OnePlus Pad 3 Review after 2 months – Pros, cons and surprises

After spending two months with the OnePlus Pad 3 as my main tablet, it’s clear this device isn’t just chasing trends; it wants to shake up the premium Android tablet space and even challenge Apple’s iPad.

Priced at ₹42,999 (introductory offer), the Pad 3 comes loaded with big promises and even bigger expectations. Daily life with the Pad 3 has meant using it for everything from work to endless streaming and a fair bit of gaming.

The question now is whether the Pad 3 genuinely stands out, or if it’s just another contender trying to make noise in a market already packed with heavy-hitters.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Display and audio

The first thing that grabs you about the OnePlus Pad 3 is the massive 13.2-inch LTPS LCD display. For a display this size, it goes all out, and offers a super crisp 3.4K resolution and a buttery-smooth 144Hz refresh rate.

Everything from doomscrolling through articles to catching up on the latest shows just looks sharper, smoother, and a lot more premium than you’d expect at this price point.

Colour quality is another area where the Pad 3 punches above its weight. The screen is bold and vibrant, almost passing off as AMOLED with its punchy colours and deep contrast. Honestly, it’s easy to mistake this for OLED at first glance.

Only when you really inspect the deepest blacks or tilt the screen at odd angles do you notice those typical LCD giveaways, like the slight colour shifts and blacks that don’t quite disappear into the background. But thanks to the 12-bit panel, every image and video stands out, and you’re definitely getting a step up over what’s standard in this segment.

Brightness hasn’t really changed much since last year, but that’s not a bad thing. With a peak of 900 nits in High Brightness Mode and around 600 nits during normal use, visibility is always solid, whether you’re chilling inside, using it outdoors, or even scrolling by the window on a sunny day.

Another smart choice was not going for razor-thin bezels. OnePlus avoided a potential trap here, of going for ultra-thin bezels, which means you get just enough border for a comfortable grip without accidental touches.

Also, the unique 7:5 aspect ratio works great for reading and web browsing, though you’ll get black bars on most videos. Still, thanks to Dolby Vision support, watching any piece of content is a blast. For some bizarre reason, though, Netflix does not support Dolby Vision. However, YouTube does support HDR content.

Audio is no afterthought, either. With four woofers and four tweeters, the sound is loud, clear, and surprisingly rich. Even at max volume, distortion is barely there, and you get full support for all the latest high-res Bluetooth audio codecs.

In short, it’s a flagship-level media experience that actually holds up in everyday use.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Design

The OnePlus Pad 3 definitely shows up looking all-new this year. The chunky circular camera from before is out, and in its place is a sleeker pill-shaped bump, now pushed to the side. It instantly makes the back look a lot cleaner and way less awkward.

The sides are flat now, ditching those old rounded edges and giving off some major premium energy. Even the keyboard’s pogo pins have moved to the back panel, making the whole setup look neater.

This year’s Pad 3 is a bit heavier, weighing 675 grams (that’s almost 100 grams up from last year). But thanks to smart weight balancing and a super slim 5.97mm profile, it never actually feels bulky in your hand.

You can still chill on the couch and use it one-handed without feeling like you’re lifting weights.

And there’s finally a choice of colours: Frosted Silver and Storm Blue, both looking pretty slick in person.

Still, it’s not perfect.

OnePlus hasn’t added any cellular option, so it’s WiFi only, which is a letdown for anyone hoping to use it on the go. For security, we just have a just basic, camera-based face unlock, not a biometric one. We also don’t get a fingerprint scanner.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Accessories

Using the OnePlus Pad 3 with its new keyboard folio just makes the whole experience click. The folio still comes in two parts; the top half snaps on magnetically and acts as a solid kickstand, while the keyboard latches onto the new pogo pins.

What’s cool this year is that you can actually detach the keyboard and use it wirelessly over Bluetooth. Honestly, I did this way more than expected, especially when I just wanted to kick back, put my feet on the bed, and have the tablet beside me.

Now, if you’re planning to upgrade from last year, a heads-up: OnePlus has changed the position of the pogo pins and, as a result, the mounting mechanism, so the old Pad 2 keyboard is a no-go. You’ll have to pick up the new one if you want the full setup, which is a bit of a bummer.

