5 causes this $400 Android pill is best than my iPad

[ad_1] <img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="eager" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="OnePlus Pad Go 2 front hero" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="OnePlus Pad Go 2 front hero" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-06.jpg"/> Ryan Haines / Android Authority

I’ve been a devoted iPad consumer for the higher a part of a decade. Starting from the annoyingly costly iPad Professional to the M-series iPad Air, Apple’s pill has all the time been the default slate in my bag for just a few easy causes. It wasn’t simply the premium alternative, it was the secure alternative, and admittedly, the one alternative that made sense in the event you wanted a stable steadiness of {hardware} and software program. However during the last month, I’ve performed one thing that may have appeared unthinkable to me a yr in the past. I left my iPad at dwelling and have been carrying across the OnePlus Pad Go 2 as a substitute.

The OnePlus Pad Go 2 is not simply cheaper, it'd really be higher for what I do.

At roughly $400, this actually shouldn't be a good struggle. My iPad setup value practically thrice as a lot when you issue within the keyboard and Apple Pencil. But, for my particular workflow, which revolves closely round on-the-go studying, analysis, and capturing spontaneous concepts, the OnePlus Pad Go 2 is not only a less expensive various — it actually would possibly simply be the higher device. Making the change from an iPad to a utilitarian mid-range Android pill won't please my model and ecosystem-conscious thoughts, however the actuality is that it does every little thing I would like from it. Right here is why I'm making the change, and why you would possibly need to think about it too.

Have you ever switched from an iPad to an Android pill? 145 votes

Sure, I made the change.

51%

No, however I've considered it.

20%

No, I choose my iPad.

11%

I do not use a pill.

18%

A productivity-oriented side ratio

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="OnePlus Pad Go 2 kindle library" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="OnePlus Pad Go 2 kindle library" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-13.jpg"/> Ryan Haines / Android Authority

As a tech journalist, I’ve used and reviewed my justifiable share of tablets through the years, and one of many first issues I search for is the display screen side ratio. It’s the issue that, a minimum of for me, dictates your complete consumer expertise. Most funds Android tablets persist with a 16:10 or 16:9 ratio. Whereas that's implausible if you're solely watching Netflix or YouTube, it's completely horrible for getting precise work performed. Whenever you maintain a 16:10 pill in panorama mode, it simply doesn’t offer you sufficient headroom for text-based content material, and it’s been a sore level for me for years. You lose all vertical context, which makes these tablets removed from very best for text-based use instances like paperwork, shopping the net, or reviewing notes.

The OnePlus Pad Go 2 borrows the 7:5 side ratio from its costlier OnePlus Pad 2 sibling, and this single {hardware} choice dramatically impacts the consumer expertise for the higher. It seems like a minor element on a spec sheet, however in observe, the display screen is, clearly, squarer and comes very near mimicking the size of an ordinary sheet of A4 paper. In truth, I’d say it’s even higher than the iPad’s 4:3 ratio and, after all, the everyday Android widescreen format.

A 16:10 display screen is nice for Netflix and horrible for precise work. The OnePlus Pad Go 2's 7:5 show turns it into a correct studying and writing device.

This side ratio shines the second you attempt to do two issues without delay. On most tablets, split-screen multitasking appears like a compromise the place two apps are combating for visibility on a display screen with not sufficient headroom. On the Pad Go 2, the 7:5 canvas permits two apps to sit down side-by-side with sufficient vertical respiration room to truly be helpful. It makes split-screen use instances really feel like you might be utilizing two full-sized telephones side-by-side somewhat than two cramped widgets, and that’s an enormous distinction from a productiveness viewpoint.

For my analysis workflow, that is essential. I can preserve a video taking part in on the left facet whereas scrolling by means of a dense PDF on the precise. The additional vertical house signifies that I'm scrolling much less and studying extra, nor am I continually combating the urge to rotate the pill to see extra textual content. There’s a purpose why A4 is an business commonplace, and by providing this acquainted side ratio, the OnePlus Pad Go 2 goes a great distance in direction of making the pill really feel like a correct device somewhat than only a transportable Netflix machine.

Open Canvas fixes Android’s iffy pill multitasking

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="oneplus pad multitasking" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-64w-43h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-300w-200h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-1000w-667h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-1620w-1080h.jpg 1620w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-1296w-864h.jpg 1296w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-570w-380h.jpg 570w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking-675w-450h.jpg 675w" alt="oneplus pad multitasking" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-multitasking.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

{Hardware} is only one a part of the equation. Android tablets have traditionally suffered from poor software program optimization. For years, the software program has been little greater than a smartphone working system tacked on to a bigger display screen with minor concessions to large-screen usability. OnePlus solves that to a big diploma with a function known as Open Canvas. It’s not precisely new, however I can vouch for it being the only finest implementation of multitasking I've seen on any pill, and that features iPadOS. I praised it on the OnePlus Open foldable, and it shines right here as properly.

