What's good
- Great speakers
- Comfortable to hold
- Comes with a kickstand
- Can be hung
- microSD support
What's bad
- Laggy performance
- Lackluster display
- Dated specs
Combining aspects of both smart displays and tablets, does Lenovo’s Yoga Smart Tab have what it takes to fill both roles or does it fall short trying to do too many things?
Design
The tablet’s design is unique in a sea of plastic rectangular slabs. It’s almost wedge-shaped. At the top of the thin display is a baton-like curve that houses Dolby Atmos speakers on each end. What’s more eye-catching is the permanent kickstand in the middle, allowing you to both set it upright on a flat surface or hang it from a hook or nail on the wall.
Just be careful. Reviewers commented that the tabletop option was easily knocked over if you weren’t careful -- especially with kids and pets.
Slash Gear says, “It is unstable and easy to knock over when simply tapping the screen if you’re not careful. A small bump will send the tablet to the ground, so a third-party case with better stability would be necessary if you have cats or kids.”
Display
The 10-inch display performs as expected for a modern tablet. While it’s not the highest resolution option on the market, reviewers said that it wasn’t all that noticeable. Video, images, and text still looked clear and vivid. So much so that using it in direct sunlight was easy for most.
Performance
While the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab works as an excellent smart display, reviewers felt its performance as a tablet was lacking. Multi-tasking resulted in stuttering, lag, and sometimes even freezing to the point reviewers said they had to hard reboot the tablet. It isn’t capable of playing much in the way of games. Casual options, such as simple card or puzzle games worked fine. But with something more intensive or 3D it failed to pass muster.
Digital Trends mentions, “... It’s not a great choice for graphics-intensive games. Many 3D titles will stutter and hesitate.”
Software & Storage
The tablet includes Google Assistant, further adding to its benefit as a smart display. It comes with 64GB of storage out of the box with an added MicroSD slot for affordable expansion.
Cameras
Tablet cameras are rarely amazing. The ones on the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab are no exception to that trend. They won't replace your smartphone camera by any means but for a quick reference shot, they’ll suffice.
Battery Life
Lenovo quotes battery life at around 10 hours. Reviewers found that estimate seems to hold up on medium brightness while streaming video. At full brightness, it performed well for about 7 hours.
Audio
Audio is the strong point for this tablet. With two Dolby Atmos speakers mounted on each side of the display it gives off impressive sound without any drawbacks. The speakers are plenty loud enough to hear in most circumstances. Although, if you max out the volume you will lose some of the quality.
Specs at a Glance
- Aluminum chassis
- 10-inch display
- Qualcomm SDM439 Snapdragon 439 Processor
- 4GB of RAM
- Android 9
- 64GB with MicroSD option
- 8MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing lens
- 7,000 mAh Battery
- Built-in kickstand
Bottom Line
The idea for the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab is a good one but reviewers felt it was executed poorly. If you’re looking for a smart display and a basic tablet, you could likely purchase them separately for less. The kickstand and hanger are great notions and work as they should. If video, media, and simple tasks are what you want then this device will work wonders. If you like games and a well-rounded experience from a tablet it will fall short.
Slash Gear calls the tablet, “A slate that struggles to handle a day’s worth of push notifications without freezing is hardly capable of meeting the daily media demands of most consumers.”
PC Magazine states, “If you’re looking for a tablet to get some work done with or to play games, you don't want the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab. But if you're looking for a tablet to watch movies and stream music on, and you like to use Google Assistant, the Smart Tab becomes a lot more compelling, with more functionality than you'll get from a dedicated smart display.”
Tech Radar comments, “The Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab isn't the most powerful device on the market, but it doesn't need to be. Where this device wins is its portability and comfort of use – and it wins big. Whether you're just chilling on the couch reading your favorite book, or watching some Netflix to distract yourself from a painfully long plane ride, the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab should be on your list.”
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Lauren Barack, GearbrainFor $199, this is a fantastic price for a tablet that also doubles as a Google Home display. Add to that the fact that you can run video calls (which is practically a necessity today in this Covid-19 world), operate your G-Suite life, and also have an instant screen for YouTube and for a Google Home...
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