With the new school year just around the corner, you’re probably on the lookout for a reliable tablet for studying. And for young professionals starting their first jobs, having a capable device for productivity tasks like emails, documents, and more is just as essential.
But one common concern for both students and young professionals is the budget, they want to invest in a tablet that’s affordable yet packed with versatile features for both work and school.
You might want to check out the new OPPO Pad SE, a device that’s designed to cater to students, young professionals, and casual users alike. Priced at just PHP9,999, it delivers a sleek design, vibrant display, and reliable performance. Despite its budget-friendly price, it still offers a surprisingly premium experience.
With that being said, we had the chance to go hands-on with the OPPO Pad SE to explore its features and share everything you need to know. So read along and find out what this tablet has to offer.
Design and Build Quality
There’s not much going on in terms of the design, and like many tablets, the OPPO Pad SE leans into a minimalistic approach. However, what sets it apart is the back panel has a two-tone design on its aluminum alloy unibody with a matte finish which gives it a premium feel and a look that stands out from other tablets in its class.
At the top center in landscape postion is the rear camera, followed by the OPPO logo in the middle and the certification marks at the bottom. They are all perfectly aligned down the center.
It has a slim profile at just 7.39 mm thick and weighing approximately 530 grams comfortable to hold for extended periods and easy to place it inside your backpack or bag. It’s available in two color variants in Twilight Blue and our unit in Starlight White.
The ports and buttons are placed in standard positions, but what really important is the speaker setup, with two speaker grilles on each side to deliver a well-balanced wide stereo audio quality. It’s also equipped with two microphones to ensure clearer voice pickup during calls.
The front is made of glass with evenly sized bezels around the screen for a better viewing experience. The front camera is positioned at the center of the longer bezel that puts you perfectly in frame during online work meetings or virtual classes.
The tablet also has a 36-Month Fluency Protection to guarantee a smooth and reliable experience for you and your family for years to come.
For me, the design is pretty good! Again, unlike other tablets that settle for a plain, shimmering metallic flat back panel, the OPPO Pad SE stands out with a more thoughtful approach. It doesn’t go overboard with aesthetics but instead embraces a clean, minimalist look that feels elegant and well-crafted.
Display
Equipped with a large 11-inch 2K LCD display, the OPPO Pad SE offers a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, a pixel density of 207 PPI, and an 16:10 aspect ratio which makes it great for watching, reading, and browsing.
The screen has a refresh rate of 60Hz, with a maximum of up to 90Hz, making scrolling through social media pages feel smooth and responsive.
With a peak brightness of 500 nits, the display is bright enough for indoor use, though we see that it struggles a bit under direct sunlight.
Colors are excellent, thanks to its 98% color gamut in Vivid mode and 10-bit color depth, over a billion colors, delivering a vibrant and lively visuals.
The display is TÜV Rheinland-certified for Low Blue Light and Flicker-Free performance, helping reduce eye strain and ensuring a more comfortable viewing experience even during extended use.
Performance
Into the internal cores of the tablet, the OPPO Pad SE is powered by the MediaTek Helio G100 octa-core processor, a recently launched and up-to-date chipset from 2024. Built on a 6-nanometer process, the Helio G100 delivers efficient performance with clock speeds of up to 2.2GHz and paired with a Mali-G57 MC2 for its GPU.
It comes with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. To enhance multitasking and overall app performance, the OPPO Pad SE also supports RAM Expansion of up to 4GB which gives you a total of 8GB RAM.
You’ve probably already noticed the tablet’s onboard storage and for some users, it might not be enough. Since the OPPO Pad SE doesn’t support microSD cards for storage expansion, you’ll need to rely on cloud storage options like Google Drive if you need extra space or an external USB-C drive.
Putting all these hardware configurations together, the OPPO Pad SE delivered smooth multitasking and efficient performance. Whether we are using it for web browsing, lots of media consumption, social media updates, or work-related tasks like emails, typing documents, and editing Excel sheets the tablet handled them all with ease. We even completed part of this review using the tablet’s digital keyboard, which we felt responsive and comfortable to use.
Our benchmark scores for the OPPO Pad SE:
- GeekBench 6 CPU: 718 Single Core / 1884 Multi-Core
- GeekBench 6 GPU: 1357 GPU OpenCL Score
- CPDT: 356.37 MB/s Write, 720.38 MB/s Read
- PCMark: 8330 Work 3.0 Performance
- 3DMark: 1355 Wild Life (8.12 fps)
With its quad-speaker setup, the OPPO Pad SE gives out a well-balanced sound that’s great for watching movies, streaming shows, or even gaming. Vocals come through clearly, and there’s a nice amount of treble and mids but the bass falls a bit short, but overall, the audio quality still holds up well for everyday use.
