Oppo Pad 5 Pro review: A solid Android tablet all-rounder

When it comes to the best tablets, Apple is well known to reign supreme – and sells the most by far. But there's also plenty of room for Android slates, just that fewer makers are really hitting this market – with Oppo being one notable exception.

While the base Oppo Pad 5 was a so-so performer, the Pro variant, as reviewed here, ramps up the performance considerably – without crazy pricing that would otherwise set people running afar.

Indeed, with Samsung's Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra costing an arm and a leg – it's even pricier than the latest spate of Googlebooks – Oppo's mid-tier 13.2-inch tablet ticks a lot of the right boxes and could, with the right accessories, even be a laptop replacement.

Price & Availability

The Oppo Pad 5 Pro is on sale right now in the UK, where its official price of £699 is currently cut to £599 in a launch promotion.

You won't find the tablet in the USA or Australia, but our European chums can pick one up for €799 – again with the promotion making that €699 at the time of writing.

Design & Features

• Thickness: 0.59m / Weight: 672g
• 13.2-inch IPS LCD display:
  • 7:5 aspect ratio
  • 144Hz refresh rate
  • 3392 x 2400 resolution
  • 1000 nits peak brightness
• Aluminium frame and rear
• 13-megapixel camera
• Mocha Brown finish

I've been using the Oppo Pad 5 Pro for watching movies and TV shows when on the go primarily, so its 7:5 aspect ratio arguably isn't the best match – but I've found its 13.2-inch diagonal scale more than makes up for that.

That aspect ratio is more geared towards work, of course, and fortunately I've also been using the Smart Keyboard (sold separately at £199). That's also really nicely made, netting you a laptop-like replacement for less than an entry-level Acer Googlebook.

The screen's 3K panel is (inevitably) bursting with resolution, has an adaptive refresh rate, and just looks crisp no matter what you're doing on it. Downsides are the glossy finish in how it deals out reflections and, well, it's an LCD type – not an OLED.

Is no OLED a total deal-breaker? That'll depend on your needs. I would have preferred it for the richer colour, higher contrast and deeper black levels, as, like I say, I've been using the tablet for watching content.

There'd also be a theoretical higher cost implication if that was the case though. For working, however, the LCD is perfectly good, decently bright – and that makes it versatile for even outdoor use, as and when needed.

The overall finish is otherwise nicely composed with an aluminium shell; the 'Mocha' isn't as outright brown as you might assume – it's got a nice warmth about it – but it does absolutely love to take on fingerprint smears. If you use an accessory case or that keyboard then that'll help hide the smudges.

Performance & Battery

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
• 8GB RAM (LPDDR5X)+ 256GB storage
• 13,380mAh battery capacity
• 67W fast charging
• Wi-Fi only

Inside the Pad 5 Pro is last year's top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (Gen 5) chipset, which is still a class act today – and, crucially, a leap beyond what's in the base Pad 5 model.

I've found the Pad 5 Pro to be perfectly adept with my streaming needs – note that it's Wi-Fi only; there are no SIM models for on-the-go connectivity – with the usual array of Android apps from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon and more all doing their dues.

Even gaming is no issue, as I've been dabbling in my favourite go-to titles, which have operated with decent frame rates, avoided overheating, and by and large felt like gaming on a giant Android phone. Which is just as I'd expect, really.

Some may say there's not enough power here, but most users simply aren't going to require that much of a tablet product – and Oppo's balance of hardware to price seems on point.

More RAM would have been nice, mind, as the 8GB here is rather trim – just switching it on with nothing else loaded uses up the first 5.5GB!

However, the ColorOS 16 software – which is a generation behind Oppo's latest, as is the Android 16 base on which it ships – has a little trick up its sleeve, able to use an additional 8GB as backup 'RAM' and avoid unnecessary slowdowns.

ColorOS does mean some app double-ups – Google Play and Oppo's App Market vying for which gets there first for updates, for example – but I've not found it too taxing. It avoids the software bloat some competitors have, while its split-screen and pop-up window functions are even better to function in a tablet form than on a phone.

Battery life, meanwhile, has proven very strong indeed. My review unit houses a 13,380mAh cell, which is 15% greater capacity than the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra – the latter which has a far larger display to deliver power to.

As a result, I've been getting a full day of non-stop streaming from this Oppo tablet – not that I stayed up the whole time! – when testing with YouTube content. Literally 24 hours on the go!

Verdict

The Oppo Pad 5 Pro succeeds where the base Pad 5 couldn't quite show its worth, delivering a powerful, long-lasting, and nicely made Android tablet with a sensible price tag.

Whether for work or play, the highly resolute 13.2-inch display has plenty to shout about – although it can't compete with an OLED panel, and its 7:5 aspect ratio does feel more productivity-aligned overall. But that might be perfect for your needs.

Add in a solid battery life, software that (despite being a generation behind at launch) functions well both in-hand and, thanks to additional features, with accessories attached, and Oppo has come up trumps in delivering a quality tablet.

Also Consider

If you want a cheaper slate option, then Lenovo's Idea Tab Pro can be picked up for even less – and its 16:10 aspect ratio 12.7-inch display is arguably better aligned for content consumption.

Outside of the Android market, of course, there's Apple's winning base iPad option, which is cheaper again – so long as you're content with iPad OS and the smaller 11-inch scale of this product.