Blackview Tab 8E: An affordable 2-in-1 Android tablet with a removable keyboard

Blackview may be well known from its smartphones, such as the Blackview BV5900 that we reviewed last year. However, the company also sells tablets, the latest of which is the Tab 8E. Unsurprisingly, the tablet is another budget offering from Blackview, but it offers a fair amount of hardware for under US$200. 

Specifically, Blackview has equipped the Tab 8E with a 10.1-inch display that resolves at 1,920 x 1,200 pixels in a 16:10 aspect ratio. A Unisoc SC9863A SoC powers the IPS display, which integrates eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores split across two clusters. There is also 3 GB of RAM and an IMG GE8322 GPU from PowerVR.

Additionally, the Tab 8E has 32 GB of internal storage that can be expanded using a microSD card. Alternatively, you could plug in a USB stick via the device's Type-C port thanks to support for the USB OTG standard. The Type-C port also serves as the only way of charging the 6,580 mAh battery on the Tab 8E. According to Blackview, the tablet should last up to eight hours between charges when playing videos, or 408 hours on standby.

The Tab 8E runs Android 10 out of the box, although Blackview has not confirmed if the tablet will receive Android 11. The tablet also does not support LTE, and its two cameras seem rather basic. Nonetheless, Blackview sells a detachable keyboard for it, allowing the tablet to be used as a laptop replacement.

The Blackview Tab 8E can be purchased directly from US$169.99 or from third-party retailers like AliExpress. The tablet is available from US$135.99 on the latter website, where it is also orderable in grey or gold.