After I started my tech writing journey within the 2010s, tablets weren’t taken severely by a bit of customers. We, as younger tech journalists again then, have been usually given tablets for overview, and the overall notion was that tablets have been neither as highly effective as laptops nor as handy as smartphones. Even the iPad, though the gold commonplace in tablets, had its justifiable share of flaws and was by no means thought of a Mac alternative.
Reduce to 2026, and I’d be mendacity if I mentioned tablets, as a product class, nonetheless shock me. There have been many ups and downs, from being mocked as poor cousins of smartphones to changing into a few of the most versatile gadgets obtainable at the moment.
Up to now two to 3 years, tablets, particularly on the larger finish, have began to really feel “nearer” to laptops. The brand new OnePlus Pad 4, which I’ve had for just a few days, is a basic instance of a pill that seems like a “informal pc”. At the very least, that’s how I felt utilizing it as my day by day work-and-play gadget. However then, as I discovered throughout the overview course of, it’s not as easy to overview a premium pill just like the OnePlus Pad, one thing glitzy advertising and marketing campaigns by no means inform you.
As a client, it’s best to query what you’re actually going to do on a pill: whether or not it could possibly really change your ageing laptop computer, whether or not you possibly can run pro-grade purposes, and what the entire price of possession seems like when you consider equipment.
Right here I’m, telling you the nice and dangerous facets of the OnePlus Pad 4 and whether or not it is smart to spend on a premium pill in 2026.
What: OnePlus Pad 4| Worth: Rs 59,999 onwards
Disclaimer: OnePlus loaned me the highest-end variant of the Pad 4, with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, together with the Stylo Professional pen. The whole price of the set is Rs 70,498.
Not a typical ‘pill’ measurement
Typically I’m wondering what the best measurement of a pill ought to be. I nonetheless contemplate the iPad mini the best pill measurement, an 8-inch gadget sufficiently small to take with me on each journey I make and simple to make use of on a flight. The OnePlus Pad 4 doesn’t match the concept of a pill at first: a 13.2-inch glass slab that appears removed from a conventional pill. It seems like a conveyable TV. Actually, I really feel OnePlus ought to contemplate making a magnetic wall mount for future variations of plus-sized tablets. However then, the Pad 4 breaks the parable {that a} pill needs to be small and compact.
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It’s exceptional how the brand new Pad 4 feels within the hand. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
It’s exceptional how the brand new Pad 4 feels within the hand. It measures 5.94 mm in thickness and weighs 672 grams. It’s laborious to specific. It’s a must to see it in individual to imagine how skinny and light-weight a 13-inch pill may be. The novel thinness is a serious promoting level of the Pad 4, I really feel. That being mentioned, the design hasn’t modified a lot from the Pad 3 that got here out final 12 months. You continue to get the premium aluminum construct, a beautiful flat-edge design, and subtly curved edges with comparatively skinny bezels.
As I discussed earlier than, don’t even attempt to evaluate the OnePlus Pad 4 to small, compact tablets. I believe that comparability isn’t honest. To start with, a tool just like the Pad 4 isn’t being marketed for studying eBooks, which is why it doesn’t have thick bezels. With a tool just like the iPad mini, you have a tendency to carry it extra like a e book, and thicker bezels work properly on that iPad. However the OnePlus Pad 4 screams a totally completely different product altogether.
It measures 5.94 mm in thickness and weighs 672 grams. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
The Dune Glow color has held up as anticipated…it seems very completely different from metal gray, a typical color you get on a pill. I nonetheless want manufacturers would experiment extra with colors and add a pop of vibrancy. OnePlus went with a brown color and a mint inexperienced possibility, neither of which is especially vibrant. However I like how clear the pill seems. There’s no Pad 4 textual content, no mannequin quantity, no serial quantity. Simply nothing. It has a OnePlus brand and nothing else.
A much bigger show is nice for every part
Though the Pad 4 misses out on an OLED display screen, the LCD show remains to be stunning to take a look at. Oh, and at 700 nits, the 13.2-inch Pad 4 show is shiny sufficient for anybody – belief me. I watch a good quantity of YouTube on my Pad 4, and the 3392×2400 decision and 315 ppi do impress me. It additionally helps as much as a 144 Hz refresh charge, which interprets to clean scrolling on LinkedIn and different apps.
