Acer Iconia One 8 Tablet Review
For the original German review, see here.
The digit "1" stands for a beginning as well as for the first place, an advantage and victory. Perhaps this is the reason why more and more manufacturers use the word "One" for their devices. OnePlus' One even uses the positive number twice and it is also found in our present review sample Acer's Iconia One 8. The 8-inch tablet is to succeed in the lower mid-range tablet sector with an Intel SoC and a 720p resolution.
However, the 200 Euros (~$227) price range has been filling up noticeably in the past months. For example, Lenovo's Tab S8 with a Full HD screen, Dell's Venue 8 Pro, LG's G Pad and even LTE models such as Huawei's MediaPad T1 8.0 or HP's Stream 8 are found here. Can Acer's product impress anyway?
Case
Plastic casings are standard in this category. Metal cannot be found in the casing of any of the comparison devices. However, a plastic casing can have a high finish. Acer wants to impress with a textured back cover, and we think it does that quite successfully. The pattern is diamond shaped and every diamond is different from the next one, creating a nice effect when held in the light. Furthermore, this texture makes the back quite slip-proof. Overall, we quite liked the design. The transition between the screen unit and back looks well implemented, but the back's edge is somewhat sharp.
The Iconia One 8 gives the impression of being very flexible especially in its corners and sometimes a subtle cracking can be heard. Pressure on the front and back become immediately visible as brightness shifts over the entire screen. The back and the battery cannot be removed, but a micro-SD slot has been installed on the right.
With a weight of 340 grams (~12 oz), Acer's Iconia One 8 is not a heavy tablet. However, Lenovo's Tab S8 is much lighter with a weight of just 300 grams (~10.6 oz). The casings of most comparison devices are considerably slimmer than our review sample.
Connectivity
The 16 GB of flash memory can be expanded by up to 32 GB via a micro-SD card. However, apps cannot be moved to the SD card. Unfortunately, a WWAN module for mobile Internet is not offered. The working memory of 1 GB is also quite tight.
Software
The manufacturer has to be complimented for using Android 5. Most smartphones and tablets are still launched with the former Android 4.4 version. The software has not been modified significantly. Acer has pre-installed a number of apps that are designed to enhance the user's experience.
For example, "System Doctor" optimizes the system's utilization by closing active apps running in the background or clears the cache. Acer's "BYOC" apps follow the motto "build your own cloud". Music, photos and videos are supposedly saved automatically on the PC from the tablet or smartphone, and are then always available when on the go.
"Acer Suggests" is a proprietary app store. "EZ Gadgets" enables accessing tools, such as a calculator or a browser window that floats over other apps, but which also needs quite a bit of space due to the screen's low resolution. The user can write or sketch like on a notepad in "EZ Note".
Overall, the selection of apps is impressive. However, users who do not want to be tied to Acer's services will have quite a lot to uninstall. Some Acer apps also have the same purpose as Google's preloaded GApps and thus there are some duplicate features. In addition, countless adware, such as from a travel promoter or multiple game providers are preloaded.
Communication & GPS
Internet connections are only possible via Wi-Fi in the 802.11 b/g/n standard ex-factory, which means that the 5 GHz band cannot be accessed. The reception is rather average. We only had half the signal at a distance of 10 meters (~33 ft) from the router and through three walls. However, the pages opened fast enough. Three more meters (~10 ft) and another wall dropped the signal to one quarter, and websites opened significantly slower.
According to the specifications on Acer's website, a GPS module is installed in the tablet. However, we could not be located indoors in our test with the "GPS Test" app. The signal was not strong enough to track us in the outdoors, even after a prolonged waiting time. Therefore, the question arises whether a GPS module has been installed at all. In any event, the Iconia One 8 is not suitable for offline navigation.
