery, the OnePlus Pad delivers impressive battery life. During our testing, the tablet consistently lost less than 10% charge per hour, even with intensive multitasking and media consumption. The standby time is also noteworthy, ensuring that the OnePlus Pad can last a full day of use without requiring a midday charge.
When it does need charging, the OnePlus Pad supports 67W SuperVOOC fast charging, enabling a quick turnaround for full battery replenishment. A full charge takes around an hour and a quarter, providing a convenient and rapid charging solution.
Verdict
The OnePlus Pad offers a compelling package, making it a solid rival to premium Android tablets from established brands like Samsung. Its sleek design, impressive display, powerful audio performance, and long-lasting battery make it an attractive choice for media consumption and productivity tasks alike. The inclusion of the Oxygen OS, with its user-friendly features and customization options, further enhances the overall experience.
Despite its numerous strengths, the OnePlus Pad faces stiff competition in the Android tablet market. The forthcoming Google Pixel tablet, with rumored dock functionality, promises to be an intriguing challenger. Potential buyers may want to keep an eye on the Pixel tablet before making a final decision.
As of now, the OnePlus Pad is a highly competitive offering, boasting a price of 449 quid (at the time of this review) that makes it a strong contender in the tablet market. Whether you’re a content creator, a media enthusiast, or a professional seeking productivity on the go, the OnePlus Pad has something to offer. Its combination of style, performance, and features makes it a worthy addition to OnePlus’s lineup and a tablet that can cater to a wide range of user needs.
