Nice for players, higher for everybody

It’s arduous to really feel genuinely enthusiastic about Android tablets lately. The market has develop into homogenized through the years, providing choices that each one blur collectively. Samsung’s acquired tablets for each value bracket, Amazon’s acquired its Fireplace lineup of tablets on a funds, and everybody else is simply… type of there. They largely look the identical, really feel the identical, and attempt to do the identical issues, simply with totally different logos slapped on high.

So when Lenovo despatched me a “gaming pill” to check, I used to be intrigued. What does a gaming pill even seem like? Does it include RGB and shoulder triggers? I’ve spent the previous three weeks with the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3, and spoiler alert, it doesn’t include any of these. The excellent news is that it’s a gaming pill, all proper.

However extra importantly, it seems the $549 Legion Tab Gen 3 delivers one of the enjoyable Android pill experiences I’ve had, though I believe there’s a really small chunk of people that may really wish to purchase it.

Once I first acquired my fingers on the Legion Tab, I had no concept what it price, and my first response after unboxing it was that it felt like a flagship product. I genuinely assumed it could be priced someplace near $1,000. You may think about my shock once I later discovered it prices half of that.

Lenovo features a surprisingly luxurious set of equipment within the field: a grilled bumper case for the again, a magnetic flap that attaches to it and turns it right into a folio case, a glass display screen protector, a 68W charging brick, and a USB-C to USB-C cable. The folio case even folds neatly to double up as a kickstand whenever you set the pill down in panorama mode.

The pill itself feels simply nearly as good. Lenovo has gone with an all-metal development that feels sturdy and premium. The matte black end won’t scream “gaming pill” the way in which some may count on, however the industrial model seems much more polished than the drained gray or silver shades you see on most tablets. Across the again, the etched Legion brand and an oblong digicam island are the one flashy components, preserving the design clear and refined.

There isn’t a SIM card slot or expandable storage, so the one cutouts on the body are two speaker grilles and two USB-C ports. One is a normal USB 2.0 port, whereas the opposite is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. That quicker port permits for a lot faster knowledge transfers and even helps Show output if you wish to hook up an exterior monitor.

Lenovo additionally thought of the position, placing one port on the longer edge and one on the shorter edge. Regardless of the way you maintain the pill, you’ll be able to normally plug it in for charging, streaming, or utilizing equipment with out a lot trouble.

That being stated, players may miss a 3.5mm headphone jack. Technically, you’ll be able to nonetheless plug in wired earphones with a USB-C adapter because of the twin ports, but it surely looks like a missed alternative for many who need simple, zero-latency audio for gaming. There’s additionally no IP score for water or mud safety, one thing Samsung affords with its tablets at comparable or barely increased value factors. On high of that, Lenovo skipped a fingerprint reader altogether. You get 2D face unlock in order for you, however I ended up counting on an excellent previous sample lock more often than not.

My favourite factor concerning the Legion Tab is one thing only a few Android tablets even try anymore: its measurement. With smartphone screens getting nearer and nearer to seven inches, it’s solely truthful that the majority tablets lately are chasing display screen sizes of 10 inches or extra by default. Lenovo flips that development with a compact type issue that I immediately fell in love with.

The pill measures 7.79 mm x 208.54 mm x 129.46 mm (0.31 in x 8.21 in x 5.10 in) and weighs roughly 350 grams. Most different tablets simply exceed the 500-gram mark, and whereas that distinction won’t appear enormous on a spec sheet, it issues loads whenever you’re really carrying the gadget round.

For context, my common pill is my getting older however ever-reliable Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. As a lot as I find it irresistible, I hardly take it out until it’s for a long-distance flight, as a result of carrying it looks like an entire manufacturing. I must pack it right into a backpack, take it out, discover house to set it down, and repeat the entire dance when I’m finished. The Legion Tab feels extra like a Kindle compared. You may carry it in your fingers on a day trip within the park, or simply use it to scroll social media sitting on a sofa with no need to relaxation it on one thing. That ease of use rapidly turned certainly one of my favourite issues about it.

