ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The OnePlus Pad 2 is the corporate’s newest Android pill, with a premium design, flagship specs, and a value of $549.
- It is suitable with a keyboard and pen that OnePlus sells individually, so you may flip it into an Android-powered laptop computer.
- Whereas the multitasking options are glorious, and the Pad 2 checks all of the containers relating to leisure, it nonetheless suffers from the pitfalls of utilizing Android on a giant display.
The Android tablet market has been in a bizarre place for some time. Corporations both place them as common iPad alternate options or attempt to add superior productiveness options to compete with the iPad Professional and Floor Professional. We have even seen tablets flip into good shows, such because the Google Pixel Tablet.
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There are various concepts about what an Android pill will be, and OnePlus is decided to determine that out. The brand new $549 OnePlus Pad 2 combines these concepts whereas remaining reasonably priced. With specs from the most recent flagship smartphones, an aluminum design, high quality audio system, and pogo pins for a keyboard, it goals to be each your subsequent laptop computer and your go-to gadget for watching films.
I am going to give it to OnePlus; they crafted a phenomenal gadget. The Pad 2 sports activities a high-end aluminum enclosure that feels as premium as you’d count on. It is sturdy, ice-cold if you decide it up within the morning, and feels prefer it’s price twice as a lot. It is also impressively skinny at 6.49mm and weighs simply over a pound. Â
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The speaker grilles are on either side for stereo audio, and the pogo pins for the accompanying keyboard are on the underside. OnePlus included a distinguished digicam bump on the again of the pill, a model identifier seen on most trendy OnePlus smartphones. The corporate even says its smartwatch lineup was impressed by it. Contained in the bump is a 13MP digicam, which is finest fitted to scanning paperwork or QR codes — not for changing your smartphone digicam.
The show is sort of good for an LCD. It measures 11.61 inches diagonally and includes a 2800×2000 decision, a 144Hz refresh charge, and 900 nits of brightness. OnePlus did a pleasant job calibrating the colours to look correct and correctly saturated, making all the pieces from films to video games look nice. Whereas I nonetheless assume Apple makes the most effective LCDs on any pill — the iPad Air is an ideal instance — OnePlus is available in an in depth second.
In the event you’re having fun with that handsome display and forgot your headphones, the audio system will serve you properly. OnePlus added a few further audio system to the Pad 2 in comparison with the earlier model, and so they sound actually good. Audio high quality is full, will get actually loud, and has loads of rumbling bass for such a skinny gadget. I performed loads of music on the pill, and all of it sounded nice.
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The OnePlus Pad 2 delivers flagship efficiency. Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it presents blazing-fast speeds, clean animations, and hiccup-free gaming because of OnePlus’ HyperBoosted optimizations. I’ve but to come across something that slows it down, guaranteeing it is highly effective sufficient for at present and years to return. The chipset is paired with 12GB of RAM, so you will not have to fret about apps crashing within the background. Â
I am additionally comfortable to report that battery life is a non-issue. It is onerous to mess up battery life on tablets since their giant sizes can accommodate large batteries, and that is what OnePlus has carried out right here. The Pad 2 ships with an enormous 9,510mAh battery that may simply final a number of days in case you use it evenly, or a few day and a half with combined to heavy utilization (e.g. watching a pair films or TV exhibits, taking part in some video games, and sorting by means of my inbox all day).
In traditional OnePlus style, quick charging can also be included on the Pad 2. The pill comes with a 67W SuperVOOC charger within the field that juices it again up from zero to one hundred pc in round an hour and a half, which is nice contemplating the scale of the battery.
OnePlus has carried out a variety of work to make multitasking simpler. By OxygenOS on high of Android 14, the Pad 2 helps Open Canvas, which initially debuted on the OnePlus Open final yr. It is a set of software program options that allows you to multitask like a champ. You’ll be able to run three apps on the identical time in a shifting tile-like format, pull up extra apps by means of the dock or floating app drawer, drag and drop information between apps, and extra. It is essentially the most helpful multitasking system I’ve ever used on an Android pill.
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The buck does not cease there. OnePlus additionally consists of particular settings for optimizing apps which may not embrace pill layouts by default. After all, your mileage will range, and a few apps do not work properly with these shoehorned layouts, nevertheless it’s at the very least helpful if a easy app like a calendar or to-do checklist must be expanded to fill all the display.Â
What’ll be most helpful to OnePlus smartphone customers is the tight integration between them and the Pad 2. OnePlus lets you place calls, ship texts, sync your clipboard and notifications, and even remotely use apps put in in your telephone proper from the pill. This clearly solely applies to the few individuals who have invested in OnePlus’ ecosystem, nevertheless it’s a pleasant bonus nonetheless.
OnePlus despatched me the $149 Smart Keyboard and $39 Folio Case 2 to spherical out the multitasking expertise, and I’ve gotta say, they’re fairly good. The keyboard presents a variety of journey and is reliably responsive because of these pogo pins, and the case provides some further safety to your pill. The $99 OnePlus Stylo 2 was additionally within the field, and it is equally nearly as good.Â
Google has carried out a variety of work over time to make Android on tablets a extra pleasurable expertise, however many apps nonetheless must catch as much as their iPadOS counterparts. Some are well-optimized for pill layouts, whereas others insist upon exhibiting up as blown-up telephone apps. Some are lacking options, capabilities, and even a Play Retailer itemizing. Even Chrome refuses to load the desktop model of Google Search persistently, which is a royal ache if you’re making an attempt to get work carried out.
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It is also actually robust making an attempt to do laptop computer issues with the Pad 2. If you wish to edit a video or contact up some pictures, you are restricted to the underbaked UIs and app layouts. In some circumstances, I a lot somewhat use Lightroom on my Android phone than on my pill.
One ultimate observe on software program: OnePlus says the Pad 2 will obtain three main OS upgrades and 4 years’ price of safety updates, which is not too shabby given the value.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
It is simple to say who can buy the OnePlus Pad 2 and who should not. If you’d like a multimedia gadget with highly effective efficiency, a pleasant display, lengthy battery life, and nice audio system — and you do not thoughts that it runs Android — the Pad 2 is a superb alternative.Â
However if you would like a pill that may flip right into a laptop computer, it’s best to take into account extra premium choices just like the iPad Pro and Surface Pro. Regardless, at $549, the OnePlus Pad 2 is a implausible pill that delivers on varied fronts, and the corporate continues to supply aggressive trade-in and bundling offers that can assist you spherical out the expertise for much less cash.
