This OnePlus tablet is better for movies and entertainment than iPads. It’s also available

OnePlus has a new deal for the OnePlus Pad 2! Entering the code “SPRING25” during checkout will reduce the price of the tablet by $100, bringing it down to $450. You can also choose a free gift: the OnePlus Stylo 2 case or the OnePlus Folio Case 2.

For a long time, the Android tablet market was in a strange place. Companies either position them to be iPad alternatives, or add advanced productivity features in order to compete with Surface Pro and iPad Pro. Google Pixel Tablet is one example of a tablet that can be turned into a smart display.

This midrange OnePlus is such a great deal, it’s hard to recommend flagships that are more expensive.

Android tablets can take many forms. The new OnePlus Pad 2 ( ) combines a few of these ideas at a moderate price. It has specs from the latest flagship phones, an aluminum design with quality speakers, and a pogo pin keyboard. It aims to be your next laptop as well as your go-to device to watch movies.

I have to give it up to OnePlus. It has created a beautiful device. The Pad 2 has a high-end aluminum case that feels just as premium as one would expect. It feels twice as expensive, is ice cold when you pick it in the morning, and is sturdy. It’s also impressively slim at 6.49mm, and weighs a little over a pound.

This OnePlus 13 deal made upgrading to the flagship Android a lot easier for me.

For stereo audio, the speaker grilles on both sides are located. The pogo pins on the keyboard are located on the bottom. OnePlus added a prominent camera bump to the back of the tablet. This is a feature that can be found on many modern OnePlus smartphones. The company claims that its smartwatch line was inspired by the bump. The bump has a 13MP camera that is best used for scanning documents and QR codes, not to replace your smartphone camera.

The display is quite good for an LCD. It measures 11.61 inches diagonally and features a 2800×2000 resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and 900 nits of brightness. OnePlus did a nice job calibrating the colors to appear accurate and properly saturated, making everything from movies to games look great. While I still think Apple offers the best LCDs on any tablet — the iPad Air is a perfect example — OnePlus comes in a close second.

If you’re enjoying that good-looking screen and forgot your headphones, the speakers will serve you well. OnePlus added a couple of extra speakers to the Pad 2 compared to the previous version, and they sound really good. Audio quality is full, gets really loud, and has plenty of rumbling bass for such a thin device. I played plenty of music on the tablet, and it all sounded great.

Also: Samsung’s new Galaxy tablets beat the iPad Air in two ways – for the same price

The OnePlus Pad 2 delivers flagship performance. Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it offers blazing-fast speeds, smooth animations, and hiccup-free gaming thanks to OnePlus’ HyperBoosted optimizations. I’ve yet to encounter anything that slows it down, ensuring it’s powerful enough for today and years to come. The chipset is paired with 12GB of RAM, so you won’t have to worry about apps crashing in the background.

I’m also happy to report that battery life is a non-issue. It’s hard to mess up battery life on tablets since their large sizes can accommodate big batteries, and that’s what OnePlus has done here. The Pad 2 ships with a huge 9,510mAh battery that can easily last multiple days if you use it lightly, or about a day and a half with mixed to heavy usage (e.g., watching a couple movies or TV shows, playing some games, and sorting through my inbox all day).

In classic OnePlus fashion, fast charging is also included on the Pad 2. The tablet comes with a 67W SuperVOOC charger in the box that juices it back up from zero to 100 percent in around an hour and a half, which is great considering the size of the battery.

OnePlus has done a lot of work to make multitasking easier. Through OxygenOS on top of Android 14, the Pad 2 supports Open Canvas, which originally debuted on the OnePlus Open last year. This set of software features lets you multitask like a champ. You can run three apps at the same time in a shifting tile-like layout, pull up more apps through the dock or floating app drawer, drag and drop files between apps, and more. It’s the most useful multitasking system I’ve ever used on an Android tablet.

Also: Google’s Pixel Tablet has been my smart home display for almost a year (and it’s 30% off)

OnePlus also includes special settings for optimizing apps that might not include tablet layouts by default. Of course, your mileage will vary, and some apps don’t work well with these shoehorned layouts, but it’s at least handy if a simple app like a calendar or to-do list needs to be expanded to fill the entire screen.

What’ll be most useful to OnePlus smartphone users is the tight integration between them and the Pad 2. OnePlus allows you to place calls, send texts, sync your clipboard and notifications, and even remotely use apps installed on your phone right from the tablet. This obviously only applies to the few people who have invested in OnePlus’ ecosystem, but it’s a nice bonus nonetheless.

OnePlus sent me the Smart Keyboards and are available for $150 each. $40 Folie Case 2 round out my multitasking experience. I must say, these are quite good. The keyboard is responsive and offers a good amount of travel thanks to the pogo pins. The case also adds extra protection for your tablet. The

Also: This $80 tablet makes a great travel companion – and at this price I might get two

Google has done a lot of work over the years to make Android on tablets a more pleasurable experience, but many apps still need to catch up with their iPadOS counterparts.

This $80 tablet is a great travel companion, and at this price, I might buy two.

Google’s done a lot to make Android on tablets more enjoyable over the years. But many apps are still behind their iPadOS counterparts. Some apps are optimized for tablet layouts while others insist on appearing as blown-up versions of phone apps. Some apps are missing features, abilities, and even the Play Store listing. Chrome will not load the desktop version Google Search consistently. This is a major pain when you are trying to work.

It’s also really tough trying to do laptop things with the Pad 2. If you want to edit a video or touch up some photos, you’re limited to the underbaked UIs and app layouts. In some cases, I would much rather use Lightroom on my Android phone than on my tablet.

One final note on software: OnePlus says the Pad 2 will receive three major OS upgrades and four years’ worth of security updates, which isn’t too shabby given the price.

ZDNET’s buying advice

It’s easy to say who should buy the OnePlus Pad 2 ( ) and who shouldn’t. The Pad 2 is a great choice if you’re looking for a multimedia device that has a powerful performance, a nice display, long battery life and great speakers, and don’t care if it runs Android.

However, if you want a tablet which can be turned into a laptop you should consider premium options such as the. The iPad Pro and Surface Pro. OnePlus Pad 2 at $549 is a great tablet that delivers in many ways. The company also offers competitive bundles and trade-in deals to help you get the most out of your experience.

Originally published on August 2, 20,24, this article was updated on April 5, 2020.

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