The Oppo Pad 5 Matte Display has a 12.1” IPS LCD that is optimized for reading and note-taking. It has 2,800 x 1,980px resolution, runs at 120Hz refresh rate and renders 12-bit colors. As the name suggests, this has a matte display instead of a glossy one. The panel is TÜV Rheinland certified for a 97% cut to reflections and a 70% reduction in harmful blue light.
You can check out our unboxing post to learn more about the slate and its key selling points. Here we will focus on performance – how good is that Dimensity 7300 Ultra? Note that we are testing the middle version with 8GB of RAM (LPDDR5X) and 256GB storage (UFS 3.1). The base model has an 8/128GB configuration and top model is 12/256GB.
The anti-glare screen is a bit dull, but fights off all reflections
Before we dive in, we should add some context – specifically pricing. In Malaysia, an 8/256GB Wi-Fi model costs MYR 2,100, while the same in Singapore costs SGD 570. Here is some of the competition that we have picked out.
The Xiaomi Pad 7, a MYR 1,500 / SGD 500 tablet, features an 11.2” IPS LCD (144Hz, 3,200 x 2,136px) and a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3. The OnePlus Pad Go 2 is SGD 370 for an 8/128GB slate that has a 12.1” IPS LCD (120Hz, 2,800 x 1,980px) display and uses the same Dimensity 7300 Ultra as the Oppo. The Poco Pad M1 is MYR 1,000 / SGD 350 for an 8/256GB model – it pairs a 12.1” IPS LCD (120Hz, 2,560 x 1,600px) with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4.
It’s clear that the Oppo Pad 5 Matte Display spent a lot of its budget on the eponymous matte display, which left it with a relatively underpowered chipset.
The Dimensity 7300 Ultra is a 6nm chip (TSMC N6) with 4x Cortex-A78 cores (2.8GHz) and 4x Cortex-A55 cores. This puts it in the middle of the pack in terms of single and multi-core performance. The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 has a clear lead in single-core thanks to its Cortex-X4 prime core (2.8GHz), but its multi-core score is great too. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 misses out on the X4 core, but it does have four Cortex-A720 cores and four Cortex-A520, which are a newer generation than the Dimensity 7300 CPU cores.
Overall performance is similarly in the middle of the pack. The tablet has one of the highest resolution displays here, which does affect its performance – of course, the sharp display is crucial for a good reading and writing experience. Storage speed also makes a difference – the Oppo has UFS 3.1, the same as the OnePlus Pad Go 2 and the Infinix XPad GT. The Xiaomi Pad 7 has the faster UFS 4.0, while the Redmi Pad 2 and Poco Pad M1 have slower UFS 2.2 storage.
The Mali-G615 MC2 GPU is fairly modern, but its low core count holds it back. So, even the old-but-gold Snapdragon 888 inside the Infinix tablet edges it out. The Oppo beats Helio-class GPUs, but struggles against tablets with mid-range Snapdragon 7-series chips. The Xiaomi Pad 7 in particular is in a different performance class.
The Oppo Pad 5 Matte Display is definitely not the tablet to get for gaming, video editing or other heavy workloads. It is better suited for school or office work where reading, reviewing and note-taking make up the bulk of the time that you spend with the tablet.
That said, its middling performance leaves an opening for some competitors. For example, Xiaomi sells the Pad 7 with a glossy display by default. However, in some regions there is a nano textured version (aka soft light version), which reduces screen reflectivity by 65% and removes 99% of interfering light. This version costs extra, of course, but the Oppo Pad 5 Matte Display is already fairly expensive.
