Following on from releasing a bevvy of new laptops – including the indomitable-looking ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4, last week – Lenovo has followed up with a slew of new Android tablets in time for MWC 2021.
Lenovo has maintained a presence in the Android tablet space for years; one of the few in a once far more crowded market, also occupied by the likes of Sony and Motorola. It’s a consistency that has pushed the company’s slates in amongst the top players in the tablet market today, positioned close behind the likes of Apple, Samsung and Amazon.
Like a lot of companies attending Mobile World Congress this year, Lenovo did so in a virtual capacity only; meaning it could spend more time poring over the shiny new hardware it’s bringing to market.
The company introduced not one but five new Android tablets; ranging from the compact to the expansive. Here’s Lenovo’s MWC 2021 slate lineup:
Lenovo Tab M7 & M8 (3rd-gen)
A refresh on 2019’s affordable small slate duo, the 2021 Tab M7 and M8 sport 7in and 8in HD IPS LCDs respectively, can be had with LTE cellular connectivity and run on MediaTek chipsets.
These modest tablets lead with a metal exterior that ups their look and feel, while on the software side, the Android experience includes both Google Kids Space and Google Entertainment Space – something we’ve not yet seen from a slate in the market.
Beyond its larger, higher resolution screen, the 8in model also benefits from a higher resolution 5Mp rear camera (the M7 sports 2Mp sensors on the front and back) and can be had with a Smart Charging Station, which ups the ante by way of dual microphones and speakers (on the tablet, not the dock) optimised for Google Assistant’s Ambient Mode, turning the tablet into an ad-hoc Nest Hub of sorts.
The 2021 Lenovo Tab M7 is on sale from June 2021, with European pricing of €119, while the Tab M8 in its various guises doesn’t yet have an official price and is slated to arrive “later this year” according to Lenovo.
Lenovo Tab P11 Plus
Joining the existing Tab P11 and P11 Pro (which launched either side of the new year), the Tab P11 Plus joins the fray with the intention of improving on the base P11 in at least one fundamental way.
Like the standard P11, the Plus sports a 2K 11in IPS LCD and is compatible with the same fabric-backed keyboard cover, as well as Lenovo’s Precision Pen 2 stylus. The Plus itself sports a two-tone finish metal body that’s just 7.5mm thin and houses Dolby Atmos-optimised quad speakers, while a 7700mAh battery promises up to 12 hours of video playback or web browsing.
Where the Plus earns its name looks to be with the chipset at work. Swapping out Qualcomm silicon, as is used in the other two models. The Plus instead opts for MediaTek’s Helio G90T chipset (paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage), which in preliminary benchmarking actually outperforms the Snapdragon 730G found in the more premium P11 Pro, in terms of both processor and graphical performance.
In Europe, the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus is slated to arrive in July 2021, starting at €299.
Lenovo Yoga Tab 11 & 13
Lenovo’s Yoga Tab line has always prioritised style and flexibility, and that’s exactly the intention behind these new 11 and 13in models.
Both feature the line’s signature barrel-bodied form factor, with a hinging support that can be used to prop the Yoga Tab up on a flat surface, hang it from a suitable hook or doubles as a grab handle. This year’s slates both feature partially fabric-covered backs and show off their audio chops with quad JBL-tuned speakers too.
The 11in model sports can be had in either WiFi-only or LTE cellular SKUs, with a MediaTek G90T running the show (just like the Tab P11 Plus), meanwhile there’s no LTE option for the larger 13in Yoga Tab, but the slate does move up to a higher resolution Dolby Vision-compliant LTPS display, gains a third microphone and runs on Qualcomm’s recent Snapdragon 870 chipset (paired to 8GB of RAM), making this the company’s most power Android tablet to date.
While one end of the barrel on the 13in model features a USB-C port for charging and data, the other plays host to a micro-HDMI connection with support for HDCP 4.1, meaning you can plug it into a compatible computer and instant benefit from a highly portable secondary monitor with a 2160×1350 resolution.
The Yoga Tab 13 is slated for a June arrival in Europe, while the 11in model arrives a little later in July, with pricing starting at €749 and €399, respectively.