Lenovo Idea Tab review: A budget Android tablet with a premium design

Greatest Costs In the present day: Lenovo Thought Tab with Tab Pen

There’s no scarcity of tablets to select from. That’s the case whether or not you’re contemplating an Apple iPad or an Android pill. However many sit inside the mid-range to premium sector of the market, with just a few occupying the finances finish. 

Amazon’s vary of Fireplace tablets are maybe essentially the most well-known on the cheaper finish of the dimensions, with an important choice for adults and youngsters, however there’s one other firm to think about – that’s Lenovo.

You may know the Chinese language model higher for its laptops than its tablets however if you happen to’re on the lookout for a pill for lower than £300/$300 that places in an excellent exhibiting, the Lenovo Thought Pad with Tab Pen is value a glance. I’ve been reviewing it for the final couple of months to see the way it stacks up.

Design & Construct

• Compact dimension
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Stylus included

Regardless of its low worth level, the Lenovo Thought Tab has a surprisingly premium construct high quality. It’s up there with Apple’s iPads and Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs, providing an aluminium physique with flat edges that appears and feels nice. It’s has extra of a enterprise vibe than you’ll discover on some premium tablets however that’s not essentially a criticism and there’s little question that some will want this look.

Its compact dimension is nice for carting round and at 480g, it’s virtually an identical to the common iPad (A16) and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE, making it good and moveable. The Lenovo Thought Pad is available in two color choices: Luna Gray (the mannequin I’ve in for evaluate) and Polar Blue. In order for you a critical pill, the gray color is the one you’ll need however I’ve to say I want the thought of the Polar Blue for an injection of color. 

The graceful aluminium rear is comfy to carry and there’s a single digicam lens within the nook, with a glass encompass. It’s positioned inside a strip that spans the width of the machine. It provides one thing slightly completely different to take a look at on the again, although it’s that design element that does make it really feel slightly extra industrial than different tablets in the marketplace.

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When held horizontally, there are pins on the backside for connecting a keyboard (bought individually), whereas the USB-C port is positioned off-centre on the precise edge. The ability button is on the left edge, whereas the amount buttons sit on the prime, together with the microSD slot.

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There’s additionally a 3.5mm headphone jack, one thing the marginally costlier Lenovo Thought Tab Professional doesn’t have, but it surely’s in a really odd place, sitting proper on the underside proper nook. To me, that is the principle indicator it is a finances pill as its place feels unconsidered.

Display screen & Audio system

• IPS show
• 2560×1600 decision
• Quad audio system

The show on the Thought Tab is smaller than the Thought Tab Professional, with an 11-inch display screen in comparison with that mannequin’s 13-inch display screen. It places it on par with the common iPad and the smaller iPad Air and iPad Professional. It’s an excellent dimension if you happen to’re on the lookout for an honest steadiness between dimension and portability.

The IPS panel is surrounded by a uniform bezel. It could possibly be slimmer, but it surely has a stronger look than loads of tablets at an identical worth. The show is vibrant sufficient for indoor use and greater than enough for watching content material, writing notes or looking the online.

It’s not going to provide the identical expertise you’ll get on tablets twice the worth, however for the cash you’re paying, it’s troublesome to complain.

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Colors have sufficient punch that app icons and the wallpaper pops, although viewing angles aren’t wonderful. Whites don’t keep all that vibrant as you progress the pill to completely different positions although element is crisp, with parts just like the time stamp and battery icon good and sharp. 

There’s a 90Hz refresh charge too, so scrolling is good and clean. It’s not as clean as you’ll discover on the Thought Tab Professional and its 144Hz refresh charge so if you happen to’re seeking to sport in your pill, think about that mannequin as a substitute. However for social media scrolling and looking the online, the 90Hz refresh charge is loads.

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Audio efficiency is fairly good too. You’ll discover a set of quad audio system tuned with Dolby Atmos and, whereas I might all the time suggest utilizing headphones when watching one thing on a pill, if solely to be sure you don’t irritate everybody round you, the audio system right here put in a strong efficiency.

