Does Lenovo now offer the perfect entertainment tablet?

Given the features of the Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2, it’s easy to get excited: it boasts nine JBL speakers and Dolby Atmos support, as well as a built-in flexible, circular stand that allows the tablet to be securely positioned in many different ways and even mounted on a wall. 

Add to that a screen without PWM flicker and with up to 680 cd/m², which is often sufficient even for outdoor use.

Great battery life and a good price

And then there’s the battery life, which—at up to 29 hours in our Wi-Fi test—leaves many other mid-range tablets in the dust. Yet the tablet doesn’t cost an arm and a leg: It is currently available for around US$ 470 on amazon.com.

But there are also some issues

So does Lenovo have the perfect entertainment tablet in its lineup? Well, we did find a few weak points with the 12.1-inch tablet in our in-depth review: For one, you have to deal with its relatively heavy weight and accept that, with the speaker and stand module, the tablet is more than two centimeters thick.

Although the tablet supports a stylus, you have to buy it separately, and a compatible charger isn’t included in the package—at least not in Europe. 

There’s also no fingerprint sensor: If you want to equip your tablet with biometric access control, your only option is facial recognition. However, this uses a 2D method via the front camera—without a dedicated infrared sensor—and is therefore not quite as secure against tampering.

Poor software support

Software support is also problematic: Since Lenovo interprets EU regulations to mean that updates must be available but by no means up-to-date, only two major Android versions and security patches will be released through 2030—that is, for four years from the launch date.

There is also no 5G version of the tablet and no way to track the tablet via satellite. So anyone who was expecting a multimedia hub for their car, complete with navigation, will be disappointed.

For more on the pros and cons of the Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2, check out our in-depth review.