OnePlus Pad 2 review: Powerful tablet with big ambitions

The OnePlus Pad 2 completes the manufacturer’s range of tablets, which now spans from the affordable OnePlus Pad Go, via the original 11.6-inch OnePlus Pad to this 12-inch tablet with top performance.

It was only in early 2023 that OnePlus made its debut as a tablet manufacturer. With a quirky design, focus on comfort and its own approach to multitasking, the original Pad made a compelling case as a mixed-use tablet for the home. However, it lacked the necessary software to make it a great productivity machine.

Have things changed on this second-gen slate? Here’s our full review.

Design, Specs & Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• Strong performance
• Some AI features

Compared to the original OnePlus Pad, the Pad 2 boosts both screen size and performance, and introduces a bunch of new features.

The design of the tablet is recognisable from the original OnePlus Pad, with rounded grip-friendly edges, a solid aluminium body and round camera puck centrally placed near the long side at the back. The placement of the camera is a small detail that I appreciate about the design – it allows the tablet to lie firmly on a table, despite the camera body protruding a few millimetres.

OnePlus doesn’t hold back on the hardware, with the Pad 2 powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. That’s the same flagship chipset which powers many of the best Android phones you can buy – including the OnePlus 12.

You also get 12GB of RAM and and 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage on the only configuration available.

However, according to benchmarks, performance isn’t quite as good as the best phones around. It’s held back, likely due to either limited heat dissipation or a deliberate downclocking. Performance is more in line with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 than Gen 3, though of course that’s still very fast.

OnePlus Pad 2 benchmarks

And with Gen 3 you also get other benefits, such as support for Wi-Fi 7 and a much more powerful NPU (Neural Processing Unit).

The latter helps enable a bunch of AI features within Oxygen OS, OnePlus’ skin over Android 14, from intelligent deletion of objects in photos and automatic enhancement of facial clarity, to transcribing and summarising recorded meetings.

Other AI features are expected in a future software update, including some that are already available on the OnePlus Nord 4.

The design of the tablet is recognisable from the original OnePlus Pad

It’s not quite Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy-level breadth and quality of features yet, but OnePlus is on the right track. And of course, the Snapdragon’s NPU can be utilised by any third-party app that wants it.

The graphics aren’t running at full speed with the same gaming performance as on phones either, but that may be more due to the fact that the screen with its high resolution is reluctant to push up to high frame rates in graphic-heavy games.

Screen & Speakers

• 12-inch, 2120 x 3000 display
• 144Hz refresh rate
• Six speakers

Otherwise, the display is well suited for gaming, with up to 144Hz frame rate, large colour gamut, high brightness and support for both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It’s not an OLED but an IPS panel, so you won’t get that ultimate contrast, but the deep blacks you usually get with OLEDs are still apparent here, and it handles different viewing angles without issue.

You also get well-balanced auto brightness, meaning visibility is good, even in sunlight. There’s also an automatic colour tint, but it tends too much towards warm tones, so the image is almost sepia-toned. I switch that off and set it manually instead – it’s easy to adjust.

The device has a total of six speakers, with two pairs on the short sides and two built-in woofers. They combine to provide lush sound that is very good in surround mode, using ‘OReality’, a sound enhancement technology from OnePlus’ sister company Oppo.

You can get a good cinema feel, the right balance and detail for music, and extra detail in the sound for when you’re playing games.

The display is well suited for gaming, with up to 144Hz frame rate, large colour gamut, high brightness and support for both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision

What doesn’t impress, however, is the sound volume. It can get very loud, but quickly becomes sharp and shrill, to the extent that it’s quite unpleasant.

Battery Life & Charging

• 9510mAh battery
• Impressive battery life
• 65W charging, but no charger in the box

Battery life is one of the OnePlus Pad 2’s main strengths.

You can expect around 11-12 hours of active app use on a single charge, or even more for video streaming, which is a real positive. You won’t get that on an iPad or Galaxy Tab, especially not for video, where the Pad 2 seems to have both an efficient processor and efficient screen.

