OnePlus Pad 2 review: Android’s biggest iPad challenger?

The OnePlus Pad 2 is only the third tablet from the Chinese brand but it’s already shaping up to be one of Android’s strongest competitors against the 10.2in Apple iPad (2022). This is largely due to a dearth of capable Android options in this price range but that shouldn’t take away from everything that the OnePlus Pad 2 gets right.

Performance is outstanding, with the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset rivalling Apple’s silicon, the all-metal build feels robust and looks stylish, and the 3K display is crisp and vibrant. Throw in some improved accessories at relatively affordable prices and the OnePlus Pad 2 is a versatile and competent Android tablet with only a few minor flaws.

OnePlus Pad 2 review: What do you get for the money?

Retailing for £499, the OnePlus Pad 2 is £50 more than the original OnePlus Pad was at launch. At this price, the Pad 2 is clearly squaring up to the 10.9in iPad (2022). While there are a couple of variants of Apple’s latest entry-level tablet available, including lower storage and LTE versions, the 256GB Wi-Fi-only iPad (2022) launched for the same £499, but can currently be picked up for £460.

The nearest Android competition comes from Google’s Pixel Tablet. The 256GB model is currently down to £509 but you can also get a 128GB version for just £399. The 11in display has a lower 60Hz refresh rate but you get a charging dock/speaker bundled in with the tablet.

A little pricier is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, which starts at £679 for the 128GB model. Perks here include a stronger 11in AMOLED display, excellent performance and a bundled S Pen stylus. Battery life isn’t great, however, and there’s no charger in the box.

Of the aforementioned options, the OnePlus Pad 2 is the largest, measuring 296 x 6.5 x 195mm (WDH) and weighing a fairly meaty 584g. The Apple, Google and Samsung models all weigh under 500g, though they’re all 11in or under – the OnePlus Pad 2 has a 12.1in display. Only the Samsung is thinner, however, so the Pad 2 is still easy enough to slip into a bag, but you won’t want to use it one-handed for too long.

A big part of that weight is the unibody metal design, with the rear and sides composed of one solid piece of aluminium, just like the OnePlus Nord 4 that was announced alongside the Pad 2. It’s a stylish look and nicely robust; the display and cameras are still vulnerable to drops and knocks but the tablet as a whole feels very solid.

Speaking of the display, we’ve got a 12.1in IPS LCD panel with a super-sharp 3,000 x 2,120 resolution and an adaptive refresh rate that tops out at a breezy 144Hz. Set into one of the long bezels is the 8MP (f/2.3) selfie camera, allowing for face unlocking, with the 13MP (f/2.2) rear camera in a mirrored position on the back.

Inside, the OnePlus Pad 2 debuts the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in tablet format, backed up by 12GB of RAM and 256GB of non-expandable storage. The battery is the same 9,510mAh unit used in the first OnePlus Pad and once again supports 67W wired charging. You’ll need your own plug, however, as there’s not one bundled in the box.

Around the edges, there’s a USB-C port centrally on the right, flanked by four of the eight speaker grilles, with the other four in the same position on the left edge. There are only six speakers, however, three on either side, so this is an aesthetic choice. At the top of the left edge is the power button and just around the corner, on the left side of the top edge, is the volume rocker. Finally, there are pogo pin connectors on the bottom edge that snap into the optional keyboard.

Along with the keyboard and the new Stylo 2 pen, the OnePlus Pad 2 has some software features that aim to make it a solid laptop replacement. The tablet launches with Android 14, coated in the OxygenOS 14.1 skin, and offers several productivity features, including carrying over Open Canvas from the OnePlus Open. This allows you to drag apps around and open up to three at once.

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OnePlus Pad 2 review: What did we like about it?

The first thing I want to talk about here is the performance. This is the first tablet to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset – the same SoC found in the OnePlus 12, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Honor Magic 6 Pro and Sony Xperia 1 VI – and it delivers phenomenal performance.

In my tests, the Pad 2 swept aside the competition and even outpaced the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 by 14% in the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark tests.

Things continue to look good in the GFXBench tests, with the Pad 2 storming ahead of its predecessor in both the on-screen and off-screen benchmarks. The iPad and the Galaxy Tab S9 are stronger options for higher frame rates but the Pad 2 is decent for its price. I had Asphalt Legends Unite running smoothly enough – it wasn’t pushing past 60fps but nor was it jumping and laggy.

