OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Mid-Range Android Tablet, Done Right

At a look

Professional’s Score

Execs

• Huge and exquisite show 
• Sensible efficiency 
• Very good battery life 
• Premium design 
• Helpful multitasking options

Cons

• Solely 3 years of OS updates 
• Keyboard cowl wants work 
• No IP water or mud resistance

Our Verdict

The OnePlus Pad 3 is a compelling various to the iPad, Galaxy Tab and Pixel Pill at an impressively reasonably priced value. Simply don’t count on it to exchange your laptop computer. 

Value When Reviewed

This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined

Finest Pricing At this time

Value When Reviewed

$699.99

Finest Costs At this time: OnePlus Pad 3

$599.99

In 2025, there’s extra competitors amongst tablets than ever earlier than. Even when you’re set on an iPad, there are a number of totally different fashions to select from. 

On the Android facet, issues get much more difficult. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab vary may be the market chief, however it tends to deal with high-end and price range slates. What if you would like one thing in between? 

Enter the OnePlus Pad 3. The Chinese language firm’s third pill is undoubtedly its finest but, combining a premium {hardware} and software program expertise with an impressively reasonably priced beginning value, at the very least within the UK. 

Is it too good to be true, or is that this the mid-range Android pill you’ve been ready for? I spent over per week utilizing it, together with as my principal work machine for a full day, to search out out. 

Design & Construct

• Premium steel and glass design 
• No IP score 
• Hit-and-miss keyboard cowl 

The OnePlus Pad 3’s design is without doubt one of the finest issues about it. A mix of aluminium and glass screams premium, and I actually couldn’t inform it aside from a flagship pill. 

Choosing steel relatively than glass on the again additionally boosts sturdiness – the Pad 3 feels sturdy and sturdy, even and not using a case or cowl utilized. I’d haven’t any considerations about throwing this right into a bag for travelling. 

At 675g, it’s mild sufficient to return nearly wherever with you, although it’s heavier than each the 13-inch iPad Professional and Galaxy Tab S10+. At 5.97mm, it’s additionally thicker than each these gadgets, regardless of being considerably slimmer than the 6.5mm Pad 2. 

Nevertheless, you’ll need to watch out when utilizing it round water and mud, as there’s no official IP score. I’d nonetheless count on it to outlive a lightweight rain bathe or a day on the seaside, however neither is assured, so take care. 

I’m additionally a bit underwhelmed by the color choices, or ought to I say, choice. In most nations, together with the UK and the US, the OnePlus Pad is just out there within the ‘Storm Blue’ end you see right here. Make no mistake, it seems to be very nice, however it’s additionally a bit boring. 

OnePlus doesn’t embrace any equipment within the field, although my evaluation pattern got here with the £169/$199.99 keyboard cowl. Is it value shopping for? 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The brief reply is sure, however just for occasional use. Should you’re away out of your desk, the additional performance of a bodily keyboard may be very helpful. 

The Pad 3’s model seamlessly connects to the pill through the built-in pogo pins – no Bluetooth required. And the accompanying stand will be adjusted to a variety of various angles, serving to it to resemble an actual laptop computer. 

Every key affords an excellent quantity of journey and is satisfyingly clicky, making for a formidable typing expertise. Inside a few hours, I used to be again typing at my common velocity, although the marginally uncommon placement of the Enter key prompted a number of points. 

Nevertheless, the shortage of backlighting means the Pad 3’s keyboard is unsuitable to be used at the hours of darkness. And the devoted AI button merely launches Google Gemini, making it really feel like a waste of house. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Then there’s the trackpad, which proved extra irritating than useful. I like how massive it’s, however navigating across the working system may be very fiddly, with deciding on particular textual content proving significantly difficult. Should you’re critical about this setup, I’d extremely advocate connecting a wi-fi mouse too. 

Total, the keyboard cowl provides helpful further performance to the OnePlus Pad 3 that can assist increase your productiveness. However it actually gained’t be changing most individuals’s laptops anytime quickly. 

The Pad 3 can be suitable with OnePlus’ Stylo 2 pen (£99/$99.99), which can be bought individually. I didn’t get an opportunity to do this, however it’s the identical model that launched alongside the Pad 2. 

Display & Audio system

• 13.2-inch LCD show 
• 144Hz refresh price 
• Eight audio system 

I completely love the OnePlus Pad 3’s show. The expansive 13.2-inch panel rivals many laptops by way of dimension, whereas the crystal-clear 3392 x 2400 decision beats most of them in relation to element. 

You additionally get the advantage of a 144Hz refresh price, leading to fluid transitions and ultra-smooth visuals. Nevertheless, to showcase its full potential, you’ll have to manually choose 144Hz and allow the related apps in Settings. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Most individuals will probably be proud of the default ‘Auto-select’ mode, which balances refresh price with battery life. With no LTPO tech, the bottom it’ll go is 60Hz. 

