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Lenovo has started their Semi-Annual Sale, with up to 62 percent off Doorbusters including Legion gaming PCs and Yoga 2-in-1 Laptops.
SAMMY KINLAW, TECH DATA SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ENDPOINT SOLUTIONS AMERICAS
September 30, 2020
Sammy Kinlaw will oversee relationships and operations for Americas region
By Jeffrey Burt
Global distributor Tech Data is bringing on former Lenovo and Lexmark executive Sammy Kinlaw to head its endpoint business in the Americas region.
The Lowdown: Kinlaw, who has almost 30 years in the tech industry, this week was named as senior vice president of endpoint solutions for Americas for the Tampa, Florida-based company.
The Details: He will be responsible for leading Tech Data’s relationships and strategic operations for the company’s endpoint solutions vendors and channel partners.
Kinlaw brings extensive channel experience to Tech Data, coming from printing and imaging solutions vendor Lexmark, where he spent almost three years as its vice president of worldwide channel and OEM sales. Prior to that, he was at Lenovo for more than nine years, with his last position there being vice president of the tech giant’s North America channel and U.S. SMB business.
He started his IT career in 1993 with IBM.
Background: Kinlaw comes to a solutions and services distributor that has more than 125,000 customers in more than 100 companies, more than 150,000 products sold, more than 14,000 employees around the world, and $37 billion in sales in its fiscal year 2020. Tech Data was bought this summer by private equity firm Apollo Management for $5.4 billion.
The Buzz: “Sammy’s experience and depth of knowledge across a host of technologies and vendors as well as his deep understanding of the channel make him a perfect fit for Tech Data,” said John O’Shea, president of Americas at Tech Data. “We are pleased to welcome him to the company and look forward to the impact he will have on our business in service to our channel partners.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tech Data throughout my career as a vendor, and I’m thrilled to now join the company at a pivotal time in its transformation,” Kinlaw said. “I look forward to bringing my experience from the vendor side to help Tech Data better serve all its stakeholders.”
Computer manufacturer Lenovo and Power League Gaming (PLG) have announced an ongoing collaboration that aims to celebrate female gamers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Miss Esports is a platform launched by both companies that features local ambassadors to serve as role models and mentors to female gamers in the region.
In a release detailing the collaboration, Lenovo cited Newzoo research that found 35% percent of gamers in MENA are female and both genders aged 18-24 are spending an average of eight hours per week on console gaming.
Miss Esports was launched earlier in 2020, the brands said, and its ambassadors have since established professional careers that include commentating and hosting shows. (Although pictured above, specific ambassadors were not named.) Miss Esports is now recruiting female gamers across MENA, who will each represent their localities and “work towards championing talent and competing.”
In addition to sharing their personal experiences, ambassadors also provide information and networking opportunities related to video games, streaming and content creation.
Claire Carter, Marketing Director, Lenovo – Middle East and Africa, stated: “It’s crucial to ensure we’re creating inclusive environments, and this is something which has always been very close to our hearts at Lenovo. Miss Esports represents an evolution in our continued efforts to celebrate all gamers – in this instance, creating a safe and positive community in which we can nurture female talent. Our ultimate goal is to not require differentiating between male and female gamers in the future, but rather, having a shared platform where all gamers can compete and have access to the top gaming influencers.
“We have highly talented female gamers across the Middle East and Africa who are as ‘savage’ as their male counterparts and at Lenovo, we want to help unleash their ‘Stylish Outside, Savage Inside’ personas to inspire even more women to game!”
Esports Insider says: We are experiencing a boom in female-focused esports programs designed to attract more diversity to the industry. The British Esports Association’s Women in Esports campaign was launched in 2019, Dignitas launched “_FE” earlier this year and the University of Roehampton in London just started a ‘Women in Esports’ scholarship. As long as there are enough interested girls and women to sustain these programs, we may start to see the gender gap in esports close significantly.