On my iPad, I’ve principally stopped utilizing Stage Supervisor as a result of it creates a complicated mess of floating home windows that wastes an excessive amount of display screen actual property and gives restricted benefits. Cut up View is fairly inflexible as properly and limits you to 2 apps which are usually too skinny to render textual content correctly or be significantly helpful. Open Canvas takes a special method. It permits you to run as much as three apps concurrently, but it surely doesn’t power them to squeeze onto the display screen unexpectedly. As an alternative, it allows you to push one app off to the facet, the place it hangs round in a floating window, and you may select to maximise it, drag it round, or decrease it everytime you need.

Multitasking right here appears like utilizing two full-sized telephones facet by facet with a 3rd app hanging round for good measure.

That’s an enormous assist for analysis, note-taking, and productiveness use instances. I can have my browser and my note-taking app open entrance and heart. After I have to test my Slack messages or reference a file in Google Drive, I simply nudge the display screen over, and the third app slides into view whereas the browser slides out. It goes a great distance in direction of replicating the expertise of a multi-monitor setup on a pill display screen.

To show my level, I’ve written this whole 2,000-odd-word function piece on the pill. I had my notes open in Google Maintain, my draft in SimpleNote, and Asana in a nook. Having the ability to slide between these contexts with out closing apps or coping with aggressive RAM administration is one thing I battle to realize on the iPad. The iPad, regardless of its multitasking enhancements, forces you to give attention to one factor; the OnePlus Pad Go 2 understands that multitasking is a fairly typical on a regular basis use case.

First-class stylus help on a mid-range slate

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="oneplus pad stylus" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="oneplus pad stylus" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-stylus.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Traditionally, in the event you wished a superb stylus expertise on Android, you principally needed to pay the “Samsung tax” and purchase a flagship Galaxy Tab S collection machine. Not you could’t get a mid-range pill with stylus help, however the software program and {hardware} expertise each are usually lackluster. Moreover, these tablets usually lack necessities like efficient palm rejection, stress sensitivity, and good accuracy.

Let’s be life like right here: the OnePlus Pad Go 2’s accompanying stylus isn’t going to compete with the easiest within the enterprise. However until you're a skilled artist, that’s most likely not going to be an enormous miss. Between the 4,096 ranges of stress sensitivity and, crucially, very low latency, it greater than suffices for on a regular basis note-taking. Is it higher than the Apple Pencil Professional? No. The Apple Pencil nonetheless gives that imperceptible zero-lag really feel that makes it the gold commonplace for digital artists. However for what I do — and I think what the overwhelming majority of customers do — akin to highlighting textual content, jotting down margin notes, and sketching out tough diagrams, the expertise on the Pad Go 2 will get you a lot of the means there.

For notes, annotations, and diagrams, it will get you a lot of the means there.

Elsewhere, the stylus has a pleasant matte texture that provides grip, and the nib gives simply sufficient resistance towards the display screen to provide it a paper-like really feel. OnePlus has additionally nailed the software program integration. I spend loads of time marking up PDFs for my analysis. On the iPad, taking a screenshot and marking it up is a multi-step course of that feels distinct from the remainder of the OS. On the Pad Go 2, I can swipe in from the nook with the stylus to take a fast screenshot and instantly begin annotating. Individually, these are small concessions to enhance usability, however they add as much as enhance the general expertise. Lastly, on the subject of conveniences, the stylus magnetically attaches to the pill, making certain that it’s all the time readily available. It’s not unusual, however not each mid-range pill helps it, making the inclusion come throughout as fairly considerate.

5G connectivity modifications the equation

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="oneplus pad 5G support" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="oneplus pad 5G support" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-5G-support.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

The fact of shopping for an iPad if most of your use is outdoor is that you're splurging near a thousand {dollars} for the privilege. That’s earlier than you think about the price of a further information plan. Certain, you'll be able to all the time use a hotspot, however I’m not an enormous fan of placing a dent in my smartphone’s battery life. That prime value level additionally signifies that for a really giant consumer base, the pill stays an in-home, indoor, Wi-Fi-only machine.

Nevertheless, if you're on the lookout for a productiveness enhancer, you most likely need to take the pill out and about. The OnePlus Pad Go 2 gives 5G connectivity as an non-compulsory additional. Extra importantly, it gives that possibility at a a lot lower cost level than options. Having always-on web on my secondary machine has been a much bigger way of life improve than I anticipated. Whereas touring, I can pull the pill out on the practice, open a shared doc, and begin working instantly. I don’t must fiddle round with or trouble with hotspots.

