Lenovo Tab M10

The latest to join the Lenovo family is none other than the Lenovo Tab M10. As far as its design is concerned, this device does not look or feel anything like as cheap as it is. Simply put, with its full metal body (in smart Iron Grey or Platinum Grey) and 85% screen-to-display ratio, it resembles the kind of tablet one would expect to pay two to three times more money for. This model is quite compact for a full-sized tablet with dimensions of just 241.5 x 149.4 x 8.3mm and a weight of 420g. In addition, the Lenovo Tab M10 has also been equipped with a pair of stereo speakers tuned by Dolby Atmos. Apart from that, there is also a 3.5mm headphone jack. Well, one specific feature to indicate that this is a more affordable tablet, has to be the total lack of any reliable biometric authentication. This is quite evident with the power button on the top left edge (when held in landscape) which is a regular textured button with no in-display facility. While there is a face unlock facility, it is the regular rudimentary 2D scanning system which should not be fully trusted. As for its display, the Lenovo Tab M10 is definitely large enough at 10.1-inches, but with a resolution of only (1280 x 800), which is not very sharp.

The device uses a fairly rudimentary IPS LCD panel with a maximum brightness of just 400 nits and a 60Hz refresh rate. Overall, the colours appear somewhat washed out, and it simply does not do media content like Netflix videos and games any favours. As for the camera, it is a known fact that one should expect very little from tablet cameras, even so-called ‘Pro’ tablets selling for more than four times the price user would be paying here. This is not to say that such cameras cannot be good, more that it does not really need to be. That is the reason why it is really not too much of a criticism to say that the Lenovo Tab M10 HD’s solitary 8MP rear camera and 5MP selfie camera are not much cop. In a nutshell, the images taken with the main camera are lacks in detail and really quite anaemic, with little of the vibrant colours or HDR balance that one tends to get with even a bog standard budget smartphone. Having said that, it is not a total write-off in decent lighting conditions, which is more than good enough. As for its performance, the Lenovo Tab M10 HD has been incorporated with the Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22T, an extremely limited 12 nm chip aimed at affordable devices. In terms of its battery, this device has been equipped with a 5000 mAh battery. While it is quite a decent size for a smartphone, definitely not very large for a 10-inch Android tablet. Overall, it is a decent tablet to be explored, depending on the need and preference of the users.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam