Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Review : Honest Review Read before you buy

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Review: Honest Review Read before you buy

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Review: Honest Review

Lenovo's Tab P11 Pro appears as an Android tablet at a good price. It has a decent mid-range processor, a display, and speakers for entertainment. An optional style is available, and what Lenovo says is a laptop-class productivity keyboard. I realized however that after a few weeks of use this tablet is best used as a consumer device. It cannot substitute your laptop, but that might not matter for some buyers who want to buy an Android-powered tablet in 2021.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro price and variants

A single configuration is available for the Lenovo Tab 11 Pro with a storage price of 6GB and 128GB at the price of Rs.44,990. The tablet's SIM tray can accommodate a Nano-SIM and a microSD card with a capacity of a maximum of 256GB.

If purchased separately or if Rs. 2,999 is included as an add-on while buying the tablet, the Lenovo Precision Pen 2 is Rs. 3,999. When sold separately, and purchased together with the tablet online, the Lenovo Keyboard Pack for P11 Pro is priced at Rs. 5,499.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro design

Samsung's recent Galaxy Tab S7 FE (Revision) is very similar to the Tab P11 Pro, but it's just 5.8mm slimmer. While the front side is essentially a glass sheet with relatively thin bezels (for a tablet), the screen also contains two front-facing cameras. The back is made of metal and has antenna lines at the top and a two-tone finish. The right is marked with a Lenovo logo and the left rear dual-camera module.

The device's sides have been flattened. On the left and right are speakers, with the SIM tray and power button on the left, which features an inbuilt fingerprint reader. The volume buttons are on the upper left, while the 4-point keyboard accessory connector is on the bottom. Once I got the orientation right, I had no issue finding the volume and power buttons (with the selfie cameras at the top).

Lenovo sells an extra keyboard that, according to Lenovo, provides a laptop-like typing experience with 1.3mm key travel. Unfortunately, I was unable to put that to the test because the company was unable to send a sample for evaluation. The Lenovo Precision Pen 2, which would have worked well with the preinstalled Bamboo Paper or Squid programs, was also available, but the company was unable to supply it.

Despite its relatively tiny body, the build quality of this tablet was excellent. It's well-made, but at 485g, it's a bit heavy to hold for long periods of time and isn't suitable for one-handed use. What's more bothersome is that there's no kickstand mechanism or even a simple case in the package, so I had to lean it against a stack of books on a table to watch videos. Even though it adds to the overall thickness of the smartphone, the keyboard case (named the Lenovo Keyboard Pack), which can be added for an additional Rs. 5,000 when purchasing the gadget, will take care of this.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro has a WQXGA 2560x1600 resolution OLED display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It boasts a diagonal display of 11.5 inches and a 60Hz refresh rate, which is disappointing given the tablet's high price.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro specifications and software

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 730G SoC, which was released in mid-2019, is used in Lenovo's tablet. The gamer-centric chipset is now mostly found in the budget to mid-range smartphones, such as the Google Pixel 4a 33,999, which was released around two years ago (Review). There's 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage, plus a microSD card slot for expansion (up to 256GB). The tablet supports 4G connectivity and has built-in microphones, but it does not allow you to make voice calls. Dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 5 are among the communication protocols. The tablet's battery capacity is 8,400mAh, and it supports 20W rapid charging.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro appears to be running a stock version of Android. However, this is Android 10, which is 2021 is a little out of date. Preinstalled third-party programs include Netflix, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Office, OneNote, Bamboo Paper, and Squid. There are also the usual Google options, as well as a Kids Space app, which is effectively a Play Store with YouTube recommendations for kids blended into a fun game. I didn't get any bothersome promotions or notifications from any of these applications when I used them on a regular basis.

While the software looks to be stock, Lenovo has made a number of changes behind the scenes. Minor UI components like a Smart Navigation slide-out menu that allows you to easily take screenshots or screen recordings, as well as a real-time beautifying option in video conversations, are among them. Then there's Productivity Mode, which works similarly to Samsung's DeX by transitioning from a phone-like Android UI to a desktop-like layout with a taskbar and windowed apps.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Review: Honest Review

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro performance and battery life

The 11.5-inch OLED display on the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro is clear and brilliant outside. The colors are fairly intense, however, the Settings app allows you to adjust them. The display of the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision, according to Lenovo. Netflix enabled full-HD playback with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support. The shows that were accessible in those formats looked great on the screen, with outstanding contrast and crispness. Amazon Prime Video's content appeared to be bright and vivid as well.

The four-speaker arrangement adds to the immersive video streaming experience. Given that this is a small tablet, the Dolby Atmos audio sounded surprisingly rich and immersive. When I was watching movies, the sound was crisp and clear, and I rarely needed to use my Bluetooth headphones.

