I’ve tested dozens of tablets and this is the first Android model to truly replace my iPad Pro

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The OnePlus Pad 3 begins at $699 for the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage configuration.
• It is received a bigger battery and show this 12 months, in addition to an up to date Qualcomm chipset.
• The pill is an OLED panel, a fingerprint scanner, and a floating keyboard case away from good.

jun / 2025

As a part of a brand new promotion, you’ll be able to obtain a free $200 Good Keyboard when buying the OnePlus Pad 3 on the corporate’s web site.

Except OnePlus reconsiders launching a foldable phone this 12 months, the brand new Pad 3 might arguably be the corporate’s most bold product in 2025. It has an even bigger display screen, an even bigger battery, and even an even bigger speaker system this time round. There’s additionally an even bigger price ticket, however $699 for the Pad 3 has felt extra cheap as every day of testing has passed by.

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I am at the moment on week three of utilizing the Pad 3 as a laptop computer alternative, and it is confirmed to me that $699 could also be all you really want for a premium Android tablet expertise.

In fact, you will need to encompass the pill with succesful equipment, which OnePlus nearly will get proper. The Android software program expertise can have its off days, however the general expertise has been simply pretty much as good, if not higher, than what I’ve gotten out of Samsung and Apple tablets that value lots of of {dollars} extra.

The second I unboxed the OnePlus Pad 3, I knew I would not have an issue placing down my 13-inch MacBook Professional for it. The most recent mannequin has a 13.2-inch show (up from final 12 months’s 12.1-inch), which makes a significant distinction for readers eyeing a pill for work and play. Something bigger, just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra’s 14.6-inch show, can be overkill for a pill.

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Understandably, a 13-inch pill continues to be a lot larger than most choices available on the market, and folk preferring one thing extra transportable and simple on the wrists might need to look elsewhere.

To ease the potential ache, OnePlus has slimmed down the Pad 3 from its predecessor, going from 6.59mm of thickness to only 5.97mm. It is no M4 iPad Pro slim, however smooth sufficient to simply slip right into a backpack sleeve or relaxation cleanly on a desk.

The Pad 3 is available in just one colour within the US: Storm Blue, which shimmers in denim and navy hues and is coated with a satin end — polished simply sufficient to stop fingerprint grease from staying its welcome. I are likely to favor silver or gold colours for tablets, since they make them simpler to discern when put aside, however the stylish and subdued end of the Storm Blue has definitely grown on me.

I am much less enthusiastic in regards to the IPS LCD on the Pad 3, which has a noticeable lack of distinction in comparison with tablets with OLED panels. The muted blacks on the pill display screen are particularly discernible when darkish mode is turned on and also you’re watching a video or film. Admittedly, I stare at dozens of display screen sorts each week for work, so you could not discover the deficiency as a lot.

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Choosing an IPS LCD as an alternative of OLED might have additionally been a cost-saving measure for the Pad 3. Contemplating it is nonetheless a good panel that refreshes at 144Hz, will get loads brilliant (and dim), and I did not discover a lot tearing as I navigated the pill, I might say it is a cheap trade-off. The addition of two extra audio system additionally helps the Pad 3 with general quantity and bass, although side-firing sound programs on tablets nonetheless go away lots to be desired when it comes to readability and immersion.

Merely put, homeowners of the unique OnePlus Pad and Pad 2 should not count on a significant improve in visible and audio constancy when shopping for the Pad 3. That is a praise to the earlier two fashions, and a observe for future iterations.

OnePlus has geared up the Pad 3 with the identical Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that powers its flagship OnePlus 13 phone, and the efficiency has been reliably quick. Simply this weekend, I ran variations of multi-app workflows, together with Gemini, Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and a banking app to plan my upcoming honeymoon.

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Moreover a number of software-level hiccups, just like the YouTube video participant disappearing after increasing it on Open Canvas, the Pad 3’s multi-window characteristic, the pill by no means confirmed frustrations with loading graphics, responding to inputs, and protecting companies operating within the background. I gracefully danced between on-screen gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and trackpad swipes, very like how I remembered doing with the $1,099 iPad Professional final 12 months.

Talking of, the Pad 3 comes fitted with three new equipment, and listed below are my key takeaways for every:

• Good Keyboard: A kickstand-style keyboard case with spacious keycaps and tactile suggestions that jogs my memory of high-end laptops. I discovered the default trackpad pace too delicate and quick for parsing via text-heavy workflows, however was in a position to dial it down throughout the settings. I nonetheless want the case had a floating design, very like Apple’s Magic Keyboard cowl, because it’s nearly unusable on a lap or smaller desk (suppose cafe tables).
• Folio Case: The slimmer and fewer cumbersome Folio Case was the perfect accent for informal searching and viewing. Due to its origami-style again cowl, it options a number of orientations, all of which preserve the Pad 3 effectively stabilized.
• Stylo 2: Now with 16,000 completely different ranges of stress, the stylus is optimized for precision inputs and fast note-taking. It magnetically attaches to the highest aspect of the pill (when set horizontally) and has a textured grip that jogs my memory of old-school quantity two pencils.

Rounding out the Pad 3 expertise is the distinctive battery life, with a bigger 12,140mAh capability that managed to final 13 hours and 32 minutes in my endurance take a look at. That consisted of taking part in YouTube movies on Wi-Fi with the display screen at full brightness, and beats the 13-inch iPad Pro (M4) with 8 hours and 22 minutes, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+, which is rated at 10 hours and 41 minutes. 

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The cherry on prime is the Pad 3’s 80W wired charging (in comparison with rivals’ 45W and 30W scores), which refuels the pill from 0 to 100% in about one hour and quarter-hour.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Whereas the OnePlus Pad 3 undercuts its closest rivals with a $699 price ticket, the expertise of utilizing it jogged my memory of flagship tablets that value rather more. From the bigger 13-inch show to the dependable battery life and charging, you actually should nitpick — and consider that the very best tablets are the dimensions of a ebook — to discover a purpose to contemplate different choices available on the market.

It helps that OnePlus is providing two of the three new equipment as freebies once you buy the Pad 3. In the event you’re planning to make use of the pill for productiveness and leisure, I might strongly contemplate the Good Keyboard and Folio circumstances. In case your use circumstances embody sketching and designing graphics, the Stylo 2 is the higher possibility over both of the opposite two.

For alternate options, I might suggest the OnePlus Pad 2 to those that need a comparable software program expertise however in a smaller display screen dimension. It retails for $549, $150 lower than the Pad 3. One other big-screen possibility can be the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+, which comes with an S-Pen stylus and is at the moment obtainable for round $649.

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