Now we can reveal the laptop's UK availability will be an EE network exclusive, with new customers being asked for £125 a month to own the shiny new bit of kit. That makes it a not insignificant £3,000 over the 24-month minimum contract. Existing EE customers can sign-up for £112.50 a month.
That's a bold move from both Lenovo and EE. Much as we love shiny new tech and the prospect of the fastest available mobile connectivity speeds - with low latency and wide bandwidth being a major benefit of 5G - it is 2020, most of the UK population aren't anywhere near a 5G network much of the time, or if they are, it would be at a not-presently-occupied place of work.
Not to mention, following the UK government banning Huawei kit in existing and future 5G infrastructure, there's an inevitable knock-on effect for the future rollout of 5G - despite Nokia picking up the contract to fill Huawei's boots moving forward.
Lenovo's thought process? In the rapidly changing world of work and school environments, we need access to that faster data and wider bandwidth to ensure best possible quality in whatever we're doing online - whether that's team video calls, gaming, or remote working without irritating interruptions.
We like the positive sentiment, but for £3,000, while in the face of a national recession, we're unconvinced people will be biting at EE's heels to get hold of a Yoga 5G.
Like any brand new tech, though, this is Lenovo showing off what's possible in the here and now - and ahead of any other company. It's bold posturing, but as 5G becomes ubiquitous and the price drops over time, at least we can look back and see that it was Lenovo at the forefront in its thinking.
The ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 i also features an ultra-narrow bezel and a dual-tone top cover. It has a built-in service key that will connect you directly to Lenovo support, and it runs on 11th Gen Intel Core processors, with Intel Iris XE graphics and Thunderbolt.
You might decide to pair the laptop with a monitor, like Lenovo’s new ThinkVision T27hv-20 USB-C Hub. The 27-inch display was built with remote workers in mind. It has a 1080p IR/RGB webcam, noise cancelling microphones and integrated speakers. It also comes with Smart Guard, which will blur the screen if you look or move away, and with Smart Energy, the screen will turn off when it senses you have moved away from your desk.
I became a professional writer and editor shortly after graduation. My degrees are in biomedical sciences; however, they led to some experience in the biotech area, which convinced me of its potential to revolutionize our health, environment and lives in general. This developed into an all-consuming interest in more aspects of tech over time: I can never write enough on the latest electronics, gadgets and innovations. My other interests include imaging, astronomy, and streaming all the things. Oh, and coffee.
I became a professional writer and editor shortly after graduation. My degrees are in biomedical sciences; however, they led to some experience in the biotech area, which convinced me of its potential to revolutionize our health, environment and lives in general. This developed into an all-consuming interest in more aspects of tech over time: I can never write enough on the latest electronics, gadgets and innovations. My other interests include imaging, astronomy, and streaming all the things. Oh, and coffee.
Lenovo has announced a ThinkPad like no ThinkPad you’ve ever seen before: the ThinkPad X1 Fold. Think Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, but a 13-inch OLED laptop screen. It’s available for preorder now, starting at $2,499.
The idea is that you can use the Fold like a large tablet when it’s fully unfolded (or divide the screen into two adjacent displays). You can prop the Fold up horizontally to use it like a full 13-inch notebook, with an optional detachable keyboard and easel stand. You can fold the thing up 90 degrees, turn it vertically, and use it like a miniature laptop (a touchscreen keyboard pops up on the bottom half). You can turn it horizontally and use it like a book, with an optional stylus. Or you can fold the whole thing up, and easily carry it around without it taking up much space in your bag.
In terms of other specs, the production Fold comes with 11th Gen Intel processors, two USB-C ports and a SIM-card slot, 8GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and a 50Wh battery. It weighs 2.2 pounds and can come with 5G support.
The ThinkPad X1 Nano supports Wi-Fi 6 and 5G.Image: Lenovo
Lenovo also announced the ThinkPad X1 Nano, which is the lightest ThinkPad ever made at 1.99 pounds. This ThinkPad is based on Intel’s new Evo platform, which is meant to certify that laptops deliver long battery life, fast charging, and a quick boot time, among other features. Evo systems also need to include Intel’s 11th Gen Tiger Lake processors, Wi-Fi 6, and Thunderbolt 4.
