For under $600, Lenovo’s take on the 11 inch tablet looks to impress on media capabilities. There’s even a kickstand built in.
If it feels as though tablets feel a little same-same, there’s typically a clear reason why: they’re a big screen with the guts of a phone or computer behind them, with the feature set differentiating them in the process.
The iPad Pro has two OLED panels stacked together with a super-fast chip in a slim design, making it a pro tablet for content creators. Meanwhile, the Oppo Pad Neo cuts back on the tech for a more mid-range market.
There are clear differences between the two models, even if they’re both large screens made to go, which is what a tablet ostensibly is.
In the world of tablets, there’s the juggernaut that is Apple’s iPad range, and there are a few Android models living alongside Windows hybrid tablets, as well, working as both laptop and tablet. But while there are a few in the Android camp, we won’t often see a whole lot of new there.
Lenovo is throwing its hand into the ring for something new, adding an 11.5 inch tablet to the mix in the Lenovo Tab Plus, a mid-range tablet that gets an 11 inch 2K screen like the Pad Neo, but changes that design slightly, as well.
Yes, it’s still a screen with computer (more like phone) guts behind, supporting a MediaTek Helio G99 processor, 8GB RAM, and as much as 256GB storage with Android 14. However, Lenovo has changed the design slightly, thickening one side and including a kickstand, allowing the Tab Plus to stand up by itself.
We’re a little reminded of the Sony Tablet S, a tablet from over a decade ago with its folded over look, albeit with some changes. The Lenovo Tab Plus isn’t as curved, and is over a decade newer, plus there’s a stand built into the design, meaning it can stand up on its own, handy for watching movies and shows.
Only a little reminiscent, but this is clearly no iPad clone, and it looks very different.
Also helping the watching experience is the inclusion of eight speakers tuned by JBL, covering four tweeters and four woofers, support for Dolby Atmos, and 24-bit HiRes Audio, giving it that little bit more than other mid-range Android tablets, which this seems to set itself as.
Priced from $549 when it lands in August, the Lenovo Tab Plus will also see support for optional extras, including a keyboard and pen, and there’s also a sleeve to hold it in.