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Color accuracy is strong, with assist for 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
Sure, it will not be the very best show, however for on a regular basis use, there’s successfully no change. The 13-inch display screen is greater than sufficient for indoor and outside use and likewise mimics a conventional laptop computer show. Color accuracy is strong, with assist for 98 per cent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and a Delta E of roughly 0.7, so images and movies look constant while not having changes. It’s sharp, shiny, and constant –simply not pushing into pro-level territory.
After utilizing the 13-inch pill, I can inform you there’s much more display screen actual property, and the variations are obvious when coming from an 8-inch pill and even an 11-inch pill for that matter. It does make a distinction. The 13-inch display screen measurement makes it a reasonably efficient laptop computer alternative, a minimum of for many on a regular basis duties like e-mail, writing paperwork, net shopping, and the like. For apps like Google Sheets, Adobe Lightroom, and Canva – all of which I exploit and advocate. This pill is ideal.
The liberty to decide on the keyboard of your alternative
For tablets, a keyboard isn’t important. In spite of everything, tablets have been as soon as bought on the promise of being nice content material consumption gadgets. With trendy tablets just like the Pad 4, a keyboard makes that even simpler. My overview is about writing on the Pad 4.
Like Apple, OnePlus too sells its personal keyboard which may be tucked to the pill magnetically. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
Like Apple, OnePlus too sells its personal keyboard which may be tucked to the pill magnetically. However let me inform you there isn’t a scarcity of Bluetooth keyboards to select from. Any keyboard will work with the Pad 4 with Bluetooth connectivity.
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If you store for these premium tablets, a keyboard is bought as an add-on. I desire to make use of my very own keyboard as a result of it provides me the liberty to decide on one which works for me. I don’t like pill keyboards, so I desire to make use of keyboards which might be higher suited to typing. The Asus Marshmallow KW 100 is a good keyboard, however it’s also possible to select any Logitech keyboard. Nevertheless, a phrase of warning: these are standalone keyboards and work finest on a desk, however not at all times and never for everybody.
A flagship chip inside
As for efficiency, properly, it’s quick, clean, doesn’t lag, and by no means crashes. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the identical processor that powers the OnePlus 15 and different high-end Android smartphones, retains the efficiency as quick and responsive because it was on day one. My overview unit additionally got here with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which makes the pill extraordinarily highly effective and likewise well-suited for AI duties.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is similar processor that powers the OnePlus 15. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
In my day-to-day use, I used the OnePlus Pad 4 as I usually use my laptop computer. I used it for writing, work conferences on Zoom and Google Meet, making an attempt a bunch of recent apps, watching films, taking part in video games, common net shopping, WhatsApp Net, and every part else I exploit a laptop computer for. Even working AI instruments like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. I additionally paired it with the OnePlus Stylo Professional stylus (bought individually) for taking notes and signing digitally, which I can’t do on a laptop computer.
For me, a minimum of, the OnePlus Pad 4 is highly effective sufficient and nearly an excessive amount of for common customers. However that’s just one a part of the story. What additionally issues is the software program, the place historically tablets have been weaker in comparison with Home windows laptops and Macs. Nevertheless, firms are actually making an attempt laborious to bridge the hole and making tablets nearer to laptops in software program expertise.
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The Pad 4, working OxygenOS 16, leans closely into productiveness. It features a vary of intelligent options that improve the expertise, corresponding to assist for as much as 5 resizable floating home windows, together with an improved file supervisor that includes multi-column views, drag-and-drop performance, cowl previews, and OTG assist. There are additionally cross-device capabilities via O+ Join, together with PC display screen mirroring, stylus-based markup, shared keyboard and mouse management, and seamless file transfers throughout Android, iOS, Home windows, and Mac.