The Nano has a 13-inch 2K 16:10 display (with touch and non-touch options). Lenovo says that it’s about the same height as a 14-inch 16:9 screen. And it comes with a number of AI security features: it can detect when you’re walking by and wake itself up, for example, and lock itself when you walk away.
Specs-wise, the Nano comes with 11th Gen Intel processors up to an i7, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, a 48Wh battery, four 360-degree microphones, and Intel’s Xe integrated graphics. It supports 5G as well and can run Linux in addition to Windows 10 Pro.
The Nano will be available in Q4 of 2020, starting at $1,399.
The ThinkPad 14s Yoga comes in a nice blue color.Image: Lenovo
Lenovo announced several additions to its ThinkBook line as well. The flagships include the $729 ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 (which is also Evo-verified), the $879 ThinkBook 14s Yoga (the first convertible ThinkBook, which has a built-in pen), and the $549 ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 (which comes with built-in Bluetooth earbuds). The 13s and 15 also have AMD options. They’ll both be available in October; the Yoga is coming in November.
I became a professional writer and editor shortly after graduation. My degrees are in biomedical sciences; however, they led to some experience in the biotech area, which convinced me of its potential to revolutionize our health, environment and lives in general. This developed into an all-consuming interest in more aspects of tech over time: I can never write enough on the latest electronics, gadgets and innovations. My other interests include imaging, astronomy, and streaming all the things. Oh, and coffee.
Every student needs a good laptop for school, but laptops can obviously be an expensive investment for anyone with a tight budget.
Luckily, the market is full of laptops that cater to this specific demographic, including Chromebooks and other laptops with modest specs. Unfortunately, these often skimp on build quality, usability and performance, which makes them less than ideal for anyone who needs a laptop that's fast, has a good keyboard and can handle being lugged around in a bag.
The Lenovo Ideapad 5 14-inch feels like a laptop that was specifically made to fill this niche, and does it well.
You get a very sturdy and attractive aluminum chassis, a comfortable and tactile keyboard, plenty of ports and a 14 inch screen – the perfect size for a laptop that has to be portable enough to carry around, but at the same time big enough to comfortably work on documents and presentations.
You could obviously pay more to get a lighter laptop with a better screen and smaller footprint, but if that's not an option for you, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14 is a great choice.
Price and availability
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14 inch specs:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4500U Graphics: Radeon Vega Graphics RAM: 8 GB Screen: 14”, FullHD Storage: 512 GB SSD Ports: USB-C (for charging), HDMI, headphone jack, 2 x USB, SD Card Reader Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth Camera: 720p video, 1 MP Weight: 3.04 pounds (1.38 kg) Size: 12.66 x 8.33 x 0.7 inches (32.157 x 21.159 x 1.69 cm)
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14 is available in a variety of configurations including Ryzen 3, 5 and 7 processors, 8 or 16 GB of RAM and 256 or 512 GB of storage.
Availability varies by country and region, and the Ryzen 5 versions seem to be the most common.
The unit reviewed here has a Ryzen 5 4500U processor and 8 GB of RAM, and our impression is that this model will be a good choice for most people. However, it’s worth noting that we have seen this laptop available at retailers with 16 GB of RAM, which might be worth the upgrade if you’re planning to do more demanding work like editing large photos or video.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch has a simple and attractive design.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
Design
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch has a simple design that should suit most people very well. There’s nothing specifically eye-catching about it, but the laptop has a simplicity to it that we like a lot. The aluminum chassis has a nice and sturdy feel to it, and it should handle being lugged around to lectures and study halls on a regular basis without any problems.
The screen might be considered a weak point for this laptop by some, but it would depend on your expectations and your needs. Neither the contrast nor the brightness is more than average at best, but it is still very usable for things like working with documents and spreadsheets. However, If you're doing a lot of serious photo and video editing, you might want to look elsewhere.
