The sub-Php10,000 tablet market intensifies with the OPPO Pad SE. Like most of its competition, the goal is to offer a big-screen mobile experience so you can watch movies better, work remotely, participate in online classes, and more.
But how does it fare against the competition from Samsung, HONOR, Xiaomi, realme, and others? Is it the one to get or are you better off with something else? Let’s find out in our full review.
OPPO Pad SE Specs
- Android 15, ColorOS 15.0.1
- 11-inch FHD+ IPS display, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, ~207ppi
- 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate
- 500-nit peak brightness
- MediaTek Helio G100 octa-core processor
- Mali-G57 MC2 GPU
- 4GB RAM
- 128GB internal storage, non-expandable
- 5-megapixel front camera
- 5-megapixel rear camera
- Quad stereo speakers
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.4
- USB-C
- Dimensions: 254.91 x 166.46 x 7.39mm
- Weight: 530g
- Colors: Twilight Blue, Starlight Silver
- 9340mAh non-removable battery, 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging
Design and Build Quality
The OPPO Pad SE inherits the clean but unique design of other OPPO and OnePlus tablets. We got the camera in the middle, a placement that makes a lot of sense for a tablet. The two-tone finish adds character to the look.
A Twilight Blue color option is available in some markets, but the Philippines only has the Starlight Silver.
The Pad SE is nice and comfortable to hold. It’s as thin (7.39mm) as most budget tablets we’ve seen, and has a reasonable amount of weight for the hardware it has. But due to budget limitations, it’s understandable that it doesn’t have any official IP rating for dust and water resistance.
Now let’s take a closer look at the whole frame. Starting on the front, we have the said 11-inch FHD+ IPS display with the right amount of bezels to provide a comfortable grip.
The top has the volume controls and the microphone, while the bottom is clean.
The lock/power button the left side, which is close to the volume buttons so you can take screenshots easily. We also have two speakers here.
The right side has the other two speakers and the USB-C port.
OPPO nailed the design of the OPPO Pad SE. It has a clean yet distinct aesthetic, a comfortable build, and decent durability. It’s not much, but it works.
Display and Audio
The new OPPO Pad SE comes with an 11-inch FHD+ IPS display, with a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, ~207ppi, 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, and 500-nit peak brightness. It also received TUV Rheinland certification for Low Blue Light emission and being Flicker-Free.
Display quality is fine for the price. Unfortunately, it can get too reflective at times, even indoors. But the color quality and sharpness are decent for the price. Having a high refresh rate is appreciated, but the underpowered processor can barely make use of it.
The four speakers were able to satisfy us. It has ample volume, audible bass, and decent treble. Dialogues can get a bit muddy, but forgivable. Stereo separation is noticeable.
Hardware and Performance
The OPPO Pad SE is powered by a 2.2Ghz MediaTek Helio G100 octa-core processor, with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of non-expandable storage.
OPPO Pad SE Benchmark Scores
Day-to-day tasks are doable, but you just need a lot of patience. Lags are persistent, especially if you’re running apps side by side. But for casual web browsing, social media, writing documents, and streaming on Netflix and Disney+, you should be fine.
Now, let’s see how it handles games.
You can play Genshin Impact, but only if you really want to. The game was playable under the lowest preset, but it suffers from lag and frame drops half the time.
Call of Duty Mobile was also playable under Medium graphics and High frames. Unfortunately, it also experiences frame drops here and there. On the upside, both PUBG Mobile and Farlight84 were incredibly smooth albeit under the lowest graphics quality.
Lighter and more optimized games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang had no issues under Ultra graphics and Super frames, as well as Asphalt Legends Unite under Default visuals and 60 frames setting.
