The last few years have been particularly interesting on the Android tablet scene. A wider selection of slates now offer keyboard cases and stylus support, which opens up a variety of new use cases and adds productivity benefits.
The just announced OnePlus Pad 3 is a prime example of the Android tablet evolution. From a distance, you could easily mistake it for a laptop. Granted we have the optional Smart Keyboard, which elevates the whole productivity experience and gives it that laptop hybrid look.
Let’s get the hardware out of the way first. Pad 3 brings a spacious 13.2-inch IPS LCD with 2,400 x 3,392px resolution. The bezels are symmetrical on all sides and about as slim as we’ve seen on a tablet in recent memory.
It’s also buttery smooth with a fast 144Hz refresh rate and offers great multi-tasking capabilities thanks to the 7:5 aspect ratio.
The onboard eight-speaker setup gets plenty loud and complements the excellent display for immersive media consumption. Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen Elite is paired with 12/16GB RAM and 256/512GB storage.
The 12,140mAh battery inside the Pad 3 should offer ample running times, and you also get support for 80W wired charging.
Pad 3 ships with OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15 with the OnePlus AI suite powered by Google Gemini. You get the usual slew of features including Circle to Search, as well as translation, summary, writing, and speaker assistant.
Media consumption on the Pad 3 is a joy. You get a big screen with Dolby Vision HDR10+ support and solid color reproduction thanks to the 12-bit color rendering and 98% DCI-P3 coverage. It also gets reasonably bright at up to 900 nits – enough to comfortably use outdoors in these early June days.
OnePlus Pad 3 weighs 675 grams and is just under 6mm thick on its own. The keyboard adds another 500 grams, bringing the total to just over 1.17kg. When combined, we’re creeping up on ultrabook territory but the Pad 3 is still a bit lighter than a 13-inch MacBook Air.
A few more words on the Smart Keyboard. It attaches magnetically via the pogo pins on the back of the Pad 3 and features a six-row layout with a dedicated function row. The keys offer surpassingly good travel and have decent spacing, so it doesn’t take long to get comfortable with typing.
OnePlus Pad 3 and its S
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