The touchpad could certainly have been bigger, and it has a somewhat cheap feel to it.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
The keyboard has a crisp and tactile feel to it, with fairly long travel for a laptop keyboard, and a nice and satisfying clicky sound that feels just right and at the same time isn’t too loud. This is obviously important for students who need to use their laptop to take notes in class and to study at the library, and IdeaPad 5 14-inch should be perfect for that. It’s worth noting that the keyboard has some deck flex when you press down on it firmly, but not so much that is causes a problem.
The touchpad could have been bigger, but that’s to be expected from a laptop in this price range, and it does function well. There’s a bit of a cheap feel to the mouse button clicks, but over all they do work very well and seem reliable.
The power button has a built in fingerprint scanner that works very well.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch also has a fingerprint reader integrated in the narrow power button above the keyboard, and it works very well with a quick and accurate response.
When it comes to ports, you get USB-C, HDMI, 2 x USB-A and an SD card reader, which seem to cover most typical user needs.
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Ideally the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch would have had another USB Type-C port.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
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Will like that it has a built in SD Card reader.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
There is just one problem – the charger uses USB-C, meaning that when you're charging you don’t have an available USB-C-port. Charging over USB-C is a good thing, but in this case, we would rather have a traditional charging port – or even better – another USB-C-port.
The speakers are way better than what you would expect from a laptop in this price range. It helps a lot that they are faced upwards, and apart from the fact that they are impressively loud, they also deliver a sound stage that is both wide and fairly balanced with an ok bass response, considering their size. They can't compete with a good pair of speakers or headphones, but they will do just fine for watching YouTube videos or a TV show as long as big and dramatic sound isn't the main focus.
The last thing that’s worth mentioning about the design, is the clever switch that lets you physically cover the web camera when it’s not in use. That way you don’t have to worry about someone hacking your computer and watching you without you knowing about it, and you can throw away that piece of tape you’ve been using to accomplish the same thing.
The camera can be physically covered by pushing the tiny switch above it to the left.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
We are happy to report that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch feels snappy and handles multitasking very well. Working with 10-15 tabs open in Chrome at the same times proves to be no issue, even when editing spreadsheets at the same time.
This is even more impressive considering our review unit only has 8 GB of RAM, and even Photoshop runs fine as long as you’re working on smaller projects. However, if you're planning on doing more demanding work, you should probably consider getting a model with 16 GB of RAM.
The Ryzen 4000-series chip is behind this impressive performance, and in Cinebench the 4500U in our review unit competes with the Intel Core i7-7700K. Even more impressive, GeekBench 5 gives us a single-core score of 1,092 which is on par with the Intel Core i5-9400F, and the multi-core score of 4,800 even beats the same chip with a noticeable margin.
In PCMark 10 we get a score of 4811, which is way more than the score Intel Core i7-1065G7 is listed with (3179), and the latter is a chip that is commonly used in laptops in the same price range as Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14”. There is really no doubt that you are getting a lot of performance for your money here.
Obviously, gaming isn’t a focus for this laptop and our 3D benchmarks show that it doesn’t exactly excel in that department. But while playing Fortnite with no other players onscreen, the fps rises to 40-50, which looks OK on paper, but it fluctuates a lot and there are a lot of dropped frames. When things start to get heated the frame rate can drop to the low 20s, which would be considered unplayable by most people.
However, Minecraft works fine, so it’s obviously possible to do some light gaming in between studying on this machine – just don’t set your expectations too high.
Big vents on the bottom ensure that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch stays quiet under most circumstances.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
Battery life
Thanks to the power efficient nature of the 4500U-processor, we got a very impressive result of 12 hours and 1 minute from PCMark 10s battery test, and our own standard movie test where we play a 1080p-movie on repeat until the battery runs out, gave us a result of 10 hours and 55 minutes.
That's more than enough to get through a long day of classes and studying, and you'll probably even have enough battery left for some movie watching on the train home.
The simple design has a little bit of a stylish flair to it with the Lenovo logo on the bottom right.(Image credit: Truls Steinung)
Buy it if ...