Connect your favorite earbuds you’ll enjoy better sound as it supports Hi-Res and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification providing users a rich, detailed, and studio-quality sound for music, movies, or even calls.
The tablet also comes with a smart audio feature called Omnibearing Sound Field which its purpose is pretty cool. It adjusts the left and right audio channels depending on how you’re holding the tablet. Whenever you’re watching a movie in landscape mode or just scrolling through TikTok or YouTube in portrait, the sound follows your orientation. The audio always feels natural and clear, no matter how you use the tablet.
Camera
The OPPO Pad SE cameras are nothing to boast about, as expected with most tablets, but we feel they’re still reliable and perform well for their intended purposes.
The rear camera is equipped with a 5MP lens, along with another 5MP lens for the front-facing camera. It supports video recording at 1080p and 720p, both at 30 frames per second.
As for the image quality, the rear camera produces decent photos under well-lit conditions, with natural colors and acceptable detail. However, low-light situations tend to show up some noise and details are soft.
The front camera is adequate for video calls and online meetings, offering decent image quality and clear facial details provided you have good lighting conditions, especially indoors.
Here are some sample photos to give you a better idea of the camera’s performance.
1x Photo mode, Outdoor, Sunny Weather
1x Photo mode, Indoor, Ambient Lighting
1x Photo mode, Outdoor, Sunny Weather
1x Photo mode, Outdoor, Cloudy Weather
Selfie, Outdoor, Cloudy Weather
To sum it up, the cameras aren’t meant for professional photography, as expected from their 5MP lenses, however they’re still perfectly usable for casual snaps, video calls, and scanning documents. For example like for work-related tasks, you can use the camera to snap photos of receipts, letters, or even notes on a whiteboard if you need it for filing, documentation, or quick reminders.
Battery
The battery capacity of the OPPO Pad SE offers a massive 9,340 mAh with support for 33W fast charging, the tablet can be quickly recharged which helps minimize downtime. Although some users might find the 33W fast charging a bit limited, it still does a decent job of powering up the battery smoothly. In fact, many other affordable tablets in the market offer even lower charging speeds. So, the 33W is just fine with us.
Charging the tablet, it was able to go from zero to a full charge in roughly 2 hours and 2 minutes with its 33W charger.
OPPO claims that the battery offers up to 11 hours of continuous online video playback and 80 hours of continuous online music playback.
Under the battery settings, it includes a smart power-saving mode that automatically puts the device to sleep when it hasn’t been used for a while. There’s also a battery mode option that lets you choose the best setting for your needs. Choose the High Performance mode for gaming or heavy tasks, or switch to Super Power Saving mode to extend battery life, though it comes with a few limitations.
Based on our experience, the OPPO Pad SE easily lasted a full day of moderate use. We spent the day writing some parts of this review, playing a few games, snaps some photos, browsing the web, and keeping up with social media and still ended up with around 26% battery left.
Of course, if you’re into longer gaming sessions or binge-watching videos, expect the battery to drain a bit faster. But overall, it holds up really well for daily tasks.
Software
Right out of the box, the OPPO Pad Neo runs on the latest Android 15, layered with OPPO’s ColorOS 15.0.1 on top. The interface is clean and easy to navigate plus, there’s very little bloatware. Aside from Netflix, which comes pre-installed, most of the apps are genuinely useful.
What’s great is that essential Google apps like Chrome, Drive, Meet, Gmail, and Maps are already there, we were able to start right away. It also comes with the WPS Office app, which is to handle documents or spreadsheets. If you prefer Microsoft 365 Copilot, you can easily install that as well and for those who need a more familiar setup for work.
With seamless cross-device connectivity, you can easily pair your phone with the OPPO Pad SE. This lets you share your mobile data as a hotspot and drag and drop files between devices. It can even mirror your phone’s screen as a floating window on the tablet to stay connected and get real-time updates without checking your phone.
If you’re curious about something, need translations, or seek creative inspiration to spark an idea, Google Gemini is already incorporated into the tablet. Simply long-press the power button or open the Gemini app to use it.
Need to send a file to an iPhone? The OPPO Pad SE makes sharing easy with iOS devices through O+ Connect, a feature that uses Bluetooth to transfer files from photos, videos, or work files quickly and wirelessly.
