Equipment
The OnePlus Pad comes in a slim box containing the tablet itself, a custom red USB-A to USB-C cable, documentation, and a OnePlus Community Red Cable Club card.
You will need to purchase a charger separately for OnePlus or use another charger from BBK Electronics’ devices, which includes Oppo, Vivo and Realme brands in addition to OnePlus. There were no problems charging from Realme during testing.
When it comes to the iPad, the package looks “richer” – there’s a tablet, a Lightning to USB-C cable, documents, branded stickers with a bitten apple, and even a charging stand that you won’t find on Apple smartphones.
None of the devices offer screen protectors or cases right out of the box, as is usually the case with smartphones, so if you buy a tablet, you should take care of it upfront.
Design
The design of the iPad Pro is known to everyone – it is a thin metal tablet with straight edges and a square camera block. Apple has been following this style for several years, and most people are happy with it.
However, some users experience discomfort when using a tablet without a case – the flat edges can sink into their hands. In general, the assembly and materials of the tablet are done at a high level, as in the other gadgets of the company. The weight of the iPad without additional accessories is 466 grams.
The OnePlus Pad also has a high-quality metal body. It has rounded edges that make the tablet more pleasant in the hands and somewhat reminiscent of the iPhone 6.
The device as a whole looks expensive, and this is rare for Chinese tablets of the middle price category.
The biggest drawback of the OnePlus tablet, which immediately catches the eye, is that the camera position is not very good. There is no question when using the tablet horizontally, but if you switch to portrait mode, your hand will somehow block the lens. OnePlus weighs 552 grams. Sometimes the hands go numb because of this – holding the tablet above your head while lying in bed will not work for a long time.
Screen
The OnePlus Pad has an 11.61-inch IPS display with a 2000×2800 resolution and an unusual 7:5 aspect ratio for an Android tablet. And as it turns out, this is a very good decision.
The display can operate at 144 Hz, but there are two modes to choose from: standard (60 Hz) and high (120 Hz) but no automatic selection.
In addition, Dolby Vision technologies and HDR10 + format support are announced for the OnePlus tablet.
The iPad Pro has an 11-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1668×2388 and a 3:2 ratio. The Apple tablet display operates with an adaptive frequency of up to 120 Hz in varying degrees (24, 30, 40, 60, 120 Hz). However, high frequency is only available on iPad Pro models, which are several times more expensive than the same OnePlus Pad – there is no such function on licensed iPads or even iPad Air. The Apple tablet screen is also capable of displaying HDR10 content and supports Dolby Vision technology.
Both tablets are ideal for watching movies, surfing the web and reading books. Also, the OnePlus Pad provides a similar TrueTone function that is popular among Apple technology users. Thanks to him, the picture on the screen adjusts the temperature of the screen according to the surrounding conditions, making it cold or warm, so that the eyes are less tired.
shell
Android provides two types of navigation in the system: using the three buttons at the bottom of the screen or using gestures.
In iPadOS, management is implemented in hybrid mode. In some apps this is a gesture where you have to swipe your finger from the edge of the screen, and in another app you have to click a specially designated button for it. Therefore, confusion can arise when using a tablet, despite the well-established belief that Apple devices are thoughtful.
In addition, due to the sanctions, it has become impossible for iPad users to install many applications.
On Android, the user is “his own boss” – if the application is not in the official store, simply download it from a reliable source and install it manually.
But in iPadOS it is the number of professional apps to watch out for. Designers, architects, musicians and editors can find many quality profile programs. They are usually paid and not cheap, but in skilled hands they pay off quickly. The choice of such applications for Android is small.
I would like to note that in the OnePlus shell, the manufacturer has optimized OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13 for tablets. OnePlus, Oppo and Realme smartphone users will see many familiar elements in the design and functionality.
I would also like to note that the manufacturer has come up with an original solution to enable multi-window mode – just swipe two fingers from the top edge of the screen to the bottom, and then the screen will split in half. For example, you can put Telegram on the left and your favorite movie on the right.
“Horse”
The tablet is perceived by many as a multimedia device for entertainment. But some believe that if you buy a keyboard, it can replace the laptop.
socialbites.ca reporter, who has experience of iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard, believes that the tablet cannot completely replace the computer, at least due to the limited software set, inconvenient opening angle and high cost. Such a set of “apples” will cost at least 90-100 thousand rubles.