They’re loud sufficient to observe a film and even if you flip them up, there’s not an excessive amount of distortion so that you’ll have the ability to perceive dialogue or play your favorite tune for a pick-me-up.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 6300 Processor
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB storage

I discussed the positioning of the audio jack being the primary telltale signal of the Lenovo Thought Tab’s finances worth level, however efficiency is the second. This pill is just not going to interrupt any data. It’s gradual to begin up and slightly laggy, although that’s not unusual at this finish of the market. When you’ve got by no means used a premium pill, you’re unlikely to note the dip in efficiency. 

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It’s completely superb for on a regular basis duties, whether or not that’s writing notes, looking the online, answering emails or maybe performing some studying. Apps open swiftly and normal responsiveness is sweet. However this isn’t the pill to choose for gaming. If you wish to play one thing like Genshin Affect, you possibly can pay slightly extra and have a greater expertise.

The Tab Pen that comes with Thought Tab (if you choose that possibility) provides a pleasant note-taking expertise, although, cementing this pill as an excellent productiveness possibility. There’s nowhere to connect the pen to the pill itself, which is slightly disappointing because it makes it very straightforward to misplace, but it surely was nice to write down with.

It lacks the precision of the likes of the Apple Pencil on iPad, for instance, however let’s not overlook that the Thought Tab and Tab Pen are half the worth of the common iPad and most elementary Apple Pencil. So long as you retain your expectations affordable, you received’t be disillusioned.

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Supporting the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor is 8GB of RAM and a selection of 128GB of or 256GB of storage. There’s a microSD slot for storage enlargement as much as 1TB nevertheless, which you received’t discover on loads of extra premium tablets in order that’s one thing to be celebrated.

When it comes to connectivity, Wi-Fi 5 is supported, together with Bluetooth 5.2, neither of that are the newest protocols however there’s additionally the choice of 5G connectivity.

Lenovo Thought Tab benchmarks

Cameras

• 5Mp entrance digicam
• 8Mp rear digicam
• 1080p/30fps video

I’m significantly towards utilizing a pill to take pictures as there are only a few cases during which a pill will take a greater picture than the smartphone in your pocket, even when that smartphone is a number of years outdated.

Tablets are too huge and too heavy to maintain secure and the cameras are nowhere close to as superior as on smartphones, and that applies whether or not you’re speaking concerning the iPad Professional (M5) or the Thought Tab.

Nonetheless, if you happen to insist on utilizing this Lenovo pill as a digicam, you’ll get satisfactory photographs on your efforts. 

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In good lighting, issues aren’t too unhealthy and, so long as you’re completely happy to attend for the main focus to kick in, you’ll get some adequate pictures. There’s lag between urgent the shutter button and the picture capturing, so remember to stay as nonetheless as potential otherwise you’ll get extra blur than you’d seemingly admire.

In low gentle, issues are much less constructive however as I stated, that’s the identical for almost all of tablets.

What I do like concerning the Thought Tab is that it has a devoted ‘paperwork’ tab inside the digicam interface. When on this mode, if you happen to maintain the pill as much as take a photograph of a doc, it is going to robotically recognise it and spotlight it inside a white field. In my view, rear cameras exist on tablets purely for this goal, so this software program characteristic is one I absolutely admire.

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The entrance digicam on a pill is extra vital because it’s good for video calls and right here, the Thought Tab does an important job. It additionally has facial recognition for unlocking the pill, which labored properly. Even tablets thrice the worth don’t have this, counting on fingerprints as a substitute, in order that’s one other tick on this finances pill’s field.

Battery Life & Charging 

• 7040mAh battery
• 20W charging

The Lenovo Thought Tab has an honest battery underneath its hood, which can assist you to watch a number of hours of video earlier than it must be recharged. Streaming an hour of YouTube on 50 per cent brightness resulted in a drop of 12 per cent battery, so you need to have the ability to watch a number of movies on a flight or a commute earlier than it’s good to search for a charger. 

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Its standby stamina is sweet too so, with the display screen off, it is going to survive for a number of days and also you’ll nonetheless come again to some juice left within the tank to assist you to ship an electronic mail or lookup a fast recipe earlier than you prepare dinner dinner. 

Charging is fairly gradual, nevertheless, so you will want to plan slightly in terms of topping the battery up. The Thought Tab helps 20W charging so it takes some time to get from 0 to 100 per cent. I obtained round 6 per cent each quarter-hour so that you’ll want a few hours to cost it from flat to make it useable for the day.

