OnePlus has always been the company that excels beyond its weight, and they did the same with the OnePlus Pad 3. I’ve personally used a OnePlus 7 Pro and believe me, I don’t think there’s a better pop-up camera phone than that (although the battery was demanding). After spending weeks with this 13.2 inch Android tablet, users are convinced it’s one of the best entertainment devices you can buy and simultaneously one of the most frustrating productivity tools you’ll ever use. The question isn’t whether it’s good. It’s whether you can live with what it can’t do.

Let’s start with what OnePlus absolutely nailed. This display is genuinely spectacular. The 13.2 inch 3.4K panel with 144Hz refresh rate doesn’t just sound good to the ears. It literally transforms how you view things. Watching Netflix feels like having a personal cinema and the 12 bit color depth makes everything pop with an amazing intensity.

The 7:5 aspect ratio felt weird at the start, coming from traditional 16:10 tablets, but it’s actually brilliant for reading, web browsing, and even split screen multitasking. You get more vertical real estate for documents and articles, which makes it genuinely useful for productivity tasks. That is when the software cooperates.

What really sets this apart is the brightness and color accuracy. At 900 nits peak brightness with DCI-P3 color gamut coverage this gadget handles outdoor use better than most laptops. The Dolby Vision HDR certification isn’t just marketing tactics. HDR content genuinely looks stunning with highlights that don’t blow out and shadows that retain detail.

If you didn’t know, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is an actual powerhouse. Unlike previous Android tablets that promised flagship performance but delivered stuttering animations and a body that heats quickly, the Pad 3 feels fast and it holds that speed. Gaming performance is particularly impressive. Several FPS and Indie Titles run at maximum settings and the tablet doesn’t look like it’s struggling.

The cooling system is actually praiseworthy. OnePlus claims 34857mm² of heat dissipation area and in practice, this pad stays notably cool even during long gaming sessions. Users have pushed it through hour-long gaming marathons, video editing sessions and heavy multitasking and believe it or not, it never became uncomfortably warm.

The 12GB or 16GB of RAM options ensure smooth multitasking. However, Android’s tablet optimization still feels miles behind iPadOS. Apps crash back to home screens, window management is clunky and the overall experience lacks the polish you’d expect from a $700 device.

The 12140mAh battery is genuinely revolutionary. OnePlus claims 17 hours of video playback and after testing, they’re not lying. Users routinely got close results after mixed use including streaming, gaming and productivity work.

The 80W fast charging changes how you use the device. A 30 minute charge gives you enough juice for an entire day of moderate use. Coming from devices that need overnight charging, this feels almost magical. However, professionals do say that the faster a battery charges, the less charge cycles it will last you, particularly because of the heat that’s generated.

The standby time is also impressive. Leave it unused for a week and you’ll find it’s lost maybe 5 to 10 percent of battery. For a device that’s this powerful, the power efficiency is remarkable.

Here’s where the OnePlus Pad 3 goes from ‘amazing’ to ‘almost amazing’. ColorOS 15 on Android 15 brings more improvements over previous versions but it’s still not a proper tablet operating system. It’s a phone operating system that they’ve stretched to fit a bigger screen, and it shows.

The multitasking interface is confusing and not that consistent. Three app split screen works but app switching is clunky and many apps don’t properly optimize for the larger display. Compared to iPadOS or even Samsung’s One UI for tablets, this feels unfinished.

The OnePlus Smart Keyboard is a mixed bag. The typing experience is decent and comparatively better than many laptop keyboards. However, the trackpad is tiny and frustrating. The dedicated AI button feels like it wants attention and the magnetic connection occasionally fails.

On the bright side, the Stylo 2 stylus is genuinely excellent for drawing and note taking with 16000 pressure levels and minimal latency. But without proper stylus integration into the OS, it feels like an afterthought rather than a core feature.

OnePlus’s AI integration shows potential, but it still feels unripe. The AI translation works well for web content and the summary feature is genuinely useful for long articles. But these features feel like they’re on a different path from the overall experience and they’re not smoothly joined.

Fusing Google’s Gemini is the highlight. It gives a consistent AI experience that actually works reliably. The dedicated AI button on the keyboard also makes accessing Gemini quick, though I’d prefer if it could be customized for other functions.

The Pad 3 is the best student in the class when it comes to entertainment. The eight speaker setup with four bass units and four tweeters creates immersive audio that competes with dedicated sound systems. Watching movies feels cinematic and music has depth and clarity that most tablets can’t match.

Gaming is equally impressive. The large display, high refresh rate and powerful cooling make this an excellent gaming device. The 7:5 aspect ratio actually works well for most mobile games, providing more screen real estate without feeling cramped.

At $699, the OnePlus Pad 3 sits in an awkward position. It’s $150 more than its predecessor but still undercuts the Galaxy Tab S10 FE and iPad Air. However, those alternatives offer more mature software experiences and better app ecosystems.

Undeniably though, the hardware is premium. This feels like a $1000 plus device in build quality and performance but the software limitations make it feel overpriced for serious productivity work.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is a genuinely excellent device trapped in an immature software ecosystem. If you truly want a premium entertainment device that can handle light productivity work, it’s hard to find anything better at this price point.

The display, performance and battery life are all the best in class. Build quality is exceptional and the accessories (while expensive) genuinely enhance the experience. But if you need a serious productivity device, look elsewhere. The software limitations, inconsistent app optimization and clunky multitasking make this frustrating for heavy work use.

Buy it if: You want the best Android entertainment tablet available, need exceptional battery life or love the idea of a premium device at a (relatively) reasonable price.

Skip it if: You need serious productivity capabilities, want smooth stylus integration or already have a good Android or iPad workflow.

The OnePlus Pad 3 is the most capable Android tablet we’ve reviewed but it’s also a reminder of how far Android tablets still need to go. It’s a glimpse of what could be, wrapped in the reality of what is.