Typing on the Pad 3 keyboard feels great—there’s proper key travel, the layout is roomy, and I hit my usual speed with zero learning curve. There’s also a new dedicated AI button to quickly pull up Gemini, which is actually useful for shortcuts and search.

The bigger trackpad is super smooth and accurate, making scrolling and multitasking effortless.

We don’t get a new stylus this year, but the Pad 3 still works perfectly with the Stylo 2. You get double-tap tool switching, a handy presentation mode, and almost zero lag. The pressure sensitivity is spot on, palm rejection works really well, and overall, doodling or note-taking feels natural and seamless.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Performance & Software

When it comes to raw power, the OnePlus Pad 3 doesn’t mess around. Having used it extensively for two months, I have to say, it's a total beast.

At its core, you get the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the same top-tier chip you’ll find in the OnePlus 13 and other flagship Androids

You can pick between two versions: one with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage, or, if you want to go all out, there’s a 16GB LPDDR5T model with a massive 512GB of storage.

Benchmark results back up the hype.

The Pad 3 consistently scored above 2.6 million on Antutu, and it stayed cool under pressure, hitting 82.7% stability in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test.

And that large frame isn’t just for looks; it helps keep things from overheating, so you can game, edit, or multitask for hours without the Pad 3 turning into a toaster.

Gaming, in particular, is a blast. I pushed BGMI to 120fps and it stayed buttery smooth; no annoying stutters, no random frame drops, even during longer sessions.

If you’re into gaming on a big screen, this tablet seriously delivers.

But it’s not just about specs. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by the software experience.

The Pad 3 runs OxygenOS 15 (based on Android 15 for tablets), and OnePlus is promising three years of OS updates plus six years of security patches.

OxygenOS 15 is packed with productivity tricks—split-screen, floating windows, and Open Canvas (which lets you run up to nine apps at once) all make multitasking way more useful.

Plus, if you’re already in the OnePlus ecosystem, features like NFC tap-to-connect make sharing files or mirroring your phone to the Pad 3 basically instant.

Even if you’re on Team Apple, O+ Connect lets you send files from your iPhone or Mac without a fuss. The built-in AI tools are also genuinely handy; I found myself using them for everything from note-taking to quick edits.

Still, some classic Android tablet issues haven’t vanished.

Certain apps (looking at you, Google Docs) still don’t behave perfectly between the app and browser, and you miss out on iPad exclusives like Procreate.

Moreover, many Android tablet apps just don’t feel as polished or frequently updated as their iPadOS rivals. Maybe that’ll change when Android and ChromeOS ever merge, but for now, that’s the only chink in the Pad 3’s armour.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Cameras

Cameras on the OnePlus Pad 3 are nothing flashy, but they cover the basics. The 13MP rear sensor is solid for scanning docs or the occasional photo when your phone isn’t handy. Up front, the 8MP selfie camera works well enough for video calls.

Video recording is capped at 4K 30fps on the back and 1080p 30fps on the front, which I think is good enough for everyday stuff.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Battery life and charging

Battery life is a major win on the Pad 3, with its massive 12,140mAh cell easily lasting 8 to 9 hours of screen time, even on busy days.

Charging is super fast, too: with 80W fast charging, you’re back to 100% in under 90 minutes. It’s easily one of the best in its class.

OnePlus Pad 3 Review: Verdict

The OnePlus Pad 3 is a solid all-rounder, especially for its price. That display is just gorgeous: smooth, vibrant, and perfect for both work and chilling out. Performance-wise, it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it, and the massive battery means I never have to worry about running out of juice halfway through the day.

The design feels genuinely premium in hand, and pairing it with the keyboard and stylus has made it super useful for both work stuff and entertainment.

Yeah, the Android tablet app situation isn’t perfect, and you do miss out on some exclusive iPad features, but honestly, that hasn’t been a dealbreaker for me.

If you’re looking for a powerful, big-screen tablet for under ₹45K, the OnePlus Pad 3 is something I can easily recommend. It’s just a solid, reliable package that’s made my day-to-day a whole lot smoother.