Why I chose this ultraportable Lenovo tablet over the iPad Air for entertainment – and it’s on sale

Key points of ZDNET

• Lenovo’s Tab Plus is a mid-range tablet currently selling for $330 on Best Buy.
• In contrast to its small size, this model has a booming eight-speaker system and long battery life.
• The MediaTek Helio chipset and matte display aren’t going to win any awards.

More purchasing options

What’s up?

Although the Lenovo Tab Plus has just been launched, it has already been discounted. The tablet has been discounted by $250 Best buy And by Lenovodigital store.

It’s the end of the year and that means a lot of people are looking for holiday gifts. If you’re having trouble deciding what gift to give, I can recommend Tab Lenovo Plus? This is Lenovo’s latest lightweight tablet, capable of acting as a mini home theater. Everything you want in an entertainment system is here.

Also: Why the iPad Mini 7 is the ultraportable tablet to beat in 2024

The Lenovo Tab Plus is compact, measuring 11.5 inches and weighing about 1.4 pounds. It is similar in size to one iPad AirHowever, unlike Apple’s device, this tablet does not have a smooth back where the bottom half sticks out. The bottom half is 13.58 mm thick, while the top half is only 7.7 mm. There’s a good reason why Lenovo designed its tablet with this unique look because the bottom half contains two standout features of the model.

First, there’s the integrated kickstand that sits flush with the back of the tablet. Popping it out provides a stable base and allows the device to tilt up to 175 degrees. Praising a kickstand may seem silly, but remember that most tablets — without an additional protective case — don’t have a way to prop themselves up. It’s a great quality of life feature that enhances the viewing experience, and it’s one I wish other manufacturers took advantage of.

Additionally, when combined with smartphone support, the Tab Plus can function as a powerful Bluetooth speaker.

Speaking of sound, the sound system is my favorite feature of the Tab Plus. It has eight JBL speakers including four tweeters and four woofers, all tuned by Dolby Atmos. In comparison, iPad Pro M4Apple’s current high-end tablets only have four speakers.

I found the system’s audio performance to be excellent. As part of my testing, I watched the entire second season of Arcane on Netflix. From the first episode to the last, I enjoyed clear sounds strong enough to fill a room. That said, the bass is a bit lacking – it’s not as strong as the bass from a soundbar.

The screen quality is also great. It’s a 2K display running at a 90Hz refresh rate, delivering bright colors and smooth animations. It works well on most applications. However, I don’t like how blurry it looks. The screen’s brightness peaks at 400 nits, suitable for indoor viewing but not suitable outdoors. The screen has difficulty shining in bright environments.

Also: This surprisingly impressive Android tablet is $60 off for Black Friday

Under the hood is the MediaTek Helio G99 SoC (system on chip), along with 8GB of RAM – typical hardware in budget devices. The G99 is not a powerful chipset and has been around for a few years but it still gets the job done. I never experienced a drop in performance when randomly browsing the web with Google Chrome or playing mobile games.

The Lenovo Tab Plus works well as a work tablet. You can connect accessories such as keyboards via Bluetooth. Thanks to Android 14, there’s a desktop mode to simulate desktop settings. The operating system also offers attractive gesture controls. My preference is that swiping up takes you to a carousel of open apps, and you can switch between any of them. Smartphones have similar functions.

Android 14 brings with it years of updates. Lenovo is committed Continuously rolling out security patches for Tab Plus until June 2028.

There are plenty of accessories available, but even with all those goodies, don’t expect Lenovo’s machine to be a powerhouse. I ran PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark tests to see how well the tablet would perform in a variety of workflows. At the time I ran my tests, the Lenovo Tab Plus did quite well, earning the 32nd spot out of 200 on the developer rankings. November 2024 best tablet list. However, it lagged far behind its contemporaries such as Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and OnePlus Pad 2.

Also: Save $225 on an 8TB T5 SSD at Samsung for Black Friday

These numbers tell me that the Tab Plus might not excel at tackling tough workloads like video editing, but it won’t be too bad either. Hardware performance may be average, but the battery definitely isn’t. On average, the tablet lasts 15 hours on a single charge. I left it running one afternoon and was surprised to see it still playing a test stream the next morning.

Storage space is surprisingly small, at 256GB. It would be nice to get a larger drive, but with a cheap tablet like this, you’ll have to cut some costs. Luckily, you can expand the storage by inserting a 1TB mini SD card into the slot at the top.

ZDNET Buying Tips

Lenovo’s Tab Plus is usually priced at retail $330 at Best Buy. Even at full price, I would still recommend this device. Luckily, you can buy this model from Lenovo’s store at a discounted price $288. This is a great Christmas gift for loved ones who love watching the latest shows on Netflix or want a multimedia tablet.

MediaTek Helio G99 is not the best working device. Those looking for a muscular tablet should check out Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus. the OnePlus Pad 2 is another solid, mid-range option for those who don’t mind spending the extra money.