OnePlus Pad 2 review: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

So when I reviewed the OnePlus Pad last year, I was quite impressed with it. That thing pretty much did everything I wanted out of an Android tablet, and then some. However, my biggest complaint about the OnePlus Pad was that it felt a little… overambitious for all that it could actually do. And you know what? Whether or not the whole “value proposition” thing has changed was the most important thing I wanted to figure out heading to this OnePlus Pad 2 review.

It has a faster processor, a brighter display, and a couple of other upgrades, but it’s also more expensive now. Starting at INR 39,999 in India and USD 499 in the US. So to figure out if you should actually buy the OnePlus Pad 2, I’ve been testing it, daily-driving it, and watching tons and tons of shows and movies on it for a little over a week at this point.

Let’s talk about it.

OnePlus Pad 2 Review: Specifications

• Design: 268.7 x 195.1 x 6.5 mm, Metal unibody design, 584 gm
• Display: 12.1-inch IPS panel, 3K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm mobile platform)
• Memory: 8/12GB LPDDR5x RAM, 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage (fixed)
• Software and UI: Android 14 with OxygenOS 14.1 on top
• Rear Camera: 13MP f/2.2 lens
• Front Camera: 8MP f/2.3 lens (landscape orientation)
• Security: No biometric option
• Connectivity: No cellular connectivity, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, USB 3.2 Gen 1
• Battery: 9,510 mAh with 67W charging (67W power adapter provided)
• Accessories: OnePlus Stylo 2, OnePlus Pad Smart Keyboard
• Price in Nepal: N/A
  • (Starts at INR 39,999 in India and USD 499 in the US
• Check the full specifications of OnePlus Pad 2 here

OnePlus Pad 2 Review:

Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm)
• 8/12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage (fixed)
• Android 14 with OxygenOS 14.1 on top
• 3 years OS + 4 years security updates

Okay, I wanna start by talking about the positives and the OnePlus Pad 2’s performance definitely sits at the top of the list there. Not just because of the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip but mostly since OnePlus has clearly — so very clearly — put in a lot of effort on the software side of things this time.

• The system animations have gotten a bit more consistent throughout the UI than the last I remember on the og OnePlus Pad.
• That “Open Canvas” feature for multitasking that I loved so, so much on the OnePlus Open (review) is here as well.
• And I especially love how keyboard apps like Gboard and Microsoft’s Swiftkey finally have a proper split-screen mode. That means I no longer have to awkwardly (and painfully) stretch my thumbs across this gigantic display just to type something.

I also found the overall app optimization situation to be quite better on the OnePlus Pad 2, and I guess some of that credit goes to Google too. With a…ll the work it has done on Android 14 to improve the app experience on big-screen devices like a tablet. Although I should tell you that a few popular ones like Facebook and Messenger still don’t play nice in landscape mode for some reason. Oh well.

And of course, OnePlus came up with a bunch of AI features for its latest tablet.

‘Cause why not?

How do you like them AIs?

Most of what it demoed during the launch event will only be available later this year but I gotta say I’m quite excited to check ‘em out! Since the AI features that I can access right now are pretty amazing. Like all the image manipulation stuff grouped under “AI Eraser”.

And if you’re a student, I bet you’re gonna love how it can summarize the recordings of the lectures you attend more than anything else.

Besides all this, the OnePlus Pad 2 is the fastest, the most fluid tablet I have ever used as well. The fastest, the most fluid Android tablet I have ever used, to be more precise.

And this thing is also a damn good gaming device, managing almost a steady 60 fps on Genshin Impact and a smoo…th 120 fps on PUBG Mobile. Whereas its large footprint — mixed with the aluminum unibody design that acts as a massive heatsink — means the OnePlus Pad 2 doesn’t heat up that much either. At least not where your hands rest.

There’s the usual 3 + 4 years of update to look forward to as well so all in all, OnePlus has more or less nailed it as far as performance is concerned.

Audio

• 6-speaker setup
• Omnibearing Sound Field tech

And I absolutely love the OnePlus Pad 2’s speakers too.

It now uses six sets of speakers instead of four — and wow — it sounds… ridiculously amazing. That room-filling audio it pushes has plenty of details, almost no distortion even at max volume, and also a hint of bass to spice things up. So whether I’m shuffling through my Spotify playlist or watching some of my favorite shows on Netflix, the OnePlus Pad 2’s audio isn’t going to disappoint.

It also has something called “Holo Audio” which can apparently place different audio sources in different virtual spaces to make them sound more immersive. But… that kinda sucked in my experience so I’ve turned it off altogether.

Stylus

• OnePlus Stylo 2
• 16,000 levels of pressure sensitivity

Moving on.

If you’re an artist or simply someone who likes taking handwritten notes a lot, I’m sure you’re gonna love what I’m about to say. ‘Cause this second-gen stylus for the OnePlus Pad 2 is pretty great actually. And a lot more capable than the first one.

It has almost 4x more levels of pressure sensitivity for finer control over what I draw. I can also write in any text field now, with probably one of the best handwriting recognition tech I’ve seen on a tablet. While I like how OnePlus added subtle haptic feedback too, even though that one only works on the built-in “Notes” app.

