Why I pick this ultraportable Lenovo tablet over the iPad Air for multimedia consumption

ZDNET's key takeaways

Lenovo's Tab Plus is a mid-range tablet currently selling for $330 on Best Buy. Contrary to its small size, the model houses a booming eight-speaker system and a long-lasting battery. The MediaTek Helio chipset and dim display won't be winning any awards.

It's the end of the year, and that means a lot of people are looking for holiday presents. If you're having a hard time deciding what to gift, may I recommend the Lenovo Tab Plus? This is Lenovo's latest lightweight tablet, capable of doubling as a mini-home theater. Everything that you could want in an entertainment system is here.

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The Lenovo Tab Plus is compact, measuring 11.5 inches and weighing about 1.4 pounds. It's similar in size to an iPad Air, but unlike Apple's device, this tablet doesn't have a smooth back as the bottom half juts out. The lower section measures 13.58 mm thick, while the upper half is only 7.7 mm. There's a good reason Lenovo designed its tablet with this unique look as the bottom half houses two of the model's outstanding features.

First, there is the integrated kickstand that sits flush with the tablet's rear. Popping it out provides a stable base and lets the device tilt up to 175 degrees. Praising a kickstand may seem silly, but remember that most tablets -- without the addition of a protective case --don't have a way to prop themselves up. It's a great quality-of-life feature that enhances the viewing experience, and it's one I wish other manufacturers capitalized on. 

Also, when combined with smartphone support, the Tab Plus can double as a powerful Bluetooth speaker. 

Speaking of audio, the sound system is my favorite feature of the Tab Plus. It has eight JBL speakers consisting of four tweeters and four woofers, all finetuned by Dolby Atmos. In comparison, the M4 iPad Pro, Apple's current premium tablet, only has four speakers.

I found the system's audio performance outstanding. As part of the testing, I watched the entire second season of Arcane on Netflix. From the first episode to the last, I enjoyed crystal-clear sounds powerful enough to fill a room. That said, the bass is a little lacking -- it's nowhere near as punchy as bass from a soundbar.

The screen quality is great, too. It's a 2K display running at a refresh rate of 90Hz, delivering bright colors and smooth animations. It performed well across most applications. However, I didn't like how dim it looked. The screen's brightness peaks at 400 nits, which is fine for indoor viewing but not outdoors. The display struggled to shine in a bright environment.

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Under the hood is the MediaTek Helio G99 SoC (system on a chip), along with 8GB of RAM -- hardware that's typical in budget devices. The G99 isn't a very powerful chipset, and it's a couple of years old, but it gets the job done. I never once ran into performance drops while casually browsing with Google Chrome or playing mobile games.

The Lenovo Tab Plus functions decently well as a work tablet. You can connect accessories like keyboards via Bluetooth. Thanks to Android 14, there's a desktop mode for mimicking desktop setups. The operating system also delivers engaging gesture controls. My favorite is where swiping up sends you to a carousel of open apps, and you can hop between any one of them. Smartphones have similar functionality.

Android 14 brings with it years of updates. Lenovo has pledged to continuously roll out security patches to the Tab Plus until June 2028.

Multiple accessories are available, but even with all those gadgets equipped, don't expect Lenovo's machine to be a powerhouse. I ran the PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark tests to see how well the tablet would perform across multiple workflows. At the time I performed the tests, the Lenovo Tab Plus did pretty well, earning 32nd place out of 200 on the developer's best tablets list for November 2024. However, it fell far behind contemporaries like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and the OnePlus Pad 2.

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These numbers tell me that the Tab Plus may not be amazing at tackling tough workloads like video editing, but it won't be terrible either. Hardware performance may be middling, but the battery sure isn't. On average, the tablet lasts 15 hours on a single charge. I left it running one afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to see it still playing the test livestream the following morning.

The storage space is unsurprisingly small, at 256GB. It would've been nice to have access to a bigger drive, but with a tablet this cheap, you have to expect some cuts. Luckily, you can expand storage by inserting a 1TB mini SD card into the slot at the top. 

ZDNET's buying advice 

Lenovo's Tab Plus normally retails for $330 at Best Buy. Even at its full price, I would recommend this device. Luckily, you can purchase this model from Lenovo's storefront at a discounted $288. This is a great Christmas present for loved ones who enjoy watching the latest shows on Netflix or want a multimedia tablet.

The MediaTek Helio G99 isn't the best work device. Those looking for a tablet with muscle should check out Samsung's Galaxy Tab S10 Plus. The OnePlus Pad 2 is another solid, midrange option for those who don't mind spending extra cash.