Cameras & Multimedia
A 5-megapixel camera that takes fairly decent pictures for a tablet is found on the rear. However, this does not mean that the camera can compete with high-quality smartphone cameras. The photos display a very visible bluish cast, outlines are blurred and color transitions are pixelated when looking closely. There is no LED flash like in Lenovo's Tab S8. The camera's quality will satisfy users who only look at their photos on monitors and rarely blow them up. Anyone expecting more will soon find the limits of the image quality. Videos can be recorded at a maximum of 720p; their quality is also rather mediocre.
The front-facing camera, with a meager 0.3 megapixels, is only suitable for sharing photos on social networks, and the user should not expect too much. It can also be used as a band-aid solution for video calls.
Accessories
Acer has installed its own app with a list of available accessories on the tablet. Whether this is practical or impudent is a matter of personal opinion. For example, a Bluetooth keyboard with a tablet holder is offered for just under 60 Euros (~$68), a capacitive stylus, which we will deal with under "Input Devices", is sold for just under 20 Euros (~$23), Crunch Covers that can be folded and serve as a tablet stand in many situations are sold for 10 to 20 Euros (~$11 to ~$23). Protective Sleeves, the more stylish Portfolio Cases and the colorful Bumper Cases are found in the same price range. Overall, the diversity of accessories is impressive.
Warranty
Acer includes a 24-month warranty for its tablet, and there is of course the statutory warranty.
Input Devices & Handling
Acer relies on Google's stock keyboard model, which has evolved significantly in Android 5, and now looks more stylish. The keyboard has multiple settings, and can be used quickly and without many errors.
Acer uses "Acer Precision Plus" technology for its touchscreen. It is supposed to increase the touchscreen's sensitivity. The manufacturer states that it would even be possible to use a pencil to make virtual notes on the screen. Of course, we had to try that. Just using a finger, the touchscreen responded accurately and sketching and writing on the screen was possible with good accuracy. Inputs were not possible with a special touch-pen with a plastic tip at first, and using a ballpoint pen led to recurrent skips in lines. However, control was quite precise using a pencil; unfortunately, Acer did not provide us with a stylus. It can be generally said that the screen can be used quite accurately, and finger or pencil inputting is quite possible for taking quick notes.
Android controls have not been implemented as hardware or touch buttons. Instead, they are faded in on the screen, which reduces the screen's available surface area as well as the low resolution. The right-hand hardware buttons for standby and volume have a clear pressure point. However, the volume rocker in particular does not make a very high-quality impression when in use.
Display
The 8-inch IPS screen in Acer's Iconia One 8 has a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. This is, for example, lower than Lenovo's Tab S8, which offers Full HD. The low resolution does not make the screen ideal as can be seen in "EZ Gadgets", and the image is simply not as crisp as it should be.
The average brightness of 338 cd/m² is average, and the illumination of 83% is still sufficiently homogeneous. However, brightness differences are already visible on larger colored surfaces.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Center on Battery: 367 cd/m²
Contrast: 1184:1 (Black: 0.31 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.1 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 4.38 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
Gamma: 2.33
| Acer Iconia One 8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Lenovo Tab S8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3745, 16 GB eMMC Flash | HP Stream 8 5900ng HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Dell Venue 8 Pro 3845 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 32 GB eMMC Flash | LG G Pad 8.0 V480 Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 18% | -24% | -4% | -23% | -20% | |
| Brightness middle | 367 | 418 14% | 340 -7% | 382 4% | 333 -9% | 324 -12% |
| Brightness | 338 | 401 19% | 327 -3% | 365 8% | 311 -8% | 301 -11% |
| Brightness Distribution | 83 | 85 2% | 88 6% | 87 5% | 85 2% | 87 5% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | 0.22 29% | 0.61 -97% | 0.35 -13% | 0.54 -74% | 0.39 -26% |
| Contrast | 1184 | 1900 60% | 557 -53% | 1091 -8% | 617 -48% | 831 -30% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.1 | 4.19 -2% | 4.89 -19% | 4.97 -21% | 4.64 -13% | 5.96 -45% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.38 | 4.26 3% | 4.19 4% | 4.44 -1% | 4.78 -9% | 5.33 -22% |
| Gamma | 2.33 94% | 2.41 91% | 2.44 90% | 2.37 93% | 2.63 84% | 2.19 100% |
| CCT | 6394 102% | 6246 104% | 7344 89% | 6090 107% | 6458 101% | 7184 90% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 46.5 | 50.6 |
* ... smaller is better
The black level of just 0.31 cd/m² is good and results in a deep and dark black reproduction. This also leads to a good contrast ratio of 1184:1; the color reproduction is fairly strong.
