After years of making impressive Android phones, OnePlus is ready to branch out into tablets, as for a while there’s been evidence that it’s working on a slate called the OnePlus Pad, and recently the company confirmed it.
So far we don’t know much about the OnePlus Pad for sure, but a few leaks have emerged, shedding light on the potential specs, and OnePlus itself has teased the design – while revealing a February 7 launch date.
So there’s not long to wait, but in the meantime you’ll find all the news, leaks and rumors about the OnePlus Pad below – along with a list of the things we want from it.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The first tablet from OnePlus
- When is it out? February 7
- How much will it cost? No idea yet
OnePlus Pad release date and price
OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus Pad will be unveiled on February 7, alongside the global launch of the OnePlus 11.
You might not be able to buy it on that date, but we’d expect orders would open soon after and that it won’t be long before the tablet ships.
It’s unclear which countries the tablet will be sold in, but OnePlus has filed trademarks for the name in both Europe and India. So based on that it’s likely that the slate will launch in both regions, though whether it will also land in the US is unknown. An Australian launch is unlikely, as the company doesn’t have a presence there right now.
There’s no news on the price, but based on what we know and suspect about the slate, we’d expect a mid-range price tag.
News and leaks
The biggest news on the OnePlus Pad comes form OnePlus itself, which has now revealed the first images of the tablet in a TechRadar exclusive. You can see these above, and they show it in a ‘Halo Green’ shade.
As part of this teaser, the company revealed that the OnePlus Pad has an aluminum alloy body and a cambered frame. You can also see that there’s a single-lens camera on the back, and another on the front, housed in a bezel above the display.
Beyond that, a leak has revealed many of the potential specs. Supposedly the OnePlus Pad might have a Snapdragon 865 chipset, a 12.4-inch Full HD+ OLED display, and a 10,090mAh battery with 45W.
However, we’d take this with a pinch of salt as it also talks about a dual-lens camera, while the official images above seem to show just one lens.
What we want to see
Even saying what we want from the OnePlus Pad is tricky when it’s the first slate from the brand, and when we don’t know whether it’s cheap, mid-range or premium, but we’ve put a few suggestions below.
1. A competitive price
While we have no idea which segment of the market the OnePlus Pad will be aimed at, we hope that it’s priced lower than its main rivals. This is a realistic hope, given that OnePlus phones tend to be priced either in line with or slightly below phones with similar specs from big brands.
Doing this could give OnePlus an immediate foothold in the tablet market, and make the OnePlus Pad a real alternative to the iPad Pro 12.9 (2022), the Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021), or whatever slate its specs are most in line with.
2. A bundled stylus
To make the OnePlus Pad a more compelling purchase, we’d love to see it support – and be bundled with – a stylus. This would be ideal for anyone who wants to sketch or write by hand on the slate, among other things, and a big tablet screen is a great fit for such an accessory.
We’re not sure how likely this is, but Samsung and Apple both offer styli for their slates, and the former even bundles them sometimes, such as with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, so it’s certainly possible.
3. A keyboard accessory
As well as a stylus we’d also love an official keyboard case to be offered for the OnePlus Pad. This could allow you to use it more like a laptop, which is great for productivity purposes.
We wouldn’t expect OnePlus to throw this in with the tablet, but hopefully the price will at least be kept low – no Apple Magic Keyboard pricing here please.
4. A great screen
A good screen is vital for a tablet, arguably more so even than for a phone, since you’re more likely to watch movies and edit photos on a slate. So that’s exactly what we want to see from the OnePlus Pad.
How good it could realistically be will depend in part on how OnePlus plans to price and position this slate, but if it’s a top-end tablet then we want a QHD+ AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and hardly any bezel.
5. Powerful speakers
Good speakers are another important element of a tablet – and again, these are more important on a slate than a phone, since there will probably be more occasions when you don’t reach for headphones here.
The size of a slate also makes packing in good speakers – and lots of speakers – more viable than with a phone. So we want quality sound here, and if this is an expensive slate then we want at least four speakers included, for loud, crisp audio without headphones.
- Could this be one of the best tablets?