OnePlus Pad Pro to Compete with iPad Pro

OnePlus Pad Pro to Compete with iPad Pro

OnePlus has been teasing a major event for the past few weeks, and it finally happened today (June 27). Among other things, the Chinese handset maker premiered the impressive-looking Ace 3 Pro with a very interesting glacier battery. However, the handset appears to be limited to China; some other products from OnePlus have not been so limited in scope.

As part of the event, the Chinese manufacturer also unveiled the OnePlus Pad Pro Android tablet and the updated OnePlus Watch 2. Both were already teased on the company's Weibo account, and now we have more information about what's inside the new devices.

That information does not include a global release date for the OnePlus Pad Pro and the OnePlus Watch 2 with added eSim compatibility. However, rumors suggest that both devices will be available in other markets, including the US.

The new tablet gives the OnePlus Pad a pro-level update. And this is such a serious upgrade that it is almost another tablet. [The design of the Pad Pro looks identical to the OnePlus Pad, except it is larger. The screen has been upgraded to a 12.1-inch LCD display, compared to the standard OnePlus Pad's 11.6 inches; the battery on the Pro version appears to be the same 9,510 mAh power pack with 67W charging support found in the standard model, but OnePlus replaced the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. This should allow the OnePlus Pad Pro to compete with the M4-powered iPad Pro that Apple released this year.

OnePlus has also upgraded its tablet accessories with the new Smart Stylus Pro. We already liked the Stylo pencil stylus on the regular OnePlus Pad, so we imagine the Stylus Pro should be a step up.

The magnetic keyboard is confusing. It looks a little different in the new black colorway, and the ads suggest a new NFC chip to connect the keyboard to the phone. Also, the keyboard appears to be larger to accommodate the Pad Pro's slightly larger size.

The OnePlus Pad Pro appears to come in four levels and two colors, space gray and khaki green. The base will have 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the high-end tier will have 16GB of RAM and 512GB of capacity.

OnePlus is selling the base tablet for $2,899 and the high-end model for $3,799. Converted to current rates, that would be $399 and $522, but device makers typically adjust their prices by region.

The OnePlus Pad is currently available for $479, which is further evidence that OnePlus may charge more for the Pro version

At the upper end of the price range in China, the OnePlus Pad Pro starts at $599 It may seem like a potential competitor to the 11-inch iPad Air M2, which can be purchased from $599. However, some of the specs of the OnePlus tablet (especially the Snapdragon chipset and the large display) may make the OnePlus 13-inch iPad Air M2, or the latest iPad Pro models, even if those iPads are a bit more expensive than the OnePlus Pad Pro's potential even if they are a bit more expensive than the OnePlus Pad Pro's potential price, makes one wonder if they aren't trying to be a competitor.

In the US, the OnePlus Pad has only been released in a version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. If OnePlus brings in the Pad Pro, as rumored, it would be nice to offer a higher storage capacity option.

For new smartwatches, this naming convention may be a bit confusing; OnePlus did not release the OnePlus Watch 2 in China. Instead, the OnePlus Watch 2 was released in other regions, including the United States. Therefore, for Chinese customers, this will be the Watch 2.

However, rumors suggest that when this new smartwatch ships from China, it will ship as the OnePlus Watch 2R to avoid confusion with the original watch. In general, the R name indicates a cheaper version of a OnePlus product; OnePlus' flagship phone, the OnePlus 12, costs $799, while the OnePlus 12R is several hundred dollars cheaper.

Comparatively, this new watch looks a lot like the Watch 2 we already have. In fact, it appears to be more of an upgrade than a scaling down.

It has the same 1.43-inch AMOLED display and runs on a Snapdragon W5, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. The battery is the same 500mAh and can be used for up to 100 hours, or 12 days in power save mode.

A unique feature is the addition of eSim, which allows stand-alone calling, in addition to Bluetooth calling.

The biggest change is the operating system; OnePlus is dropping Google's Wear OS and replacing it with the company's own ColorOS Watch 6.0. With this change, both Android and iOS devices will be supported. Oh, and NFC support is in there somewhere too.

The company is selling the Watch 2 with eSIM for 1,799 yuan or $247. The current retail price of the OnePlus Watch 2 in the US is $299. If the Watch will be R-labeled, expect the price to come down.

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