You need a solid and lightweight laptop for studying Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch does have its weak points, but for school work and light office work it's a great choice.
You want good performance for a reasonable price The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14 impresses with its high performance, and it beats most of the competition in this price range.
You want good battery life The battery life impresses both in our movie test and in PCMark 10. If you need a laptop that can handle long days of work and studying away from a wall socket, this is it.
Don't buy it if ...
You need a high brightness screen The screen on the IdeaPad 5 14-inch isn't the best, and if you need more brightness and contrast you should look elsewhere. However, it is matte, which would be considered a plus for a lot of people ...
You want good gaming performance If you need a laptop that can handle some gaming after you're done studying for the day, this probably isn't the best choice for you – unless Minecraft is all you really need.
You need USB-C-ports that are not taken up by the charger The fact that the lone USB-C-port is used for charging, might not be a problem for everybody, but if you need that port for something specific like a separat monitor, you might want to look elsewhere.
This year’s update to Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon, ever popular with business users, brings more of a refinement than an overhaul to its design and features. No revolutionary changes are included--and that’s not a bad thing.
At the CRN Test Center, we continue to be impressed by the combination of portability and performance with the X1 Carbon, now in its eighth generation.
Perhaps the most stunning quality remains its portability, with the notebook weighing in at just 2.4 pounds. That makes it notably lighter even than other top-level notebooks that have larger display sizes. While the X1 Carbon sports a 14-inch display, another favorite of ours—the Dell XPS 13—has a starting weight of 2.64 pounds even though its display is smaller at 13.4 inches.
Speaking of the display, the FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution on the eighth-gen X1 Carbon looks sharp and vibrant, seemingly more so than other FHD laptop screens we’ve tried out. We’re sure that the high available brightness, up to 400 nits on our model, is a contributing factor there.
In terms of refinements, a new display option offers the Privacy Guard integrated privacy screen and even higher brightness, up to 500 nits, along with a touch screen. Lenovo is providing several other choices for the display as well, among them a 500-nit 4K non-touch screen.
In terms of other refinements, the eighth-gen X1 Carbon also offers an enhanced keyboard, with the inclusion of keys for unified communications. We found the keyboard to continue to be one of the highlights and biggest selling points of the notebook, with comfortable deep keys even for a notebook that only measures 0.58 of an inch thick.
Other updates include the addition of 10th-generation Intel Core processors. Our unit, outfitted with a Core i5 chip and 8 GB of RAM, offered speedy usage of web browsing and applications even while being below the top-end Core i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM.
The one drawback we found on the eighth-gen X1 Carbon is that it didn’t seem to be the juggernaut on battery life that it once was. As we noted on the seventh-gen model, Lenovo previously had used a larger battery in the notebook, 57 WHr, but reduced that down to 51 WHr in the seventh generation. That battery size remained in the eighth generation, and in our tryouts yielded 7.5 hours of battery life (on the “better battery” setting in Windows 10 and the display set to 75 percent). That’s down slightly from eight hours in the seventh generation, and nine hours in the sixth generation, based on our tryouts.
These are the tradeoffs of getting such amazing portability and display brightness, however. And for many users, those trade-offs are most certainly going to be worth it.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 8th Gen, is currently priced at $1,485 for the configuration used in our tryout model.
September 28, 2020 at 11:24PM
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Review: Lenovo's 8th-Gen X1 Carbon Remains A Favorite For Its Portability, Performance - CRN: Technology news for channel partners and solution providers
2020 is the year of Linux on the desktop and corona virius
Lenovo is to roll Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS out across 30 of Lenovo's ThinkPads and ThinkStations.
Lenovo started certifying most of its laptop and PC line on the top Linux distributions since June 2020, but this move means that the idea did not die a death and there is some traction. Now, instead of simply acknowledging its equipment will be guaranteed to run Linux, Lenovo's selling Ubuntu Linux-powered hardware.
