OnePlus Pad: Everything we know so far

OnePlus will soon release its first tablet, the OnePlus Pad. While it looks like another run-of-the-mill Android slate at first glance, the OnePlus Pad could have enough distinguishing features to stand out from the crowd of would-be iPad rivals. 

Highlights include a centered camera for better photo captures, along with an unusual aspect ratio meant to make reading e-books and documents easier. The OnePlus Pad's “2.5D” edge is also designed to allow users to comfortably hold the tablet for many hours.

In our OnePlus Pad hands-on, were impressed by what the new slate has to offer. It's still too early to tell, but OnePlus might be able to deliver a competent rival to the best Samsung tablets and the best iPads.

Here’s everything we know about the OnePlus Pad so far.

OnePlus Pad: Specs

OnePlus Pad: Pricing and availability 

The OnePlus Pad has a vague April release date, as we learned during MWC 2023.

Pricing is anyone’s guess. Hopefully, the OnePlus Pad will be priced competitively with the best tablets and the best Android tablets.

OnePlus Pad: Design 

The OnePlus Pad has a fairly unassuming design. It’s an elegant slab of machined aluminum that’s pleasing to the eye, based on the press photos. At 10.1 x 7.4 x 0.2 inches and a weight of 1.2 pounds, this should be an extremely thin and light slate. OnePlus didn’t try to reinvent the wheel in terms of tablet design, and that won't generate a lot of complaints.

The tablet only has one available color option: Halo Green. The company says the color is “designed to blend the vibrancy of life with the vastness of space.” We’ll hold our opinion about that particular statement, but a green tablet isn’t something you see every day since most slates tend to be gray or silver. They certainly aren't as colorful as the new iPad 2022.

In truth, the OnePlus Pad’s main distinctive feature is its centered 13MP rear camera. If you’re one of the folks who enjoys taking pictures with tablets, the centered camera should make it easier to avoid offset pictures.

OnePlus claims the 2.5D rounded edge on the OnePlus Pad is a first for a tablet. The device also has a 88% screen-to-body ratio thanks to its slim 6.54mm bezel and cambered frame. These aspects should make the tablet easy to hold for long periods of time, according to OnePlus.

OnePlus Pad: Display

The OnePlus Pad has an 11.6-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The company says the screen can achieve 500 nits of brightness. That would match the max brightness of the iPad 2022, which we measured at 504 nits in our testing.

What’s notable about the OnePlus Pad is its 7:5 aspect ratio. (For context, the 10.2-inch iPad has a 4:3 aspect ratio.) The company says this unusual aspect ratio will let you see more lines of an e-book and that more rows of a spreadsheet can be listed.

Like most everything announced about the OnePlus Pad, we’ll need to test the device ourselves to see how beneficial a 7:5 aspect ratio truly is.

OnePlus Pad: Performance 

The OnePlus Pad is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset. OnePlus says this is the first mobile chip to sport a Cortex-X2 core clocked at up to 3.05GHz. Dimensity 9000 uses TSMC’s N4 (4nm-class) production process and is based on Arm’s latest V9 architecture. That translates to a 35% performance advantage and 37% greater power efficiency than Dimensity 9100, according to OnePlus. The tablet will come with up to 12GB of RAM.

OnePlus also says you’ll be able to keep 24 different apps open simultaneously without noticeable stalling. We’d need to test the OnePlus Pad for ourselves to verify the validity of this claim, but if this is true, OnePlus’ tablet should be pretty performant.

OnePlus Pad: Battery life 

The tablet comes with a 9,510 mAh battery which OnePlus claims delivers more than 14.5 hours of video playback and one month of standby life. It supports 67W charging and can fully charge in 80 minutes. The company says the tablet uses AI to ensure high-power dissipation which reduces power consumption when one is using power-hungry apps.

We’ll need to put the OnePlus Pad through our battery test to see how long it truly lasts. If OnePlus’ claims are accurate, this should be one long-lasting slate — which is something you want if you’re always out and about.

OnePlus Pad: Accessories

You can see the ways that OnePlus has taken leads from the iPad and Galaxy Tab families with its accessories. It's launching with a magnetic keyboard/trackpad case, and a stylus, the OnePlus Stylo, allowing it to function both as an art tool and a pseudo-laptop.

The Stylo seems to be an excellent stylus too, using a solid tip like an Apple Pencil and offering only 2ms of latency according to the specs. As we said in our preview, it felt good to write and doodle with, with no feeling of disconnect between my pen strokes and the marks on the digital page.

OnePlus Pad: Outlook

It’s too early to render a verdict on the OnePlus Pad, but based on what we know at the moment, this seems like an Android tablet worth keeping an eye on. The most intriguing aspect is its bizarre 7:5 aspect ratio, but the device’s centered rear camera and curved edge could also be worthwhile selling points. Of course, a lot will hinge on the price and availability of OnePlus' first attempt to make a tablet.

The OnePlus Pad should be here sometime soon so stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.