Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro review – the 1st projector tablet

An unusual Android

We were less happy with performance. Web browsing with Chrome is a jerky, chuggy experience; web page scrolling is far less smooth than on even a budget tablet such as the Tesco Hudl 2. The Hudl 2 has a slower Intel processor than the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, but runs Android faster overall; the Hudl may have fewer pixels to deal with, but Lenovo’s spin on Android is fairly heavily modified, so we’re inclined to suspect the Lenovo software is slowing things down.

Lenovo’s version of Android is quite a departure from the norm. Instead of having homescreens for your most frequently used apps and an app tray for the remainder, the app tray has disappeared, leaving all your apps on the homescreens. This is a similar approach to that used by Huawei with its Emotion UI, and may not appeal to those who like their homescreens uncluttered.

Lenovo seems to be aware of this, however, and ships the tablet with several folders already created to help keep your apps tidy; whenever you install an app from the Google Play store, it prompts you to put the icon straight in a folder rather than just dumping it on the desktop.

Lenovo has also added a multi-window feature to take advantage of the screen’s high resolution; tap the icon at the bottom-left of the screen and a panel will pop up showing apps that support the feature, including Chrome, the email client, calculator and Gallery. These windows are set to always be on top, and you can drag them around the desktop, but they’re fixed to a quarter of the screen size. This is just about all right for the calculator and some web pages, but those used to a desktop computer’s window management will find it very frustrating.

Conclusion

There’s lots to like about the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro. We like the hinge design, the big screen, the speakers and even the built-in projector. However, we’re not happy with performance, which compares badly with models that cost a quarter of the price, and its 7h 22m battery life is below average.

Unless you really want the projector and are happy with a smaller screen, the 10in Yoga Tablet 2 (£190 from www.currys.co.uk) is a better buy, and if you’re after a premium tablet you’re better off with the iPad Air 2, Google Nexus 9 or Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5.