I compared two almost identical bargain Android tablets, and there’s a clear winner

It shouldn’t be confusing to buy a new tablet, yet together, Oppo and OnePlus seem to be going out of their way to make purchasing a bargain Android slate as awkward as possible.

Oppo wants to sell you the Oppo Pad SE, while OnePlus wants to sell you the OnePlus Pad Lite, and there’s so little to split them, it makes the decision over which one needlessly annoying.

I know why this is the case. Oppo and OnePlus share research and development, and often release similar devices, sometimes in different regions. Still, that doesn’t mean I like it.

With both tablets in my hand, I’m in the unique position to try them both out and offer my buying advice, so you can avoid OnePlus and Oppo’s silly games.

How similar are they?

Barely any difference

The two tablets are both made from aluminum and share the same design, with a central circular camera module in landscape orientation, face unlock only, and an 11-inch IPS LCD screen.

The resolution is the same at 1200 x 1920 pixels, both have a 90Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 500 nits.

Driving the pair is a MediaTek Helio G100 processor and a 9340mAh battery, recharged using a USB-C cable at up to 33W. There are two 5-megapixel cameras, one on the back and one above the screen.

Even the dimensions are the same at 7.4mm thick, and both weigh almost 530 grams. Aside from coming in slightly different colors, there’s practically no way to tell the pair apart outside of the brand name on the back.

How much do they cost?

These are both bargain Android tablets, ideal for those who don’t want to splash out on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 or an Apple iPad, but still want a machine capable of the basics plus a bit more.

Neither is officially available in the US. While both can be bought in the UK, only one specification is available for both. The 6GB/128GB OnePlus Pad Lite costs £199, and the 4GB/128GB Oppo Pad SE costs £219.

Bet you didn’t see that coming. Yes, the Oppo Pad SE’s retail price is higher than the OnePlus Pad Lite.

Odd considering the difference in RAM and the otherwise identical specification. At the time of writing, there is a deal to bring the Pad SE’s price down to £199 to match the OnePlus Pad Lite, but this may not always be the case.

So they’re lazy rebrands?

Yes, and no

While Oppo and OnePlus haven’t exactly worked hard to make the pair different from each other, there are a few differences, with potentially the top one being that only one model may be officially available to buy where you live.

Still, it’s entirely possible to buy them both online, regardless, which means you may still face making a choice.

The base Oppo Pad SE has only 4GB of RAM, while the OnePlus Pad Lite starts with 6GB of RAM.

The Pad SE is also available with 256GB of internal storage space in its highest configuration, but you’ll only ever get 128GB with the OnePlus Pad Lite.

I’ve also been using the basic 4GB Oppo Pad SE and 6GB OnePlus Pad Lite, allowing me to truly assess how much value the cheapest model in each range represents, and the RAM difference will turn out to be decisive.

The additional storage in the Oppo tablet may be appealing, depending on your expected use.

Then there’s the software. Both have Android 15, but the OnePlus Pad Lite has OxygenOS 15, and the Oppo Pad SE has Color OS 15.

These two are peas in a pod at the best of times, and after spending time with the pair on essentially the same device, back-to-back, it’s impossible to say I prefer one over the other.

What are the tablets like to use?

Is there really any difference?

OnePlus’s OxygenOS 15 is a pleasant-to-use, neat-looking operating system with only a handful of pre-installed apps.

Unsurprisingly, ColorOS 15 is almost identical outside of a few design differences, so trying to work out if one is better than the other is mostly pointless.

While the screens have a 90Hz refresh rate, neither is all that smooth when scrolling apps like Reddit and Chrome, with significant blur on both.

Play a fairly simple, but often action-packed game like Flying Tank, and the pair perform the same, with smooth gameplay even when the screen is busy.

There is a tiny difference in audio, with the OnePlus Pad Lite’s speaker system delivering a slightly fuller sound, but it’s only really obvious when listening back-to-back.

Running the 3DMark benchmarking app’s 20-minute Wildlife Extreme test showed neither suffered from heat buildup, and to no one’s surprise, both scored exactly the same.

How about efficiency, and does the extra RAM in the OnePlus make a difference?

A 30-minute YouTube video at full brightness took 7% on the OnePlus Pad Lite, and playing a YouTube video for a similar length of time on the Oppo Pad SE took 6% of the battery.

The Wildlife Extreme benchmark test took 5% from the batteries on each tablet, so it’s unlikely that one is going to provide longer battery life than the other.

Which one is best?

There’s only one winner

Both the OnePlus Pad Lite and the Oppo Pad SE are excellent budget Android tablets, and both handle video, games, apps like Reddit, and even work in Google Docs with a wireless keyboard without a problem.

Multitasking with two apps in split-screen mode didn’t show that the OnePlus Pad Lite’s 6GB of RAM was an advantage over the 4GB Oppo Pad SE either.

After hours of using both tablets, I noticed some slight hesitation in the software on the Oppo Pad SE even during general use, which I assume is due to the 4GB of RAM.

It’s always advisable to get the highest specification mobile device you can afford, and the extra 2GB of RAM in the OnePlus Pad Lite does make me lean towards it more, even if it doesn’t make much of a difference in all scenarios.

Considering the OnePlus Pad Lite has a lower retail price, it’s really the one to buy out of the two.

Think that’s the final verdict? It is, device-wise, but because they are so similar, I’d still recommend the model you find for the best price.

Both seem to attract different deals, and because you can buy the Oppo Pad SE with a 6GB/128GB configuration in some regions, if it shows up for a great price, it’s likely to be just as good as the 6GB/128GB OnePlus Pad Lite.

Oppo and OnePlus confused buyers with two almost identical tablets, but the conclusion about which one to buy should be clear: it’s the cheapest one.