Oppo Pad Air review

Design and ergonomics

The Oppo Pad Air's design is a bit out of the ordinary in a way, as it has a two-tone design on the back. And even though it's a budget tablet, Oppo was able to put it together using mostly aluminum and glass. The side frame and most of the back is made of anodized aluminum, while the strip alongside the right edge is plastic with "Sunset Dune 3D" texture. It looks cool in the photos, but it also feels quite cheap to the touch. Maybe a full aluminum body would have been nice.

Unlike the Realme's Pad X, the Pad Air is lighter, and it's sensibly thinner too, measuring just 6.9 mm in thickness. The Pad Air tips the scale at just 440 grams.

Aside from the strip on the back, there's nothing out of the ordinary. The camera lens sticks out ever so slightly, and there's no camera bump at all. We like that.

Just like the Realme Pad X, the Oppo Pad Air is meant to be used in landscape mode. When holding it horizontally, the selfie camera is located in the middle of the long bezel, while the power button is positioned near the top-left edge, on the left-hand side.

The USB-C connector is placed between the two speaker grilles on the right. Since the tablet has four speakers, it has two grilles on each side.

Oppo Pad Air

Speaking of bezels, they are pretty thin and symmetrical and make the tablet look nice overall. Still, they are wide enough to provide a comfortable grip without accidental touches.

Overall, we liked the design and kudos to Oppo for using aluminum for most of the Pad Air's build. The company has also fitted the 10.36-inch screen into a rather compact, portable body. It feels quite light, too. We are not big fans of the "Dune" strip; it makes the device feel cheap.