When you need something bigger than a phone but lighter than a laptop, a tablet is the obvious choice. Fortunately, there are a multitude of tablet models on the market today, so you won’t run out of options. Two that you might consider are the iPad Air M4 and the OnePlus Pad Lite.
The iPad Air M4 is the latest addition to the iPad range, released in March 2026. The OnePlus Pad Lite is a little older, introduced in July 2025. Between the two tablets, the OnePlus is significantly more affordable, costing £200 in the UK (the tablet is not available in the US). For the iPad Air, you’ll pay at least $749 (around £555) for the 11-inch 128GB Wi-Fi model.
On paper, the OnePlus Tablet is clearly a cheaper Android tablet alternative to the iPad, but how exactly do the OnePlus Pad Lite and iPad Air M4 compare in terms of performance and features? Let’s take a closer look at their key differences, both hardware and software, to find out.
OnePlus Pad Lite vs. iPad Air: Hardware specs
The OnePlus Pad Lite and iPad Air M4 are different in many ways, starting with their own. Both include an 11-inch display with a peak brightness of 500 nits. But in terms of resolution, refresh rate and pixel density, they are not that similar. The OnePlus features a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, an adaptive refresh rate of up to 90 hertz (Hz), and a pixel density of 207 pixels per inch (ppi). Meanwhile, the iPad features a resolution of 2360 x 1640, a refresh rate of 60Hz, and a pixel density of 264 ppi. The higher refresh rate makes the device more responsive, but the increased pixel density and resolution provide sharper images and text, making this a tablet display spec worth paying extra for.
Beyond the differences in display specifications, accessory compatibility is another major factor that sets the iPad Air apart from the OnePlus Pad Lite. iPad Air M4 works with official Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, and also offers support for third-party Pencils and keyboards (Smart Connector and Bluetooth models). The OnePlus Pad Lite, on the other hand, is compatible with Bluetooth keyboards but is not designed to support an official stylus. It works with basic capacitive styluses, but they aren’t as precise and responsive and don’t have palm rejection.
Where the OnePlus Pad Lite has a slight advantage over the iPad Air is in battery life. Thanks to its 9,340 milliamp-hour (mAh) battery, the OnePlus tablet can last 11 hours of video playback or 80 hours of music playback. The iPad Air M4’s 28.93 watt-hour battery, meanwhile, only lasts for 10 hours of web browsing or video playback. The OnePlus Pad Lite also comes with four Hi-Res Audio speakers, while the iPad Air has landscape stereo.
OnePlus Pad Lite vs. iPad Air: Software Features
Naturally, the OnePlus Pad Lite and iPad Air M4 will have different software features due to their different operating systems. The OnePlus tablet runs on OxygenOS 15.0.1, which is based on Android 15, while the iPad Air M4 is powered by iPadOS 26. To keep things consistent, we’ll focus on three main features: multitasking, note-taking and drawing, and phone syncing.
Multitasking is pretty basic on the OnePlus Pad Lite. You can open two apps at the same time and resize them to fit your needs. Just like most other Android tablets, there’s also an option to save the pair of apps, so you can reopen them together with a single click. In comparison, multitasking is the iPad Air’s main strength. It offers a Windowed Applications mode, where you can launch, resize and move multiple applications, just like you would on a computer.
Besides, the OnePlus Pad Lite isn’t exactly the best tablet for taking notes because it doesn’t support the stylus. You can still use the native Notes app, which comes with drawing and handwriting tools, but you’ll have to resort to taking notes and drawing with your finger. As for the iPad Air, you’re all set as long as you have an Apple Pencil (be sure to get the Pro if you draw). The iPad responds well to the official stylus and even offers hidden features like opening quick notes on the lock screen.
As for phone syncing, the OnePlus tablet can actually compete with the iPad Air. You can mirror your OnePlus phone screen to the tablet for remote control and share clipboards and gallery between devices. Apple doesn’t natively support iPhone screen mirroring to iPad, but you can copy and paste between the two.
