Most of the premium tablet segment is already dominated by the likes of Samsung and Apple. However, the affordable or mid-range segment still offers a variety of tablets from different brands. And this is where Lenovo is trying to make a name for itself. The company has brought an excellent lineup of tablets for various use cases in this segment, and the latest one puts a special focus on entertainment. The new Lenovo Tab Plus comes with a price tag of Rs 22,999 and brings some out-of-the-box features like eight JBL-powered sound systems coupled with an interesting design language, fast wired charging support, a clean user interface, and more. However, is it enough to make it stand out from the competition? Let’s find out in this in-depth review.
Lenovo Tab Plus Design: Bult-in Kickstand is a Win
- Unique design with built-in eight speakers and kickstand
- Weighs 650 grams
- Available in Luna Grey colour option
The Lenovo Tab Plus tries to stand out from the crowd with its unique design, which no other tablet offers in this price segment. From the front, it appears like a usual affordable tablet. The bezels around the display are not the slimmest compared to others, while the dual-tone finish does make it look like a premium one.
The Lenovo Tab Plus offers a built-in kickstand and is available in Luna Grey colour options.
However, once you flip it, you will notice the real distinction. The lower half of the tablet on the rear is twice as thick as the top half. This is primarily because the company has stuffed Hi-Fi speakers (more on this later) at the bottom, along with an in-built kickstand.
The built-in kickstand sure makes it an interesting proposition here, making it easier to place the screen on a desk and use it like a mini monitor to watch all your favourite content. I liked this idea as I always avoid holding big-screen tablets in my hand. Plus, this also eliminates the need to buy accessories to dock it.
Interestingly, you can flip the kickstand to almost 180 degrees, making it easier to take notes or doodle. The good thing here is it also supports Pen Plus stylus support, though I didn’t have the access to test it out with our review unit.
The in-hand experience is slightly odd, thanks to the thick bottom. The tablet is 13.5mm thick at the bottom, while it is thinnest at 7.7mm. The slight bump on the rear helps you comfortably hold it in your hand, but not for long. The tablet is also not the lightest in the segment, with 650g weight, but it is manageable.
Lenovo Tab Plus Display and Audio: Decent
- 11.5-inch LCD 2K display
- 90Hz refresh rate
- 400nits peak brightness
The most important aspect of this device is that the Lenovo Tab Plus offers a big screen, which is ideal for watching all your favourite content from different OTT apps or YouTube. Although it uses an LCD panel, the colours came out to be vibrant, though deep blacks were decent, if not impressive.
The tablet also comes with Widevine L1 support, which means you can easily stream the content in HD quality. The colour reproduction was good. However, the screen is a bit reflective, so you can adjust the level with the help of a kickstand to have a glare-free experience.
The Lenovo Tab Plus features a large display and offers JBL-powered eight speakers.
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The 2000 x 1200 resolution makes the icons and texts look sharper, while the 90Hz screen refresh rate makes the overall scrollable experience smooth sailing. There is also a dedicated Reading Mode that dims the backlight and drops colour saturation so that you can have a comfortable reading experience.
However, what makes this tablet stand out from the crowd is its JBL-powered sound system. The tablet comes loaded with four woofers and four tweeters stuffed at the bottom half of the rear panel. I must say that adding so many speakers to a tablet is a job well done. The sound quality can actually put some affordable Bluetooth speakers to shame.
The Lenovo Tab Plus comes loaded with four woofers and four tweeters powered by JBL
The tablet also comes with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res audio support, making it an all-in-one package for those looking for a tablet just for entertainment purposes. The sound output fills a small room without losing many details. Moreover, you can also use the tablet as a Bluetooth speaker by pairing it with any smartphone.
The low-end bass was surprisingly good, while the mids and highs were decent, giving an enjoyable experience while watching movies or playing music. However, when you crank up the volume at full, then you will notice some muffling of the highs and mids. But that drops significantly below 80 percent volume. I suggest sticking to these levels to make the best of its audio capabilities.
Lenovo Tab Plus Software: Clean UI
- Android 14-based ZUI 16
- Two years of Android OS updates
- Four years of security updates
The ZUI in the Lenovo Tab Plus offers almost a stock Android experience with some minor tweaks in the icons and more. Doing a left swipe will take you to an entertainment page instead of Google Discover. The page is a one-stop destination for getting recommendations for different OTT applications installed on your tablet, which is a good thing, in my opinion.