The Stylo 2’s “presentation mode” is equally exciting. Where I can annotate something, point a virtual laser, or slide across the page directly from the stylus. But I gotta say it’s a bit wonkier than I expected it to be and I haven’t gotten used to it after all this time. And I really wish the OnePlus Pad 2 had better palm rejection as well.

There’s an upgraded keyboard too

Anyway, the new smart keyboard for this guy also looks quite interesting but I ultimately decided not to get one for myself since the “tablet + keyboard” combo has never comfortably fit in my workflow.

I kinda felt differently about that at first with my iPad Pro M4 (review) and its Magic Keyboard, although I don’t even use it much these days. So the important lesson here is that as much as I love how versatile and portable tablets are, I can’t ever see them replacing my laptop. Not anytime soon.

Design and Build

• 268.7 x 195.1 x 6.5 mm, 584 gm
• Metal unibody design

Okay — for the most part — I love what OnePlus has done on the design front this year. It doesn’t look any different from the first OnePlus Pad and it’s very recognizably “OnePlus”. With the same premium metal unibody design and a slim build that doesn’t take up much space in my backpack.

There’s still no fingerprint reader but its Type-C port has been upgraded from USB 2.0 to the faster USB 3.2 Gen 1 standard now so yeah, I don’t have much complaints with the OnePlus Pad 2’s design.

Except for the unbearably obvious truth that this thing is so. damn. heavy.

At 584 grams, this is easily among the heaviest tablets I’ve ever used and I had trouble holding it with one hand for more than a couple of minutes at a time at best. As a matter of fact, the OnePlus Pad 2 (584 gm) is actually heavier than the 13-inch iPad Pro (579 gm)!

Display

• 12.1-inch IPS panel
• 3000 x 2120p resolution, 7:5 aspect ratio
• Up to 144Hz refresh rate, 600 nits brightness (HBM)

Just like the design, I’m a little conflicted with the OnePlus Pad 2’s display too.

On the one hand, this is a decent upgrade to what we saw on its predecessor. It’s bigger, brighter, and sharper. And its 144Hz refresh rate means going around the UI or scrolling through something feels butter smooth. There’s even an option to set every app to 144Hz now if I want, whereas its unique 7:5 aspect ratio means reading eBooks, PDFs, and mangas is an absolute treat on the OnePlus Pad 2.

But on the other hand, I think OnePlus could’ve done so much more to make a name for itself in the tablet space. Like going with an OLED panel maybe.

OLED kills two birds with one stone

‘Cause other than its superior colors and contrast levels, using an OLED panel would’ve made the OnePlus Pad 2 considerably thinner and lighter too. Since — unlike an LCD panel — OLEDs don’t need different layers like a backlight unit.

I also found the actual quality of this display to be a bit weak considering the price. It doesn’t have the best viewing angles, the contrast ratio feels low, it’s not that color-accurate by default, and I can’t stream HDR videos on Netflix either. Even when the OnePlus Pad 2 is Dolby Vision certified. It’s a perfectly fine screen for everyday use — don’t get me wrong — although I was just… expecting more from OnePlus this time.

Camera

• 13MP (f/2.2) sensor at the back
• 8MP (f/2.3) sensor at the front

… and yeah, its cameras aren’t that exciting as well. That’s true for most tablet cameras I guess but what’s weird is that OnePlus has actually removed a super useful feature on the Pad 2. I’m talking about the one called “Limelight” which would track me as I moved around the room during video calls but… it is what it is.

Battery

• 9,510 mAh battery with 67W charging

As for the battery life, the OnePlus Pad 2 has been giving me around 6 – 8 hours of screen time on average. Like I said in the very beginning, I’ve mostly been streaming different shows and movies on this guy — alongside some gaming and web browsing thrown in the mix — so I wouldn’t call its battery life that impressive, to be honest.

At least it fills up pretty fast. Going from 1 to 100% in a little under an hour with the included 67W charger.

OnePlus Pad 2 Review: Conclusion

So that’s all for my review of the new OnePlus Pad 2. And compared to last year’s OnePlus Pad, this is a definite upgrade. Particularly in terms of the performance, the display, and the speakers.

But I just feel like it’s a bit expensive for everything it offers.

I mean… that Snapdragon beast is kinda wasted on the OnePlus Pad 2 when you think about it since there isn’t much you can do on a tablet that makes use of its first-class CPU and GPU. And if all you care about is streaming videos, multitasking, drawing, or getting some light work done on a tablet, you can do a lot better for a lot less.

OnePlus could’ve really differentiated itself if only it had an OLED display but nope. So if you’re not in a hurry to get a tablet right away, I’d suggest you wait a while ‘cause there are a couple of interesting ones scheduled to launch pretty soon. Including the Xiaomi Pad 7 that’s rumored to bring an OLED display. While even Honor’s new MagicPad 2 looks a lot more well-rounded, a lot more balanced than the OnePlus Pad 2.

• Our video review of OnePlus Pad 2 is coming up pretty soon

OnePlus Pad 2 Review: Pros and Cons