Lenovo Tab P11 Pro review: All-in-one but not for all?

(Pocket-lint) - It's uncommon to spot a premium Android tablet launch, arsenic the assemblage has mostly slumped - or, astatine least, is beauteous overmuch owned by Apple's iPad scope - but Lenovo is warring backmost with the accomplishment of its Tab P11 Pro.

This 11.5-inch tablet sits successful the mid-to-upper conception of the market, delivering a agleam OLED panel, but besides the versatility to adhd keyboard and stylus pen accessories to marque for a much productive platform.

But with Android's mostly constricted optimisation for tablets, tin Lenovo's Tab P11 Pro deed each the close notes arsenic a tablet and more?

Design & Display

• Display: 11.5-inch OLED panel, 1600 x 2560 resolution, Dolby Vision HDR
• Dimensions: 264.3 x 171.4 x 6.9mm / Weight: 485g (tablet only)
• Optional keyboard, backmost and stylus accessories
• Dolby Atmos, quad speakers, dependable by JBL
• Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) & LTE options
• Fingerprint scanner successful powerfulness button
• Colour: Slate Grey
• No 3.5mm jack

How you spot the Tab P11 Pro whitethorn beryllium connected however you privation to usage it. Just a slate for watching Netflix and specified like? No dramas, this is simply a prime option. As a laptop alternative? Well, you'll request to put successful the further keyboard accessory, adding a small to the expense, but inactive hitting a terms constituent that's apt successful and astir Chromebook territory.

An 11.5-incher arsenic your main surface ensures an uprated presumption compared to, say, a mobile phone; it's besides smaller than astir 13.3-inch laptops and truthful much portable - albeit not rather comparable, fixed its Android bundle halfway (it's conscionable not arsenic in-depth arsenic Windows, nor arsenic app rich, portion it's not adjacent arsenic connection processing adept arsenic a Chromebook alternative).

But arsenic screens spell this 11.5-inch sheet is decent acknowledgment to its OLED technology. This means each pixel self-illuminates - and it's Full HD+, oregon "2K" if you similar that word - truthful you don't get immoderate borderline illumination oregon haloing astir subjects. It's conscionable heavy blacks, affluent highest whites, and a precise susceptible colour palette to capable successful the gaps too.

We've really recovered the Tab P11 Pro truly utile arsenic a 2nd surface for watching online property conferences portion typing distant connected our laptop. An antithetic use-case, sure, but each to their ain scenario.

If you were to usage this slate arsenic an enactment for on-the-go streaming past it's good appointed for the task. Available successful either Wi-Fi lone oregon Wi-Fi and 4G/LTE options, the quality successful the second to adhd successful a SIM paper means you could live-stream portion connected the move. That could beryllium useful for each mode of use-cases, adjacent for the kids successful the backmost of a car connected a agelong travel (if you've not been omniscient capable to pre-download for offline viewing).

It's a slim physique tablet, too, astatine conscionable 6.9mm it's really a slither thinner than galore modern flagship smartphones. The physique is rigid acknowledgment to a aluminium frame, and good finished too, present shown successful its "Slate Grey" finish.

The lone oddity we find with the plan is the positioning of the buttons. They're to the precocious left, which we're definite left-handed people volition find a uncommon treat, but we've conscionable recovered downright odd. Even the measurement up and down buttons look similar they're reversed. And the powerfulness fastener - which has the fingerprint scanner embedded wrong for speedy login (although look unlock is the wiser option) - is tucked astir the country successful a presumption that we find unusually awkward.

On the backmost the Tab P11 Pro boasts a "Dolby Vision Atmos" logo (they've started combining the Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos presumption then, eh?) and "sound by JBL". At archetypal we shrugged disconnected these symbols, but Lenovo's tablet is coagulated erstwhile it comes to audio - the quad speakers are large and clear, projecting audio distant successful assured fashion. Enough to annoy anyone successful nationalist we're sure, but besides spot connected for, let's say, a spot of edifice box-set bingeing portion connected staycation.

Performance & Battery

• Dual selfie cameras: 8MP wide-angle, 8MP biometrics
• Dual rear cameras: 13MP wide-angle, 5MP ultra-wide
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor, 6GB RAM
• 8600mAh battery, 20W fast-charging

At this constituent you'll realise we've been addressing elemental tasks: browsing, watching Netflix and the like. Android is beauteous bully astatine that, arsenic it doesn't truly request to bash overmuch else. Problem is, erstwhile it comes to productivity, the larger-scale of a tablet surface inactive isn't good handled by Google's software. Even representation and scenery auto-rotation messes with the layout.

This isn't wholly Lenovo's fault: Google inactive needs to enactment the enactment successful to get Android up to tablet/laptop-replacement levels. Because it's conscionable not determination close now.

As a flimsy workaround the likes of Productivity Mode spell for a much Windows-like layout, implicit with taskbar presenting unfastened apps, but with the keyboard accessory attached there's conscionable not got the close benignant of engagement astir it - mostly due to the fact that the small trackpad has a weird 'float' sensation astir it that's harder to power than the norm, and the 'board itself has a hollow feeling that's not particularly large to benignant on.

But there's the affirmative rotation to look at: the backplate - which comes included with the keyboard and clips implicit the rear of the tablet - has a large multi-adjustable basal that suceeds successful laptop-a-like translation alternatively well. It could beryllium a spot much rigid though. And if you're typing with the keyboard level connected a coagulated surface, specified arsenic a desk, it's not excessively atrocious - though that "hollow" sensation is hard to shake, meaning it conscionable doesn't rather clasp up arsenic that benignant of instrumentality for us.

In presumption of capableness the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G level connected committee is the mid-to-high tier processor successful the chip-maker's range, truthful if you deliberation of the P11 Pro similar a elephantine telephone past it delivers strongly. You tin play Android games nary problems. Navigation is swift. Connectivity is, again, overmuch similar a mobile phone.

That chipset besides plays beauteous nicely with the 8600mAh artillery connected board. Keep successful caput that a flagship telephone typically has a 4,500mAh battery, the other astir 50 per cent connected connection present is bully capable to negate that other surface real-estate's illumination.

Longevity is somewhat antithetic for a tablet for the elemental information you're much apt to beryllium engaged successful longer periods of surface clip that with off-and-on usage similar with a phone, but we've been getting astir 12 hours of streaming earlier the Tab P11 Pro's artillery is nether menace of calling it a day. That's beauteous bully going.

Writing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 2 September 2021.