Excellent screen and speakers

Review: Oneplus Pad 2 - Cheaper tablet still among the best

Oneplus has made a tablet that performs at the top in most areas but is still in the mid-price range.

Published 12 December 2024 - 21:21 Modified 24 January 2025 - 17:09

It was just over a year and a half ago now that Oppo, under its brand Oneplus, released its first tablet on the Swedish market, Oneplus Pad. Overall, it was a really successful product, with some compromises justified by the relatively low price tag. Now they are back with a new tablet that at least on paper can compete with Samsung's and Apple's top models, but with a significantly lower price tag of 6500 kronor.

Compared to the first Oneplus Pad, the screen has become a bit larger, 12.1 inches compared to 11.6 inches for the Oneplus Pad. This also makes the tablet 32 grams heavier, and 584 grams as it weighs can be a bit much to hold if, for example, two people are watching a movie on the tablet. The design helps a little here. Oneplus goes against the trend of angular sides and the Oneplus Pad has rounded edges that don't cut into the palm when you hold the tablet for longer periods.

Another difference between the Oneplus Pad 2 and its predecessor is performance. While the Oneplus Pad had a fast Mediatek chipset, the Oneplus Pad 2 has Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, making the Oneplus Pad 2 one of the fastest tablets on the market. The first tests of the Oneplus Pad 2 showed performance that was disappointing given the chipset, but it seems to have been a software issue that has been fixed, and in our tests, the Oneplus Pad 2 is just as fast as one would expect. If you mostly browse or watch movies on the tablet, this has little significance, but if you see the tablet as a gaming platform, the performance is welcome.

Not OLED, but almost

When I start the tablet, I think it must have an OLED screen. It doesn't; the screen is of the LCD type, but they have managed so well with the blacks and bright colors that I have difficulty seeing the difference. The maximum brightness is 900 nits. It's not quite enough for full readability in daylight but better than what most tablets had a couple of years ago. The screen is in the slightly unusual 7:5 format, somewhat more elongated than the iPad's 4:3 format, but less elongated than most Android tablets.

If I'm going to watch movies with the tablet, I would like to have a pair of good speakers. Or in this case, six good speakers that provide a rich sound while clearly hearing what people are saying in the movie.

There are also compromises, but they are for things that might be less important in a tablet than in a mobile. There is no fingerprint reader, so you have to use a pin, pattern, or facial recognition to unlock the tablet. If you like to use the tablet on the go, you have to pair it with your mobile, as there is no variant with a built-in SIM card slot. For that matter, GPS is also missing.

Good on standby

The battery life measured in screen time is quite average. The tablet can be charged relatively quickly with a 67-watt charger, but this is not included in the package and must be purchased separately. Oneplus has the idea that the tablet is a gadget that remains unused for days until you need it, and therefore they have optimized the tablet's standby time so that it consumes as little battery as possible when not in use. Indeed, I think the tablet holds its charge well when not in use, something that, for example, Samsung's Tab S tablets are quite poor at.

Oneplus has some ideas on how to best adapt the Android system to tablets. For example, if you swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen, you split the screen between two apps, which the screen format is well-suited for. You can also have a third app on the same screen, and you can save shortcuts to app groups so you can quickly open a certain combination of apps. However, Oneplus does not have an actual desktop mode similar to Samsung Dex, where apps are placed in floating windows.

If you have a Oneplus phone and are logged into a Oneplus account on both the phone and the tablet, they pair up so that the tablet uses the phone's internet connection without you having to connect them manually, and you can directly move content and open web tabs between the devices. Perhaps the most convenient is that after taking a picture with the phone, you can open it on the tablet's large screen without needing to sync via any cloud service.

Sensible Accessories

Oneplus, of course, has accessories for the tablet that are also sold separately. There is a thin and light cover that protects the screen and gives you two stand modes, and a good stylus is also available. There is also a keyboard cover that is really nice. Firstly, it doesn't add too much to the tablet's weight. Secondly, you get a convenient stepless stand for the back of the tablet. Thirdly, the keys are really comfortable to type on, and the keyboard also has a large touchpad. Fourthly, you can use the keyboard both physically connected to the tablet with a magnetic lock, or standalone connected with Bluetooth. Considering that you can use the keyboard freely, the connection to the tablet should be more stable; instead, it is so flimsy that you not only have difficulty using the tablet with the keyboard on your lap, but it slides around so much that it compromises the cover's value as a screen protector.

Otherwise, the biggest problem with the keyboard is that it doesn't come with Swedish characters. You can of course switch it to a Swedish keyboard layout, but it's far more than just åäö that are in different places, and you need good muscle memory for a Swedish keyboard to be able to type with the keys in the wrong places.

The fact that I think it's a shame that an accessory isn't available in Swedish just shows how good I think the tablet is as a whole. The first Oneplus Pad became a favorite that lingered, but the Oneplus Pad 2 easily takes its place and surpasses it. If you're willing to spend 6500 kronor on a tablet, you'll find it hard to find a better one.

Questions and Answers

Does the screen have a fast refresh rate? The screen refreshes at 144 Hz, but since it's not an OLED screen, you can still experience some lag when scrolling.

How is the camera? Not fantastic, it's adequate for documentation but not something you'd use for vacation photos.

How long is the tablet's standby time? Oneplus says it can last lying unused for up to 43 days on a single charge. I have, of course, not had the opportunity to verify this myself.

An alternative

Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro is a similar tablet that at 6000 kronor is a bit cheaper. It also has fast performance, but the screen and speakers are not quite as sharp. However, an even faster charger is included.