OnePlus Pad Go hands-on review
Introduction
The OnePlus Pad Go is the company's second tablet and the first one to compete in the mid-range segment. The flagship OnePlus Pad impressed us earlier this year with its design, display, performance, speakers, and fast charging. It also had some great first-party accessories in the form of a pen and a keyboard folio case.
The OnePlus Pad Go loses a fair bit of that to achieve its lower price. The chipset has been downgraded to Helio G99. The display only refreshes up to 90Hz. And there is no support for the pen and keyboard made for the more expensive model.
Still, these seem like necessary compromises to make. After all, the OnePlus Pad Go costs nearly half that of the original model, despite having a very similar design, nearly the same display size and resolution, and a four-speaker system. Moreover, the OnePlus Pad Go also adds cellular connectivity, something the OnePlus Pad lacks.
OnePlus Pad Go specs at a glance:
Body: 255.1x188.0x6.9mm, 532g; aluminum frame, aluminum back; Stylus support.
Display: 11.35" IPS LCD, 90Hz, 400 nits (typ), 1720x2408px resolution, 12.6:9 aspect ratio, 260ppi.
Chipset: Mediatek MT8781 Helio G99 (6nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G57 MC2.
Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
OS/Software: Android 13, OxygenOS 13.2.
Rear camera: 8 MP.
Front camera: 8 MP.
Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 8000mAh; 33W wired.
Connectivity: LTE; Wi-Fi 5; BT 5.2, aptX HD.
Misc: Accelerometer, proximity (accessories only), gyro, compass; stereo speakers (4 speakers).
Compared to the more expensive model, the OnePlus Pad Go specs are lopsided in favor of having a better visual and audio experience rather than focusing on things like gaming, heavy productivity, or even photography. Considering the intended usage, the compromises here may not be that detrimental.
Unboxing
The OnePlus Pad Go comes with simple packaging, consisting of the tablet, a 33W fast charger, and a cable.
While the OnePlus Pad doesn't come with any additional accessories, either, it does support the OnePlus Stylo pen, the OnePlus Magnetic Keyboard with trackpad, and the OnePlus Folio Case. The Pad Go only gets a OnePlus Go Folio Case, which attaches using clamps as it does not have magnets to attach the case. It is not compatible with any of the OnePlus Pad accessories.
Design
The design of the OnePlus Pad Go is fairly similar to the OnePlus Pad, especially when viewed from the front. The two tablets have similar dimensions, with the OnePlus Pad Go being imperceptibly smaller, thicker, and about 20g lighter.
The sharing of the design and dimensions with the more expensive model is a good thing, as the OnePlus Pad is one of the better-looking and built tablets on the market. The OnePlus Pad Go feels just as well-built and comfortable in hand due to the curved edges.
The only difference on the front is that the OnePlus Pad Go has sharp edges around the display as it uses a flat glass with a plastic border whereas the OnePlus Pad glass has gently curved edges that blend into the metal frame. This makes using gestures much more pleasant on the more expensive model.
The sides of the OnePlus Pad Go seem similar at first; you have the same curvature that makes the tablet easy to hold and pick up from a flat surface. You have a similar four-speaker system with one driver in each corner.
The physical buttons are still awkwardly split with the power button on the left and the volume buttons on the top. Having them on the same side as the power button would have made them much easier to access. As it stands, the buttons are never within reach no matter how you hold the device.
The differences with the OnePlus Pad come in the form of a lack of contact pins on the bottom. The OnePlus Pad uses these pins to communicate with its optional keyboard case but the Pad Go has no such accessory. The top of the OnePlus Pad Go is also flattened to magnetically attach the OnePlus Stylo for charging but the OnePlus Pad Go does not support that accessory either and thus has a curved top.
But the OnePlus Pad Go has something the OnePlus Pad doesn't: LTE connectivity and expandable memory. A slot can be found on the left edge of the device where you can insert a SIM as well as a microSD card.
The back of the device has the biggest visual difference to the OnePlus Pad; while the more expensive model has a uniform metal back with a spun-metal finish, the OnePlus Pad Go has a matte texture with a glossy plastic panel at the top. It's not clear if this panel is used for aesthetic, cost, or connectivity reasons.
