Finally, an Android tablet that I wouldn’t mind keeping my iPad Pro for (especially at this price)

ZDNET Highlights

• OnePlus Pad 3 price starts at $699 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration.
• This year it has got a bigger battery and display as well as an updated Qualcomm chipset.
• The tablet sports an OLED panel, a fingerprint scanner, and a floating keyboard case.

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June/2025

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Unless OnePlus reconsiders launching a foldable phone this year, the latest pad 3 This could arguably be the company’s most ambitious product in 2025. It has a bigger screen, a bigger battery and even a bigger speaker system this time. It also has a steep price tag, but $699 for the Pad 3 has felt more reasonable as each day of testing has gone by.

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This summer, I used the Pad 3 as a laptop replacement for an entire month, and it proved to me that $699 might really be all you need for a premium Android tablet experience.

Of course, you’ll want to surround the tablet with capable accessories, which OnePlus About Gets it right. There may be some days off in the Android software experience, but the overall experience has been just as good, if not better, than what I’ve gotten from Samsung and Apple tablets that cost hundreds of dollars more.

The moment I unboxed the OnePlus Pad 3, I knew I’d have no problem putting down my 13-inch MacBook Pro for it. The latest model has a 13.2-inch display (up from last year’s 12.1-inch), which makes a meaningful difference for readers eyeing a tablet for work and play. Anything larger, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s 14.6-inch display, would be too much for a tablet.

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Admittedly, a 13-inch tablet is still considerably larger than most options on the market, and those who prefer something more portable and easier on the wrist may want to look elsewhere.

To ease the potential pain, OnePlus has made the Pad 3 thinner than its predecessor, reducing the thickness from 6.59mm to just 5.97mm. It’s no M4 iPad Pro thin, but sleek enough to easily fit into a backpack sleeve or sit neatly on a desk.

The Pad 3 comes in only one color in the US: Storm Blue, which shines in denim and navy shades and is coated with a satin finish – polished enough to resist fingerprint grease. I prefer silver or gold colors for tablets, as they’re easier to recognize when put aside, but the classy and subdued finish of the Storm Blue has definitely grown on me.

I’m less enthused about the Pad 3’s IPS LCD, which has a notable lack of contrast compared to tablets with OLED panels. Muted blacks are especially visible on a tablet screen when dark mode is on and you’re watching a video or movie. Granted, I look at dozens of screens every week for work, so you might not notice the loss that much.

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Choosing an IPS LCD instead of OLED could also be a cost-saving measure for the Pad 3. Given that it’s still a good panel that refreshes at 144Hz, gets fairly bright (and dim), and I didn’t notice much tearing as I navigated the tablet, I’d say it’s a fair compromise. Adding two more speakers helps the Pad 3 with overall volume and bass, though the side-firing sound systems on the tablet still leave a lot to be desired in terms of clarity and immersion.

Simply put, owners of the original OnePlus Pad and Pad 2 shouldn’t expect major upgrades in visual and audio fidelity when purchasing the Pad 3. This is a compliment to the previous two models, and a note to future iterations.

OnePlus has equipped the Pad 3 with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that powers its flagship OnePlus 13 phone, and performance has been reliably fast. To plan an upcoming trip, I ran various multi-app workflows, including Gemini, Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and even a banking app.

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Apart from a few software-level hiccups, such as the YouTube video player disappearing after being expanded on the Open Canvas, the Pad 3’s multi-window feature, the tablet never showed any frustration at loading graphics, responding to inputs, and keeping services running in the background. I danced gracefully between on-screen gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and trackpad swipes, just like I remember doing with the $1,099 iPad Pro last year.

Speaking of, the Pad 3 comes with three new accessories, and here are my highlights for each:

• smart keyboard: A kickstand-style keyboard case with huge keycaps and tactile feedback that reminds me of high-end laptops. I found the default trackpad speed too sensitive and fast for parsing through text-heavy workflows, but I was able to dial it down within Settings. I still wish the case design was floating, like Apple’s Magic Keyboard Cover, as it’s almost unusable on laps or small desks (think café tables).
• folio case: The slim and less bulky folio case was the ideal accessory for casual browsing and viewing. Thanks to its origami-style back cover, it has multiple orientations, all of which keep the Pad 3 nicely stable.
• stylo 2: Now with 16,000 different levels of pressure, the stylus is optimized for precise input and quick note taking. It magnetically attaches to the top of the tablet (when set horizontally) and has a textured grip that reminds me of an old-school number two pencil.

Completing the Pad 3 experience is exceptional battery life, with a massive 12,140mAh capacity that managed to last 13 hours and 32 minutes in my endurance test. This includes playing YouTube videos over Wi-Fi with the screen at full brightness, and it 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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On top of that is the Cherry Pad 3’s 80W wired charging (compared to competitors’ 45W and 30W ratings), which refuels the tablet from 0 to 100% in about an hour and 15 minutes.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

When oneplus pad 3 With a $699 (or $579 at the time of writing) price tag that undercuts its closest competitors, the experience of using it reminded me of flagship tablets that cost much more. From the large 13-inch display to the reliable battery life and charging, you really have to be careful – and believe that the best tablets are the size of a book – to find a reason to consider other options on the market.

It helps that OnePlus is throwing in two of the three new accessories for free when you buy the Pad 3. If you plan on using the tablet for productivity and entertainment, I would strongly consider smart keyboards and folio cases. If your use cases include sketching and designing graphics, the Stylo 2 is a better choice than either of the other two.

For alternatives, I would recommend this oneplus pad 2 For those who want the same software experience but in a smaller screen size. Its retail price is $549, which is $150 less than the Pad 3. Another big screen option would be Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+Which comes with an S-Pen stylus and is currently available for around $649.

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