For its price, the OnePlus Pad is an impressive piece of technology

The OnePlus Pad: What I’ve Learned in 2023 from Working with a Tablet for a Prompt, Powerful Task

I used theNexus 7 to death after purchasing it back in 2013, when it was first made by Google. I never felt like I had lost my attachment with the other tablet since it was compact and easy to use. OnePlus’ first tablet is a slick machine with powerful hardware and the right software that encourages you to use it for more than just entertainment. It is starting to feel like a viable alternative to the iPad and a computer you can reliably use for work and play with this slate.

The OxygenOS software is built on top of the Android 13 operating system. It is a modified take on the operating system, which largely relies on the implementation of things like multitasking. Four years of security patches is less than what the company provides for its phones, as the company is committing to three years of OS updates.

Apps can also float, not unlike Slide View on an iPad. There’s a little tray of (customizable) apps you can pull out from the right side of the screen. Tap on one, and the app will open as a floating window you can partially resize. When I have split-screen mode, I use the floating view function to open up Slack or Gmail and quickly check a notification without having to leave my other apps. Multitasking feels pretty darn fluid on this machine, and this is important. It was difficult to work for long on a tablets because of its nature. I actually don’t mind spending my day working on the OnePlus Pad.

The correct spot for the Pad’s 8-mil front camera is located on the long edge of the tablet. That means when you’re on a video call and holding the Pad in landscape orientation, you’re not awkwardly off to the side like on the iPad Pro. The auto- follow feature can be used in video calling apps to help you stay centered in the frame.

That isn’t to say the Pad is perfect — far from it. Though it has the standard keyboard and stylus accessories expected for a tablet in 2023, they aren’t as good as Apple or Samsung’s options. It doesn’t have the same level of software features, accessories, and integrations as a tablet or iPad. It wouldn’t be my choice for a productivity-focused tablet.

The iPad Pro has a smaller screen than the Pad, which has an 11-inch screen. Thanks to its trimmer bezels, however, the Pad fits that larger screen in a footprint similar to the 11-inch Pro. Those small bezels make the Pad look great next to an iPad, but they present a real problem when using the tablet, as the screen would frequently register touches on the side where I held it. The Pad in portrait orientation made it difficult to read a book or website.

The display is very nice. A 2500 x 2000 screen can be refreshed at up to 144Hz and can produce a brightness of 500 nits. That makes it as smooth to scroll around and navigate as the iPad Pro and Tab S8, which have 120Hz screens. The screen has good viewing angles, bright colors, and deep blacks that are almost as good as you can get from anOLED screen. I was legitimately surprised at how nice the Pad is for watching movies (okay, fine, it was Beavis and Butt-Head) — the display is that good.

The excellent display is complemented by a quad- speaker system similar to what you find on the iPad Pro and the Tab S8. The speakers are loud and clear, which makes them good for audio. Since there isn’t a 3.5mm headphone jack, you’ll only be able to use a compatible accessory for more private audio.

One Plus Pad Android Tablet Review: An Ultra-Soft, Well-balanced, and Comfortable Tablet for Landscape Navigation with a Smartphone

The Pad is also surprisingly comfortable to hold for such a large device. Instead of following Apple and Samsung’s recent trend of flat sides and sharp edges, OnePlus rounded the sides of the Pad and gave it a very soft-feeling metal finish that’s easier to wrap my hand around. It’s thin, but not too thin, and though, at 558g (1.23 pounds), it weighs about 80 grams (about 2.8 ounces) more than an 11-inch iPad Pro, its weight is well-balanced and not fatiguing.

The Pad is center-aligned when held in landscape orientation, unlike the other tablets that have a rear camera in the corner. It’s a single-lens, 13-megapixel camera with an LED flash, and it works fine for whatever you might actually want to take a picture of with a tablet (for me, that’s the occasional document scan). Also, the Pad comes in dark green and only dark green, which is an interesting, if ultimately inconsequential, choice by OnePlus. I suppose it stands out a bit from the sea of silver and gray iPads.

The Pad comes with a lot of storage. There is no microSD card slot and no options for more storage at purchase, at least in the US. For this price it isn’t terrible, but I would have liked to have at least a little more space for offline movies and games.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/23701161/oneplus-pad-android-tablet-review

How good is the support of keyboard shortcuts in the Android app world? The OnePlus Pad and its performance at a high-resolution gaming experience

I’m not much of a gamer, but this is an area where the Pad’s processing power fell behind the iPad Pro and Samsung’s Tab S8, as well. In Gen Shin Impact, the Pad’s medium settings for graphics could be accessed at 30 frames per second, which is far less than the average speed of the current screen and far below the newer iPads that are able to play the game at faster speeds. The Pad had a better time with Asphalt 9, an admittedly graphically less demanding game.

Battery life was never a concern in the multiple weeks I tested the OnePlus Pad. I was able to easily get through a full day of use, and even when I left it unused for a couple of days at a time, standby drain was minimal. It is nice to see that battery life for the tablets is not a problem at this point, and it is also good that it is not a problem for OnePlus. In the box is a 67W wall charger that takes about 80 minutes to fully charge the Pad.

Making matters even worse is the downright abysmal support of keyboard shortcuts across the Android app world. Even Google is dropping the ball here: there are no functional keyboard shortcuts in Gmail to help manage my inbox. There are a handful of systemwide keyboard shortcuts for going back to the homescreen, taking screenshots, and other simple navigation, but they don’t make up for the fact that Android apps just don’t consider keyboard navigation to be a priority.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/23701161/oneplus-pad-android-tablet-review

OnePlus+Pad-Tablet-Review: A Comparison of Magnetic Keyboards and Stylo’s Support for the Notes App

The accessories you can add to the OnePlus Pad is similar to the iPad Pro and Tab line. There’s a $39 folio case, a $149 keyboard case, and a $99 stylus that can magnetically attach to the side of the Pad for storage and charging, just like the Apple Pencil and the iPad. I was given the chance to try out the Magnetic Keyboard and the Stylo.

The keyboard attaches to the Pad magnetically and connects through pogo pins, so you don’t have to worry about pairing or charging it. Unfortunately, it only has one viewing angle, which is too steep for my lap and only really works when it’s set up on a table, and the keyboard lacks a backlight. For the price, it’s reasonable for a keyboard to be used on the Pad to email or type documents.

Writing with the Stylo on the Pad’s screen is responsive with no perceptive lag or wiggle. But full support for its features, such as quick tool switching and lower latency, is currently limited to OnePlus’ bundled Notes app, a bare-bones affair that doesn’t sync with any cloud services. The company says it has developed an SDK for the Stylo that other apps can use to get better support, but there aren’t any third-party apps that do. The Stylo is not likely to be used by most people.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/23701161/oneplus-pad-android-tablet-review

The Contracts You Cannot Read to Use the OnePlus Pad, And Your Constraints on Google, System Stability, and Location Services

contracts that no one actually reads are required by every smart device before it can be used. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

To use the OnePlus Pad, you must agree to OnePlus’ User Agreement, its User Privacy Security and Protection agreement, the Google Terms of Service, and the Google Play Terms of Service. Additionally, you have the choice to opt in to OnePlus’ User Experience Program, System Stability Improvement Program, Google’s location services, and Google’s device maintenance features. To use the Pad’s camera, you must agree to the Camera Statement of Use.