55%
Plausible
It has been nearly two years since the iPad mini 7 became everyone’s favorite compact tablet to enjoy, but that’s also because no one in the Android camp believed that introducing a competitor of their own was necessary, until now. OnePlus, which has had some experience in this segment, is allegedly planning to introduce a rival that’s outfitted with flagship specifications, but that also means the slate will fetch a significantly higher price. Looking at Apple’s unparalleled dominance in the tablet space, companies don’t dare take on the Cupertino firm, so this is a refreshing start.
The iPad mini 7 rival from OnePlus is rumored to feature a high refresh rate OLED panel, a slightly bigger display, and a top-end silicon
On paper, OnePlus’ compact tablet has all the key ingredients to take on the iPad mini 7, starting with its 8.8-inch OLED display that supports a 144Hz refresh rate, making it operate incredibly smoothly. The rest of the details shared by Abhishek Yadav state that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 will be a part of the innards, with the SoC complemented by an undisclosed amount of LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage.
The tablet is expected to run Android 16 when unboxed, along with housing a 13MP primary sensor at the back, and an 8MP shooter at the front. Keeping all the lights on is an 8,000mAh battery, which can be topped up with a 67W power brick. With the exception of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, OnePlus has a decent array of internals that are rumored to be found in its upcoming tablet, but what about the price?
OnePlus cleverly omitted the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 from the specifications because it knew it couldn’t compete with the iPad mini 7 in a pricing match
At $439 for the base model on retailers like Amazon, the iPad mini 7 currently occupies a strong position in the compact tablet space. Not only that, but the A17 Pro and 8GB RAM pairing allows users to engage in AAA gaming sessions, and iPadOS also serves as a productivity-focused operating system, offering external keyboard and mouse support. Additionally, the iPad mini 7 offers ‘out of the box’ support for iPadOS 27, which is expected to be previewed next month.
OnePlus likely looked over the iPad mini 7’s price and decided not to go with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 because at $280 apiece, the premium SoC alone is worth nearly 64 percent of Apple’s entire tablet, so choosing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 gives OnePlus some flexibility in keeping its tablet affordable. For productivity and media consumption, the Android tablet can offer some utility, but for proper AAA gaming, there are limited options, with emulation being a solution, but it’s not without its challenges.
There’s also no telling how long OnePlus will offer support for its compact OLED tablet, as it could stop receiving major annual software updates in just two years, making the iPad mini 7 the superior choice. Also, if things weren’t bad enough, the iPad mini 8 could arrive later this year, with its chipset choice being the A19 Pro at the very least, or, if we’re being optimistic, an A20 Pro. There’s also the DRAM shortage to worry about, which OnePlus will have to factor in. In short, the company has an uphill battle on its hands, but we do appreciate that it dared to take on Apple.
News Source: Abhishek Yadav
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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