Overall, the OnePlus Pad Go is a well-designed and well-built tablet. It's slim and relatively lightweight with good weight distribution. The curved edges make it comfortable to hold regardless of the orientation. The awkward position of the volume buttons is the only annoyance. The tablet also has no water resistance, so you can't use it around a pool, shower, or bathtub without risking water damage.
Display
The OnePlus Pad Go has an 11.35-inch, 2408 x 1720 resolution, IPS LCD. The display supports 60Hz and 90Hz refresh rates with a 180Hz touch sampling rate. It has a claimed peak brightness of 400 nits. There is no HDR nor always-on support on this device.
The display has somewhat similar specifications to that of the more expensive model. It's less than a centimeter smaller with about one and a half million fewer pixels, which gives a pixel density of 260 PPI vs the 296 PPI of the OnePlus Pad. Not something you are likely to notice. Just like how you are unlikely to notice the slightly thicker bezel around the display, 8mm vs 7mm.
The IPS panel has okay color accuracy, decent contrast, good viewing angles, quick response times, and adequate brightness. Compared to the OnePlus Pad, the Pad Go doesn't get as bright and the color accuracy is a bit worse with a slight magenta tint on our unit but other than that they look very similar.
Unlike the panel on the OnePlus Pad, which is mounted in landscape orientation and is right side up, the panel on the OnePlus Pad Go is mounted in portrait and the wrong way up. If you want to hold the display such that it is refreshing in the correct direction (top left to bottom right), you need to hold the tablet such that the USB port is pointing upwards. Holding the tablet in landscape causes a small amount of jello motion as you scroll since you are moving sideways in the direction of the panel refresh.
The display on the OnePlus Pad Go can only refresh up to 90Hz and drops down to 60Hz when not in use. That's a significant drop down from the 144Hz supported by the OnePlus Pad but it's worth reiterating that the OnePlus Pad only refreshes at 144Hz in Chrome and a couple of other apps, with most apps being limited to 120Hz.
Unfortunately, refresh rate adjustment continues to be a clumsy affair on OnePlus devices. The OnePlus Pad Go will still randomly lock itself to 60Hz in some apps, including Instagram and most browsers such as Firefox. The display will also drop down to 60Hz after you stop interacting with it, regardless of what is happening on the screen. If you scroll rapidly on a long web page in Chrome and stop touching the screen, the refresh rate will eventually drop to 60Hz even though the contents on the screen are still moving.
There is no HDR support on the OnePlus Pad Go, which is just as well since LCDs aren't great at HDR, at least not without full-array local dimming. Besides, the OnePlus Pad didn't do much with its Dolby Vision capability as Netflix never approved it for HDR, and OnePlus also seemingly never bothered to check.
Battery and charging
The OnePlus Pad Go has an 8000mAh battery, which is a fair bit smaller than the 9510mAh on the similarly sized OnePlus Pad. The charging has also slowed down from 67W to 33W.
However, despite the smaller battery, the OnePlus Pad Go faires quite well, in no small part due to the relatively efficient and frugal chipset. While we don't have full battery life figures today, the device easily lasted for 2-3 days on Wi-Fi with a few hours of use every day. While testing media playback, the tablet played for about 12 hours while streaming Netflix, and the device brightness was set to 75%.
Despite halving the charging speed, the OnePlus Pad Go charging speeds aren't far off from the OnePlus Pad. The tablet was able to charge up to about 37% in half an hour and 70% in an hour. Full charge comes in about an hour and a half. These numbers are pretty good considering the size of the battery.
Speakers
The OnePlus Pad Go has a quad-speaker system, similar to the OnePlus Pad. The tablet has one speaker near each corner and regardless of how you hold the device, the speakers to your left will always be the left channel and those on the right will be the right channel. Like the OnePlus Pad, the OnePlus Pad Go also supports Dolby Atmos codec and audio processing.
Despite being similar on paper, the speakers on the Pad Go sound notably different than those on the Pad. The Pad Go speakers have a bassier sound with a more robust bottom-end but the top end sounds darker and less distinct. The OnePlus Pad has a more balanced sound with a brighter high-end. The Pad Go speakers sound ever so slightly louder at every volume level but both tablets get plenty loud. The stereo separation is also great in landscape and if you play native Dolby Atmos encoded audio then the sound is especially impressive.
