OnePlus Pad 2 review

Design, build quality, handling

The OnePlus Pad 2 is a nice-looking tablet - it has a flat front glass and an aluminum unibody. The metal rear panel transforms seamlessly into a frame, making it with a subtle yet feelable curvature across the entirety of the slate. And that's a nice change from the iPads and Galaxy Tabs, which have chiseled flat edges.

While the Chinese version of the Pad 2 (called Pad Pro) is available in gray and green colors, the international OnePlus Pad 2 is sold only in Nimbus Gray, a fancy name for the classic dark gray hue.

There is no official word on the type of glass used atop the screen. And there is no official ingress protection rating either. None of these are particularly important for a tablet, especially a mid-range one.

Naturally, the whole front is occupied by the new 12.1-inch IPS LCD screen, which has a high resolution, high refresh rate and support for all modern streaming standards. It has evenly thin bezels, no cutouts, and surely looks great at first glance. It supports stylus input, too.

The back has a round camera housing that is jutting out of the back, something that seems totally unnecessary for a basic 13MP camera with a LED flash. Though maybe that tablet was actually too thin to accommodate the camera lens.

There are a total of six speakers across the shorter sides of the OnePlus Pad 2, hidden behind four outlets. Each sound outlet has two long and thin holes with grilles. The bottom two speakers have woofers in addition to the standard full-range speakers and should provide more thump and better immersion when enjoying multimedia without headphones.

The top side is partially flat and houses a magnetic charger - here, you will eventually place the OnePlus Stylo 2 pen for safekeeping and charging.

On the opposite side are the pogo pins for the optional Smart Keyboard with an integrated touchpad. Even though it connects via the pogo pins (possibly for charging), it's mainly used over Bluetooth and can be used within a range of 10 meters. The keyboard has a 205mAh built-in battery and weighs 504g. Attaching it to the tablet makes the entire thing too heavy even for your lap and we'd say a desk becomes a must.

The Smart Keyboard allows you to adjust the tilt of the display. When you close the tablet with the keyboard, the flap between the two feels a bit too loose.

You can detach the keyboard and use just the back cover for stand purposes. This way you can draw with the pen, type wirelessly with the keyboard, or just enjoy some videos hassle-free.

The Stylus also has an integrated battery. It supports 16,000 pressure levels, low-latency and vibrations for better experience. It can be used for drawing and writing, but you can also use it for various gestures across the UI and your apps.

The OnePlus Pad 2 has a grippy surface thanks to its sandblasted finish and fingerprints and smudges are not visible. It is just 6.5mm thin, and its 584g weight is evenly spread across its body, so it feels lightweight for its size, too. Don't get us wrong that doesn't mean it's a lightweight device.

There is no fingerprint sensor on the tablet, your security options are on-screen (PIN, password, pattern) or less-secure face recognition.

The OnePlus Pad 2 is a well-built tablet, and we have no complaints about its design and construction quality, on the contrary. It also scores some very good usability points, too.