This is how the tablet favorite fares in everyday life

With the Tab M10 Plus, Lenovo offers a real “tablet favourite”. We named the tablet series that way because whenever one of the models is on sale, the device sells very well and tends to climb to the top of the bestsellers on Amazon. Now there is the third generation and I took a close look at it in my everyday life.

Nice, thin and light

Even though the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is priced at $250, it does optically a really good impression. As soon as I touched it for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by the choice of materials and the quality of the tablet. The back is about 75 percent metal and 25 percent plastic. But the plastic doesn’t feel cheap either.

The main camera and the logo are framed there. The volume buttons are on the top, two speakers and the power button on the side. There are four speakers in total, producing surprisingly good, clear and loud sound with Dolby Atmos. Yes, there is a distinct lack of bass, but I was impressed by the volume produced by the four speakers. Since four loudspeakers are installed, you don’t have a problem when playing games if one or two are covered.

Overall, the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is very light for its size at 465 grams and also nice and thin at 7.45 mm. In my opinion, the frames around the screen are the optimal thickness. I was able to hold the tablet comfortably in either orientation. With the light weight, this was also possible over a longer period of time without any problems.

10.6 inch display convinces

But not only the design surprised me positively, but also the display. I usually use a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 at home. In comparison, the screen here is with a Resolution of 2,000 x 1,200 pixels not only sharper, but also significantly brighter. I like to use my tablets in the garden, for example to watch a Formula 1 race while having a barbecue. That would not be a problem. With the Samsung tablet, I quickly reach my limit when the sun is shining properly.

Of course, you shouldn’t expect that in this price range, but you can a 90 or 120 Hz display would have looked very good on the Lenovo Tab M10 Pro. I always feel like the content is lagging behind. If you look closely while scrolling in Chrome, you can clearly see the lag. I’m not sure if this is due to the display or the performance of the tablet. I would recommend buying a protective film to protect the surface.

Performance should be better

The MediaTek Helio G80 is actually a solid processor. That’s why I’m wondering why the Lenovo tablet runs so jerkily. At first I thought that after setting it up it was a one-time thing, but the small delays and jerks are always present. As a spoiled owner of high-end hardware, this really annoys me, but it’s similar with the Samsung tablet – albeit not as pronounced as with Lenovo. I know that I shouldn’t expect miracles for the price of 250 euros, but with 4 GB of RAM the performance should actually be better.

It doesn’t matter if you swipe back to the home screen, start the entertainment space or just pull down the notifications. It’s easy not a completely fluid user experience. Lenovo’s user interface hasn’t been adapted that much at all. That’s a pity, because the hardware otherwise makes such a great impression.

Software offers many possibilities

Overall, I really like the software of the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus. That Chinese company basically relies entirely on Google services. Most Google apps are preinstalled. Normally I still have to install certain applications, but here everything was on it. In addition, there is a tablet center where the device is presented, as well as an FM radio. To use this, you have to connect headphones. There is also a memo app, which I find useful.

Otherwise, Lenovo still has some “bloatware” on it. This includes apps from Amazon Music, Netflix, Microsoft Office and OneNote. The Microsoft software, which of course you have to pay extra for if you really want to use it, is superfluous.

With the Kids Space turns the Lenovo tablet into a device for kids, which can only move in a protected surface. After setting up this function, you can leave the tablet to your children for a certain amount of time. Lenovo covers many areas with this model, making it suitable for the whole family.

Android 13 is already promised

The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus comes with Android 12, which is to be welcomed. Android 13 is already promised and is scheduled for release in 2023. That’s a little later than Google Android 13, namely in autumn 2022, but it’s important that the update comes at all. Lenovo also offers a three-year upgrade guarantee. Here you are covered for a long time.

It’s a pity that the Android security update on our test device, which we received before the market launch, is out of date. It is after the latest update from February 2022, before that it was December 2021. So there should be security updates here every three months. Samsung is a bit better at that, as they have monthly security updates when it comes to brand new Android tablets.

Battery life is impressive

I am positively surprised by the battery life. I only had to charge the tablet after four days of normal use. Of course, at the beginning I used it very often to install apps and try everything out, but then only for normal activities such as surfing the net, watching videos or listening to music. The tablet is very frugal, especially when idle. The battery life with intensive use with games I would see around a day. You can count on three to seven days of standby for light tasks. It really depends on how often you use the tablet. A power pack with a power of 10 watts is included in the scope of delivery.

ratings in detail