It's disappointing to see that once again there is no provision to plug in wired headphones. There is no excuse for this behavior on a device this big and forcing users to opt for expensive and unreliable Bluetooth audio. And speaking of Bluetooth, the OnePlus Pad Go does not support the LHDC codec but you still get LDAC and all flavors of aptX.
Software and features
The OnePlus Pad Go comes with OxygenOS 13.2 on top of Android 13. This is the latest version of OxygenOS currently only available on one other device, which is the OnePlus Open. It will also be the last as the company formally transitions to OxygenOS 14.
As with the OnePlus Open, it's fair to complain about the lack of Android 14 at launch considering when the device was released. It's an old tactic that allows manufacturers to get out of updating the device with one less Android version in the future by launching with an outdated version. It's a little more egregious on the OnePlus Open considering the cost of that device but it's disappointing on the OnePlus Pad Go nevertheless.
Moving on, the version of OxygenOS we do get on is still very functional with one of the best multitasking abilities around. You get full support for split-screen apps that let you run two apps side by side or one above the other, with adjustable window sizes. You can also run a third app in a floating window and content can be dragged around between all of these.
Oddly enough, the multitasking on the OnePlus Pad Go and even the more expensive OnePlus Pad are inferior to that on the OnePlus Open. The Open can run three apps side by side and a fourth one in a floating window while the two tablets can only do two side by side. That's a shame as the larger screen real estate would have made three apps even more enjoyable to use than on the Open. It's also possible to run some apps in two instances side by side.
Aside from that, you also get a taskbar, which can be permanently docked at the bottom of the screen or hidden. You can place apps here and recently used content can optionally be made to appear. The app library button lets you quickly open any app or drag it out to start multitasking.
Flexible window mode opens the aforementioned floating windows. These windows can be moved around, resized, hidden, and essentially used like a smaller, smartphone version of the app.
Finally, the smart sidebar is a feature carried over from the OnePlus smartphones and lets you keep another dock on the side of the screen for frequently used apps and features.
There are some limitations to the multitasking functionality. As usual, it comes to the apps and how well they can adapt to split screen. Some apps simply do not support this feature and can only be opened in full screen. Some apps also do not support opening in floating windows. Most apps do not support dual windows, including browsers, so you cannot have two instances of them open. You will need to get around this by having, for example, two different browsers side by side.
Some apps like Instagram are also particularly problematic. Instagram famously does not support landscape mode on any device and while OnePlus just let you open the app in a portrait window in landscape in OxygenOS 13.1 on the OnePlus Pad, in OxygenOS 13.2 on the OnePlus Pad Go the app is just forcibly opened in portrait mode only. Not only can you not use it in landscape but you also cannot rotate the device and view the app in portrait in the other orientation. Also, as you can imagine, no floating or split window support.
None of this is OnePlus's fault and Android apps have just proven themselves to be inept at adapting to the tablet form factor. Very few Android apps have a UI optimized for tablet use, with most apps just behaving like they are still running on phones. This one is squarely on the developer community collectively and there is very little OnePlus can do about it.
Aside from that, OxygenOS 13.2 is generally well-designed and all the built-in apps adapt well to the tablet form factor. It's also fairly customizable, with the option to change the usual wallpapers and icons but also fonts and themes. The only limitation is that you cannot change the grid size of icons on the homescreen, which puts limitations on how you can arrange icons and widgets.
The OnePlus Pad Go has LTE connectivity with its built-in SIM slot. This is, essentially, a very large smartphone as you can make and receive calls as well as SMS, aside from just using data while being out and about. Of course, since there is no earpiece, you will have to use a headset or speakers for the calls.
The importance of mobile data cannot be understated as you are no longer limited to places with Wi-Fi to use the device. You also no longer have to bother with enabling a hotspot on your phone and waste its battery power. It's hard to imagine this feature made its way to the cheaper model but isn't available on the much more expensive OnePlus Pad.
The LTE functionality is optional if you buy the 128GB model and you can choose to get just the Wi-Fi model instead. However, the 256GB model only comes in an LTE variant.