The explanation the Legion Tab feels so compact is that it comes with an 8.8-inch show. That’s a lot smaller than the screens you get on tablets just like the OnePlus Pad 2 or any of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab fashions, and as shut as you’re going to get lately to a basic Nexus 7-style compact pill. Actually, it is just barely larger than my Galaxy Z Fold 5 when unfolded, though the Legion Tab affords much more usable display screen space because of its facet ratio.

The show is a 16:10 LCD panel with a 2.5K decision (2560 x 1600). It helps 98% of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut and comes with HDR10 help. Below regular situations, the display screen hits a most brightness of 500 nits and may push as much as 900 nits when Excessive Brightness Mode kicks in.

The display screen will get shiny sufficient to be simply usable each indoors and open air, colours look wealthy and punchy, and the viewing angles are strong too. I used the Legion Tab to binge the most recent Black Mirror episodes, and I performed an excellent chunk of video games on it as properly. It doesn’t matter what I threw at it, the show delivered.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t fairly shake off the sensation that one thing was lacking. I ended up pulling out my Galaxy Tab S7 Plus simply to match my impressions, and though it’s three generations previous at this level, its AMOLED panel nonetheless matches the Legion Tab’s display screen. Colours popped a bit extra, and particularly in low-light environments, the deep blacks on the AMOLED display screen created a a lot richer expertise.

I’m not saying the Legion Tab’s display screen is dangerous. Actually, it’s in all probability among the best LCD panels I’ve seen on a cellular gadget lately. All I’m saying is that if Lenovo have been to make only one improve to the next-gen Legion Tab, it ought to swap out the LCD for an AMOLED show. Nonetheless, I doubt Lenovo will be capable to preserve this value level if and when it makes the change.

Avid gamers and non-gamers alike will certainly recognize one factor, although: the 165Hz refresh price. It makes your complete UI really feel extremely easy, and most actions on this pill really feel buttery easy. In case your favourite video games help 90fps or 120fps gameplay, you’ll be able to get pleasure from that full fluidity right here too, and it genuinely provides to the gaming expertise.

Yeah, gaming. Let’s get that out of the way in which now. This pill comes with precisely the type of specs you’d count on for a tool with Lenovo’s Legion branding. It packs 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. Powering all of it is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm’s flagship chip from final 12 months, and it’s nonetheless a beast.

I attempted downloading the largest, heaviest video games I may discover on the Play Retailer, and the Legion Tab had no hassle working them on the highest or near-highest settings. Genshin Impression, one of the graphically demanding video games on Android, displayed its common warning about overheating in case you crank every thing up. I ignored it and ran the sport at Excessive graphics and 60fps anyway. The Legion Tab stored up simply effective, delivering near 60fps more often than not, with just one noticeable drop to round 40fps throughout a cutscene transition.

One other heavy hitter I examined was Shiny Reminiscence Infinite, a fast-paced first-person shooter that may really push 120fps gameplay on this pill. The Legion Tab dealt with it rather well, with body charges not often dropping under 100fps throughout intense motion.

The expertise was the identical throughout each different sport I attempted. Lighter video games, unsurprisingly, ran flawlessly. Warmth administration can also be finished properly. The pill’s built-in efficiency overlay confirmed the temperature rising from round 20 levels Celsius to about 40 levels throughout an hour of continuous gaming. The pill’s again acquired heat to the contact, but it surely by no means acquired uncomfortably sizzling, and efficiency stayed steady the entire time.

The Legion Tab solely packs a 6,550mAh battery in comparison with the 8,000mAh and even 10,000mAh monsters you get on larger tablets. I seen a 20% drop in battery after round half-hour of gaming, no matter which title I performed. Meaning it is best to count on about two and a half hours of significant gaming on a full cost. It’s not mind-blowing, but it surely’s the trade-off for the smaller type issue.

Exterior of gaming, battery life held up higher than I anticipated. Standby efficiency is very spectacular. I left the pill related to Wi-Fi for days at a time, and it could barely lose 2% to three% over 24 hours. One time, I picked it up after 5 days of simply sitting there, absolutely anticipating it to be lifeless, but it surely nonetheless had over 80% battery left. Common duties like watching movies, scrolling by way of social media, or mild looking additionally barely dent the battery.

Topping up is quick too. The included 68W charger brings the Legion Tab from practically lifeless to full in simply over an hour. You should use both of the USB-C ports to cost, however you can not plug into each without delay, so save your self the big-brain experiment.

