OnePlus Pad review: This tablet is inspired but also inspirational

The typing experience on the OnePlus Pad is quite close to that of the iPad Pro (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

When held vertically, there is a power button on the top and volume buttons on the right side. These come on top when you are using the tablet in landscape mode with the magnetic keyboard from OnePlus. Now, this magnetic keyboard also reminds you of the magic keyboard from Apple. However, this one needs to be manually locked into a groove just above the keys to start working with the keypad. As a result, when you are folding the keypad folio you need to take the tablet off the groove first.

The keypad is very good and I loved typing this review on the tablet itself. The experience is quite close to that of the iPad Pro which I use as my primary computer while travelling. The keys offer the right amount of travel and there is decent space between the keys to prevent false hits. The trackpad is big enough for you to manage the real estate on the 11.6-inch display.

The OnePlus Pad offers a unique 7:5 aspect ratio (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

In fact, the display with its unique 7:5 ratio, what OnePlus calls ReadFit, is one of the USPs of this device. The display is sharp and 500 nits bright and I could work in the open under the harsh Himalayan sun on a recent trip to Nainital. The 144Hz refresh rate makes it great for those who like to play games on a larger screen like this. The OnePlus Pad is a great content consumption device thanks to the crisp display with Dolby Vision and the stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. Often I had to reduce the volume to less than half while watching shows on Netflix to ensure that others are not irritated. To get a tablet to sound good is really an achievement.

The 2800x2000p display also works well with the OnePlus Stylo, a stylus that looks a bit too much like the Apple Pencil and works with similar nimbleness. The white Stylo sticks on top of the iPad and pairs and charges there itself. This makes managing the accessory very easy and you really don’t have to find a place to stow it away. It has a hard tip, but the screen manages the pressure sensitivity well. But unlike when using the S-Pen, the tablet does not give you options as soon the stylus touches the tab. Here the notes app offered an array of pen options to play with and the stylus works naturally with all the sketch apps available on the Play Store.

The camera ring at the back reminds of the latest series of OnePlus phones (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

As a big votary of using the tablet as your mobile computer, I was impressed by the ability of the OnePlus Pad to handle those tasks you would want to do on the move. From checking mail to writing stories and even consuming content on Netflix and YouTube, the tablet did a good job thanks to the Dimensity 9000 chip from MediaTek yoked to 12GB RAM. With whatever I could do on the tablet over the past few days, I have not noticed any heating at all. There is no lag or delay, even when saving a handwritten note or an edited photograph.

The interface is intuitive and effective and there is absolutely no learning involved. It facilitates multi-tasking quite easily and cycling between apps is as convenient as it is on Android phones these days. The split screen options let you have two apps sharing the screen and you can move content from one to another with a simple drag and drop.

 

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I was a bit disappointed about the lack of a SIM slot, but then I realised that with a OnePlus phone, you have cellular data sharing which works as seamlessly as it does on iOS devices. You really don’t need a SIM slot, but a version with one will be appreciated by many. And it is not just the data that OnePlus devices share now, the tablet could quickly connect to my OnePlus TV and share the screen there too.

The OnePlus Pad supports fast charging and the entire tablet can be juiced up in just an hour. This is good enough for you to work or consume content for a full day if needed. The 65% per cent power that the tablet had when I took it out of the box lasted the first few days of testing for me. Even with a software update in the middle, the drop in battery life was not that significant.

The OnePlus Pad can be juiced up in just an hour (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)

At Rs 37,999, the OnePlus Pad has stuck its neck out as a viable option for those looking for a tablet that is both powerful and convenient. The magnetic keyboard is priced at Rs 7,999 while the stylus will cost you another Rs 6,999. But the latter is not something everyone would want. OnePlus is throwing in a simple folio cover for the first buyers.

For OnePlus users, the interplay of the growing number of devices makes this a natural choice if they are looking for a larger computing screen. For others, there is another option now that compares with what Apple, Samsung and Lenovo have to offer in the tablet space. The Android tablet space is finally seeing some action.