For many years, smartphones have progressively grown bigger, and subsequently, so have tablets, and the traces between large telephones and small tablets have grown progressively extra blurry. Some firms make smaller telephones or tablets, however these are exceptions to the rule.
A working example is Samsung’s pill portfolio. Samsung debuted the Galaxy Tab S10 series in October however dropped a alternative for the common Galaxy Tab S9. The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra decide up the place their predecessors left off, however if you happen to’re a Galaxy Tab S9 person, you’ll both have to purchase the FE collection or change to an alternate.
One potential various is the OnePlus Pad 2. It’s bigger than the Galaxy Tab S9 however barely smaller than the Tab S10 Plus. I’ve been utilizing it for just a few months, and it’s phenomenal. Particularly, it’s the right mix of productiveness, portability, and energy, and a few of OnePlus’ staple options — like super-fast charging — are a lower above the competitors.
Sure, it nonetheless suffers from the identical perils as all Android tablets — particularly that the iPad has a better total high quality of apps — however that apart, OnePlus has developed an unbeatable system. Right here’s why the OnePlus Pad 2 continues to be my favourite Android pill right here in 2025.
Flagship {hardware} in pill kind
The OnePlus Pad 2 follows earlier OnePlus units by combining flagship specs in a extra inexpensive kind issue. This implies the most recent silicon, nice battery life, and super-fast charging — and the OnePlus Pad 2 delivers in each approach.
It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with 8GB or 12GB of RAM and both 128GB or 256GB of storage. There’s a 12.1 show — versus the 12.4-inch within the Tab S10 Plus — however a tweaked facet ratio to the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus means the OnePlus Pad 2 is considerably shorter and slightly wider.
At 584 grams, the OnePlus Pad 2 is heavier than Samsung’s newest pill, however the smaller dimension and extra pleasant facet ratio means it’s simple to hold. I discover the thinner and larger Samsung design language much less pleasant, however OnePlus has constructed a pill that feels nice within the hand.
Glorious battery and super-fast charging
In case you’ve used a OnePlus telephone earlier than, you’ll be acquainted with the OnePlus battery and charging expertise. The OnePlus Pad 2 follows OnePlus telephones by providing a lot sooner charging than the competitors and glorious battery life. Just like the Galaxy Tab S10 collection — and in contrast to OnePlus telephones — you get a USB cable within the field however no charging brick.
So long as you’ve acquired a OnePlus telephone, chances are high you’ll have a brick able to delivering the 67W charging speeds on the OnePlus Pad 2. Like most merchandise, it quickly prices at first earlier than slowing down towards the tip. For instance, charging round 60% takes simply half-hour, however a full cost will take nearly 90 minutes.
The 9,510mAh battery isn’t the biggest, however it’s greater than able to lasting a number of days with common utilization. I’ve achieved greater than 11 hours of blended utilization on a single cost, and the standby time appears a lot stronger than different tablets. The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus has a barely bigger battery and show however provides related battery life, albeit with slower 45W charging speeds.
An incredible media and gaming expertise
The OnePlus Pad 2 stands out as a media participant for one key purpose: OnePlus targeted on the show and the media playback expertise. The checklist of options is appreciable and consists of Dolby Imaginative and prescient help, a 144Hz refresh charge, and 900 nits peak brightness. It’s made for media, gaming, and all the pieces in between.
The show is simply IPS, and there are events after I miss the Dynamic AMOLED 2X show on the Tab S10 collection, nevertheless it’s among the best Android pill shows that I’ve used. Sadly, it’s nonetheless not on par with the Tandem OLED show on the iPad Pro with M4 — which stacks two OLED shows on high of one another — nevertheless it’s an exceptional expertise in any other case.
Particularly, it’s a wonderful moveable Netflix participant. As a substitute of carrying an Apple TV+ — a key item on my travel tech list — for shorter journeys, I’ve paired the OnePlus Pad 2 with a USB-C to HDMI cable and plugged it right into a lodge TV. It lacks the DeX desktop options of the Galaxy Tab S10 collection, however in any other case, it really works flawlessly and is the right approach so as to add Netflix or YouTube TV to any lodge TV.
A incredible keyboard with one exception
The OnePlus Pad 2 keyboard makes typing enjoyable once more. The mushy end on the keys, a springy motion, and good key journey make it enjoyable to sort away on the keyboard. Sadly, OnePlus additionally tooketh away: it opted towards my favourite keyboard.
Just like the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro, OnePlus used to supply a wonderful magnetic keyboard for its tablets. Sadly, for the Pad 2, OnePlus selected to make a wise keyboard type keyboard as an alternative, and whereas the keyboard is incredible, it isn’t ideally fitted to use in your lap on the go.
The profit is that the keyboard is now removable from the pill, permitting it to concurrently serve two functions. I hope that OnePlus develops the Magnetic Keyboard once more, however for now, the Good Keyboard continues to be a pleasure to make use of.
Nice multitasking and software program options
The OnePlus Pad 2 is suitable with the OnePlus Stylo 2, the corporate’s reply to the Apple Pencil. The pill additionally brings the most effective multitasking options on a foldable kind issue to a much bigger show, and regardless of my love for Samsung’s strategy to multitasking, Open Canvas on the OnePlus Pad 2 is my new favourite.
Let’s begin with Open Canvas, which made its debut 18 months in the past on the OnePlus Open. Till OnePlus, each Android producer has approached multitasking in the identical approach: splitting the show into different-sized home windows that may every load an app.
OnePlus took a completely totally different strategy, and it’s modern sufficient that it deserves to be the default multitasking function on all Android units. As a substitute of splitting the display screen into three totally different home windows, Open Canvas imagines a number of screens you can swipe between. It’s nice on a foldable, nevertheless it shines on the 12.1-inch display screen on the OnePlus Pad 2.
Excellent worth for cash
The OnePlus Pad 2 is a quintessential OnePlus machine because it provides glorious specs and an excellent all-around expertise at a extra inexpensive worth than the competitors. In brief, the OnePlus Pad 2 provides glorious worth for cash. It’s a compelling bundle, however you then contemplate its pricing and positioning in comparison with the competitors.
Within the U.S., the OnePlus Pad 2 prices $550 for the higher-spec model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There are sometimes offers accessible and on the time of writing, it’s discounted by 18% to simply $450. The OnePlus Pad Good Keyboard prices $135 extra, whereas the OnePlus Stylo 2 prices $100. Nonetheless, on the time of writing, you possibly can select one in every of these as a present when buying the OnePlus Pad 2.
How does this evaluate? Within the Android house, it’s the identical worth because the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus — which comes with a bundled S-Pen however prices further for the keyboard — however lower than half the worth of the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus, which begins at $1,000. For these wanting an iPad various, the OnePlus Pad 2 is akin to the iPad Air, which begins at $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch fashions.
It’s not typically I actively use an Android pill over my iPad, however the OnePlus Pad 2 has earned its spot in my go-bag. I simply want OnePlus had made a Magnetic Keyboard.
