I’ll be honest. I had just about given up on Android tablets. It seemed iPad had won the war, and we would just move on. But 2024 and 2025 has seen a resurgence of the Android tablet, like the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro. Last year I reviewed the Tab Plus and that was the genesis of this resurgence. For the first time, Apple really does have some competition from Android tablets, aside from Samsung. The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is just a fantastic all-around Android tablet for most users, and will also see an upgrade to Android 16.
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
With an enticing price, great build, and decent performance, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is part of a movement of Android tablets coming after the iPad in 2025. Let’s get into the full review.
The Quick Take
Is the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro perfect? Nope. But, holy cow. Lenovo has really made a fantastic effort to make things better than ever before when it comes to Android tablets. You get specs that are better than the asking price, a pen included, and a solid build quality. Android has even gotten better on these tablets, though there is some bloatware that is annoying. I’d recommend the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro to most general users, it’s fantastic.
Score and Bottom Line
Lenovo Idea Tab Pro
$399.99
Nailed it
- Nice simple design, lightweight
- Very nice display for the price
- Pen included in the package
- Android has made big improvements and this is upgradeable to Android 16
- Great speakers
- Lenovo SmartConnect is great
- Amazing battery life
Needs work
- The camera on the back is ugly
- The display needs to be brighter
The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro has a clean, simple, and clean design. Though I don’t like the look of the camera on the back, but certainly not a dealbreaker. The display is pretty good for this price point, it could be brighter but again, price.
Android has gotten better on tablets, and this comes with Android 14 out of the box, and I upgraded to Android 15 within minutes. Support for Android 16 is here as well and that is good news as Android tablets generally don’t see upgrades.
The performance is spot on for this price point. The basics are easy to get through, and you can even so some gaming here. Not heavy gaming, but casual gaming is easy. The speakers were actually surprising here as well, they’re not perfect, but at this price point they sound good.
Battery life is outstanding, and it supports 45W charging, and you get a pen included in the package. There is some bloatware that can be uninstalled, expected. Overall, though, this is really a great all-around Android tablet suitable for most users. The price point is excellent, and you can often find it on sale on Lenovo’s website.
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Lenovo Idea Tab Pro 2025 Specifications
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Octa-core (A715 3.35Ghz + 3 x A715 3.2Ghz + 4 x A510 2.2Ghz)
- Operating System:
- Android 14
- Upgradable until Android 16
- Memory: 8 GB
- Storage:
- 128GB integrated storage
- Supports up to 1TB expandable storage
- Battery:
- 10200mAh
- 45W quick charging
- Audio: Quad JBL speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos
- Camera:
- Front: 8MP, fixed focus
- Rear: 13MP, autofocus
- Connectivity:
- Ports/Slots:
- USB-C® (USB 5Gbps) – charging/audio/reverse charging
- MicroSD slot
- Wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Dual-Band Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and Bluetooth 5.3
- Ports/Slots:
- Display: 12.7″ 3K (2944 x 1840) LCD, 144Hz refresh rate, 273ppi
- Dimensions: 189.1mm x 291.8mm x 6.9mm / 7.44″ x 11.49″ x 0.27″ (without camera bump)
- Weight: 620g / 1.37lbs
- Pen: Lenovo Tab Pen Plus (included)
- Color: Luna Grey
- Security: Security patches until January 2028
What’s In The Box
- Lenovo Idea Tab Pro
- USB-C® charging cable
- Lenovo Tab Pen Plus
- Quick-Start Guide & Safety, Warranty
- MicroSD Tray Pin
Design
The design of the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is straightforward and fairly normal for a tablet. The back of the tablet is Luna Grey with the Lenovo logo dead center. The back is two-toned, with a strip at the top that looks like a cross-hatch. This is also where you put the pen to magnetically store it.
The camera and flash are on the back as well, it looks funky to me and I don’t like it. I don’t like cameras on the back of tablets anyway, but it’s not a dealbreaker.
If you hold the tablet in landscape mode, the bottom edge houses pogo pins and holes to add a keyboard if you choose to. The top of the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro houses the volume rocker and a few microphones. The right side houses some speakers and the USB-C port, and the left side houses more speakers and the power/fingerprint sensor. There’s also a MicroSD card slot on this side, so you can expand storage up to 1TB.
That fingerprint sensor works extremely well, and you also have Face Unlock if you choose to use that instead. The front is your basic tablet LCD panel with obvious bezels. These bezels aren’t huge, but they are noticeable. I actually prefer this as it makes it easier to hold and not accidentally make the display go nuts from ghost touches.
The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro weighs under a pound and a half without a pen or keyboard. It’s pretty lightweight, though it is long and big, so some folks may find it awkward to use in some scenarios. I mean, this is a nearly 13″ display you’re moving around, so it comes with those caveats.
Overall, the design is fairly basic and what we’ve come to expect from Lenovo’s affordable tablets. The insides are really what make this tablet shine.
Display
The 12.7″ 3K (2944 x 1840) LCD, 144Hz refresh rate, 273ppi display on the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is pretty great. It’s not perfect, but great. My main complaint is that the brightness could be better. This is an LCD panel as well, so it lacks that punchy saturation of an OLED, but considering the price, it’s a fine display.