The user interface comes with some bloatware, but it is not overwhelming. The company has added some interesting modes to make the user interface even more smoother. To start with, YouTube is a PC Mode that transforms your tablet UI into a desktop-style window, allowing you to pair a keyboard and start doing basic tasks.
The Lenovo Tab Plus brings split-screen support.
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Then, a Standby Mode displays slideshows or the time when you charge them. The user interface also has a dedicated Reading Mode that turns the display into black and white for easier late-night reading sessions. You also have the usual split screen and floating windows.
The company promised to deliver two years of Android OS updates and four years of security patches by January 2028. That said, the user interface is clean and offers a smooth experience overall.
Lenovo Tab Plus Performance: Not a Powerhouse
- MediaTek Helio G99 SoC
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- Expandable SD Card supports up to 1TB
This is one area where the Lenovo Tab Plus takes a slight backseat. The MediaTek Helio G99 can be considered an old chipset at this point. To be honest, it is not one of the strong performers in the company’s portfolio. This is also reflected on this tablet.
While you can scroll through the user interface smoothly (partially thanks to the 90Hz refresh rate), you still see some skips or stutters here and there. The tablet will perform well under normal usage, such as playing tracks on Apple Music while scrolling through Chrome. But the chipset starts to show signs when it comes to heavy multitasking.
| Benchmark | Lenovo Tab Plus |
|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 731 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 2014 |
| AnTuTu v10 | 408,302 |
| 3D Mark Wild Life | 1238 |
| 3D Mark Wild Life Unlimited | 1228 |
| 3D Mark Slingshot | 3404 |
| 3D Mark Slingshot Extreme | 2571 |
| GFXBench Car Chase | 14 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 | 24 |
| GFXBench T-Rex | 56 |
That said, casual gaming can be done on this one. I tried playing Temple Run 2 and Minion Rush games on this, and it ran lag-free. However, when you place it in landscape mode, the experience is not that great.
On the other hand, while playing heavy games like Call of Duty Mobile, you can witness some lags and stutters. The game only provides Medium Graphic Quality and a High frame rate at max. However, the game is only playable with Medium settings.
Lenovo Tab Plus Cameras: Usable
- 8-megapixel primary rear camera
- 8-megapixel selfie unit
- Document scanner option in camera UI
The cameras of the Lenovo Tab Plus are at max usable. The 8-megapixel rear camera delivers decent results in daylight shots with some natural colour reproduction, though the details are not that great. The low-light performance is just passable as well. The front camera also does an average job while clicking selfies. So, yeah, the camera is certainly not one of the strengths of the device.
Lenovo Tab Plus Battery: Massive backup
- 8600mAh battery
- 45W Fast charging support
- Ships with a charger in the box
In real-life usage, the tablet delivered multiple days of battery life with some conservative usage. We watched a couple of episodes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba along with some videos on YouTube and got almost two days of battery life. Under heavy usage, which includes playing games, using a Bluetooth keyboard to type a story, play music in the background, the tablet comfortably lasted for one day.
The Lenovo Tab Plus offers a massive 8,600mAh battery
The tablet also did well in our HD battery loop test, lasting 22 hours and 10 minutes. However, the 45W fast charging support is really helpful in quickly charging the device. With the charger provided with the box, the tablet managed to charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes and completed the charge in an hour and 15 minutes.
Lenovo Tab Plus Verdict
To conclude, the Lenovo Tab Plus is a great tablet for consuming content at home or on the go. The design is different from your usual tablets and the built-in kickstand makes it quite easier to place it on your bed to watch your favourite movie or series without holding it. The display delivers good results, but the audio will surely bring any budget Bluetooth speaker to shame with its output. That said, the tablet still has some shortcomings and the old Helio G99 SoC can be blamed for this. A slightly beefier chipset could have been better as it would have provided a complete package to the users.
That said, the tablet still faces much competition in this price segment. You have the OnePlus Pad 2, Xiaomi Pad 6 (Review), Realme Pad 2 (Review), and more, which deliver great performance at this price segment and a sleeker design compared to this tablet. So, if you are someone who loves to watch videos on a big screen like a tablet on the go or while at home and want great sounds and ease of use, then you can easily go for this one.
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