Previously, you could only buy most of these machines if you were a business and had specified you wanted Ubuntu on a customised bid. Now, nearly 30 Ubuntu-loaded devices will be available for purchase via Lenovo.com. These include 13 ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series Workstations and an additional 14 ThinkPad T, X, X1, and L series laptops, all with the 20.04 LTS version of Ubuntu.
But don't get too excited it is hardly 2020 is the "Year of the Linux desktop". Enterprise companies have seen the virtues of using high-end Linux desktops for powerful, forward-looking technologies such as AI, ML, containers, and cloud-native computing.
Lenovo said that its announcement of device certification in June was a step in the right direction to enable customers to more easily install Linux on their own and now it is going further.
"Our goal is to remove the complexity and provide the Linux community with the premium experience that our customers know us for. This is why we have taken this next step to offer Linux-ready devices right out of the box", the Thinkpad maker said.
Lenovo is currently offering its Assistant-enabled Smart Clock for $39.99 shipped. Also available at Lowe’s for the same price. Down from the $80 going rate you’ll find at Best Buy and B&H, today’s offer amounts to $40 in savings, comes within $3 of our previous mention, and matches the second-best we’ve seen this year. While it’s not the newly-refreshed Essential model, Lenovo’s Assistant-enabled display is perfect for the bedside table and gives you full access to Google’s digital helper for playing music and controlling your smart home. The built-in screen not only lets it live up to the Smart Clock name, but also means you’ll be able to pull up camera feeds, watch videos, and more. Over 1,600 customers have left a 4.5/5 star rating and you can learn more in our hands-on review. More details below.
Those looking to bring Alexa into the bedroom could instead opt for Echo Flex at $25 instead. This compact smart speaker plugs right into the wall and brings Amazon’s voice assistant into your setup without wasting precious nightstand space. At 38% of the price from the lead deal, you will miss out on the built-in screen though.
And speaking of Alexa, be sure to check out all of the details from Amazon’s latest product showcase where we got a look at new Echo designs and more.
Lenovo Smart Clock features:
Wake up and start your day with this Lenovo smart clock. Wi-Fi connectivity and Google Assistant integration let you use voice commands to play music, check schedules and control smart home devices. This Lenovo smart clock offers hundreds of audio and media alarm options so you can choose how to wake up.
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The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus (starting at $169.99, reviewed at $229.99) is the significant other you thought was the best fit for you, but when you explored the dating field and found better options, you became more cognizant of your partner’s inadequacies. This was my experience with the Smart Tab M10 Plus.
At first glance, you’re enamored by this tablet’s slim bezels, colorful display and engaging interface, but when you compare it to other tablets on the market, you realize other slates offer more bang for your buck. Still, I can’t deny that the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus provides beneficial features that its rivals can’t offer. For example, the Smart Tab M10 Plus supports Google Assistant Ambient Mode, which lets you use it as a smart display.
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus falls short in many other areas, including battery life and overall performance, but this tablet will likely appeal to budget-conscious users seeking a colorful, engaging, assistant-powered device.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus specs
Price: $229.99 CPU: MediaTek Helio P22T GPU: Integrated IMG GE8320 GPU RAM: 4GB Storage: 64GB of eMMc flash storage Display: 1920 x 1200 FHD display Battery: 08:55 Size: 9.5 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches Weight: 0.7 pounds
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus price and configuration
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus has a starting price of $169.99 and comes with a MediaTek Helio P22T CPU, an integrated IMG GE8320 GPU, 32GB of eMMc flash storage and 2GB of RAM.
For $229.99, you can snag our review unit, which upgrades you to 64GB of eMMc flash storage and 4GB of RAM.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus design
Lenovo slimmed down the bezels on the new Smart Tab M10 Plus now the tablet looks its sexiest.
The side and bottom bezels are impressively thin while the top bezel is slightly thicker to accommodate a 5-megapixel camera. The tablet’s rounded-edge, metal body has a slender profile that fits snugly inside the inner pocket of my favorite backpack.