My major complaint about this display is the brightness could be better. With a top 400 nit performance, the display is fantastic indoors and in basic lighting. But the minute you go outdoors, you will struggle to view this display. But, I really don’t suspect that many will be using this in that sort of condition, very often.
There is glare here as well. It’s not awful, but it is here, so off angle viewing could be an issue depending on where the offending light source is located. Scrolling and touch are all excellent, and the pen is responsive. I can’t say how the pen and touch would work for drawing, I don’t draw, but for basic writing and stick figures it worked just fine. I actually did like the Yoga Tab Pro’s pen and display a lot more, due to the pen giving you some actual haptic response. That review is coming soon.
Overall, the display on the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is excellent for under four-hundred dollars. It does have some issues, the brightness level being my main beef, but considering the price point it is a considerable value in this configuration.
Software/Interface
Android tablets have been notoriously bad when it comes to software. Android has had a tough time making itself functional on a large tablet screen. Apps have historically been poorly rendered on these bigger tablet screens and the overall experience has been rough. However, things are changing, and for the better.
The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is one of many Android tablets that are actually capable of running the latest version of Android. This has been one of my key complaints about Android tablets over the years. Historically, these types of tablets were a few years behind on software and would never see an update.
But the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro comes out of the box with Android 14, and it gave me the option to update to Android 15 almost right away. Lenovo says they will give this table the Android 16 treatment, and that’s good news. Security updates are also going to be applied for several years. These are all remarkable things to see after so many years of tablet neglect from nearly all brands making Android tablets.
The interface is the best I’ve seen on Android tablets, and it feels much more cohesive and usable than ever before. There are some bloatware apps on the device, easily deleted, but it would be nice not to have any. The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro touch and responsiveness is excellent, with everything feeling fluid and moving well. There are still some apps that don’t render well and look like garbage, but most of your mainstream apps should be working much better and look much better on Android tablets these days.
One of the best software features on the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro, and other Lenovo tablets, is Lenovo SmartConnect. SmartConnect allows you to use the tablet as a second screen for your laptop or desktop. You just need to have the tablet and laptop/desktop on the same network and both running the SmartConnect app. This works amazingly well and I love it!
Overall, I am thrilled that Android and Android tablet makers have finally put some effort into making something that’s usable and pleasing to use. Some work still needs to be done, but it’s minimal, and using an Android tablet in 2025 is a much more pleasant experience.
Performance and Camera
The MediaTek Dimensity 8300 paired with 8GB of RAM does an excellent job of delivering decent performance for all basic tasks and entertainment consumption. Light gaming is very possible on this tablet, and heavy gaming will probably push it to the limits. I don’t do heavy gaming on these types of devices, so light gaming was just fine. I suspect most users buying this are going to do simple light app games and not Call of Duty or Fortnite. But if you will do heavy gaming, just know that performance and framerates will be affected, this isn’t intended for gaming.
The cameras are fine, not the best, not the worst, and picture taking on a 12.6″ tablet is ill-advised anyway. Maybe you need it for something quick and that’s all you have, fine, it does good enough. But really, these things aren’t intended to be smartphone replacements. They do an impressive job as a secondary device, but most people aren’t buying these for camera performance. So overall, these are fine, not mind-blowing and not anything to really cheer over.
Speakers
The speakers on the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro are great. They’re not as good as the more expensive Yoga Tab Pro, but for this price point, excellent. They’re fairly balanced, and the bottom end is strong. The mids and highs are balanced, and watching movies was enjoyable. Overall, really excellent speakers for this price point and there is Dolby Atmos on board here.
Battery Life
With a beefy, 10200mAh and 45 watt fast charging, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is a battery champ. I mainly used this tablet for entertainment consumption and some content browsing. But mostly, YouTube and streaming services. I was able to get more than a few days out of the battery with moderate use. Once, I didn’t use it for almost a week and the battery was still at 70%. So standby time is excellent as well. Battery life is subjective, so it will vary from one person to another, and it is highly dependent on what you’re doing with the tablet.
Price/Value
With a sub four hundred dollar price point, and often on sale for even less, the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro is an outstanding value and 2025 is a great time to buy an Android tablet.
Wrap Up
The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro has a clean, simple, and clean design. Though I don’t like the look of the camera on the back, but certainly not a dealbreaker. The display is pretty good for this price point, it could be brighter but again, price.
Android has gotten better on tablets, and this comes with Android 14 out of the box, and I upgraded to Android 15 within minutes. Support for Android 16 is here as well and that is good news as Android tablets generally don’t see upgrades.
The performance is spot on for this price point. The basics are easy to get through, and you can even so some gaming here. Not heavy gaming, but casual gaming is easy. The speakers were actually surprising here as well, they’re not perfect, but at this price point they sound good.
Battery life is outstanding, and it supports 45W charging, and you get a pen included in the package. There is some bloatware that can be uninstalled, expected. Overall, though, this is really a great all-around Android tablet suitable for most users. The price point is excellent, and you can often find it on sale on Lenovo’s website.
