OnePlus Pad 3 Review: A Serious Android Tablet Contender with PC Ambitions
The Android tablet space has quietly matured in recent years, and OnePlus is charging forward with the new OnePlus Pad 3 – a sleek, powerful slate that tries to blur the lines between tablet and laptop. With a generous 13.2-inch display, premium keyboard accessory, and flagship-grade performance, it’s clear OnePlus isn’t playing around.
The centerpiece is the expansive 13.2-inch IPS LCD display (2400 x 3392), surrounded by impressively slim bezels. The 7:5 aspect ratio gives it more vertical room, perfect for reading, web browsing, or running apps side-by-side. Add to that a 144Hz refresh rate and 12-bit color with 98% DCI-P3 coverage, and you’re looking at a seriously stunning media machine. It even holds up in bright light thanks to 900-nit peak brightness and Dolby Vision HDR10+ support.
Performance-wise, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Elite chip paired with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage makes everything fly. Whether you’re multitasking, gaming, or hopping between apps, this thing doesn’t break a sweat. The large 12,140mAh battery, combined with efficient tuning and Android 15’s refinements, offers full-day usage. And with 80W fast charging, downtime is minimal.
Sound also impresses, thanks to an eight-speaker setup that gets loud and delivers immersive stereo separation – great for Netflix, music, and games. Media consumption is truly where the Pad 3 shines, but it’s no slouch in the productivity department either.
Pair it with the optional Smart Keyboard and you’ve got a convincing 2-in-1 experience. The keyboard magnetically attaches, features a full layout including a function row, and even a large trackpad with satisfying tactile feedback. The build echoes the Microsoft Surface line, with a wide-range adjustable hinge (110 to 165 degrees), making it lap-friendly – if not quite MacBook-stable.
Interestingly, the keyboard comes with NFC and works seamlessly with OnePlus’ O+ Connect app for remote PC control. While the experience isn’t perfect – some lag while dragging windows – it’s a nice tool in a pinch. File sharing, on the other hand, works surprisingly well, even with iOS and Intel Macs, which is rare in Android land.
OnePlus also included a suite of AI tools via Google Gemini: translation, Circle to Search, writing help, and voice assistant features are all built into OxygenOS 15. It’s not just a spec monster – there’s polish here too.
At €599/£529 for the 12/256GB model and €699/£599 for the 16/512GB version – plus a free storage upgrade and keyboard during pre-orders – the Pad 3 undercuts Samsung’s Tab S10 Ultra and Apple’s iPad Pro 13 in value. However, there’s no fingerprint scanner, and US buyers might be disappointed by the lack of storage upgrade options so far.
Still, for users who want a tablet that doubles as a productivity hub, media binge device, and casual gaming machine, the OnePlus Pad 3 delivers. It’s not a full laptop replacement, but it’s one of the most balanced and thoughtfully designed Android tablets we’ve seen – and a compelling sign of what’s next for the category.