OnePlus Pad 3 Camera Quality Review
- Muhammad Rehman
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Tablet cameras are typically used for video calls, so you shouldn't expect much from them. The front-facing 8MP camera on the OnePlus Pad 3 is fixed-focus and wide-angle (0.8x), but by default it crops to create a regular field of view (1x). Selfies feature a good level of detail but with over-saturated colors.
The front-facing camera can record video at 30 frames per second up to 1080p. Below, we've included a frame grab from such a video so that you can see how good it is. On the back, there is only one 13MP rear module with an LED flash. It can record 30 frames per second 4K video. The main camera's shots have average quality and warm tones. With visible image noise and oversharpening, details become less sharp as you zoom in.
The rear camera's 4K video has average dynamic range and some visible noise, making it unsuitable for primary recording, which we doubt. OxygenOS 15, which is based on Android 15, comes with the OnePlus Pad 3. OnePlus is pledging 3 major Android OS updates and 6 years of security updates, which is good for future proofing, even though competitors like Samsung offer seven years of OS and security updates on its Tab 10 series.
OxygenOS 15 on the Pad 3 offers a familiar look and feel to the company's smartphone UI, but it also comes with some big screen enhancements. An app drawer, a files shortcut, and a taskbar/dock house six of your favorite apps as well as three apps you've recently opened. Any app in the dock can be launched in Split View or as a floating window by tapping and holding on it.
The Open Canvas multitasking system in Pad 3 also lets you run up to three apps at the same time. From the three dots menu, you can easily resize the screen and switch apps, making it surprisingly easy to multitask. This is arguably the best multitasking implementation in the Android sphere, and it's just meant for the large screen and its spacious 7:5 aspect ratio.
Keep in mind that many Android apps aren't built to work on bigger screens, which has always been a problem with tablets in general. The O+ Connect app is the other impressive software trick on the Pad 3. It allows you to connect to and remote control your Mac or Windows PC. The setup procedure is straightforward, as you simply download the O+ Connect app and install it on your computer.
There's even a version for Intel Macs. Once everything is set up, you can pair the two devices by going to the Remote PC Control menu in the Pad 3's settings app. The OnePlus Pad 3 could theoretically take the place of your laptop if you have the Smart Keyboard, which is an optional feature like we do. When paired with an M1 MacBook Pro 14, our experience showed that the O+ Connect user experience was not particularly smooth. There was noticeable input lag when clicking on UI items and dragging windows around.
The cursor would tend to glitch up when switching between the two screens, and clicking on apps in the macOS dock was a hit-and-miss most of the time. Nonetheless, O+ Connect is an excellent feature for when you need to complete some quick work while away from your Mac. It's especially nice to see the extensive macOS support coming from an Android OEM.
Pad 3, an Android tablet from 2025, comes with the OnePlus AI suite, which is powered by Google Gemini. Circle to Search, as well as translation, summary, writing, and speaker assistant, are among the usual assortment of features. The OnePlus Pad 3 is one of the few products with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and the flagship Android tablet market is pretty small.
The standard version of the SoC has eight cores, with two prime cores operating at 4.32 GHz and six performance units operating at up to 3.53 GHz. The Adreno 830 GPU is also present on board. You get a 13.2-inch LTPS LCD that is bright, has a lot of space, and has a fast refresh rate of 144 Hz. The Open Canvas multitasking experience is one of the best implementations we've seen in the tablet market, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip delivered class-leading performance while controlling thermals.
The Pad 3 truly becomes a capable mobile workstation when equipped with the optional Smart Keyboard (€169/£169) and Stylo 2 (€99/£99), both of which are great additions for productivity. While tablets may still not be ready to replace your laptop, OnePlus has delivered one of the best all-around devices in the segment.
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