You can also charge the battery impressively fast – provided you have a charger that supports OnePlus and Oppo’s 67W Supervooc fast charging. As is common nowadays, there’s no charger in the box.

If you do have a compatible charger, you can expect a full charge in less than an hour. I don’t have access to one in my test tablet, but a 65W GaN charger I had was almost as fast.

Battery life is one of the OnePlus Pad 2’s main strengths

Accessories

• OnePlus Stylo 2 pen
• OnePlus Folio Case 2
• Both sold separately

On the upper long side, the edge is bevelled so that you can place the Stylo 2 pen there for storage and induction charging. It works well, but won’t be a necessity for most people.

However, if you want to turn the Pad into a productivity laptop of sorts, the Smart Keyboard is a great. You get a built-in kickstand, comfortable and well-built keyboard and a large, responsive mouse pad. It also has a built-in NFC reader, which can be handy.

It’s connected via Bluetooth, so can also be run while disconnected from the tablet. It came as a surprise when I unplugged it and it continued to control mouse and text input.

However, there’s no way to quickly switch it off. Shouldn’t there just be a switch on the keyboard? It feels like a design mistake.

If you want to turn the Pad into a productivity laptop of sorts, the Smart Keyboard is a great

Neither of the accessories are included in the price, but they’re sometimes discounted when bought in a bundle with the tablet.

Software & Updates

• OxygenOS 14 over Android 14
• Three years OS, four years security updates

On the software side, I still miss some things from OnePlus to make the Pad 2 a better productivity tablet for work.

A desktop mode that makes mouse and keyboard control more central is the first. Both Samsung and Lenovo now have really good versions of this, and it makes it much easier to do things like work in writing and spreadsheet apps or multitask with multiple browser windows.

On a screen as large and high-resolution as this one, it would have been a plus, especially with the fast processor that can undoubtedly power it. Proprietary multitasking interface Open Canvas feels better on the smaller OnePlus tablets – it’s better at making a small screen feel bigger than utilising a larger screen.

OnePlus is also keen, like any other manufacturer, to build ecosystems, and pairing with a OnePlus phone offers some advantages. You can quickly sync your phone with the tablet using the NFC function in the keyboard to share files or display the mobile screen as a window on the tablet.

But that’s more spectacular than necessary. The mobile phone is right there, and there are plenty of other ways to easily sync files between devices.

WPS Office is pre-installed, but it’s the only actual app that feels like an app for work here. And it’s only a basic version, with some features requiring an upgrade to the Pro subscription. I might as well run Google Docs or Microsoft Word instead.

I still miss some things from OnePlus to make the Pad 2 a better productivity tablet for work

In terms of software updates, OnePlus is offering three major OS updates and four years of security patches for the Pad 2. That’s a decent commitment, and on the upper end for an Android tablet in 2024.

Price & Availability

The OnePlus Pad 2 costs £499/$549.99. At the time of writing, it’s only available direct from either OnePlus UK or OnePlus US.

That currently includes a free Folio Case 2, but upgrading to the Smart Keyboard will cost you £149/$149.99. Adding the Stylo 2 pen is an extra £99/$99.99.

It’s a highly competitive option for the price, but many of the best Android tablets offer a similarly strong experience. You’ll often pay a lot more, though.

Should you buy the OnePlus Pad 2?

There’s no denying that the OnePlus Pad 2 is great value for money. It’s essentially a scaled-up version of the original in terms of size, performance and quality in many areas. The only real exception would be the mediocre cameras.

It’s still up to you to find ways to use the Pad 2 as a work tablet, though. There have been some attempts to create a system for that, but OnePlus hasn’t gone far enough.

For browsing, entertainment and gaming, it’s unquestionably a very good tablet. But certainly not the only one around this price.

Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 12GB RAM 
• 256GB non-expandable storage 
• 12.1-inch, 2120 x 3000 LCD display 
• 144Hz dynamic refresh rate 
• 9510mAh battery 
• 67W fast charging (charger not included)
• Front-facing 8Mp camera 
• Rear 13Mp camera 
• Six speakers 
• 268.7 x 195.1 x 6.5 mm
• 584g (tablet only)