Shubham Sawarkar
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OnePlus, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer known for producing high-end smartphones at a lower price point than competitors like Samsung and Apple, has announced the pricing for its first-ever tablet, the OnePlus Pad. Starting from April 28th, customers can pre-order the OnePlus Pad directly from OnePlus for $479/CA649/€499/£449. It is expected to begin shipping on May 8th, with Amazon availability slated for later in May. The Pad will be available in a single green color and has an aluminum chassis with a brushed metal finish.
One of the most notable features of the OnePlus Pad is its 144Hz LCD display with a unique 7:5 aspect ratio that splits the difference between a 4:3 screen, similar to an iPad, and a 3:2 display, like the one found on Microsoft’s Surface Pro devices. This feature should make it flexible for both landscape and portrait orientations, something that Samsung’s tablets struggle with. Additionally, the screen supports Dolby Vision HDR, and the Pad’s quad-speaker array supports Dolby Atmos audio, providing an immersive audio-visual experience.
The Pad is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, which is comparable to high-end tablets from Apple and Samsung. Like the iPad and Samsung tablets, the Pad can be paired with a trackpad-equipped keyboard case for productivity work or used with an optional stylus for note-taking and drawing. The tablet also has the ability to use a paired OnePlus phone’s data connection without needing a dedicated data plan of its own.
OnePlus has also announced accessories for the Pad, including a magnetic keyboard case for $149, a stylus for $99, and a folio case for $39. Those who pre-order the tablet before May 8th can receive a 50 percent discount on a set of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 earbuds when purchased with the tablet.
The OnePlus Pad enters a tablet market dominated by Apple, with Samsung being the second-largest player. However, OnePlus has established itself as a company that produces high-quality products at lower prices than its competitors. It will be interesting to see if the Pad is able to inject some excitement into the Android tablet market in a similar fashion.
The pricing of the Pad puts it in the middle of the tablet market, costing more than Apple’s entry-level iPads but competing with the much pricier iPad Pro line in terms of hardware features. Similarly, it is more expensive than Samsung’s budget tablets but less so than the Tab S8 models that share similar features.
