Design
A critical characteristic of a tablet is thinness. If it’s too heavy, it risks becoming a glorified TV screen. Here, the Pad and Pixel are fairly weighted for tablet devices, although OnePlus’s model is heavier at 552g. Their aluminum build means better protection than plastic covering would’ve gotten you, but they quickly catch your fingerprints.
The OnePlus Pad’s rear camera is centered and obtrusively large if you’re taking portrait shots. I prefer the Pixel’s camera design, which is discreetly in a corner and makes the tablet look sleeker. The Pad comes in Halo Green, while the Pixel tablet is available in Porcelain, Hazel, and Rose colors.
The tablets support styluses, which is a good thing if you don’t want to use your fingers for everything. But you’ll buy them separately, and other accessories like the keyboard. Luckily, they’re both generous enough to include the chargers. In the Pixel’s case, charging works differently as there’s a dock. You’ll plug the charging cable into it and then place your tablet for wireless charging. The dock doubles as a stand mimicking the Google Nest design. Initially, Google added it in the box. Now, they’ve introduced the option to buy a dockless Pixel Tablet for $100 less.
Camera
Although Google Pixel devices are known for their impressive cameras, the Google Pixel tablet underperforms in this department. Its primary camera is 8MP wide with support for enhanced HDR and panorama photo modes. It offers the standard full HD 1080p video recording at 30fps. You don’t get a flash, so you’ll have to get creative with natural lighting a lot. The selfie camera is basically the same.
The OnePlus, however, offers an upgrade with a 13MP wide main camera that can record 4K videos at 30fps. It also supports Gyro-EIS, which reduces annoying camera shakes during recording. Plus, there’s an LED flash. The front camera is a wide 8MP and can record 1080p videos at 30fps.
Software
The OnePlus Pad and Google Pixel tablet run Android 13, but they have distinct customizations overlayed on them. OnePlus Pad uses OxygenOS 13.1, which mirrors the interface and experience on the OnePlus 11 smartphone.
Meanwhile, Google’s tablet runs Pixel UI, which closely resembles the stock Android version but with traces of Material You theming. Its dock compatibility turns it into a Nest hub, which makes it the better tablet for multi-device control. With a few taps or voice commands, you can manipulate your lights, thermostats, and other smart gestures.
Performance
The OnePlus Pad and Google Pixel tablets aren’t far apart on performance, even though benchmark scores place the OnePlus Pad as the better performer. Unsurprisingly, its Mediatek Dimensity 9000 processor has a smaller four-nanometer process. The device uses the Mali-G710 MC10 GPU, and the processor features eight cores. It includes one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.05 GHz, Cortex-A710 cores running at 2.85 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores at 1.80 GHz.
On the other hand, the Pixel tablet uses Google’s own Tensor G2 chipset with a 5nm process and eight cores. Two Cortex-X1 cores are clocked at 2.85 GHz, two Cortex-A78 cores at 2.35 GHz, and four Cortex-A55 cores at 1.80 GHz. It also uses a Mali-G710 MP7 GPU.
Both tablets offer decent memory options, including 128GB and 256GB storage space. OnePlus gives you 8 and 12GB RAM respectively, but Google only offers 8GB with both storage variants. Neither of them is expandable with a memory card. Regarding battery life, OnePlus wins with a 9510 mAh battery supporting 67W fast charging. The Google Pixel tablet has a 7020 mAh battery with just 15W fast charging.
The final verdict
As much as I was rooting for the Google Pixel tablet, the OnePlus Pad turns out to be the best tablet after all. Though it doesn’t outshine the Pixel tablet by a far margin, the little upgrades it brings make all the difference. It’s surprisingly less expensive, which is a good thing, as you hate paying for overpriced hardware. It costs $479, although there’s now a cheaper Pad Go model selling at $350.
But this review isn’t intended to discredit the Google Pixel tablet. It’s still a good device to buy when considering unique features like Circle to Search, wireless charging through the hub, and smart home integrations.
