Over the past few years, OPPO has gradually expanded its tablet portfolio, offering options mostly in the affordable segment. The OPPO Pad 5 is its most premium tablet so far, with a starting price of Rs 26,999. It targets users who want a tablet that feels premium in everyday use but without the high price tag associated with flagship tablets.
With a large display, slim design, capable mid-range hardware, and a software experience tailored for larger screens, the OPPO Pad 5 aims to deliver a balanced experience for entertainment, light productivity, and casual gaming. It is clearly designed for people who want a tablet mainly for streaming content, browsing, studying, or light work, while still enjoying a polished design and reliable performance.
Table of Contents
Slim and premium design
The OPPO Pad 5 follows a familiar tablet design language, but the company has kept things sleek and practical. The tablet is thin and relatively lightweight, which makes it comfortable to hold for extended periods, whether you’re browsing, reading, or watching content.
One standout option is the Aurora Pink colour variant, which is a refreshing addition in the Android tablet space. Many tablets tend to stick to standard grey or silver finishes, so this colour gives the OPPO Pad 5 a bit of personality while still looking refined. The tablet comes in a Starlight Black option as well.
In everyday use, the tablet feels easy to handle. You can comfortably hold it while reading or simply place it on a phone holder or stand to watch movies and TV shows, which is likely how many people will end up using it most of the time. The tablet, however, lacks durability with no IP rating, so you don’t get dedicated protection against dust and water. For context, the Redmi Pad 2 Pro comes with an IP53 rating.
The display is clearly one of the highlights here. The OPPO Pad 5 features a 12.1-inch 2.8K (2800 × 1980 pixels) LCD display with an adaptive refresh rate (30/60/90/120Hz), 900nits peak brightness, and Dolby Vision. This display setup makes scrolling through apps and websites feel fluid. Colours appear vibrant, brightness levels are strong enough for indoor viewing, and overall clarity is sharp for streaming shows or watching YouTube videos.
Combined with the display is a quad-speaker setup, which significantly improves the entertainment experience. The speakers can get surprisingly loud and are capable of filling an entire room. Whether you’re watching movies, streaming shows, or listening to music, the stereo separation and volume add to the immersive feel.
For users who enjoy writing or drawing, the tablet supports the OPPO Pencil 2R, although it must be purchased separately (Rs 2,999). The stylus can enhance the tablet’s functionality, especially for note-taking or illustration. OPPO has also included several AI-powered features designed for the stylus, such as real-time handwriting polish, AI-powered note-taking, and handwriting formula calculation, which can be useful for students and professionals alike.
However, OPPO did not ship the Pencil 2R with our review unit, so we can’t comment on its performance. There is also no dedicated official folio case for the OPPO Pad 5 at the moment, meaning you will likely need to rely on third-party accessories. Realistically, tablets become much more versatile when paired with accessories like a stylus or case, so investing in them can help unlock the device’s full potential.
Reliable performance
The OPPO Pad 5 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Ultra SoC paired with 8GB LPDDR5X RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. This is a mid-range chipset, which positions it as a capable everyday tablet rather than a performance-focused device. In daily use, the tablet handles common tasks like web browsing, video streaming, and multitasking between apps without much trouble.
Benchmark scores are respectable for the segment, although they are not the highest among tablets in this price category. For context, the OPPO Pad 5 scored 984,552 on the AnTuTu benchmark, while the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro (review) posted a higher score of 1,215,286. Its Geekbench scores are decent, with a single-core score of 1008 and multi-core score of 3107.
Gaming performance is also quite decent. Titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and BGMI run smoothly with stable frame rates on one of the highest graphics settings. During our time with the tablet, temperature rise remained minimal, which is always a good sign for longer gaming sessions. That said, gaming on a tablet isn’t always the most convenient experience due to the larger size, so the OPPO Pad 5 feels more suited to casual gaming rather than long, competitive sessions.
The OPPO Pad 5 features an 8MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. These cameras are fairly basic, which is expected for a tablet. Most people are unlikely to use a tablet for photography, so the primary purpose here is video calls and online classes. For those tasks, the cameras are perfectly adequate and get the job done without any issues.
All-day battery life
Battery life is another area where the OPPO Pad 5 performs well. With mixed usage that includes browsing, app usage, and streaming online content, the tablet can comfortably last an entire day on a single charge. Charging speeds are rated at 33W, which is fairly standard for tablets in this segment. It’s not the fastest charging solution available, but it is adequate for topping up the battery within a reasonable amount of time. It takes around one hour and 10 minutes to go from 20 to 100 percent.
In our PCMark battery test, the tablet recorded 8 hours and 1 minute, which is a decent result. However, if longer battery endurance is your top priority, you may want to consider alternatives like the Redmi Pad 2 Pro (review), which offers slightly better battery performance.
Customisable UI
The OPPO Pad 5 runs ColorOS 16 based on Android 16 for Pad, and OPPO has clearly put some thought into making the interface more tablet-friendly. One interesting addition is the Flux home screen, which includes a flexible dock that can hold up to 15 apps. The interface also supports a home-screen grid capable of displaying up to 60 apps, allowing you to keep many apps on the main screen without it feeling overly cluttered.
Tablet software often lacks the level of customisation seen on smartphones, but OPPO does offer some flexibility through Flux themes. These themes allow you to adjust wallpapers, icons, and colours, giving the interface a more personalised look.
Verdict
The OPPO Pad 5 delivers a solid mid-range tablet experience with a strong focus on entertainment and everyday usability. Its slim design, vibrant display, and powerful quad-speaker setup make it a great option for watching movies, streaming shows, and browsing content.
Performance is reliable for regular tasks and casual gaming, while the software offers useful tablet-focused features and some welcome customisation options. Battery life is also good enough to get through a full day of typical usage.
However, the lack of bundled accessories, such as the OPPO Pencil 2R or a dedicated folio case, means users who want to use the tablet for productivity or note-taking may need to spend extra on accessories.
If you’re looking for a well-designed Android tablet for entertainment, online classes, light work, and everyday use, the OPPO Pad 5 is a dependable option. But if battery endurance is important to you, it might be worth comparing it with alternatives like the Redmi Pad 2 Pro before making a final decision.
The OPPO Pad 5 is still a good option for casual users or anyone looking for a mid-range option that still delivers in all key areas. The OPPO Pad 5 is priced at Rs 26,999 for the Wi-Fi model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and the 5G model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage at Rs 32,999.
Editor’s rating: 8/10
Pros
- Slim and lightweight design
- Large, vibrant display
- Loud and immersive quad-speaker setup
- Tablet-optimised and customisable UI
Cons
- Lack of accessories
- No IP rating
OPPO Pad 5 Images
