OnePlus has launched the Pad 3, the first tablet outside of China powered by the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
It’s been upsized since the Pad 2, with a larger 13.2-inch display, but that’s allowed OnePlus to make it impressively thin at just 5.97mm.
That really could make this a laptop replacement, though bear in mind that OnePlus says all these software features are coming to the Pad 2 eventually, too.
As for the Pad 3’s updates, it’s been promised three generations of OS updates and six years of security support.
The Smart Keyboard costs $199.99 / €169 / £169, and the Stylo 2 is $99.99 / €99 / £99.
The Pad 3, the first tablet outside of China to use the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, was released by OnePlus. Although it has a larger 13-point 2-inch display than the Pad 2, OnePlus was still able to make it remarkably thin at just 5point 97mm.
Although the large screen is LCD rather than OLED, it still has an amazing 144Hz refresh rate and 3point 4K resolution. The Pad 3 running Android 15 should be a fairly capable laptop substitute when paired with a keyboard and stylus, which are sold separately. The larger screen and an additional 90g (3 oz) of weight make it somewhat less portable than its predecessor, but this is compensated by the fact that it is actually thinner than the most recent iPad Air—albeit not quite as thin as the 13-inch iPad Pro, which costs twice as much.
256GB of storage, 12GB of RAM (with a 16GB option in Europe), and a fairly large 12,140mAh battery power the 8 Elite. The tablet should take just over an hour and a half to fully charge when using 80W wired charging. Additionally, OnePlus has made changes to the tablet’s back design, replacing the somewhat unsightly circular camera in the middle that was present on the first two generations with a more straightforward pill-shaped module in one corner.
The software side has seen the other significant changes. With improved drag-and-drop capabilities and streamlined split-screening, OnePlus has capitalized on its well-liked multitasking strategy. Additionally, owners of OnePlus phones will benefit from improved notification syncing, direct file sharing between their devices, and data sharing that lets the tablet use your phone’s connection only when it needs data, potentially saving battery life compared to using a hotspot continuously.
This also includes the O Plus Connect software that I saw on the Oppo Find N5 foldable. The Pad 3 allows users to easily transfer files wirelessly between a Mac or Windows computer, but Mac owners also benefit from direct remote control of their Mac. That might actually make this a laptop replacement, but keep in mind that OnePlus claims that the Pad 2 will eventually get all of these software features as well. Three generations of OS updates and six years of security support are promised for the Pad 3.
Preordering the Pad 3 is now possible, though delivery schedules differ by nation. In Europe, the price of a model with 12GB of RAM is $699.99 / €599 / £529, while the price for a model with 16GB is €699 / £599. It costs $199.99 / €169 / £169 for the Smart Keyboard and $99.99 / €99 / £99 for the Stylo 2.