The Pad 4, working OxygenOS 16, leans closely into productiveness. (Picture: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Specific)
In my testing, Android remains to be not as versatile as Home windows or macOS. Fairly truthfully, this is without doubt one of the greatest issues with tablets and iPads: the software program nonetheless lags behind the {hardware}. I nonetheless really feel that Android is experimental in some ways, and that is still a actuality.
A part of the issue could also be that some individuals anticipate a Home windows or Mac desktop expertise, and after they don’t get it, they really feel let down. That’s the reason engaged on the Pad 4 or any high-end iPad feels completely different, nevertheless it doesn’t cease you from getting work carried out on the pill. You want to admit that 8GB of RAM (the bottom model has solely 8GB of RAM) isn’t sufficient within the age of synthetic intelligence and secondly, if firms need to give a laptop-like workflow and suppleness, one USB-C port isn’t sufficient.
The query you have to be asking is: is the efficiency overkill or simply proper for a computing gadget? I’ll go away it to you to determine.
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Lengthy battery life
No shock right here: battery life might be the intense spot of the OnePlus Pad 4 Professional package deal. I used to be getting 16 to 17 hours of battery life with common use, partly due to a beefier 13,380 mAh battery. That’s nice, however I’d additionally level out that tablets have historically had the sting in battery life; nonetheless, trendy laptops at the moment are additionally providing full-day battery life. So, the benefit tablets as soon as had over laptops in battery life is now not there.
Do I like to recommend getting the OnePlus Pad 4?
The reply is Sure and No.
The OnePlus Pad 4 sits someplace between a pill and a laptop computer. For on a regular basis use, it could possibly deal with a variety of duties, corresponding to writing and note-taking, emailing and shopping, streaming and studying, in addition to picture enhancing and sketching. With a keyboard and a mouse, the Pad 4 capabilities very similar to a laptop computer, however equipment are add-ons and value additional, so the entire price of possession will increase considerably.
Nevertheless, tablets, regardless of which mannequin you purchase, aren’t Home windows laptops or Macs. They’re designed in another way, though the strains between tablets and notebooks are blurring. You possibly can’t carry out high-end productiveness duties or coding on them to the identical extent as you possibly can on a laptop computer. That mentioned, the launch of the MacBook Neo will put strain on tablets, together with Apple’s personal iPad. I’ve been utilizing the Neo for the previous few days, and whereas it comes with some trade-offs, my total expertise has been fairly spectacular. It’s light-weight, has lengthy battery life, and runs macOS. In some methods, the OnePlus Pad 4 affords benefits over the MacBook Neo: it has a touchscreen, stylus assist, and a rear digicam. It’s additionally extra versatile and versatile, permitting you to decide on a keyboard of your alternative and use the pill in numerous methods.
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In defence of tablets
Greater than somebody who has spent years within the tech trade, I contemplate myself a author and an editor, which implies I write loads–in all probability hundreds of phrases in every week. I imagine there’s a phase of customers who will love the OnePlus Pad 4:
a) The well-lit, high-resolution display screen means your eyes don’t tire as rapidly. You possibly can work for longer stretches and preserve focus for prolonged durations. b) The Pad 4 is far thinner and lighter than a laptop computer, any day. c) There are not any transferring elements, not like a laptop computer, and no hinge, which makes it extra sturdy than a laptop computer. d) The Pad 4 runs cooler than conventional laptops and doesn’t overheat. e) The Pad 4 is at all times able to go the second you flip it on. Positive, trendy laptops can do the identical, however in my expertise, Home windows laptops aren’t as snappy as tablets.
Often Requested Questions
How is the audio high quality on the OnePlus Pad 4?
The pill has an eight-speaker system comprising 4 woofers and 4 tweeters, so it’s best to hear your content material whichever method you maintain it. It’s a lot loud contemplating its skinny profile.
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Is it true that the OnePlus Pad 4 lacks Widevine L1 certification?
The gadget lacks Widevine L1 certification, so streaming apps like Netflix and Prime Video are restricted to SD high quality. A software program replace might repair this subject, however the query is whether or not OnePlus will tackle it or go away it as it’s.
Does the OnePlus Pad 4 assist 5G?
No, the Pad 4 is being bought with Wi-Fi solely and with out 5G assist.