A productiveness machine ought to work wherever you might be, not simply at dwelling. 5G help turns the pill into an extension of my important workspace.

For a productiveness machine, that immediacy of on-line availability makes a dramatic distinction, as every little thing from emails to work notifications is prepared for you. This fixed connectivity additionally modifications how I take advantage of cloud companies. Since I'm all the time linked, I don’t have to fret about offline syncing points. My notes in Notion, my information in Google Drive, and my analysis in KaraKeep are all the time updated. It helps make the pill really feel like an extension of my important workspace somewhat than an offline-first machine that I've to manually sync at any time when I get dwelling.

Sensible AI additions

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="oneplus pad AI tools" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="oneplus pad AI tools" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/oneplus-pad-AI-tools.jpg"/> Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Like just about each smartphone model, OnePlus has been fairly aggressive with its AI options. On the OnePlus Pad Go 2, the options are a bit extra restrained in comparison with the corporate’s telephones, however what’s right here is fairly sensible. As an alternative of attempting to reinvent how you're employed, OnePlus has targeted on small instruments that scale back friction in on a regular basis duties.

Take, for instance, the OnePlus AI Author. Whereas I’m vehemently against AI-based writing typically, the AI author serves a special function for me on this case. I take advantage of it to show tough notes into one thing extra coherent. Be it cleansing up a paragraph or rephrasing for readability, it really works properly as a light-weight writing assistant somewhat than a substitute. Neither is it superb on the latter.

That’s significantly helpful when utilized in tandem with the AI VoiceScribe device. Like many different related instruments, this AI-based voice recorder can churn out transcriptions out of your voice recordings, be it voice notes or recorded conferences. I take advantage of it for assembly notes, private notes, or simply creating an overview earlier than I sit down to jot down. The transcription is usually dependable sufficient and can be utilized in tandem with the AI Author device to construction it into extra organized notes.

Android’s file system nonetheless makes actual work simpler than it needs to be on iPad.

Elsewhere, I closely use NotebookLM for my analysis, and the OnePlus Pad Go 2 appears like a first-class citizen for the device. I can add my supply supplies after which use the split-screen view to talk with my paperwork on one facet whereas taking handwritten notes on the opposite. Due to the file system on Android, importing these paperwork is a breeze, particularly when in comparison with an iPad. On the iPad, getting a PDF from a browser into a selected app usually appears like a chore involving the share sheet and hoping the app helps the file kind. On the OnePlus, I simply drag and drop from the file supervisor. These aren’t significantly new options or benefits, however they usually get missed by all of the noise across the iPad’s superior expertise.

The OnePlus Pad Go 2 isn’t attempting to be a laptop computer substitute, and it’s a greater pill for it

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="OnePlus Pad Go 2 camera roll" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="OnePlus Pad Go 2 camera roll" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OnePlus-Pad-Go-2-10.jpg"/> Ryan Haines / Android Authority

In contrast to the iPad, which is commonly pitched as a laptop computer substitute with its M-series processor, the OnePlus Pad Go 2 has no such delusions of grandeur. It is aware of it's a pill and isn’t actually positioned for 4K video modifying workflows or to run console-quality video games — although it might probably definitely accomplish that if pressed. As an alternative, it's designed to be a light-weight device for studying, writing, and consuming data. As a result of the processor is environment friendly and the software program is optimized for these duties, the battery life is phenomenal. I'm simply getting two days of heavy use on a single cost. I don’t must child the battery or carry a charger in every single place I'm going. The standby time is equally spectacular; I can depart it in my bag for a weekend and decide it up on Monday with loads of juice left.

The OnePlus Pad Go 2 does precisely what a pill ought to do, and it does it properly.

It's utilitarian in the most effective sense of the phrase. Elsewhere, the standard and cheap value level imply I'm snug tossing it right into a backpack with out a heavy-duty, military-grade case. In case you are a inventive skilled who wants color-accurate grading or a pill to make artwork on, purchase an iPad Professional. In case you are deeply locked into the Apple ecosystem and want options like AirDrop to perform, stick with the iPad. The OnePlus Pad Go 2 might be not for you.

However if you're a scholar, a researcher, or simply somebody who needs a devoted machine for energetic each day consumption, be it studying, studying, and note-taking, the OnePlus Pad Go 2 is actually a steal. It has changed my ageing iPad not as a result of it's extra highly effective, however as a result of it's far more utilitarian and does its perform of being a device extraordinarily properly. And that’s all I actually need from it.

OnePlus Pad Go 2 OnePlus Pad Go 2 The OnePlus Pad Go 2 is a stable funds alternative that includes a 12.1-inch 120Hz display screen and a ten,050mAh battery. For $399.99, patrons get a Dimensity 7300 chip and 5 years of software program updates, surprisingly beating the model's flagships in help longevity.

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