While it’s not made for gaming, the OPPO Pad SE can still satisfy casual players. Triple-A titles are playable, as long as you have enough patience.
| Game | Graphics Settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Medium • Frame Rate: High |
| Farlight84 | • Graphics Quality: Smooth • Frame Rate: Very High |
| PUBG Mobile | • Graphics Quality: Smooth • Frame Rate: Extreme |
| Genshin Impact | • Render Resolution: Lowest • Visual Effects: Low • FPS: 30 |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang | • Graphics Quality: Ultra • Frame Rate: Super • HD Mode: On |
| Asphalt Legends Unite | • Visual Quality: Default • Frame Rate: 60 |
Software and User Interface
The OPPO Pad SE ships with Android 15-based ColorOS 15. It’s not clear how long or if it will receive any OS upgrades but it should receive at least 2 years of security patches.
OPPO did a good job at maximizing the large display. As with the mobile version, ColorOS continues to be one of the cleanest and most straightforward interfaces in the market.
Split-screen mode can be accessed via a button in the recent apps tab, albeit a drag-and-drop gesture would’ve been faster. Floating mode is also available if you want to use more than two apps at once, although we don’t really recommend it because of its limited hardware.
OPPO have also made it easier to transfer files and photos so macOS, Windows, iOS, and iPadOS. Simply install the O+ Connect app on the other device then tap the share icon within the Pad SE’s gallery.
Communication Sharing is a handy feature that lets you share the mobile data and GPS of your smartphone when they are close with each other.
Multi-Screen connect lets you drag-and-drop files, sync content and notifications, and do screen mirroring to other OPPO devices that share the same OPPO account.
Google Gemini is the standard assistant and is backed by AI to answer your questions and commands better.
Students and professionals will appreciate the AI Assistant for Notes. It can improve email replies, term papers, and more with features like Format Fixer, Clean up, Polish, Continue writing, and more.
Cameras
The OPPO Pad SE has a 5-megapixel camera in the front for selfies and another 5-megapixel AF on the back for casual snaps.
It can shoot videos at 720p or 1080p at 30fps for both the rear and front cameras.
There are also AI-powered photo editors in the gallery. AI Eraser, Enhance Clarity, Unblur, and Remove Reflections are all here.
Image quality from the rear camera is not good, but acceptable for the price tag. It captures enough data to make small texts visible, which is great for scanning receipts, documents, and more. An actual Document Scanner mode in the camera app would’ve been nice, though.
The front-facing camera is nothing to write home about, either. Skin tones are nice, but it oftentimes lacks sharpness and details. It’s fine for casual selfies and video calls.
Overall, the OPPO Pad SE has serviceable cameras for an affordable tablet.
Battery and Charging
The OPPO Pad SE is equipped with a 9,340mAh non-removable battery with support for 33W SUPERVOOC charging. It has the biggest battery from all the budget-oriented tablets we’ve reviewed in the past few months.
Paired with OPPO’s established battery efficiency, it lasted for 16 hours and 45 minutes in our PCMark battery test and 15 hours and 48 minutes in our 1080p YouTube Video Loop test.
That’s around double the scores that the TechLife Pad Plus 12 and HONOR Pad X9a got. Really impressive.
Charging speeds are nothing special but still relatively fast. The 33W SUPERVOOC adapter takes about 2 hours to fully charge the device. See the full charging test below:
- 15mins: 0-15%
- 30mins: 27%
- 45mins: 40%
- 1hr: 52%
- 1hr 30mins: 78%
- 1hr 45mins: 90%
- 2hrs: FULL
Verdict
The OPPO Pad SE offers a satisfactory value for the price. It has a large display with a thin and light build, clean design, good stereo speakers, a straightforward interface with extra durability features, decent day-to-day performance, and one of the longest battery lives in its segment.
Due to hardware limitations, it’s definitely not made for gaming. The cameras are pretty basic, and the display can be too reflective.
But if you manage your expectations, you should be fine. The OPPO Pad SE is more than enough for social media, casual web browsing, spending hours on YouTube, or binge-watching on Netflix and other streaming platforms.
OPPO Pad SE pricing and availability in the Philippines
The OPPO Pad SE has an SRP of Php9,999 in the Philippines. It is available in Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and physical stores nationwide.
Pros
- Thin and light, clean design
- Clean and straightforward interface
- Good speakers
- Great battery life
Cons
- Display can be too reflective
- Not for gaming
- So-so cameras