If ever parents decided in getting the OPPO Pad SE for their child, it comes with a built-in Personalized Kids Mode. This feature lets parents set usage limits, choose which apps are accessible, control internet connectivity, and a built-in eyesight protection. It also has password protection for added security. While it does support Google’s Kids Space app, the built-in Kids Mode is easier to manage and quicker to set up.
Connectivity
The reliable Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) ensures smooth, uninterrupted video calls and streaming sessions. However, the OPPO Pad SE lacks LTE support, meaning you can’t insert a SIM card, it relies solely on Wi-Fi from a router or mobile hotspot for internet access.
On the plus side, Bluetooth 5.4 provides a stable connection for wireless accessories like keyboards and earbuds, and you also get a USB Type-C port for convenient charging and data transfer.
AI Features
Aside from the built-in Google Gemini, the OPPO Pad SE also comes with a few AI tools that can help with both work and school. These features are designed for users to save time and make them more productive. It even includes a few AI Editor for your photos, so you can clean them up a bit before sharing on social media.
It’s great to see that OPPO, a brand that’s diligently adding more AI features to their smartphones, is now bringing the same smart technology to some of their tablets. Here are a few of the AI tools built into the device.
If you’ve just typed out some important info during a meeting or class and it feels a bit scattered, let the AI Assistant for Notes help you out. It can polish your notes, continue writing, elaborate, shorten, or even make them sound more formal. Whichever option you choose, it’s a convenient feature to get your final document ready in no time, perfect for submitting to class or reporting at work.
For photo editing, it has an AI Clarity Enhancer to sharpen and upscale images. In case you snapped an old photo that looks a bit blurry and small, you can try this.
The AI Eraser can remove specific objects or random people in the background using the lasso or paint-over tool for a clean result.
Got a few quick snaps that turned out a bit shaky? Try the AI Unblur tool to help fix the motion blur.
Tried taking a photo through a window glass and ended up with a reflection? The AI Reflection Remover completely takes it away and saves the shot.
What We Like
- Lightweight and Slim
- Back Panel Design
- RAM Expansion
- Large Display
- Battery Capacity + 33W Fast Charging
- AI Tools
- Google Gemini
- Less Bloatware
- File Sharing to iOS Device
- Good Audio Quality
- Pricing
What We Want
- Expandable Storage
- Better Front Camera Lens
- LTE Connectivity
Conclusion
At just PHP 9,999, the OPPO Pad SE goes all out with solid value for both students and young professionals. Its bright and sharp 11-inch 2K display is ideal for reading online research, typing down notes, or streaming video lessons, and the quad-speaker setup along with Hi-Res Audio brings decent sound quality when attending meetings or enjoying break time.
Powered by the MediaTek Helio G100, RAM expansion up to 8?GB, and backed by an 9,340 ?mAh battery the tablet handles productivity apps, light gaming, and content consumption easily lasts through a full day.
But what really sets this tablet apart are the extra built in features such as the seamless cross-device connectivity with your phone, an easy setup Personalized Kids Mode, and a suite of AI tools from the Google Gemini assistant to image enhancers and note?polishing features. These practical touches elevate usability, making it more than just a basic tablet.
Now given with its few disadvantages like the lack of LTE support, no microSD card slot for storage expansion, and modest camera specs. For us these aren’t downsides, especially at its price, as most users will usually rely on Wi-Fi anyway, then cloud storage is widely accessible, and the cameras are good enough for video calls or capturing documents.
All in all, the OPPO Pad SE offers reliable performance for work, study, and entertainment packed in one sleek package, and from a brand you can trust, at a budget-friendly price.
Full Specifications – OPPO Pad SE
- Price: PHP9,999
- Dimensions: 254.91 x 166.46 x 7.39 mm
- Weight: 530g
- Color: Starlight Silver, Twilight Blue
- Display Size: 11-inch
- Display Type: LCD
- Screen Aspect Ratio: 85.3%
- Resolution: 1920×1200 (2K)
- Refresh Rate: 60, 90 Hz
- Pixel Density: 207 PPI
- Peak Brightness: 500 nits
- Colour Gamut: Vivid mode 98%
- Colour Depth: Billion colour (8 + 2) bits
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 128GB
- RAM Type: LPDDR4X
- ROM Type: UFS 2.2
- USB OTG: Supported
- Processor: MediaTek Helio G100
- CPU Speed Cores: 8 cores
- GPU: Arm Mali-G57 MC2
- Battery Capacity: 9,340 mAh
- Fast Charging: 33W SUPERVOOC
- Rear Camera: 5MP
- Front Camera: 5MP
- Biometrics: Facial Recognition
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4, USB Type-C,
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 ac), 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Display, WLAN network sharing
- System: ColorOS15
