TheOnePlus Pad 2was announced at OnePlus’s2024 Summer Launch eventas the successor to theOnePlus Pad. When the firstOnePlus Padlaunched in early 2023, it waswidely acclaimedas a good first go at the tablet market by OnePlus. OurPocket-lint reviewfound it to be one of the best Android tablets available at the time, so the OnePlus Pad 2 has a lot to live up to.
TheOnePlus Pad 2improves on the original OnePlus Pad in several key ways, notably in performance and its display, while maintaining the excellent battery life of the original Pad. For $549.99, this tablet has a lot to offer, compared to its competitor in the Apple ecosystem, the 11-inch $599.99iPad Air.
OnePlus Pad 2
The OnePlus Pad 2 has an impressive 12.1-inch display, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and long-lasting battery-life, which makes this tablet one of the best Android tablets on the market.
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Price, availability, and specs
The OnePlus Pad 2 comes in two configurations: one with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and another with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 256GB model is currently the only model available on the OnePlus website in the United States for an MSRP of $549.99, and I used it for this review.
The tablet’s display is an impressive 12.1-inch 2,120 x 3,000 pixel resolution IPS LCD display with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. Powering that display is a massive 9,510mAh battery, providing casual users like myself with days of usage without worrying about charging.
The Pad 2 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and for graphics, it features an Adreno 750 GPU running at 903Mhz. The tablet is 0.25-inches (6.5mm) thin and weighs 20oz (584g), coming in lighter than the 13-inch iPad Air, which weighs 21oz (617g), but heavier than the 11-inch iPad Air, which weighs 12.2oz (462g). The OnePlus Pad 2 is 10.5-inches (268mm) in length and 7.6-inches (195mm) in width.
Looking at the cameras, the OnePlus Pad 2 has a front-facing eight-megapixel camera, which supports 720p and 1080p 30fps video. The tablet’s rear camera is 13 megapixels and supports up to 4K video at 30fps. The tablet features a single USB Type-C port that offers USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds at 5Gbps.
Color-wise, the OnePlus Pad 2 is only available in “nimbus gray,” moving away from the “halo green” color of the first OnePlus Pad.
A beautiful build and display complimented by powerful performance
From the moment I booted the tablet for the first time, I was immediately impressed by the OnePlus Pad 2’s display and thin bezels. I primarily use tablets for reading, watching videos, and note-taking; this screen impressed me when doing all these tasks. It features an LCD IPS display with 900 nits of peak brightness and 600 nits of typical brightness. It doesn’t have as bright, rich colors or deep blacks as an OLED display, but for $550, I was genuinely pleased with the experience this display offered and had no problem watching TV shows, catching up on both theRings of Powerand the newPenguinseries on it.
It’s a 12.1-inch display, so it’s slightly bigger than the 11.6-inch display the first OnePlus Pad has, which I think I’d prefer, but more on that later. For productivity use, this display is more than enough to meet the task with its sharp 3K resolution screen.
Considering the OnePlus Pad 2 is a $550 mid-range tablet, it felt like I was using a flagship $1000 tablet most of the time.
The performance of the OnePlus Pad 2 impressed me. Not once did I experience any lag or stuttering when using this tablet, most likely thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset found in it. Considering the OnePlus Pad 2 is a $550 mid-range tablet, it felt like I was using a flagship $1,000 tablet most of the time. The tablet runs Oxygen OS 14, OnePlus’s custom Android operating system.
I like the operating system’s look and thought the animations looked clean and smooth. Its multitasking functionality, which OnePlus calls “Open Canvas,” is similar to iPadOS' Split View and lets you split screen apps for multitasking. Using a simple gesture, swiping down the middle of the screen, you can split-screen two or three apps. Open Canvas is easy to use and simple enough to split-screen my notes and a web browser. Oxygen OS 14 offers interconnectivity with other OnePlus products, but since this is my first OnePlus device, I couldn’t test the feature.
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To test out some gaming on the tablet, I booted up the new Star Wars arena shooter, Star Wars Hunters, and gave it a shot on the OnePlus Pad 2, and I was not disappointed. The visuals looked great at high settings, and the game ran just fine at 60fps with anti-aliasing at a 100 percent resolution scale. I don’t think the OnePlus Pad 2 will have any issues with mobile gaming.
The OnePlus Pad 2 also has six speakers, which sound loud and clear while gaming and listening to videos and music. Storage-wise, 256GB is perfect for a mid-range tablet, offering plenty of space for apps, games, and photos. I could see the storage size perhaps being an issue for video editors, but I feel this tablet isn’t strictly aimed at them.
For reference, the OnePlus Pad 2 achieved a GeekBench 6 score of 925 in single-core performance and 4,537 for multi-core.