Unfortunately, the OnePlus Pad Go does share one thing with the OnePlus Pad, and that is the fact that neither device has a fingerprint scanner. This limits you to using a passcode as the most secure method of locking down the device, which is just inconvenient. It's especially inconvenient if you have apps like password managers, banking apps, and anything else that requires biometric authentication as you will have to either run them in an unsecured way or enter your password manually every time.
Performance
The OnePlus Pad Go runs on the MediaTek Helio G99 chipset. This is the biggest downgrade overall compared to the OnePlus Pad, which runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 9000. The Pad Go pairs that chipset with 8GB LPDDR4X memory and either 128GB or 256GB storage. As mentioned earlier, you can increase the storage using microSD cards.
The performance of the OnePlus Pad Go can best be described as adequate. OnePlus is clearly asking a lot from the humble G99 here, a chipset designed for budget smartphones, by placing it in a device with a high-resolution display and expansive multitasking capabilities. But despite the intensity of the work assigned to it, the G99 rarely ever feels out of breath or even out of place.
The goal of the OnePlus Pad Go clearly seems to be a media consumption device and the G99 is quite adequate for that. Activities like browsing the web, watching movies and TV shows, reading books, listening to music, and scrolling idly through Instagram are all handled with relative ease. The scrolling isn't always silky smooth or stutter-free but is completely fine for the most part. Even when running two apps side by side, the performance is often perfectly fine.
The main limitation here would be the memory. At 8GB, the OnePlus Pad Go doesn't ship with a lot of RAM and while there is the option of enabling RAM expansion and increasing it by another 8GB by utilizing a page file on the storage, this doesn't work nearly as well as the storage is a lot slower than even LPDDR4X memory. So if you are in a browser with a lot of open tabs then it would be relatively easy to run out of memory, which will noticeably affect performance.
Unfortunately, the biggest limitation of the G99 is the GPU performance and the Mali-G57 MC2 absolutely folds when doing anything 3D on the Pad Go's high-resolution display. This is not a device to play 3D games on and you are much better off playing on a similarly priced smartphone.
2D games are less of an issue and if it's just a round of Good Pizza, Great Pizza or Geometry Dash that you are interested in then you can get by quite easily here. However, a lot of Android games don't look great at this aspect ratio because they are built to expect a wide-screen smartphone display. Most just end up cropping out the sides, which reduces your field of view and can make things harder to see.
Conclusion
The OnePlus Pad Go is a pretty solid offering from the company and a good entrant in the mid-range tablet market. The design, display, speakers, and battery life are good and the OS offers some really useful multitasking capabilities. The addition of data connectivity also makes this significantly more convenient to carry around than its more expensive sibling.
The downsides are mostly the lack of any real GPU horsepower and the limited 8GB memory. But for the intended use cases, which are reading, watching, browsing, and a bit of productivity work, the OnePlus Pad Go is a perfectly capable device.
Pros
Well-built, attractive design
Good display quality and resolution, 7:5 aspect ratio ideal for portrait and landscape use
Powerful speakers with Dolby Atmos processing
Good battery life with reasonably fast charging
Robust multitasking features
Expandable storage and optional LTE connectivity
Cons
Poor GPU performance
Limited 8GB system memory
No fingerprint sensor
| BODY | Dimensions | 255.1 x 188 x 6.9 mm (10.04 x 7.40 x 0.27 in) |
|---|
| Weight | 532 g (1.17 lb) |
| SIM | Yes |
| | Stylus support |
| DISPLAY | Type | IPS LCD, 90Hz, 400 nits (typ) |
|---|
| Size | 11.35 inches, 396.1 cm2 (~82.6% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1720 x 2408 pixels (~260 ppi density) |
| PLATFORM | OS | Android 13, OxygenOS 13.2 |
|---|
| Chipset | Mediatek MT8781 Helio G99 (6nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MC2 |
| MEMORY | Card slot | microSDXC (dedicated slot) |
|---|
| Internal | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM |
| | UFS 2.2 |
| FEATURES | Sensors | Accelerometer, proximity (accessories only), gyro, compass |
|---|
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