Lenovo additionally added help for bypass charging, which implies whenever you plug in whereas gaming, the ability can go straight to the pill’s motherboard as a substitute of the battery. That helps keep away from warmth buildup and retains efficiency regular throughout lengthy gaming periods.

Gaming extras

The specs race retains pushing ahead for cellular gaming, and Lenovo will quickly launch a model of this pill with a fair stronger chip. The issue is, whereas there are loads of nice video games on Android, there are barely any proper now that may push at this time’s {hardware} to its absolute limits. That stated, if you’re somebody who performs aggressive cellular video games and cares extra about response instances and smoothness than pixel-perfect graphics, the Legion Tab delivers precisely what you want.

It’ll even be a extremely dependable slate in case you’re into retro video games through emulation, whereas nonetheless having headroom to spare for heavier load add-ons like customized shaders. The caveat is that you simply’ll rapidly refill that 256GB fastened storage.

The pill does every thing it could possibly to make gaming really feel immersive, too. The twin-speaker setup will get loud and sounds surprisingly good. While you hearth up a sport in panorama mode, the pill routinely switches to a panoramic sound mode. It creates sufficient stereo separation which you could monitor enemy footsteps in video games like PUBG with no need headphones, though an excellent pair of earbuds nonetheless offers you the very best edge.

One other spotlight is the X-axis haptic motor. It’s sharp, exact, and really provides an actual layer of suggestions to your interactions, each in-game and whereas utilizing the overall UI.

I additionally liked how the Legion Tab’s smaller measurement performs properly with cellular gamepad controllers just like the Razer Kishi Extremely and the Gamesir G8 Plus. Mounting the pill in certainly one of these controllers takes the gaming expertise to a different degree. Shiny Reminiscence Infinite, Asphalt Legends, and even smaller video games felt far more gratifying with bodily controls. And since the pill is comparatively light-weight, the entire setup stays snug to carry for longer gaming periods. It’s in all probability among the best methods to get pleasure from cellular gaming on a flight or whereas touring.

Software program-wise, Lenovo retains issues fairly easy. There’s a Legion House app that serves as a fundamental gaming hub, the place all of your put in video games are displayed in a single place. If you are enjoying, you’ll be able to pull up a floating overlay from the aspect of the display screen. It offers you entry to fast settings, reminiscent of switching efficiency modes (Stability, Excessive Efficiency, and Power Saving), or capturing screenshots and display screen recordings.

There’s one bizarre omission, although. The pill doesn’t routinely disable display screen timeout whereas gaming. In case your display screen is ready to show off after 30 seconds, it’s going to nonetheless try this even if you’re in the midst of a protracted cutscene or a loading display screen. There isn’t a toggle contained in the gaming overlay to maintain the display screen on, both. The one method round it’s to exit your sport, dig into the settings, and manually change the display screen timeout to “by no means,” which is annoying as a result of it additionally disables display screen timeout in every single place else. It’s a small however painfully apparent factor that Lenovo ought to have dealt with higher.

Common Android with a gamer wallpaper

Exterior of the gaming extras, the software program expertise on the Legion Tab is… effective. Lenovo hasn’t added any particular pores and skin or UI modifications particularly for players. It’s simply the corporate’s common Android pores and skin, with a Legion-themed wallpaper on high. The pill ships with Android 14 out of the field, but it surely acquired the Android 15 replace the second I powered it on. That’s an excellent signal, and Lenovo says it’s going to get two extra main OS updates after that, which is okay for the kind of pill that is, however inferior to what you get from Samsung or Google.

Lenovo’s UI feels fairly near inventory Android. It’s light-weight, easy, and perhaps even a bit too fundamental. You get a number of customization choices for themes and wallpapers, and you’ll run split-screen apps or use floating home windows. There’s no built-in AI stuff from Lenovo right here, however you continue to get all the same old Google options like Circle to Search and the Gemini assistant.

There’s an excellent chunk of pre-installed apps on the pill, however you’ll be able to uninstall all of them in order for you. What irritated me extra was the setup expertise. Lenovo tries actually arduous to push pages of bloatware and random video games onto you, and you need to uncheck every app individually simply to keep away from them. It’s annoying, however no less than it solely occurs as soon as, so I’m prepared to let that slide.

