ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus is on sale proper now for $549.
- It is a slam dunk pill with an excellent show, nice audio system, and comes with a keyboard, case, and stylus.
- In laptop computer mode, it is higher for less complicated duties.
extra shopping for selections
Lenovo’s Yoga Tab Plus is a well-rounded 13-inch pill that comes with a keyboard, case, and stylus, providing all the first use instances you possibly can ask for from a pill straight out of the field.
It contains a 12.7-inch, 3K (2944 x 1840) LTPS shiny show that appears implausible, with as much as 900 nits of brightness and a 144Hz refresh price for the graceful and vivid expertise you’d count on from a premium pill. For reference, that is brighter than each the 13-inch iPad Air and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10+.
Additionally: Why this $300 Lenovo is the tablet I recommend to most people – including iPad users
The skinny bezels make the display appear larger than it’s, and in full display is satisfying for leisure and media playback with help for Dolby Imaginative and prescient. The 11.45-inch display measurement is, to me, the candy spot: it is sufficiently small to be moveable but in addition giant sufficient to be seen throughout the room if you happen to’re watching one thing within the kitchen whereas cooking, for instance.
Despite the fact that there is no OLED possibility, I do not suppose it loses out on a lot due to how vibrant and vivid the display is. Not all the pieces must be an OLED to be thought of premium, and the show on this pill is actually that.
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Six audio system again up the visuals: two solo tweeters and 4 SLS subwoofers for wealthy audio whether or not you are watching a film or gaming. Video content material that is not reliant on high-quality audio — like TV exhibits or the information — sounds particularly good on this pill, with clear dialogue and an excellent quantity of separation.
For all of the top-end {hardware} packed onto this pill, the software program won’t reduce it for everybody. Tablets usually have traditionally made too many sacrifices to be on the identical degree as laptops, however that hole is narrowing on different gadgets. For instance, Apple iPads’ subsequent working system, iPadOS 26, introduces a host of MacBook-like features like higher window controls, multitasking, and interface enhancements that streamline the expertise.
For Home windows gadgets, Microsoft’s Surface Pro continues to evolve as properly, with a 12-inch model launched earlier this 12 months, merging the ultraportable pill expertise and full PC into one.
By comparability, AndroidOS is not fairly as polished of an expertise with regards to working in PC mode, and far of that comes with navigating the UI. For instance, floating menus typically pop up unannounced or trigger home windows to be resized, whereas gestures do not at all times stick or end in misclicks. Efficiency as an entire simply is not as snappy.
Additionally: iPadOS 26 is turning my iPad Air into the ultraportable laptop it was meant to be
Connecting to an exterior monitor may also be hit and miss. The Gen 1 USB-C port juts out from the suitable facet of the pill, and efficiency will range primarily based on what you are connecting to. I attempted connecting the Yoga Tab Plus to my dual-monitor setup within the workplace nevertheless it resulted in a freeze up. Connecting to a single monitor yielded higher outcomes.
That being mentioned, the included keyboard is definitely fairly good, with satisfying key journey, spacious design, and a responsive trackpad that is simply sufficiently big. In reality, it competes with the keyboard on the Floor Professional, which is costlier and bought individually.
Connecting the pill to the keyboard is simple, with a robust — nearly aggressive — magnetic click on that joins the 2 items from so far as an inch aside. My primary difficulty with utilizing the pill in laptop computer mode, nevertheless, is that with the keyboard connected, the pill needs to be positioned a sure manner; in any other case, the pill tends to bounce and wobble as you sort.
The included stylus additionally presents surprisingly good efficiency, with haptic suggestions on the pill throughout sketching and writing, palm rejection, and help for fast gestures alongside the size of the pen itself. When the stylus is activated, it floats a small icon for fast entry to options, together with Circle to Search, and Fast Jot, which helps you to mark up no matter is at present in your display.
The stylus could be very responsive, with a satisfying glide on the shiny floor, and nil enter lag throughout my testing. The short entry to stylus options and their efficiency made for a much more pleasing expertise as a writing pill than I anticipated, even competing with premium gadgets just like the ReMarkable Paper Pro.
In that sense, I might say this pill is good for somebody who likes a pen expertise, and plans on utilizing the pill to overview or edit paperwork or jot notes on visible tasks, reasonably than a devoted substitute for a Home windows, MacOS, or ChromeOS (which, by the best way, would have been superior) laptop computer.
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Lastly, closing out the trifecta of pill {hardware} options is the battery, and just like the show and audio system, it would not disappoint. The ten,200MAh battery costs at 45Wh, much like competing tablets, and takes a bit over an hour to completely cost.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is energy environment friendly each throughout use and when idle, dropping to a trickle when not in use. Lenovo says you may get about 11 hours of continuous use, and I discovered that to be principally correct. Continuous video playback will warrant upwards of 8 hours relying on brightness and refresh price, however intermittent use offers you for much longer battery life lasting a number of days.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus is a pleasure to make use of, and presents a good worth for such a flexible gadget. Its show is attractive and vibrant, the battery life is nice, it has beefy audio system, and it comes with a keyboard and stylus – each of that are premium and purposeful.
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Nevertheless, whereas its {hardware} delivers, its OS is just not as polished in laptop computer mode as competing tablets. As such, I might suggest this pill for individuals searching for a real pill or drawing gadget, however do not intend on clocking in hours on the workplace with it.
If you happen to’re searching for a pill you are able to do extra demanding work on, you may choose an iPad (particularly after the discharge of iPadOS 26), or a premium Home windows pill just like the Microsoft Floor Professional. Finally, nevertheless, it excels in all the suitable areas with a ton of bang to your buck, and one of many first tablets I might suggest on this measurement.
