OnePlus Pad Review: A Spellbinding First Attempt
High notes: Premium design and experience, high-end tablet at a relatively lower price, excellent battery life.Low notes: Lack of biometric authentication.
Handset maker OnePlus has recently forayed into the tab market with its OnePlus Pad and heated up the segment which is dominated by the likes of Samsung and Apple. However, OnePlus is bringing a lot to the table with a premium metal unibody design, a big, bright display and a hefty battery. The OnePlus Pad's design definitely stands out, courtesy of the soft aluminium finish, but there's more to write about it.
The Indian tab market has three leaders, with South Korean tech giant Samsung taking the lead, followed by Apple and Lenovo which has a healthy portfolio of tablets. The tab market in India is expected to post a growth of around 5-10 per cent this year, according to a market intelligence firm. The Indian market has seen some really capable devices launching in the past few quarters, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE, the Galaxy Tab S8, and of course, the Apple iPad Air (2022) Wi-Fi + Cellular. However, these are tablets that offer a rich user experience at a higher price point. How does the OnePlus Pad fare in India's tablet? Find out in this in-depth review.
OnePlus Pad Design, Display, Looks And Build
Since India has always been a budget consumer market, OnePlus has made a sincere attempt to offer a premium tablet experience at a relatively lower price. The price of the OnePlus Pad starts at Rs 37,999 for the base 8GB/128GB model in India. The other variant has been launched for Rs 39,999 for the 12GB/256GB storage configuration.
As mentioned above, the design of the OnePlus Pad is what makes it stand out among competitors such as the Xiaomi Pad 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. Comparing the OnePlus Pad with the Lenovo Tab P11, the design of the latter is boxy with a flat back while the tab from OnePlus has curved rear and soft, chamfered edges. The tablet is extremely comfortable to hold; it is safe to say that the OnePlus Pad may be one of the most comfortable tabs out there. The OnePlus Pad measures 6.5 in thickness and exudes a premium in-hand feel. The unibody design made out of aluminium makes it super sturdy. However, that also makes it heavy with a weight of 552 grams. Carrying the tab in one hand can be tedious for those who do not give their arms a regular workout. The rear side of the tab, no matter how beautiful it looks, is a big fingerprint magnet. I would recommend using it with the OnePlus Folio Case which is also available in a classy green shade.
The display of the tab is equally impressive -- there is an 11.61-inch LCD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz and a resolution of 2800x2000. To make up for the absence of AMOLED display, OnePlus has added vivid picture mode by default, which makes colours pop and increases saturation as well. This may not be liked by many as the colours can get overwhelming. The display has a pixel density of 296ppi, an aspect ratio of 7:5 and a peak brightness of 500nits. The tablet offers an 88 per cent screen-to-body ratio. Talking about the aspect ratio, rejoice readers! Well, the 7:5 aspect ratio of the OnePlus Pad makes the tablet perfect for reading PDFs, e-books and so on. The screen also tends to have a tad bit of ghosting effect while scrolling. Even as there is a refresh rate of 144Hz, most apps can run at only 60Hz, 90Hz or 120Hz. I expect OnePlus to fix this via a software update in the future. The speakers on the OnePlus Pad need a special mention too -- there are four speakers (two on either side) with Dolby Atmos support that were pretty loud and clear even at maximum volume with some amount of bass. There was no distortion whatsoever. The tab is great for video/OTT consumption and listening to music.
When placed on its back, the tablet is kind of wobbly, courtesy of the small circular camera bump which looks neat and doesn't scream for attention. The back of the tab doesn't have anything to distract you except for the humble OnePlus logo that sits below the camera bump. The company has cleverly launched the OnePlus Pad in this price segment as it is essentially devoid of any competition, with the new Xiaomi Pad 6 available at a lower price point and Apple iPad being a costly proposition. The OnePlus Pad comes in a single colourway: Halo Green, which has a pleasant finish. It is a refreshing break from the sea of blue and grey hues that we see on most tabs these days. The buttons on the tab have good tactile feedback. However, their placement could have been slightly better and their size could have been bigger, considering the overall size of the tab. The volume rockers and power keys are placed at the top right, the USB-C port is placed at the bottom, the metal connectors for the keyboard on the left and the stylus connector and charger are housed on the right side of the OnePlus Pad. There is a 13MP primary camera at the back that gets the job done in most cases. There's an 8MP wide sensor on the front for video calls and selfies.
OnePlus Pad Performance And Battery
The OnePlus Pad makes use of a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC which is a year old. However, it is powerful and capable and at par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC also means there were no performance issues or stutters. Multi-tasking was fluid, but I noticed some occasional lags while loading the recent apps menu. The OnePlus Pad's UI is also smooth and it was a breeze to use apps in split screen. The tab comes with OnePlus' proprietary OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13 which lacks some of the capablities that Android 12L brought. The company has also brought ecosystem features that are touted to make the OnePlus Pad work better with OnePlus smartphones. For example, one can get their phone's notification on the OnePlus Pad and the universal clipboard support lets them copy content on their OnePlus phone and paste on the Pad. OnePlus has also pledged four years of security patches and three years of major operating system (OS) updates which kind of makes the OnePlus Pad future-proof.
The battery life of the OnePlus Pad needs special mention here: The 9510mAh battery supported by a 67-watt SuperVOOC charge can easily run up to eight hours with the keyboard attached. However, it is to be noted that despite having a 100-watt charger alongside, the tablet supports only 67-watt charging speed. The OnePlus accessories include the OnePlus Stylo or the stylus which retails for Rs 5,000 while the magnetic keyboard cover which is available for around Rs 8,000. Both of these are very capable and elevate the experience of using the OnePlus Pad. The best thing about the OnePlus Stylo is the ability to charge it wirelessly via the tab. The keyboard's highlight is the small, but very useful trackpad. It is super responsive and also supports a few gestures.
OnePlus Pad Verdict
While there is no denying that the OnePlus Pad offers a good user experience, great battery life and ticks all the boxes when it comes to good looks, it cannot replace a laptop or be considered a full-fledged productivity machine. Most apps still need optimisation for use on large-screen devices such as tabs. Pitting it against rivals Lenovo Tab P11 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE, the OnePlus Pad indeed offers a value-for-money tablet which excels in terms of battery, charging, display and performance. It would have been a sweet deal if a biometric authentication was also provided. This is a spellbinding first attempt by OnePlus to heat up competition in India's tablet market.
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