It speaks volumes that I haven’t talked about that it’s an LCD display screen but. Earlier than testing, I used to be upset by the shortage of OLED, however you continue to get the colourful colors and deep blacks you’d often affiliate with it. 

OnePlus indicated that choosing LCD has ensured it may possibly embrace a excessive decision and refresh price with out growing the associated fee an excessive amount of. After testing the Pad 3, that seems like an excellent determination.

Maybe the one draw back is visibility. I recorded a good most brightness of 517 nits, however given how reflective the show is, chances are you’ll wrestle to set it in direct daylight. 

Nevertheless, one other space the place the Pad 3 excels is audio. It options at least eight audio system (4 woofers, 4 tweeters), which mix to ship impressively punchy sound throughout all of the content material I attempted. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Whereas not fairly room-filling, there’s a depth to the sound that you just simply don’t get with most tablets, and it will get impressively loud with out audible distortion. 

Alongside that glorious show, I’d be very comfy utilizing the Pad 3 to look at films and TV reveals with out connecting to headphones or audio system. 

Specs & Efficiency

• Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset 
• 12/16GB RAM 
• 256/512GB non-expandable storage 

The Pad 3 may be a mid-range pill, however OnePlus is making no compromises in relation to efficiency. 

It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm’s newest (on the time of writing) flagship chipset. You’ll discover it in lots of the highest Android telephones and tablets in the marketplace, so to see it on such an reasonably priced pill is an actual bonus. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Even with 12GB of RAM on the most cost effective mannequin I examined (16GB can be out there), the efficiency is unbelievable. The Pad 3 is totally speedy, permitting me to make use of a number of apps and multitasking options with out breaking a sweat. 

When utilizing it as an alternative of my laptop computer for a full working day, I primarily cycled between Chrome (with a great deal of open tabs), Microsoft Phrase and Slack.  

This included making full use of OnePlus multitasking options (Open Canvas, Break up-screen, Floating home windows), all of which require a number of apps to run concurrently. At no level did the machine even get heat, not to mention present any indicators of slowing down. 

The sturdy efficiency extends to gaming. All through periods with Name of Obligation: Cellular, PUBG Cellular and Actual Racing 3, gameplay remained {smooth} and lag-free at 120fps. The spectacular cooling system additionally averted the machine turning into something greater than barely heat to the contact. 

On the subject of efficiency, there’s little doubt that the OnePlus Pad 3 is up there with the easiest tablets you should purchase. 

By way of storage, OnePlus affords a selection between 256- and 512GB. With information typically saved on the cloud today, the previous ought to be sufficient for most individuals. Nevertheless, you’ll have to be positive, as there’s no Micro-SD slot for expandable storage. 

OnePlus Pad 3 benchmarks

Cameras

• 13Mp rear digital camera 
• 8Mp front-facing digital camera 
• Video as much as 1080p at 30fps 

Let’s face it, you’re not shopping for an Android pill for its pictures efficiency. However what you may care about is video calls, for which the 8Mp front-facing digital camera is essential. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The Pad 3 can seize footage at as much as 1080p at 30fps, and the outcomes are…fantastic. Focus and publicity are typically correct, and it did an excellent job with my pores and skin tone, however colors look boring and washed out. It’s higher than many laptop computer webcams, however it falls wanting the expertise you’ll get on most smartphones. 

Curiously, that lens does a a lot better job in relation to stills, delivering crisp, detailed selfies. It even affords a delicate portrait-style background blur that appears convincing. 

For the needs of testing, I additionally tried out the 13Mp rear digital camera at my native park, embarrassing myself within the course of. I wouldn’t advocate you do that, however it’s doable to get first rate images if you really want to. Simply be careful for publicity, which may differ considerably, because the slideshow beneath reveals.

Video from this lens tops out at 4K at 30fps, however the outcomes are much like the entrance digital camera: pretty detailed however with muted colors. The dearth of OIS (optical picture stabilisation) additionally means footage may be very wobbly with any main motion. 

Battery Life & Charging

• Massive 12,140mAh battery 
• 80W wired charging 
• No charger within the field 

The OnePlus Pad 3 boasts an enormous 12,140mAh battery. It’s a large improve in comparison with the Pad 2’s 9510mAh cell, and one of many greatest we’ve ever seen on a pill. So, I used to be anticipating battery life to be good, however not this good. 

A well-liked benchmark for pill and laptop computer battery life is lasting a full working day on a single cost. However after a full seven hours of use as my principal machine for work, it’d solely dropped to 53%, that means you would go two days earlier than needing to succeed in for the charger. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

With mild utilization, similar to internet looking and watching movies for a few hours every evening, I feel you would stretch to a full week of battery life, which is unbelievable. 

In fact, it gained’t fairly final that lengthy when you plan on gaming or utilizing different demanding apps. However in contrast to on some tablets, you need to use the Pad 3 for lengthy periods and overlook concerning the charger.

