Lenovo Tab 4 10 review: Lenovo’s 10in tablet surfaces at MWC

Some say that tablets are a dying breed, but Lenovo has other ideas. At MWC 2017, the Chinese giant announced the Tab 4 series. There are several iterations of the tablet, with the Tab 4 8, Tab 4 8 Plus, Tab 4 10 and Tab 4 10 Plus. Four tablets, with different characteristics.

As the name suggests, the new Tab 4’s come in two separate sizes, 8in and 10in. There’s a standard and “Plus” version of each size, with the regular 8in model priced at $109 (~£88) and 10in at $149 (~£120). The Plus variants are $199 (~£160) and $249 (~£200) respectively.

Here are my first impressions and everything you need to know about the tablets.

Lenovo Tab 4 review: Key specifications and release date

Starting off with the regular Tab 4, both the 8in and 10in variants have a quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor with 2GB of RAM and either 16 or 32GB of storage. Both the standard 8 and 10in tablets have an 800 x 1,200-resolution IPS screen, resulting in an 189ppi and 149ppi respectively.

They also have front 2-megapixel and rear 5-megapixel cameras that are sufficient for basic video calls and snaps. The regular Tab 4s come with 2.4GHz 802.11bgn Wi-Fi.

These aren’t amazing specifications by any means, but bear in mind the price: these are budget tablets, rather than iPad competitors. And at this kind of price, they look pretty competitive.

The Plus variants are much more interesting, housing a 64-bit octa-core 2.0GHz Cortex-A53 Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and have 3GB of RAM in the 16GB variant and 4GB of RAM in 64GB model. With a 1,200 x 1,920 resolution, the Plus’ IPS screen looks much better than the regular Tab 4.

A further improvement on the Plus is the cameras, with front 5- and rear 8-megapixel shooters. They are also better connected through dual-band 2.4 and 5GHz 802.11abgn/ac Wi-Fi.

Both variants of the tablets have Dolby Atmos through their stereo speakers, have Bluetooth 4.2 and run on Android 7 Nougat.

All tablets are due for release in May 2017 and have US pricing, with UK pricing to follow. The regular 8 and 10in tablets will cost $109 (~£88) and $149 (~£120) respectively, while the Plus variants are set to hit stores at $199 (~£160) for the 8in Plus and $249 (~£200) for the 10 Plus.

Lenovo Tab 4 specs at a glance

Lenovo Tab 4 review: Design, key features and first impressions

With its slim 7.15-8.4mm profile, the Tab 4 is beautiful to hold. The slimness makes the tablets as thin as a modern-day smartphone, which is impressive.

The Plus goes a step further by including a dual-glass design, with both front and back made from glass. On the downside, it attracts a lot of fingerprints.

I was particularly impressed by the use of the fingerprint scanners on both the 8 Plus and 10 Plus. Due to having a smaller form factor, the Tab 4 8 Plus has it integrated on a button on the side, while the 10 Plus has a capacitive scanner at the front of the tablet.

The charging ports of the standard and Plus variants are different, with the regular versions charged through a normal micro-USB port, and the Plus’ through USB Type-C with Quick Charge 3 enabled. Although we haven’t yet had the opportunity to test it, the combination of Type-C and Quick Charge should mean significantly faster charging.

Lenovo also showcased its optional Kid’s and Productivity Packs. As you might expect, the Kid’s Pack comes with a shock-resistant bumper, a blue-light filter to reduce eye strain at night, and colourful 3M stickers to protect it from scratches.

The Productivity Pack (pictured) transforms the tablet into a 2-in-1 device. Connected through Bluetooth, the keyboard doubles as a sleeve to protect the laptop from small drops and spills. My impressions of the keyboard were positive – I was able to comfortably type on it, without making too many unwanted errors.

Lenovo Tab 4 review: Early verdict

This tablet will heat up the competition for budget tablets, giving Amazon a run for its money. The Tab 4 has good build quality and connectivity options and yet is still affordable. Starting at $109 for the regular 8in tablet, which you can expect to translate into around £99 in the UK, going up to $249 (~£200) for the 10in Plus, Lenovo has hit the sweet spot of price and performance.

Tablets are far from dead. In fact, this might just be the start of something beautiful for consumers like myself: affordable, well-built tablets that are fit for purpose.