The analysis with a spectrophotometer and CalMAN software provide results that are more accurate. At most, marginal color differences can be seen in the comparison fields with the naked eye. We did not observe any visible bluish cast or the like. Generally, the colors are displayed a few hues brighter than specified by the sRGB color space. Otherwise, the color reproduction is good and the shifts from the reference color space are not excessive.
Unfortunately, the screen's brightness is not always high enough to recognize everything in very bright ambient light. The tablet's surface is also glossy, which makes long outdoor work sessions difficult because the user has to find a position that largely prevents reflections.
The IPS technology makes a good image impression even from very flat viewing angles.
Performance
Acer relies on Intel's Atom Z3735G SoC with four cores and a clock rate of 1.33 GHz for its Iconia One 8, which is not unusual in this category. For example, both Lenovo's Tab S8 and Dell's Venue 8 Pro use an Intel SoC. Lenovo's tablet sets itself apart with a slightly higher Turbo rate, but the performance level of the three devices is quite similar. Fast and lag-free navigation through Android 5 is not always possible with Acer's Iconia One 8 in everyday use; the home screen often needs a moment to load especially when an app has just been closed. This might also be due to the tight working memory of 1 GB, which often is loaded to 50% just with background programs without any active apps. Nevertheless, it had enough power for most of the apps that we tested.
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Smartbench 2012 | |
| Productivity Index (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Gaming Index (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Linpack Android / IOS | |
| Single Thread (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| Multi Thread (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| AnTuTu v5 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| PCMark for Android - Work performance score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
The tablet stands out from its rivals in Internet browsing. Everything is slightly faster and smoother. Even new Internet technologies do not slow down the tablet, as the decent score in WebXPRT 2015 shows.
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Dell Venue 8 Pro 3845 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| HP Stream 8 5900ng | |
| Google V8 Ver. 7 - Google V8 Ver. 7 Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Dell Venue 8 Pro 3845 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| HP Stream 8 5900ng | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Dell Venue 8 Pro 3845 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| HP Stream 8 5900ng | |
| WebXPRT 2015 - Overall (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
* ... smaller is better
The storage device in Acer's Iconia One 8 is fast and easily outperforms the flash memories in Lenovo Tab S8 and LG's G Pad. Consequently, apps are loaded quite quickly and we rarely noticed any lag during everyday use. However, the multitude of preloaded apps leaves only 9 GB of storage for the user.
| AndroBench 3-5 | |
| Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Random Read 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Random Write 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
Intel's HD Graphics (Bay Trail) with a maximum clock of 646 MHz is fast, and can leave most rivals behind. However, we have to keep in mind that the screen's resolution is not as high and therefore, the graphics card has an easier job in the on-screen tests.
| 3DMark | |
| 2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Physics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| LG G Pad 8.0 V480 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE | |
Games
The graphics card had a hard time with our high-requirement test game "Asphalt 8" in maximum settings. Stutters and clear lags were visible that sometimes also influence the control ability. However, the performance is good in less demanding games like "Angry Birds: Transformers".
Emissions
Temperature
The user will not have to worry about unpleasantly high temperatures on Acer's Iconia One 8. The absolute load maximum was 36.3 degrees Celsius (~97 degrees Fahrenheit). Although this is noticeable, it is not in any way unpleasant. The power supply also remained agreeably cool with a maximum of 39.7 degrees Celsius (~103 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature increase when idling was barely noticeable: 30.7 degrees Celsius (~87 degrees Fahrenheit) was the maximum here.