The all-aluminum, slate-gray back cover features a round, 8-megapixel camera module on the upper-left corner of the slate. On the upper-right corner, you’ll find a small Lenovo badge. Though the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus is a budget-friendly tablet, it certainly doesn’t feel or look cheap.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
On the right side of the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus (in portrait mode) is a power button and volume rocker; speaker grills can be found on both the top and bottom edges. On the left side of the tablet, you’ll find pogo pins to connect the Smart Tab M10 Plus to the Lenovo Smart Charging Dock, which ships with the tablet.
At 9.5 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches, the 0.6-pound Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus is similar in thickness, but lighter than the Amazon Fire HD 8 (0.4 inches, 0.8 pounds) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (0.3 inches, 1 pound).
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus ports
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus has a decent variety of connectivity options for a tablet.
On the top, you’ll find a headset jack. On the bottom, there is a USB Type-C port. On the right side, you’ll find a microSD card slot.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus display
The vivid, rich colors of the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus’s 10.3-inch, 1920 x 1200-pixel display is what first caught my eye when I turned on the tablet. The slim bezels, offering an 87% screen-to-body ratio, are also visually satisfying.
When I watched the No Time to Die trailer on the Smart Tab M10 Plus, the colorful strobe lights from a club scene popped and the rich mocha complexion of actress Lashana Lynch caught my eye. However, I found it difficult to spot finer details such as Daniel Craig’s pores and skin texture. Still, considering the budget-friendly price of this tablet, the display is satisfactory.
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus’s touchscreen was buttery smooth. The display responded to all my swipes with ease, whether I was scrolling through a long-form article on the internet or zipping through several pages of apps on the home screen.
When I said that the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus’s display is colorful, I wasn’t kidding. Its screen covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut, which makes it more vivid than the Amazon Fire HD 8 (80%) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (98%). However, brightness isn’t the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus’s strong suit. It can only reach a maximum of 322 nits of brightness while the Amazon Fire HD 8 (444 nits) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (435 nits) have more radiant displays.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
The Smart Tab M10 Plus has a Delta-E accuracy score of 0.25 (the closer to zero, the better). The colors emanating from the Lenovo tablet are more accurate than those on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (0.31), but not the Amazon Fire HD 8 (0.19).
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus audio
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus’s dual-speaker system delivers a well-amplified sound that fills my large living room. I listened to “Panini'' by Lil Nas X, and while the snappy tune was crisp and clear, it sounded unsurprisingly flat — I wasn’t expecting sweet-as-honey-to-your-ears audio from a sub-$300 tablet, anyway.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus has a Dolby Audio tuning app with three presets: Dynamic (default), Movie and Music. After experimenting with all three, I prefered the Movie preset the most. The Music preset placed too much emphasis on vocals while the Movie preset sounded more balanced and well-rounded.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus performance
If the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus, equipped with an octa-core MediaTek Helio P22T CPU and 4GB of RAM, was hired as a juggler to impress a noble court, it would be banished to the dungeons for its poor performance. I challenged the Lenovo tablet to juggle 25 Google Chrome tabs, and when I pulled up the Daily Mail, it took about 20 seconds for the site to fully load. When I tried to close some tabs, there were a few seconds of freezing, but it didn’t last long enough for me to be too concerned.
(Image credit: Future)
On the Geekbench 5.0 overall performance benchmark, the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus achieved a score of 966. Despite being cheaper, the Amazon Fire HD 8 smoked the Lenovo tablet with a score of 2,437. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite also outpaced the Lenovo slate (1,291).
When we ran the JetStream 2.0 test, which examines web-browsing performance, the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus offered a score of 17.6. This bested the Amazon Fire HD 8 (15.21), but unsurprisingly, the pricier Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite blew the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus out of the water with a score of 27.8.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus battery life
The battery life on the Smart Tab M10 Plus is unremarkable compared to other tablets we’ve tested. The Lenovo slate lasted 8 hours and 55 minutes on a charge (continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits) while the Amazon Fire HD 8 (13:49) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (12:39) offered longer battery-life endurance.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus webcam
As I mentioned earlier, the 5-megapixel camera can be found on the top bezel while the 8-megapixel camera sits pretty on the back cover of the Lenovo tablet. The quickest way to activate the camera app is to press the power button twice. From there, you can take a picture by pressing on the power button once.