The OnePlus Pad is no exception in terms of limitations – its keyboard only has the only opening angle available. Additionally, it has no Cyrillic script on it, so if you buy it, you’ll have to engrave it – it’s cheap and looks better than cheap slide-on stickers.
Both tablets include a stylus, an accessory that complements the tablet’s role as an entertainment device and even as a professional tool. And when OnePlus designed the Stylo stylus, it clearly tried to make a copy of the Apple Pencil – they look the same in everything. In both cases the pressure rating is well defined and the delay is minimal.
Yield
The OnePlus Pad we reviewed is powered by MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity 9000 chip and has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage (12/256GB available in some markets). In the Geekbench 6 benchmark, the tablet scored 1741 and 4473 in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.
Based on Apple’s M2 chipset, the iPad Pro also has 8GB of RAM and scored 2489 and 9509 in Geekbench 6. The difference between the two devices may seem enormous, but in everyday use it is unnoticeable.
In games, the advantage is clearly for the iPad – the tablet “pushes” Genshin Impact at 120 FPS at maximum graphics without any drawbacks (moreover, this mod is not available at all on any Android device). But after a few minutes, the tablet gets so hot that it burns your hands. When 60 FPS is selected, the case temperature becomes medium and does not interfere with the process in any way.
The OnePlus Pad also runs Genshin Impact at max graphics and 60 FPS without getting too hot. However, the quality of the textures in this case is noticeably worse, as game developers have released mobile versions that extend to the desired screen of Android tablets. It is unknown why Google, the owner of this operating system, did not try to solve this problem.
In any other use case, the power difference between the two tablets is barely noticeable, so for many, what Android devices have to offer will suffice. However, in both cases there may not be enough memory – 128 GB in 2023 is critically small if you install games and programs. This is the only change for the global OnePlus, and the iPad with more memory is already much more expensive.
cameras
The cameras on the tablet are mostly only needed for video calls. To do this, the OnePlus Pad has a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera attached to its top bezel (when placed horizontally). It can also record Full HD video at 30 FPS.
The main camera on OnePlus is also wide-angle and can shoot up to 4K 30 FPS.
The 12MP ultra-wide-angle front camera on iPad Pro can shoot at Full HD 60 FPS.
The only downside concerns the controversial position in the left frame (with horizontal arrangement) as the sensor can be manually blocked during a video conference.
In addition, the shooting angle itself is not very successful, as if the camera is always standing next to the user.
The iPad has two cameras on the back – a 12MP main camera and a 10MP ultra-wide-angle camera. They can write videos up to 4K at 60 FPS. The quality is far from iPhone level, but still unnecessary for a tablet. The iPad also has LiDAR, for example, with which interior designers can scan a room and objects in 3D. Useful, but not for everyone.
Battery
iPad Pro has a 7538mAh battery that supports 18W charging, which takes about 3 hours to charge. It takes an average of 6 to 8 hours of active operation, depending on usage scenarios. For a tablet, this is not a very good result.
The OnePlus Pad comes with a 9510mAh battery and supports 67W charging. Owners of OnePlus, Oppo or Realme smartphones can use the charging pads that will charge the tablet from 0% to 100% at 67W in 80 minutes.
The battery lasts an average of 10-12 hours with active use, which is much better than the iPad.
So if you choose a tablet as a standalone device for watching movies or playing games, OnePlus seems like the smarter choice.
Other features
Sound quality is excellent on both devices. The four loud stereo speakers on the OnePlus Pad and iPad Pro provide a rich, punchy audio experience whether you’re watching movies or playing music. At the same time, neither one nor the other has a headphone jack.
The protection on iPad Pro is applied to the face thanks to the Face ID scanner. The OnePlus Pad also has face unlock, but a regular front camera, which is not very secure. There is no fingerprint scanner.
Conclusion
When comparing the iPad Pro for 80 thousand rubles. With a OnePlus tablet for 37 thousand rubles. It was hard to find differences that would make you want to overpay for an Apple device. At the same time, the slightly cheaper iPad Air on the M1 chip can’t have a high-frequency display, and the mid-budget iPad 10 doesn’t have the most productive hardware and a display with massively distorting air gap. picture.
A tablet in the modern sense still cannot replace a computer, and the OnePlus Pad does a great job as an entertainment device, offering high performance and modern features at a reasonable price tag.