The Oppo Pad Air is one of the latest Android tablets from the Chinese smartphone maker, Oppo. It is a budget-friendly device that offers a sleek design, a large 2K display, quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a long-lasting battery. But how does it perform in real life? Is it worth buying? Here is our review of the Oppo Pad Air.
Design and Build Quality
The Oppo Pad Air has a metallic chassis with a sand dune-inspired texture on the back. It comes in a single grey color variant that looks elegant and classy. The tablet is thin and light, measuring 6.9mm in thickness and weighing 440g. It feels comfortable to hold and use, thanks to the curved edges and smooth finish.
The tablet has a 10.36-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 2000 x 1200 pixels and a 5:3 aspect ratio. The screen supports 10-bit color depth (1 billion colors), although it is not true 10-bit but rather 8-bit hardware + 2-bit software implementation. The screen is bright and colorful, with good viewing angles and contrast. However, it lacks HDR support and can be reflective and prone to smudges.
The Oppo Pad Air has four stereo speakers on the sides, tuned by Dolby Atmos. The speakers deliver loud and clear sound, with good bass and treble. They are great for watching movies, listening to music, or playing games on the tablet. The tablet also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C port, a microSD card slot, and a SIM tray (for LTE variants).
The tablet has an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera, both with f/2.0 aperture. The cameras are decent for casual photos and video calls, but nothing to write home about. They can record 1080p videos at 30fps.
The tablet supports stylus input, but you have to buy the stylus separately. The stylus can be attached magnetically to the side of the tablet, but it does not charge wirelessly like some other tablets. The stylus has 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and can be used for drawing, writing, or navigating on the screen.
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Performance and Software
The Oppo Pad Air is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset, which is an octa-core processor with four Kryo 265 Gold cores clocked at 2.4GHz and four Kryo 265 Silver cores clocked at 1.9GHz. The chipset also has an Adreno 610 GPU for graphics.
The tablet comes with 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 512GB via a microSD card. The tablet also has a virtual RAM feature that can use some of the storage space as additional RAM.
The tablet runs on ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12. The software is smooth and responsive, with some useful features like split-screen mode, floating window mode, app cloning, dark mode, game space, kid space, etc. The software also supports gesture navigation, face unlock, and fingerprint unlock (via the power button).
The tablet can handle basic tasks like web browsing, social media, email, etc., without any lag or stutter. However, it is not suitable for heavy multitasking or gaming, as it can struggle with high-end games or apps that require more RAM or CPU power.
Battery Life and Charging
The Oppo Pad Air has a large 7,100mAh battery that can last for up to two or three days of moderate use. The battery life depends on how you use the tablet, of course, but you can expect around 10 hours of screen-on time on average.
The tablet supports 18W fast charging via the USB-C port and Power Delivery standard. It also supports reverse charging via a cable, so you can use it to charge other devices like your phone or earbuds.
The tablet comes with an 18W charger in the box, along with a USB-A to USB-C cable. The charger can charge the tablet from zero to full in about three hours.
Verdict
The Oppo Pad Air is a budget tablet that offers a lot of value for money. It has a beautiful design, a large and vibrant display, quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, and excellent battery life. It is ideal for entertainment and productivity purposes, as long as you don’t expect too much from its performance or cameras.
The tablet is not perfect, though. It lacks HDR support on the screen, it has no wireless charging for the stylus, it is not very powerful for gaming or multitasking, and it is only available in one color option.
The Oppo Pad Air is priced at Rs. 16,999 for the 4GB/64GB variant and Rs. 18,999 for the 6GB/128GB variant in India. It is also available in Europe for €199 and €249, respectively. It competes with other budget tablets like the Realme Pad X, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, and the Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus.
If you are looking for a budget tablet that looks and feels like a premium device, the Oppo Pad Air is a good choice. However, if you need more power or features, you might want to look elsewhere.