Connectivity-wise, the Legion Tab helps Wi-Fi 7, and I skilled no points with velocity or sign throughout my time utilizing it at residence. There’s no mobile mannequin, although. That may not be an enormous challenge for many, however with many trendy cellular video games requiring a continuing web connection, it’s one thing to think about. Until you’re okay with tethering your telephone or solely utilizing the pill in Wi-Fi zones, that is just about a stay-at-home gadget.

And sure, the pill does have cameras. There’s a 13MP rear digicam, an 8MP entrance digicam, and a macro sensor that I received’t even fake to take significantly. The rear digicam works properly sufficient for snapping paperwork, and the entrance digicam can deal with 1080p video calls or fundamental streaming wants. You’ll get first rate ends in good lighting, however don’t count on something near the standard of your telephone’s digicam, particularly for portraits or Instagram posts.

The Lenovo Legion Tab ($549.99 at Lenovo) targets a really particular area of interest — the cellular gamer — and it nails that objective virtually completely. It offers you highly effective gaming {hardware} in a type issue that feels excellent. It’s larger than a telephone however not as cumbersome or awkward as a full-size pill. It matches neatly into cellular gaming controllers, you’ll be able to hook it as much as an even bigger display screen in order for you, it fees extremely quick, and there may be little or no to complain about general.

You continue to have a number of issues to bear in mind, just like the lacking headphone jack, the shortage of any biometrics, and the absence of a mobile mannequin. But when your predominant objective is easy, responsive cellular gaming, the Legion Tab will get the job finished. What stunned me extra was how a lot this pill began making sense even exterior of gaming.

Smartphone screens are already large enough for many informal duties, reminiscent of social media and watching movies, and once I want an even bigger display screen for work, I’d somewhat open my laptop computer. Most Android tablets additionally don’t have the type of seamless ecosystem integration that iPads get pleasure from, which makes them really feel like an remoted buy as a substitute of a pure extension of your setup. That’s why my Galaxy Tab S7 Plus largely sits round accumulating mud till I journey.

The Legion Tab feels totally different due to its measurement. It’s large enough to make me wish to change from my telephone for issues like watching YouTube movies or casually looking Instagram. On the similar time, it’s sufficiently small that I don’t must overthink selecting it up. I don’t really feel like I must justify utilizing it for a particular activity the way in which I normally do with full-sized tablets. It’s mild, fast, and simple to achieve all through the day with out even serious about it.

That compact measurement does include trade-offs. This isn’t the type of pill you’ll be able to deal with as a productiveness machine or a laptop computer substitute. If you might want to sort loads, multitask with a number of apps, or browse spreadsheets, this isn’t the proper instrument for the job. Plus, the battery life takes an apparent hit.

If you’re wanting particularly for a gaming pill, the closest competitor to the Legion Tab is the OnePlus Pad 2 ($549.99 at Amazon). It additionally affords flagship-grade efficiency, a giant battery, quick charging, and a a lot bigger show for a similar value. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 FE ($499.99 at Amazon) is an alternative choice in an analogous value vary, and it provides options like a bundled S Pen, an IP score, and a mobile mannequin choice. Nonetheless, it doesn’t supply the identical degree of uncooked efficiency because the Legion Tab. Plus, each of those alternate options are a lot larger and heavier gadgets.

If funds will not be a significant concern, you could possibly additionally think about the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus ($999.99 at Samsung). It affords an unimaginable 12.4-inch AMOLED show, flagship efficiency, and tons of premium options, however it’s going to price you almost twice as a lot because the Legion Tab.

If you’re merely searching for a compact pill, there are virtually no actual opponents on the Android aspect proper now exterior of the Pixel Pill ($499 at Amazon), which hasn’t aged that properly, and is bigger anyway. The one actual various is the iPad Mini ($459 at Amazon), however that call comes right down to which ecosystem you favor greater than the rest.

I nonetheless don’t suppose small tablets will attraction to the lots. There’s a purpose why corporations usually abandon smaller flagship telephones after a number of generations. The identical may occur with compact tablets. However whether or not the world embraces them or not, the Lenovo Legion Tab made me bear in mind how enjoyable and sensible a well-designed pill could be.