The results of 13 hours and 21 minutes in our common PCMark battery take a look at (which simulates real-world duties at 200 nits of brightness) doesn’t totally mirror that, however it’s properly above common. 

What’s extra, even when you use your pill very often, OnePlus’ declare of as much as 60 days of standby time means it ought to nonetheless have battery whenever you want it. 

On paper, charging is nearly as spectacular, with assist for quick 80W ‘Supervooc’ charging that OnePlus says can go from 0-100% in simply 92 minutes. 

Nevertheless, there’s no charger within the field. Utilizing the 65W one I had at dwelling was a lot slower, reaching simply 15% after half-hour plugged in. A full cost took properly over three hours. 

Additionally, like just about all tablets, there’s no wi-fi charging. 

Software program & Options

• OxygenOS 15 over Android 15 
• Plenty of multitasking options 
• Three years of OS, six years of safety updates 

Out of the field, the Pad 3 runs OnePlus’s OxygenOS 15 software program. It’s primarily based on Android 15, however introduces a number of new options, together with these particularly designed for the bigger show. 

Open Canvas is undoubtedly the spotlight, permitting you to run as much as three apps side-by-side and simply swipe between them, even when one is off the sting of the display screen. This now consists of system-wide drag and drop performance, so that you don’t need to endure with the fiddly strategy of copy and paste (as I came upon later than hoped). 

Should you’re recurrently switching between three apps, I can see how helpful Open Canvas will be. However with no choice to resize particular person home windows, I choose the common split-screen mode. It’s straightforward to arrange (manually or through helpful pop-up options), whereas the association runs individually to the principle app itself. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Alongside the choice for a floating window, you’ll be able to run as much as 4 apps on the identical time. However except you join to a different show, I feel that’s overkill. 

As you may count on, you’ll be able to mirror the content material out of your OnePlus cellphone on the Pad 3 and share information through NFC. A partnership with Apple additionally allows full distant management and file sharing with the Mac, although I haven’t been capable of strive both of those. 

Elsewhere, the software program expertise is what we’ve come to count on from OnePlus. OxygenOS is clear, straightforward to navigate and extremely customisable, with many inventory apps which have been particularly designed for the bigger show. 

The collection of optimised third-party apps is much more restricted, with Fb Messenger refusing to even show in panorama mode. However that’s an issue that impacts all Android tablets, not simply OnePlus. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

I’d choose it if the corporate didn’t pre-install so many further apps, together with its personal variations of many Google ones. Nevertheless, most of those will be simply uninstalled or ignored, and OnePlus doesn’t consistently bug you to make use of them. 

Software program assist is first rate, with six full years of safety patches, that means the Pad 3 will probably be secure to make use of till 2031. However OS updates are restricted to a few years, so Android 19 will probably be its final main model. For context, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10+ affords a class-leading seven years of each. 

Value & Availability

At launch, the OnePlus Pad 3 begins at £529. That will get you a mannequin with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, however you’ll be able to step as much as the 12 + 512GB model (the one one out there within the US) for £599/$699.99. 

It’s out there from OnePlus UK, OnePlus US and lots of third-party retailers. 

Nevertheless, chances are you’ll need to get the Sensible Keyboard. It often prices an extra £169/$199.99, however is a free reward at launch within the UK. The Stylo 2 pen can be out there for an extra £99/$99.99.

With out them, the Pad 3 manages to undercut the worth of lots of the finest tablets you should purchase. Its principal rivals round this value embrace the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE, Xiaomi Pad 7 and 11-inch iPad Air. 

Do you have to purchase the OnePlus Pad 3?

If you need a mid-range Android pill that seems like a flagship, sure. For many individuals, the OnePlus Pad 3 affords the whole lot most individuals are searching for in a slate. 

OnePlus has completely nailed the basics right here, with unbelievable efficiency, a shocking show and among the finest battery life I’ve ever seen on a pill.  

You additionally get a flagship design and helpful software program options that will help you take advantage of out of that massive display screen. 

Nevertheless, it’s not good. Whereas safety updates will proceed for six years, OnePlus’ dedication to main OS updates is half that. There’s additionally no official water or mud resistance, whereas the non-compulsory keyboard cowl might do with some enchancment. 

However contemplating its value level, the OnePlus Pad 3 remains to be an excellent purchase that’s straightforward to advocate. 

Specs

• OxygenOS 15, primarily based on Android 15   
• 13.2-inch, 3392 x 2499, AMOLED, 144Hz   
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 
• 12/16GB RAM   
• 256/512GB storage  
• 13Mp rear digital camera 
• 8Mp front-facing digital camera 
• Eight audio system 
• Wi-Fi 7  
• Bluetooth 5.4   
• 12,140mAh battery   
• 80W wired charging   
• 289.6 x 209.7 x 5.8 mm  
• 675g  
• Color: Storm Blue