Lenovo Tab P12 Pro Review: The Ultimate Travel Tablet

The world of technology changes at a rapid rate. It’s only been a short while, relatively speaking, since my last tablet review, and it feels almost unrecognisable. Larger, thinner, lighter – with more hardware power behind it. Gone are the days of the 7” tablet, with many smartphones closing in on this mark without all the added bulk. The 10” screen has also slowly become something we find on more entry-level tiers. Now, the 12” tablet is the standard, along with many other hardware and features. The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro ticks many of the boxes for modern tablets. What’s interesting about Lenovo is that it has plenty of alternatives, especially those from its Yoga lineup. So, how does the Tab P12 Pro stand up to its in-house competitors?

Sleek and Sturdy Design

As stated in the introduction, large, slim and lightweight is the aim of the game. And that’s what you get with the P12. It measures 285.6×184.5×5.6mm, which is extremely thin. Despite being relatively thin, it’s still quite sturdy and not much in the way of any play or bend. For many, it may still be too thin to feel comfortable without a cover or case. I would recommend the latter, which would also double in use with an added Bluetooth keyboard. The one negative about the thin design is that the camera housing is quite a considerable bump.

The device has a magnetic strip that holds the included stylus. It also doubles as a charging mechanism while housed and is comfortably out of the way when used. However, it doesn’t allow it to be placed flat on the table or desk. You could switch the stylus to the case magnets at the bottom. While it does work, it doesn’t charge as with the designated area.

Weighing in at 565g, it’s not all that light, but for its size, it works. It’s easy to carry around during transit thanks to its lightweight build and slim design.

Despite ticking all the necessary boxes on build specifications, it doesn’t do much else to stand out. It looks like every other generic tablet – a slightly rounded rectangle. From a technical and performance point of view, this matters little. But if aesthetics form part of your checklist on a new device, then you won’t get much joy from a design perspective with the P12.

Vibrant Display That Delivers

The Lenovo Tab P12 has a beautifully large screen, measuring 12.6”. This is the size of the average laptop a few years ago, and now it is the de facto size of your average tablet.

It features an AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. With a maximum brightness of 600 nits, it’s pretty bright and works decently even in sunlight. The bezels are also relatively thin, providing maximum screen with minimal real estate.

Overall, the AMOLED screen is excellent. It provides brilliantly bright and bold colours with deep blacks. It has a 1,600×2,560px resolution, which is not as crisp as it can be for its size. However, the 2K resolution suits most tasks like gaming, watching movies, etc.

The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro Has The Power to Handle It All

The performance of the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro is excellent. For your daily tasks and work, it breezes through everything with ease. Additionally, it still doesn’t break a sweat when you take things up a notch with editing, content creation and the like.

The device sports a Qualcomm SM8250-AC Snapdragon 870 5G chipset with an Octa-core CPU and Adreno 650 GPU.

When it comes to gaming, the device performs just as well. It may only have 6GB RAM compared to other flagship tablets with 8GB or more, but it still fairs very well. Its large screen provides excellent visuals for gaming and watching movies and series. The large screen also lends itself to cloud gaming services for even better graphical performance and great visuals.

While I always enjoy using a stylus, the experience here isn’t the greatest. It still gets done, but some latency doesn’t lend itself to sketching. However, taking notes and your everyday tasks are much easier to manage. It also doesn’t have the same sensitivity regarding the pressure of the tip. Again, this isn’t great for sketching when having softer or harder strokes can make quite a difference.

Exceptional Battery Life

In terms of battery life, it is well above average. It has a Li-Po 10,200mAh, which is quite massive – double what you usually find on a smartphone. Lenovo teases an “all-day” battery and more than meets that expectation. Unlike your phone, which will be used almost constantly throughout the day, the tablet isn’t used as frequently. It does an excellent job overall, even with a few rundown and multitasking tests. In addition to its large battery, it also features 45W recharging support, which will have you up and running again in just a few minutes. It is worth noting that the included adapter only supports a 30W recharge, but connecting it to my portable battery to support a higher output makes quite a significant difference.

The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro Is A Worthy Competitor at a Great Price

The Lenovo Tab P12 is an excellent tablet. At around R8,000, it gets the job done, even while not punching at the top-tier levels. Compared to other high-end 12” tablets from the Samsung and Apple stables, it doesn’t quite match the same levels. However, it costs 20-30% less than those variants while offering a large screen with excellent visuals and an all-day battery.

The Review