OnePlus Pad 2 review: versatile screen

After a successful debut in the tablet market, the OnePlus Pad 2 should confirm. This versatile screen can handle a variety of situations quite well.

In 2023, smartphone maker OnePlus ventured into the tablet market for the first time. The debut did not go unnoticed, and except for a few rookie flaws, we liked the device. That a successor appeared last summer with the OnePlus Pad 2 should come as no surprise.

A successful debut is one thing, but confirmation is often even more difficult. OnePlus emphasizes versatility and professional use with the second version. Our test package included the OnePlus Pad 2 in the standard configuration (12 GB + 256 GB, 549 euros incl. VAT) with the optional keyboard (qwerty, 149 euros incl. VAT), tablet cover (59 euros incl. VAT) and stylus (99 euros, incl. VAT).

Square screen

In terms of appearance, OnePlus has done almost copy paste with the OnePlus Pad 2. The only difference is that the green color has been replaced with a more neutral gray. OnePlus retains the square 7:5 screen ratio, though at 12.1 inches the screen is a tad larger than the first model. The back still feels slippery. A cover is not a luxury.

The OnePlus Pad 2 cranks up the resolution to 3K (2,100 x 3,000 pixels) and the brightness has also been increased to 750 nits. The tablet has an LCD and not an OLED panel. For tablets within the OnePlus Pad 2’s price range, LCD is still a common choice. LCD is more limited for color reproduction, but has the advantage of being softer on the eyes. With picture comes sound and so the tablet is equipped with six speakers.

The 7:5 screen ratio has advantages and disadvantages. Most applications adjust effortlessly, but media players can struggle because video is rarely created with this screen ratio in mind. Playing a video in full-screen mode in YouTube, we are left with an unused bar at the bottom of the screen.

So why does OnePlus choose this screen ratio? If you hold the tablet vertically, the dimensions more or less correspond to an A4 sheet of paper. So a PDF file or music score fits perfectly on the screen for browsing through documents. You must then hold the tablet or provide it with sufficient back support.

Strong inner workings

Not only the screen, but also the interior of the OnePlus Pad 2 has been jacked up. The tablet is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor found in many a flagship phone. Add to that 12 GB of DDR5 RAM and 256 GB of internal SSD storage, and the OnePlus Pad 2 doesn’t lack anything on the inside.

This is also reflected in the benchmarks, where the OnePlus Pad 2 compares with its predecessor and some Android tablets from Samsung. The OnePlus Pad 2 makes a leap forward in performance. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra remains out of reach, though. That’s no disgrace because the S9 Ultra is Samsung’s flagship model. The tablet appeared a year earlier than the OnePlus Pad 2 (in the summer of 2024, Samsung launched the Tab S10 series), which means the processor is therefore also a year older.

Phones from OnePlus are known for their ample graphics power, and the Pad 2 does not disappoint. In benchmarks, the OnePlus Pad 2 leaves the Samsung Tab S9 Ultra in the dust. So this tablet is more than capable of playing heavier games. In simulations of GPU-intensive tasks such as video editing, the difference between the OnePlus Pad 2 and the Tab S9 Ultra is not as pronounced.

Mini PC

OnePlus markets the Pad 2 as a device that not only serves for entertainment, but can also be productive. How does that translate in practice? If we simulate on some business applications such as word processing and Web browsing, we see that the device can more than hold its own in an office setting. So the promise of versatility is not exaggerated.

To use the OnePlus Pad 2 as a work device, though, the keyboard is a necessary addition. The tablet snaps into the keyboard in no time and you use the cover as a backrest to transform the tablet into a small PC. This gives you a convenient and compact setup that doesn’t require much space. That makes the tablet a handy option for staying productive while commuting (those train tables are too small for your laptop anyway…). We find it a bit unfortunate that you can’t clip the tablet upright into the keyboard: this would make it an ideal tool for document editing.

OnePlus cleverly plays this off with some handy software features. Via the NFC chip, you connect your (OnePlus) phone to your PC with one simple tap. That way you cast your smartphone screen to the tablet like a virtual desktop: a feature reminiscent of Motorola’s Smart Connect. The feature lets you sync media and text, among other things, and, very handy when there’s no wifi (again, we spontaneously think of trains), share mobile data.

Do you have a video call? Then you certainly don’t need to put your tablet aside. With the OnePlus Pad, you can dial in from anywhere. The 8 MP front camera is better than the average laptop webcam: even the most expensive business laptops rarely exceed 5 MP. It does have the odd filter in the camera that makes your skin look more even, like you just got back from a health treatment.

Suffering with trackpad

Call us old-fashioned, but we dare not claim that the OnePlus Pad 2 makes you forget about your laptop. While typing longer texts, we quickly long for the keyboard of a laptop. Upon waking up from standby mode, the tablet always needs a second to find the keyboard again.

The trackpad makes us muse all the way to a laptop. For scrolling, it’s pretty okay, but it doesn’t always respond immediately to mouse clicks. Highlighting text is a difficult task for the trackpad. Even with the keyboard plugged in, we prefer the smoother touch controls to dabbling with the trackpad.

So consider the OnePlus Pad 2, and really any tablet, not a replacement, but rather a complement to your PC. We like to use the device as a compact second screen to display content on.

Fast charger

The first generation of the OnePlus Pad excelled in battery life. The OnePlus Pad 2 gets the same 5,910 mAh and with light use, we only have to look for the power outlet every few days. Testing for more intensive use, the OnePlus Pad 2 shuts down a little faster. That may have to do with the heavier interior or how the image settings are configured.

Fast charging has traditionally been one of OnePlus’ strengths. The Pad 2 has a charging power of 67 W, which is blazingly fast for a tablet. With that comes the note that you will only be able to achieve this maximum power with a SuperVOOC charger from the brand. Included in the box is a cable, but no adapter. A home charger will also work fine, but it will take a little longer. In our charging test conducted on the USB-C Power Delivery standard, the OnePlus Pad 2 is still much faster than other tablets.

Five years

One final point we discuss is software support. Out of the box, the tablet comes with Android 14: the most recent version of the operating system at the time of launch. An upgrade to Android 15 will follow soon. OnePlus considers its tablet a premium phone and provides four Android upgrades and five years of security upgrades.

For Android tablets, this is the maximum you can expect anno early 2025. Smartphones get longer support up to seven years, so tablets will eventually follow. The Android ecosystem still has some catching up to do with Apple: iPads can last up to ten years.

The best Android tablet?

The OnePlus Pad has proven not to be a one-day wonder. The manufacturer keeps what is good and makes some targeted improvements to make the device more versatile. This is one of the few Android models that can convince us that a tablet does have utility in a professional context. That OnePlus gets all this done for a modest price of 549 euros (incl. VAT, accessories excluded) is a punishing feat.

The OnePlus Pad 2 still has some rough edges that need polishing, but it is already a diamond in the Android tablet market. Those looking for the best alternative to the iPad will end up with Samsung or OnePlus.

The OnePlus Pad 2 is available for 549 euros, including VAT. The manufacturer promises four OS updates and five years of security updates from launch on Aug. 1, 2024. The legal warranty period is 2 years.