The OnePlus Pad 3 arrives with a clear message—bigger is better. With its massive 13.2-inch display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite under the hood, and one of the largest batteries you’ll find on a tablet today, it’s built for those who want to work, play, and binge without compromise. But in chasing size and premium features, the Pad 3 also takes on extra heft—both in weight and in cost.

Design

The OnePlus Pad 3 steps into my hands with promise. At 13.2 inches, it’s noticeably larger than its predecessors, and I felt a fair bit of it, too, while in use. At 675 grams, it’s not exactly lightweight. The metal unibody in Storm Blue looks elegant and is slim enough at 5.97 mm for modern-day aesthetics. There’s also a slightly more plain looking Frosted Silver colour option in India. 

Display

The new flagship tab sports a massive 13.2-inch LCD display with 3.4K resolution, and an adaptive 144 Hz adaptive refresh rate. Visuals are crisp, and scrolling is silky smooth, across multimedia. The 7:5 aspect ratio returns, which I’ve grown to appreciate—it strikes a good middle between media viewing while in landscape orientation, and reading comic books while in portrait mode.  

One does miss the presence of an OLED display which rendered deeper blacks and slightly more vibrant colours overall . But that’s just me nitpicking because the current display does a pretty decent job of rendering visuals. 

OnePlus has doubled down and packed in eight speakers into the tab, making way for a fuller soundstage. The acoustics are punchy enough for movies, TV shows, and music, and is fairly well-balanced across media. 

The tablets features a 13 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front, which makes do for online meeting and briefings. For the rear camera, I can’t think of much use apart from maybe scanning a document or two, or maybe pointing the camera to my unwilling golden retriever when my family wants to see him on a video call.

Performance & Productivity

Inside the OnePlus Pad 3 is the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm’s flagship processor. The unit I’ve got packs in 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, although you can opt for a 16 GB RAM + 512 GB storage variant as well. Be it multitasking, casual gaming or amateur illustrations and video editing, the tab handles everything I throw at it with ease. Even in Open Canvas mode wherein I can view and toggle through three apps on screen, it keeps its cool, and offers a jitter-free experience. 

OnePlus’ software tweaks—OxygenOS 15—also help. The taskbar, fluid gestures, app suggestions when switching between apps, and those AI features like summarisation and writing assistance remain solid additions. I got to try out the Smart Keyboard to get the full productivity experience with the Pad 3, and I have to say the massive tablet is used best with the whole suite of accessories. The keyboard offers a decent typing experience on-the-go, although as has been the case historically, it loses a bit of stability when used on the lap or soft surfaces such as a pillow. You’d be best served with the tab and keyboard propped firmly on a desk on an in-flight tray. 

Battery

One of the standout features here is the battery. A 12,140 mAh is pretty much one of the biggest and most capable ones you’d find on any tablet in the market today. In my use—emails, web browsing, reading, streaming, occasional multitasking—it easily lasted into its second day. Charging is via 80W SUPERVOOC charger. 

Also, while the display and audio are great, the size means it’s a bit unwieldy for reading for long periods or for holding one-handed. 

Verdict

The OnePlus Pad 3 is a strong step forward, but then OnePlus has seldom gone wrong with tablets since its very first was launched two years ago. It ticks many of the boxes consumers might care about: display quality, performance, battery life, and aesthetics. For someone who binge-watches, writes emails, does light work, and wants a tablet that feels premium, this is among the best Android options right now.

However, it may not be the perfect tablet for those who don’t like bulk and would prefer something ultra-portable, or even good for single handed use - which the Pad 3 isn’t ideal for. Also, the Pad 3 really does function best with at least one added accessory - which for me - would be the keyboard, which means the cost adds up to a little more than you might have planned for. 

Price ₹47,999 (12 GB + 256 GB)

₹52,999 (16 GB + 512 GB) 

Pros - Massive 13.2 inches display, excellent battery life, top-of-the-line processor, handles multitasking well, robust speaker setup

Cons - Can feel heavy for extended use or single-handed use, no fingerprint sensor, not an OLED display. 

Published on September 24, 2025