OnePlus isabout to launch its OnePlus Pad, an Android-based tablet that will complement its capable smartphones.

But the hardware is the least important part.

Historically, Android tablets have been just terrible, and that’s down to a couple of things.

A child standing at a kitchen counter using a tablet.

Annie Spratt / Unsplash

Can OnePlus reverse this trajectory?

A Big Phone

One problem facing Android tablets is that they are just big phones.

This means that Android tablets areonly good for kids to useor for grown-ups to watch YouTube videos while cooking.

An engineer using a tablet in a manufacturing environment.

Cravetiger / Getty Images

Its the classic chicken and egg situation.

Cravetiger / Getty Images

At the same time, Apples iPad pricing has been aggressive.

So any serious Android tablet maker has its work cut out.

A tablet with a wire framing app open and a stylus sitting on the table next to it.

Sahand Babali / Unsplash

Then it morphed into a rival in that market,selling good phones for the same prices as rivals.

OnePlus might opt to use a version of its OxygenOS, the custom UI it uses on its phones.

If it gets this right, then this could really lead to the tablet taking off.

Even the iPad has, through its history, had a hard time convincing developers to support it.

Instagram famously still does not have an iPad-native app.

You’re stuck using the iPhone version (or the superior web version).

“An ideal Android tablet would have better hardware, more tablet-specific software, and direct support from Google.

This year could end up being the year the iPad finally gets some competition.