I’m not surprised to see the battery life falling behind the competition – not only does the OnePlus Pad 2 have a larger 12.1in display, it also has the highest resolution of the selection here. With those caveats in mind, this result of 12hrs 19mins is solid, even if the stamina dip over the previous model is disappointing. It’s still ahead of the iPad (2022) and the Galaxy Tab S9, at least.

Charging paints a better picture, with the 67W capacity filling the massive battery in less than an hour and a half in my testing.

I’ll have more to say about the display in the improvements section below but broadly speaking, it’s reasonably good. The 3K resolution makes everything look nice and sharp, the 144Hz refresh rate is buttery smooth and brightness is solid, hitting 496cd/m2 in manual mode and an impressive 690cd/m2 on adaptive brightness with a torch shining on the light sensor.

The large, sharp display pairs well with the default Vivid colour profile to make streaming content look vibrant and dynamic. OnePlus claims that the six speakers produce spatial audio and while I’d refute that, they do manage a decent sense of space with the stereo separation and the volume gets nice and high, as well. I watched a few episodes of House of the Dragon on the Pad 2 and everything from screeching dragons to deceitful whispers sounded crisp and impactful.

When you aren’t watching dragons fighting, the OnePlus Pad 2 makes for a decent laptop replacement. There are two optional accessories that complete the transformation: the OnePlus Smart Keyboard Case is £149, while the new Stylo 2 pencil will set you back £99 – making the whole package cost £747. That’s a hefty sum but less than you’d pay for the iPad (2022) with all the trimmings (over £800 by my count).

Both accessories are worth the price of admission; the keyboard’s trackpad is more than twice the size of its predecessor and also adds a row of quick-function buttons like brightness, volume and media controls above the number keys. The Stylo 2, meanwhile, is lightweight and comfortable to hold, produces subtle vibration feedback when you write, and offers over 16,000 levels of pressure, making sketching with it particularly fun.

OnePlus’ Open Canvas is a natural fit here, holding two apps side-by-side in split-screen with the option to add a third just peeking into either the top or the bottom of the display, ready to be switched to with a simple tap. The setup works fluidly for productivity, holding open Google Docs and the OnePlus Pad 2 spec sheet, for instance, with the Expert Reviews Slack channel on standby if needed.

OnePlus Pad 2 review: What could be improved?

While I enjoyed using the display for streaming, sketching and working, there are a couple of areas in which it fell down during testing. For starters, I wasn’t all that impressed with the contrast and black levels I measured. At 1,056:1 and 0.47cd/m2, respectively, both are at the weaker end of the spectrum – the Honor Pad 9, for instance, managed results of 1636:1 and 0.32cd/m2, despite costing around £200 less than the OnePlus Pad 2.

Colour accuracy left something to be desired, as well. The Pro colour setting covers a decent 93.4% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, while the Natural profile reproduces 98% of the sRGB gamut, but neither proved to be particularly accurate. The average Delta E colour variance scores of 2.76 (Pro) and 2.45 (Natural) were both quite far from the target value of 1 – though neither are wayward enough for colours to look massively off in general use.

While I was generally impressed by the keyboard case and stylus, there is a slight wrinkle to address. The keyboard doesn’t magnetically snap to the top of the display when you close the case, leaving it free to slide to and fro while the tablet is in your backpack, for instance. I haven’t encountered any scratches on the display yet, but that instability makes me feel like it’s only a matter of time. I’d love to see a more secure keyboard case on the Pad 3.

Finally, there are a few quality of life features that aren’t guaranteed on tablets anymore but are still disappointing omissions, including an LTE variant and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s also no microSD card slot, so you’ll have to make do with the 256GB of internal storage.

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OnePlus Pad 2 review: Should you buy it?

If the disparity between the lengths of the pros and cons sections didn’t make it clear, there’s a lot more to like about the OnePlus Pad 2 than there is to dislike. Even my suggested improvements aren’t dire enough to overrule my recommendation. Performance is excellent, going toe-to-toe with Apple’s notoriously speedy silicon, the 3K display is crisp and bright and the all-metal build feels robust and looks slick.

As tends to be the case with Android tablets, the software isn’t quite to the level of Apple’s, with fewer apps optimised for the tablet format, but what is there works very well. More to the point, if you wanted a proper laptop replacement, keyboard and stylus included, the total premium is lower than with the iPad. If you’re looking for the best iPad alternative in Android’s stable, the OnePlus Pad 2 deserves to be on your shortlist.