OnePlus Pad 2 Review: A Real iPad Air Rival?

Display

The OnePlus Pad 2 has an impressive display, although it’s not OLED like the latest iPad Pro. The LCD has a diagonal of 12.1 inches (compared to 11.6 inches for the original) with a 3K resolution. The aspect ratio remains at 7:5, giving it the shape of a laptop display. This is a good thing if you’re using a tablet with a keyboard attached.

The display supports a 144Hz refresh rate, which sounds impressive on paper. However, only Google Chrome is set to run at 144Hz by default. Most other applications are set to 120Hz or 90Hz. However, you can change this in the settings. It’s rated at 900 nits peak brightness and had no problems indoors or even outdoors except in direct sunlight.

The display has good color accuracy and supports formats such as Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG. Together, these features create an amazing multimedia experience, but you’ll struggle to find content in the above formats. Netflix supports Dolby Vision, but the app didn’t work for me on this tablet.

Design

The OnePlus tablet looks great with a thickness of 6.5 mm and a weight of 584 g. The front is covered from edge to edge with glass that is slightly curved around the edges.

Around the screen is a thin bezel just over a centimeter wide. The corners are rounded and the top is flat for the optional OnePlus Stylo 2. The front 8MP camera is tucked away on the bezel below that edge.

On the other end you have three contact plates for the magnetic keyboard. The Nimbus Gray color is sleek but a fingerprint magnet. If you take this tablet, take the foil case – you’ll need it.

The OnePlus Pad 2 lacks a fingerprint sensor and the face unlock features can be hit or miss. It works well in bright light, but you may need to enter a password in low light. You can also only register one face, so if you’re planning to share the tablet with your partner or kids, they’ll have to enter a passcode every time (my girlfriend wasn’t too keen on that).

Performance

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OnePlus has packed its new tablet with the same processor as the OnePlus 12 flagship, and it runs quite smoothly. My unit came with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. OnePlus also offers 8GB RAM + 128GB storage.

The storage is not expandable, which can be a problem for those who download a lot of games or videos for offline viewing. I used the OnePlus Pad exclusively as an entertainment device with certain games and as my primary recording device, so this wasn’t an issue for me.

During my use, I never felt that the tablet needed more power or better hardware. He sailed through every task and never fell behind. I enjoyed using the multitasking and connectivity features built into OxygenOS.

In particular, I find myself frequently using the Content Sync feature, which allows you to instantly view and edit photos, screenshots, and videos taken on your OnePlus phone on your tablet.

Another feature I kept using was the two-finger swipe down gesture, which split the display in half, putting one app on the left side of the screen and the other on the right. The tablet even allows you to use three applications at once on the same screen.

I often had Google Docs open on one side of the screen and Chrome on the other for typing and searching. I’ve also used Google Docs and Twitter (now X) side by side because I can’t seem to write for 10 minutes straight without checking what’s going on online.

While gaming performance on the device is decent, I noticed that the tablet struggles with modern demanding titles like Genshin Impact. Games often run at extremely low resolutions. However, you will get decent performance when playing older games at a constant 60 FPS most of the time.

I also ran some benchmarks to give you a better idea of ​​the tablet’s performance. Starting with Geekbench 6, the OnePlus Pad scored 4702 points in the multi-core test and 950 points in the single-core test.

In 3D Mark’s Wild Life Extreme Stress test, it scored 4490 with an average stability of 66.8%. I also ran 3D Mark’s Wild Life test, which is a 1-minute test to determine how the device performs in games and other tasks, and was told “Your device is too powerful for this test.”

Camera and battery

I didn’t expect the OnePlus Pad 2 to have a top-notch camera setup, and it doesn’t. It has a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front sensor. Both are pretty decent for what they are, but don’t expect to get any gram-worthy shots here.

The rear camera won’t blow you away with its photo quality – it’s fine for daytime photography, but it struggles in low light. It’s good enough for taking well-exposed pictures, scanning documents, QR codes and recording decent videos. The front camera does a good job for selfies and video calls, giving you clear details.

Battery life on the tablet is impressive. It packs a 9510mAh battery that lasts more than 12 hours of video playback and web browsing. Through a combination of tasks like gaming, video streaming, and social media, I got about 9 hours of screen time. That’s not bad at all, especially when you charge it from 0 to 100% in less than 80 minutes (specifically it took me 78 minutes).

Software

The OnePlus Pad 2 runs on Android 14, which is based on OxygenOS 14.1. The interface is clean and free of unnecessary clutter. On the tablet, you will find mainly Google and OnePlus applications, in addition to Netflix. Everything can be uninstalled except system apps.

OnePlus includes several useful software features that make the tablet more user-friendly. In addition to the split-screen and content sync features I mentioned earlier, there’s also the Relay app for jumping from phone to tablet, accessing tablet files from the phone if they’re linked through the same OnePlus account, and file shortcuts.

While the Chinese company isn’t too heavy on AI yet, it has made sure to add some AI features so you don’t feel left out. AI Eraser 2.0 helps you get rid of unwanted objects from your photos, Smart Cutout 2.0 lets you create memes and stickers, and AI Toolbox can record, summarize and even help you write text.

But do all these software features make up for the abysmal Android tablet experience? Not really. OnePlus has added optimizations to the tablet, but the overall Android experience is still lacking, especially when it comes to third-party app support.

If you have a tablet with keyboard support, you’ll want to use it in landscape mode, but most apps don’t work properly in that orientation. Even popular apps like Spotify don’t work properly; you can load it in landscape mode but when you expand the text it switches to portrait mode.

Apps like LinkedIn, Instagram, and X have half-landscape mode, which is just an awkwardly stretched version of portrait mode. You see the content in the center of the screen while the rest of the screen is blank.

The software experience on the OnePlus tablet isn’t great, and a lot of it isn’t the company’s fault. It’s the Android ecosystem and apps that don’t want to work well on tablets. If you want to get some work done with a tablet, Apple’s iPad Air is still the way to go.

Keyboard and stylus

As I mentioned earlier, the OnePlus tablet supports both a keyboard and a stylus. They’re not free — the keyboard costs $149 and the OnePlus Stylo 2 costs $99. Both attach magnetically to the tablet and charge wirelessly.

I really enjoyed using the stylus; it has some features similar to what Apple introduced with the new Apple Pencil Pro. For example, it can simulate writing on paper. When using the OnePlus Notes app, double-tap the stylus to switch between pen and eraser.

Should you buy it?

While the hardware is solid, the software experience on the OnePlus tablet isn’t great, and a lot of that isn’t the company’s fault. It’s the Android ecosystem and apps that don’t want to work well on tablets. If you want to get some work done with a tablet, Apple’s iPad Air is still the way to go.

Verdict – 4/5

The OnePlus Pad 2 is a great device that, like its predecessor, hampers the Android ecosystem. Its top-notch hardware ensures there’s no lag and apps load quickly, but the lack of third-party app support means the iPad Air still has the edge. I recommend getting this tablet if you already have a OnePlus phone because the ecosystem makes it easy to use a tablet.