OnePlus Pad 3 vs iPad Air M3: The Ultimate 2025 Tablet Showdown

In 2025, the tablet market continues to heat up with flagship contenders like the OnePlus Pad 3 and the Apple iPad Air M3. Both devices aim to deliver premium performance, sleek designs, and excellent displays, but they cater to slightly different audiences and ecosystems. If you're torn between these two tablets, this comprehensive comparison will break down everything you need to know — from display and processing power to software experience and value.

Design and Build: Sleekness Meets Substance

The OnePlus Pad 3 sports a polished chassis that impresses with its build quality. Despite being slightly heavier than the iPad Air, it’s shorter and thinner, thanks to its unique screen aspect ratio. This makes it comfortable to hold and visually distinctive.

On the other hand, the iPad Air M3 maintains Apple's signature minimalist and premium aesthetic with an ultra-slim profile. The 13-inch Wi-Fi model measures 11.04 inches tall, 8.46 inches wide, and just 0.24 inches thick, weighing about 616 grams. Its aluminum unibody and smooth finish make it feel sturdy yet lightweight for a large tablet.

Both tablets are designed for portability and premium feel, but the iPad Air M3 wins on lightweight feel, while the OnePlus Pad 3 offers a slightly more compact form factor despite its extra weight.

Display: Brightness, Resolution, and Refresh Rate

Display quality is one of the biggest decision factors in tablets. Here, both devices shine but with different strengths.

• OnePlus Pad 3 features a 13-inch LCD panel with 144Hz adaptive refresh rate and a more pixel-dense display compared to the iPad Air. It matches the iPad’s brightness in normal conditions but surpasses it by 50% in High Brightness Mode (HBM), making it excellent for outdoor use. The higher refresh rate delivers smoother UI interactions and gaming experience.

• The iPad Air M3 has a Liquid Retina 13-inch display with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels at 264 ppi and a peak brightness of 600 nits. It supports True Tone, P3 wide color gamut, and an anti-reflective coating. However, it sticks to a 60Hz refresh rate, which feels less fluid compared to the OnePlus Pad 3.

If you prioritize smoothness and outdoor viewing, the OnePlus Pad 3’s display is the clear winner. But if you want color accuracy and Apple’s refined display tech, the iPad Air remains compelling.

Performance: Powerhouses in Their Own Right

Powering these tablets are two different beasts:

• The iPad Air M3 is equipped with Apple's latest M3 chip featuring an 8-core CPU and 9-core GPU, delivering nearly 2x faster performance than the previous M1 iPad Air and up to 3.5x faster than the A14 Bionic. This chip excels in efficiency and raw power, making it perfect for demanding creative workflows, multitasking, and gaming.

• The OnePlus Pad 3 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, optimized for Android tablets. It’s a powerhouse in the Android space, offering smooth performance and efficient multitasking, supported by up to 16GB RAM and up to 512GB storage. It handles productivity apps and heavy games well but lags slightly behind Apple's M3 in raw GPU performance.

For power users and creatives, the iPad Air M3’s M3 chip provides unmatched speed and efficiency, especially when paired with iPadOS 18 and Apple Pencil support. The OnePlus Pad 3 is no slouch but Android’s app optimization for tablets still trails behind iPadOS.

Software and Ecosystem: iPadOS vs OxygenOS

Software experience can make or break a tablet choice.

• The iPad Air M3 runs iPadOS 18, offering seamless integration with Apple’s ecosystem, including support for Apple Pencil Pro, the new Magic Keyboard, and continuity features with Macs and iPhones. iPadOS’s multitasking, split view, and app optimization make it highly productive and enjoyable.

• The OnePlus Pad 3 uses OxygenOS 15, a customized Android 13 experience tailored for tablets. It brings features like split-screen, floating windows, and multi-app use with up to three apps simultaneously. While OxygenOS is polished and user-friendly, Android apps are not always fully optimized for large tablets, which can affect experience.

If you value software fluidity, productivity, and a mature tablet ecosystem, iPad Air M3 is superior. OxygenOS 15 is impressive but still plays catch-up in app optimization.

Cameras and Multimedia

• The iPad Air M3 features a 12MP wide rear camera with 5x digital zoom, Smart HDR 4, and 4K video recording, plus a 12MP front camera with Center Stage for video calls.

• The OnePlus Pad 3 offers decent cameras for a tablet, but lacks the advanced image processing of Apple’s hardware.

For photography, video calls, and creative tasks, the iPad Air M3’s cameras are noticeably better.

Battery Life and Charging

Both tablets offer solid battery life capable of all-day use, but Apple’s power-efficient M3 chip and optimized iPadOS often translate to more consistent longevity in real-world use. The iPad Air supports 20W USB-C fast charging, while the OnePlus Pad 3 supports fast charging as well, though exact endurance varies with usage.

Pricing and Value

Price plays a key role in decision making:

The OnePlus Pad 3 offers competitive specs at a slightly lower price, but adding accessories can increase total spend. The iPad Air M3 commands a premium but justifies it with performance, ecosystem, and build quality.

Final Thoughts: Which Should You Choose?

If you want the smoothest display, great Android experience, and slightly cheaper option, go for the OnePlus Pad 3. But if you prioritize raw performance, software polish, and ecosystem integration, the iPad Air M3 is the best tablet of 2025 without question.

Whichever tablet you pick, both the OnePlus Pad 3 and iPad Air M3 represent the cutting edge of tablet innovation this year.

For those interested, the OnePlus Pad 3 on Amazon.in and the Apple iPad Air M3 on Apple Official Store are available for purchase now.