The camera quality of both cameras is unnoteworthy. The definition is poor and lacks crispness, and on top of that, the images tend to be oversaturated. I took a picture of two faux red flowers on my nightstand and the colors appeared unnatural and garish. The flower petals seemed to blend together and lacked distinction. Both cameras do not perform well in low-light settings, either.
On the plus side, the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus camera also provides facial recognition, which worked like a charm whenever I had to awaken my tablet from its slumber.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus and Google Assistant
One of the greatest selling points of the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus is Google Assistant Ambient Mode, which transforms the tablet into a smart display.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
My only grievance is that I wish Lenovo had made Ambient Mode activation easier and more convenient. In order to turn on Ambient Mode, you need to head to Settings, tap on Google, select Account Services, tap on Search, Assistant and Voice, navigate to Google Assistant, select Tablet, and lastly, toggle on Ambient Mode. Whew! If only Lenovo added a simple one-tap Ambient Mode button. For the final step, you’ll have to prop the Smart Tab M10 Plus onto the Lenovo Charging Dock (which comes with the tablet).
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
Once you get Ambient Mode up and running, you can turn the tablet into a digital photo album to display your favorite memories. You can also control music with your voice, manage smart home devices, and access important updates while it’s charging. I enjoyed commanding the tablet to play nighttime ambient music and telling it to set my morning alarm for the next day. Google Assistant was responsive to all my requests and even displayed important notifications on the screen, such as new emails and weather updates.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus software and warranty
The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus runs on Android 9, which is outdated. I would have preferred Android 10, the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. On the plus side, the pre-installed apps are useful. Parents will love the Kid’s Mode app, which lets users restrict their tablet to kid-friendly software filled with toddler-targeted games, videos and learning content.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
Other pre-installed apps on the Smart M10 Plus are Bing Wallpapers, Google Calendar, FM Radio, Google Duo and Google Chrome.
You’ll also be able to use the Google Play store to download all of your favorite apps. I used the Google Play store to download PUBG Mobile, a popular shooter that played smoothly on the Smart Tab M10 Plus tablet.
I enjoyed the Google News Feed, which can be accessed by simply swiping right on the home screen; I was immediately whisked away into reading an article about one of my favorite shows, “The Office.” The Google News Feed is a stand-out feature you can easily get lost in as it is regularly updated with the most eye-catching, popular stories of the day.
Also on the home screen is a small tab that sticks out from the left bezel. Out of curiosity, I swiped at it and it offered instant access to the YouTube homepage — very cool!
Yes, the Smart Tab M10 Plus is, indeed, a budget tablet for money-conscious users, so I understand that I can’t be too tough on this Lenovo slate. But looking at other wallet-friendly tablets we’ve reviewed, I can’t help but feel that there are better devices on the market, especially if you’re seeking a tablet that has long battery life and zippy performance.
Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus(Image credit: Future)
The Amazon Fire HD 8 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite both offer over 12 hours of battery life and served up better performance scores than the Smart Tab M10 Plus. However, both of these competitors have their own setbacks — we’re not a fan of the Amazon Fire HD 8’s ad-heavy software and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite’s facial recognition is hit-or-miss.
The Smart Tab M10 Plus, on the other hand, has a highly engaging user interface with quick-and-easy access to the YouTube homepage and the Google News Feed with a single swipe. Its facial recognition feature is seamless and it has a super colorful display. Lastly, the biggest selling point is its ability to transform into a smart display thanks to Google Assistant Ambient Mode.
The Smart Tab M10 Plus is best for folks seeking a vivid tablet for content consumption that can be propped onto a charging dock for cool, smart-display effects. However, if you’re seeking a productivity device, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite might be a better option.
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