The disadvantage is that this tablet does not support cellular voice calls. Calls made through WhatsApp and Zoom were crystal clear on both ends, which is impressive considering I held the tablet at arm's length and on a table outside.

Because of Google's general lack of support, using Android on tablets feels like using a stretched-out smartphone, which isn't ideal. The Settings app, for example, lacks enlarged menus, resulting in a significant amount of wasted space. Another example is the Google News feed, which is shown as a horizontal stripe in the center of the screen with plenty of white space on both sides.

When menus and submenus should ideally be within reach, you have to practically stretch out for buttons from left to right or top to bottom across the breadth of the display. Even Google's default programs, with the exception of Gmail, Maps, and YouTube, are designed for smartphones and simply expand across the width of the screen.

Most third-party apps (including productivity tools like Slack, Trello, and others) have not been optimized for tablets, except for Microsoft's Office. On a large screen, I enjoyed using WhatsApp (for video calls) and Instagram (which looked like a magazine), although both programs could have been much better optimized for tablets. Indeed, Apple's iPad with iPadOS is far superior in terms of design and third-party apps, allowing consumers to benefit from a larger display.

The Productivity Mode can be accessed via the Settings app via a notification tray toggle. You can pair it with a connected Bluetooth mouse and keyboard after it's turned on. The optional device, which also features a built-in touchpad, decreases the mouse requirement, has the same restrictions.

Once the home screen is in productivity mode, it turns to a desktop interface that looks like Samsungs' DeX and feels somewhat comparable. You can opt for either full-screen or floating small windows apps. Not all apps are complete. Switching between windows is fast and simple, but it is not easy to find out, without defining borders around them, when two or more windows are superimposed, where the app window terminates.

Also, the system started to sluggish as I opened 7-10 apps. Sometimes the taskbar disappeared for a few seconds. Sometimes. Other times, it also took several seconds to bring up apps that have previously been started by tapping on their taskbar icons. While Lenovo Tab P11 Pro and its keyboard accessories are being touted for work, it was a bit tough to use and I was free from productive mode a couple of times.

The tablet has done well enough in our benchmark testing despite its rather ancient Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G CPU. In Geekbench's single and multimedia tests, which are just as high as a mid-range smartphone, the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro managed a score of 3,31,115 points in AnTuTu with 52 8 and 1,685 points.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Review: Honest Review

The overall performance of the game was really decent. The tablet just warmed up and in most games, I have been able to peak graphical settings. The four-speaker system was immersive and I didn't miss a highly refreshing rate table with a smart OLED display. Call of task: Mobile performed nicely at default High frame rate and graphics settings and even after maxed out continued to run smoothly. The same is true in Asphalt 9: legends, which worked well even in high-quality visuals, without slowdowns or delays during the play.

A 13-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera are located at the back of the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro. The selfie camera configuration consists of two 8-megapixel cameras, one of which is an infrared sensor used to calculate backdrop effect depth in video conversations. During the day, photos from the main back camera were captured with details below average. These shots cannot be used in low-light conditions and even photographs with a high-width camera in daylight have turned out somewhat too bleak. An LED flash at the back is available which is useful while the documents are scanned.

The 8,400mAh battery continued on a regular basis for nearly a day and a half. This included a load of video streaming, displaying feeds from Instagram, playing games for one or two hours and listening to music, and two background e-mail accounts. The battery provided approximately 8 hours of use under productivity mode (approximately a day) and multiple apps were constantly activated on the display. This is a pretty good test for a compact pill for 16 hours and 48 minutes. It took about 3 hours to charge the tablet with the provided 20W charge, which seems a long time but is not all that bad in view of the capacity of the battery.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Verdict

The Android-imposed constraint of the software ensures that while Lenovo Tab P11, will not replace your ordinary laptop while shooting in occasionally email messages. However, it goes beyond and beyond streaming films and playing graphics-intensive games. So this tablet is an entertainer, especially if you travel a lot.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro, priced at Rs. 44,990, is a number of purchasers despite its defects. The keyboard accessory is a must-purchase for another Rs. 5,000.

You might also look at the 8th Gen iPad (128GB) from Apple at the price range. This retails for the Wi-Fi model Rs. 37,900 and for the Wi-Fi + Cable Model Rs. 49,900. The intelligent keyboard would cost you Rs 13,900 extra, but thanks to iPadOS and its applications ecosystem, it would be handy for productivity. You won't get an OLED display and an audio experience as immersive as the Lenovo on the backside.

Lenovo Tab P11 Pro pros and Cons

Pros: 

• It's slim and well-made.
• Thin bezels and a bright display
• A trackpad is available as an add-on keyboard device.
• A long-lasting battery
• The scanner for fingerprints

Cons:

• No stylus or keyboard cover is included in the package.
• There's no way to plug in headphones.
• Productivity is not suggested.
• The Android 10 software is stuck.