ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The OnePlus Pad 2 is the corporate’s newest Android pill, with a premium design, flagship specs, and a worth 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 wonderful, and the Pad 2 checks all of the bins with regards to leisure, it nonetheless suffers from the pitfalls of utilizing Android on a giant display screen.
The Android pill market has been in a bizarre place for some time. Corporations both place them as common iPad options or attempt to add superior productiveness options to compete with the iPad Professional and Floor Professional. We have even seen tablets flip into sensible shows, such because the Google Pixel Pill.
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There are lots of 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 system for watching films.
I will give it to OnePlus; they crafted a lovely system. The Pad 2 sports activities a high-end aluminum enclosure that feels as premium as you’d count on. It is sturdy, ice-cold once you decide it up within the morning, and feels prefer it’s value twice as a lot. It is also impressively skinny at 6.49mm and weighs simply over a pound.
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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 outstanding digital camera 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 digital camera, which is finest fitted to scanning paperwork or QR codes — not for changing your smartphone digital camera.
The show is kind of good for an LCD. It measures 11.61 inches diagonally and contains 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 the whole lot from films to video games look nice. Whereas I nonetheless assume Apple makes one of the best LCDs on any pill — the iPad Air is an ideal instance — OnePlus is available in a detailed second.
In the event you’re having fun with that handsome display screen and forgot your headphones, the audio system will serve you nicely. OnePlus added a few further audio system to the Pad 2 in comparison with the earlier model, they usually sound actually good. Audio high quality is full, will get actually loud, and has loads of rumbling bass for such a skinny system. 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 provides blazing-fast speeds, easy 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 as we speak and years to come back. The chipset is paired with 12GB of RAM, so you will not have to fret about apps crashing within the background.
I am additionally pleased to report that battery life is a non-issue. It is exhausting 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 the event you use it flippantly, or a couple of day and a half with combined to heavy utilization (e.g. watching a pair films or TV exhibits, enjoying 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 100% 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 way of OxygenOS on high of Android 14, the Pad 2 helps Open Canvas, which initially debuted on the OnePlus Open final 12 months. It is a set of software program options that permits 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 recordsdata between apps, and extra. It is probably the most helpful multitasking system I’ve ever used on an Android pill.
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The buck would not cease there. OnePlus additionally consists of particular settings for optimizing apps that may not embody pill layouts by default. In fact, your mileage will range, and a few apps do not work nicely with these shoehorned layouts, however it’s not less than useful if a easy app like a calendar or to-do checklist must be expanded to fill your entire display screen.
What’ll be most helpful to OnePlus smartphone customers is the tight integration between them and the Pad 2. OnePlus permits you to 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, however it’s a pleasant bonus nonetheless.
OnePlus despatched me the $149 Sensible Keyboard and $39 Folio Case 2 to spherical out the multitasking expertise, and I’ve gotta say, they’re fairly good. The keyboard provides 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 pretty much as good.
Google has carried out a variety of work through the years to make Android on tablets a extra pleasurable expertise, however many apps nonetheless have to catch as much as their iPadOS counterparts. Some are well-optimized for pill layouts, whereas others insist upon displaying 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 constantly, which is a royal ache once 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 images, you are restricted to the underbaked UIs and app layouts. In some circumstances, I a lot relatively use Lightroom on my Android telephone than on my pill.
One last be aware on software program: OnePlus says the Pad 2 will obtain three main OS upgrades and 4 years’ value of safety updates, which is not too shabby given the value.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
It is simple to say who should purchase the OnePlus Pad 2 and who should not. If you’d like a multimedia system with highly effective efficiency, a pleasant display screen, lengthy battery life, and nice audio system — and you do not thoughts that it runs Android — the Pad 2 is a superb alternative.
However in order for you a pill that may flip right into a laptop computer, you must think about extra premium choices just like the iPad Professional and Floor Professional. Regardless, at $549, the OnePlus Pad 2 is a improbable 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.