I had the opportunity to test out theOnePlus Stylo 2as well. I only use tablet styluses for note-taking and do not draw with them. Believe me, you don’t want to see me attempt to draw. For note-taking, I found the OnePlus Stylo 2 extremely comfortable to hold. It felt very responsive and accurate when I was writing with it – an experience on par with, if not better than, my Apple Pencil. The stylus has this excellent leather-like material on it, which feels great in the hand. The pen magnetically attaches to the side of the tablet to charge, the same way an Apple Pencil does for an iPad. The OnePlus Stylo 2 is sold separately for $99.99.
With a 9,510mAH battery, the OnePlus Pad 2 has plenty of charge to go around, and if you’re someone who is like me and mainly uses their tablet once in the morning or the evening for an hour or so, you’ll find the battery to be plentiful.
I’m also happy to report that the OnePlus Pad 2’s battery life is phenomenal. During everyday regular real-world use, I struggled to get the battery under 50 percent in a single day and only had to recharge the tablet every few days. With a 9.510mAH battery, the OnePlus Pad 2 has plenty of charge to go around, and if you’re someone who is like me and mainly uses their tablet once in the morning or the evening for an hour or so, you’ll find the battery to be plentiful. I did test how fast it would discharge by watching a Twitch stream at full brightness, and the tablet dropped from 98 percent to 8 percent in five hours, which is about the same battery performance as my M1 iPad Pro doing the same thing, so I was impressed.
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I really wish the tablet came in an 11-inch size
Design-wise, there are two things I don’t like about the OnePlus Pad 2. The first thing I noticed when I picked up the OnePlus Pad 2 for the first time was its rounded design. I would’ve much preferred a flat-edged design for this tablet. It would’ve made it look sleeker and feel better holding in the hand. It’s not a total deal breaker, but after using a flat-edged iPhone and iPad for so long, I’ve grown accustomed to them.
Second, the camera on the OnePlus Pad 2 is nothing special. Its camera is in the same position as the original OnePlus Pad, and I always accidentally touch the camera lens on the back of the tablet when using the tablet in portrait mode. Additionally, the quality of the camera is just not up to par. It’s not terrible – it’s just very mediocre. It will do okay for meetings and video conferences or if you need a quick shot of something, but it’s best to reach for your phone to take photos rather than the OnePlus Pad 2.
I think a slightly cheaper and lighter 11-inch model, between $450-$500, would sell well and be even better competition to the iPad Air, which is currently $600.
Let’s talk about the screen size. Again, as I said earlier, the display is excellent; it’s sharp and bright. I just wish there was an 11-inch option available. My first iPad Pro was a 12.9-inch model, and I traded it in for an 11-inch model because it was too big and cumbersome to use as a tablet. It felt like I was holding a laptop screen. The 12.1-inch OnePlus Pad 2 makes me feel the same way. An 11-inch screen is the perfect tablet size. You might feel differently, and that’s okay. I wish OnePlus offered the Pad 2 in two different sizes. I think a slightly cheaper and lighter 11-inch model, between $450-$500, would sell well and be even better competition to the iPad Air, which starts at $599.99.
The keyboard accessory is convenient if you plan to use it at a desk; otherwise, it falls flat - literally.
I also tested OnePlus’s keyboard accessory for the Pad 2, but unfortunately, I’m not impressed. I like how the keyboard detached from the case for Bluetooth use, its trackpad swipe gestures, and the typing experience. But it feels flimsy and impossible to use on my lap. I mainly use my tablet in bed, but this keyboard attachment has a thin stand on the back of the case, so I can’t use it on my lap or in bed without it falling over. The keyboard accessory is convenient if you plan to use it at a desk; otherwise, it falls flat – literally. For $150, I expected a sturdier keyboard accessory.
I want to touch on AI as well. The OnePlus Pad 2 currently offers a few AI features, with more to come by the end of the year. It has an AI magic eraser feature, which did not perform nearly as well when tested alongside Google’s AI magic eraser on thePixel 8a. I tried its AI summarize feature, which summarizes whatever article is on the screen for you, and this seemed to do a decent job. It gave a numbered list of the key points in any written text. There’s also an AI Speak option, which allows AI to read any written text, such as a news article, out loud to you. This feature epically failed as it would read the headline of an article and then start listing all the menus and sidebars of a website until it eventually got to the actual contents of the article on it. I tried it on three news sites, and it did the same thing on all of them, so I think AI Speak needs some work.
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Despite my few gripes with the OnePlus Pad 2, I genuinely enjoy using this tablet. If you want the experience of an iPad Air or iPad Pro but pay less, the OnePlus Pad 2 may be for you. It has excellent battery life, complimented by incredible performance, and handles productivity tasks easily thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
For $550, I see a lot of value in this tablet, and it is very competitive with other devices in the market in this price range, like theiPad AirorGalaxy Tab S9 FE+. When I was using the Pad 2, it felt like I was using a $1,000 tablet, not a $550 one, which speaks volumes about the quality of the OnePlus Pad 2. It offers a sleek, premium aesthetic that doesn’t break the bank and has the performance and display to back it up. If this tablet were offered in an 11-inch form factor, it would be the perfect Android tablet for me.