The Battery Test of GFXBench shows whether the processor and graphics card can maintain the performance under permanent load by rerunning the same benchmark 30 times in succession while recording the frame rates. It is unlikely that the performance will be throttled during prolonged periods of load when the frame rate remains stable until the end. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Acer's Iconia One 8: The frame rate dropped clearly after a prolonged time. Navigating in the operating system was also noticeably slower after a long period of load.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 34 °C / 93 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36.3 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 33.2 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29 °C / 84 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.
Speakers
The speakers are located in the lower back area. That is not an ideal place because the sound is disseminated towards the back and, depending on the surface, might be stifled. The overall sound is not particularly loud, but it is balanced. The mids are emphasized most and the low pitches are rather weak. We liked the fact that the trebles are restrained and do not boom. This results in a quite warm sound in total, which should be sufficient for occasionally listening to music. Nevertheless, a headphone or external speakers are the best choice; that function quite well with the 3.5 mm audio jack.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
There are certainly more energy efficient tablets in this price range than Acer's Iconia One 8. For example, HP's Stream 8 consumes considerably less energy in all sectors. A positive aspect about Acer's Iconia One 8 is its absolute zero-energy consumption in a turned off state and the minimum consumption of 0.1 watts in standby.
The tablet consumes at least 0.8 watts when idling; Lenovo's Tab S8 for example, is considerably more power hungry. The idle maximum of 3.3 watts is an overall average consumption rate. The absolute maximum consumption is 6.5 watts, which is also in the midfield among the comparison devices.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  0.8 / 3.1 / 3.3 Watt |
| Load |
5.1 / 6.5 Watt |
    
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 870 | |
Battery Runtime
The power consumption rates are rather middling, but the 17-Wh battery has a relatively high capacity. Therefore, Acer's Iconia One 8 manages quite impressive runtimes, particularly in browsing via Wi-Fi where the device lasted over 12 hours - although we performed our new Wi-Fi test that is more demanding than the former versions. Our review sample does not come close to the terrific idle runtime of LG's G Pad, and Lenovo's Tab S8 can shine in load runtime. However, the battery life of Acer's Iconia One 8 is very suitable for routine use.
| Acer Iconia One 8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Lenovo Tab S8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3745, 16 GB eMMC Flash | HP Stream 8 5900ng HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 32 GB eMMC Flash | Dell Venue 8 Pro 3845 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 32 GB eMMC Flash | LG G Pad 8.0 V480 Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Huawei MediaPad T1 8.0 LTE Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 42% | -37% | -42% | 37% | 4% | |
| Reader / Idle | 1257 | 1425 13% | 748 -40% | 711 -43% | 1801 43% | 1545 23% |
| H.264 | 795 | 350 -56% | 367 -54% | 729 -8% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 742 | 633 -15% | ||||
| Load | 185 | 315 70% | 159 -14% | 130 -30% | 326 76% | |
| WiFi | 610 | 324 | 402 | 653 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Experience shows that expectations have to be reduced slightly in relatively inexpensive tablets. Acer's Iconia One 8 is no exception and has only a 720p screen, a not entirely stable plastic casing with some sharp edges, and slightly too quiet speakers. The variety of adware also mars the impression the same as the clear performance loss after a prolonged load for which we deducted a point in the rating.
Acer particularly emphasizes the touchscreen, which is in fact quite suitable for sketching because it implements inputs very accurately. The low black level and a rather color accurate image reproduction are also assets of the screen. In addition, the storage can be expanded and the buyer gets a good battery life.
Thanks to its satisfactory screen and the option of expanding the storage via a micro-SD card, Acer's Iconia One 8 is a decent tablet with an accurate touchscreen. However, a higher resolution camera and screen make Lenovo's Tab S8 a serious rival.
Acer Iconia One 8
- 06/16/2015 v4 (old)
Florian Wimmer
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