OnePlus Pad Is A Solid Media Consumption Device Trying To Be More

OnePlus Pad

There are two major instances where you might buy a tablet – One, you want a bigger screen than your smartphone for media consumption (watching movies/TV shows, reading, and educational purposes). Two, you want a device to get some work done and productivity when you don't want to power on the laptop.

The OnePlus Pad excels in the first category while trying to enter the second one – and failing – not because of OnePlus but Google. I’ve been using the OnePlus Pad for over a month now, and here's what you need to know if you are in the market for a tablet.

OnePlus Pad display

The OnePlus Pad features an 11.61-inch LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The scrolling is capped at 120Hz, while it can toggle between 30Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. It supports Dolby Vision. I’ve been using it as my primary device to read and watch movies. Air on Prime Video looked good with natural colors. The four speakers are loud enough for two people to be entertained in minimal ambient noise.

I liked reading on the OnePlus Pad because of its excellent design… for the most part. The 88% screen-to-body ratio combined with "2.5D round edge treatment" makes for a comfortable in-hand feel. But the camera placement comes in the way of holding it when you pick it up and rotate it clockwise to read on. You can always hold it the other way, but it's not natural – at least not for me. Otherwise, it's light on the wrist and thin in the palm.

OnePlus Pad back in keyboard case

The OnePlus Pad is powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 chipset, paired with 8GB/12GB RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage. From opening apps to multitasking, it was a smooth experience. I haven't faced stutters or lags in the UI in my four-week usage, which included watching movies, working on Docs, and having at least eight Chrome tabs open at all times with Spotify playing in the background. The performance is top-notch.

It packs a 9,510mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging. Watching Air (runtime of 1 hour 52 minutes) consumed 30% battery with 100% volume and about 50% brightness. Plus, it offers brilliant standby battery life, which is important for a tablet, in my opinion. The 8MP front camera is good for video calls and meetings, while the 13MP back camera is more than enough to scan documents.

OnePlus Pad

It's a well-known fact by now that Android on tablets is simply a blown-up version of Android on smartphones. And it is only highlighted by the OnePlus Pad. If a tablet has a keyboard cover, I expect it to help me get some work done – at least type without hindrance. As it turns out, that's too much to ask for.

While typing on the Pad's physical keyboard in Docs, I found myself wanting to pull my hair every 15 minutes. And it's not because the keyboard cover is bad – it's one of the best keyboard cases on a tablet with good key travel and feedback. Instead, it's because Google hasn't been able to optimize its own apps for big screen devices. I faced three issues that kept pestering me whenever I tried getting some sort of work done on the device.

OnePlus Pad

First, the cursor in Google Docs keeps moving to random locations despite me not tapping or clicking anywhere on the screen. As a result, what I think I’m typing at the end of the paragraph ends up going in middle of random words in the para. Second, Shift+Space switches b/w Engligh (UK) and (India) by default (I didn't set it up). It deletes space b/w words whenever I have to capitalize the next letter. Third, and this is a non-Google issue, the three-finger gesture on the trackpad stops working randomly. All of these issues combine to irritate the hell out of me.

I gave up after day two of trying to get minimal work done on the OnePlus Pad. The poor apps optimization when paired with keyboard makes the keyboard cover not worth buying. It's great hardware combined with poor execution in software.

OnePlus Pad

OnePlus Pad is trying to be more than just a media consumption device and focus on productivity with its keyboard accessory but is limited by Android. If the Pixel Tablet is any indication, Google has given up on trying to make Android for tablets productive – there is no official keyboard cover. I like that the company is playing to its strengths and doubling the Pixel Tablet as a smart home device with the speaker stand.

Only Samsung has the software with DeX that allows you to be productive on an Android tablet. But it's limited to the flagship Tab S-series. And that's why iPads are so far ahead than Androids. They combine content consumption with productivity from the budget 9th-gen iPad to the high-end iPad Pro.

OnePlus Pad

The OnePlus Pad features a sharp display, superb design, smooth performance and long-lasting battery life. It is a good choice if all you want to do is read or watch content on big screen. The OnePlus Stylo is great for doodling and digital art (if you are into that). But it fails as a tablet for productivity. You should purchase the OnePlus Pad only if you want a big screen to consume media on and have Rs 40,000 to spare.