Phones, earbuds, and now tablets: Oppo is entering the local market with the Pad Air, its first tablet device to reach Australian shores.
Not to be confused with the iPad Air from Apple, the distinctly ‘i’-less Pad Air from Oppo runs on the bespoke Android operating system ColorOS, which supports several gesture-based commands and multitasking features expected from modern tablets.
If you swipe down the screen with two fingers, the tablet kicks into multitasking mode. Here, you can open two apps at once, or even two windows of the same app when you need to reference information from different locations. The Pad Air also supports cross-device functionality with compatible Oppo phones. Similar to what you can do between Android 13 devices, you can easily drag and drop files, and copy clipboard content between an Oppo phone and a Pad Air. A neat wrinkle to this is the ability to cast and control your Oppo phone’s screen to the tablet as well.
On the inside, the upcoming tablet uses the eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 Mobile CPU built to support multitasking, with 4GB RAM and a further 3GB of virtual RAM. Oppo claims the included 7100mAh battery lasts up to 15 hours of continuous video calling or 12 hours of video playback. 18W USB fast-charging is supported, meaning it shouldn’t take too long to recharge.
From a day-to-day experience perspective, the Pad Air has a 10.36-inch 2K display which is meant to reduce eye fatigue through low blue light levels. As with the recently-launched TCL Nxtpaper 10s, manufacturers are clearly focusing on comfortable reading and watching experiences. Although the Pad Air doesn’t feature Dolby Vision, it does support Dolby Atmos through its four symmetrical 1W speakers.
Out 27 October, the Pad Air costs $379 from many of the regular local Oppo stockists, including the brand’s official website. If you’re eyeing an upgrade or a switch to the Oppo ecosystem, a launch promotion will net you a free Pad Air and Smart Cover with the purchase of a Find X5 Pro or Find X5 phone. This promotion runs from 27 October through to 24 November this year.
Aside from a reasonable price and helpful multitasking features, the Pad Air is likely to cause confusion by virtue of its name. Even a quick Google search results in multiple iPad Air listings instead of the similarly-named Oppo tablet. Clearly, the price difference between the companies’ respective tablets indicates different target markets, which should hopefully resolve anyone’s uncertainty at the checkout.