In case you’re planning to convey it in your morning commute, I’d suggest charging the night time earlier than relatively than if you rise up within the morning.

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The Lenovo Tab Pen runs off a AAAA battery, so it’s not rechargeable. The corporate claims you’re going to get over 180 hours of steady writing, which is a good whack. To start out, tip the battery out of the stylus so the small black disc falls out, pop the battery again in and it’ll instantly hook up with the Thought Tab.

Software program & Options

• Android 15 
• Lenovo ZUI 17 overlay
• Solely two years of updates 

The Lenovo Thought Tab runs on Android 15 with the Lenovo ZUI 17 software program overlay on prime. There are a selection of pre-loaded apps from Lenovo Vantage to Nebo, so if you’d like a cleaner software program expertise, the very first thing you may wish to do is delete a number of of the apps you don’t suppose you’ll use.

On the entire, the software program expertise is an efficient one. It’s shut sufficient to inventory Android (other than a number of little tweaks right here and there) and it’s good and straightforward to make use of. As with most tablets lately, synthetic intelligence guarantees to make your life simpler and the Thought Tab comes with a few methods to try this.

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It helps Google’s Circle to Search, which lets you circle something in your display screen, both together with your finger or the Tab Pen and be introduced with related search outcomes. It’s helpful for locating out issues like what trainers your buddy is sporting in an Instagram image. There’s additionally the choice to immediately translate an internet web page with out leaving an app, which was helpful and labored properly. 

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Elsewhere, there’s a preloaded app referred to as Squid for freeform notes, Nebo for structured writing, and diagrams and MyScript Calculator for fixing equations in actual time. Throughout the Lenovo AI Observe app, there may be additionally an AI Writing characteristic that can enable you summarise notes, rewrite or proceed writing.

The one factor to notice other than all of the options is that Lenovo solely provides two years of software program updates, via to Android 17. It means you’ll get a few years of recent options however past that, you’ll must make do with what you’ve. 4 years of safety updates are promised nevertheless, which ought to at the least make this pill safe for slightly longer.

Value & Availability

The Lenovo Thought Tab with Tab Pen begins at £209, although on the time of writing, it’s accessible beginning at £129 (from Amazon) or £159 from Lenovo, making it very fairly priced for what it provides. It is available in two storage choices of 128GB and 256GB, each of which have 8GB reminiscence. You possibly can see the way it stacks up towards the competitors in our round-up of the very best finances tablets.

You possibly can bundle the Thought Tab with a keyboard as a substitute of a pen or with a keyboard and adapter. Browse all choices at Lenovo. The Thought Tab can also be accessible via different retailers, together with Amazon and Argos within the UK.

Within the US, you may at present purchase it from Amazon from $209.

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Do you have to purchase the Lenovo Tab with Tab Pen?

In case you’re on the lookout for a finances Android pill that gives a premium design and may do on a regular basis duties properly, the Thought Tab with Tab Pen is a superb purchase. It’s not the quickest when it comes to efficiency and the Tab Pen isn’t essentially the most exact regardless of being responsive, however this compact pill has an important construct high quality, good show, first rate audio system and a strong battery life.

For the cash, it’s an important pill and one which’s greater than as much as the duty of on a regular basis productiveness. In case you’re after a pill for gaming, I might look elsewhere however as an affordable productiveness companion, the Thought Tab is a critical contender within the finances pill market and one value your consideration.

Specs

• Android 15 with Lenovo ZUI 17
• 11-inch IPS, 90Hz
• 2560 x 1600 (274ppi)
• 4-speaker audio
• Passcode, Face Recognition
• 128GB/256GB
• As much as 1TB expandable storage through microSD card
• 8GB RAM
• MediaTek Dimensity 6300
• 5G (non-compulsory)
• Wi-Fi 5
• Bluetooth 5.2
• 8Mp auto focus rear digicam
• 5Mp fastened focus entrance digicam
• USB-C port
• 254.6 x 166.2 x 6.99mm
• 480g
• 7040mAh
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Accessible in Luna Gray and Polar Blue