Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 Review

Verdict

The Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 is a pill that has lots of ambition and tries to be one thing for everybody. That it achieves as a lot because it does is a testomony to its normal high quality. From the display to the audio system and battery life, this can be a system that’s among the many finest in its worth class. However with a janky productiveness mode and the state of Android on tablets, it’s laborious to justify a purchase order over an iPad.

Introduction

The Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 is a really uncommon beast. As a rerun of a pill first launched in 2021, it has the identical chassis and design because the earlier version however with some up to date internals.

That it comes from an organization that sometimes prioritises modern design and has an experimental spirit is subsequently much more uncommon.

Is that this a case of Lenovo testing on its laurels, or is it a refresh of a basic product? In a market the place the likes of Samsung, Amazon and Apple merely launch iterative updates 12 months on 12 months, is it in truth the brand new regular to rehash and re-release? Learn on as I unpack all of it within the full overview.

Design and display

• Flat 120Hz HDR OLED display with 2.5k decision
• Rear is encased in two-tone gray glass
• Fees by way of USB-C

The Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 is solely unremarkable in the case of design. It lacks the colorful choices accessible to Amazon tablets, coming solely in a boardroom applicable two-tone gray.

The entrance of the system is extra profitable, supporting an 11.2-inch show with comparatively minimal bezels. It’s snug to carry and feels considerably sturdy. Given the worth, this isn’t a pill to offer to a toddler, and particularly given Lenovo’s considerably complicated return choices and restricted guarantee. You’ll need to maintain it secure and inside a case. At beneath 7mm it is vitally slim, and at 480g it’s mild sufficient to make use of all day with out difficulty.

Coming to the case, the magnetic stand is a triumph. It snaps on simply and provides a versatile however sturdy hinge with a variety of motion. It makes utilizing the pill a lot simpler and must be included by default, however as an alternative retails at $29.99/£15.00 as an non-compulsory accent.

From a purely bodily perspective, the identical could be mentioned in regards to the sold-separately keyboard case which is priced at £109 and curiously not accessible at checkout over within the USA. It snaps on actually simply and has a wide array of controls. The keys are effectively spaced and have good journey, although the included touchpad is minuscule and feels incongruous paired with a touchscreen system.

Issues happen the second the keyboard is used nonetheless, largely as a result of janky “Productiveness” mode it triggers. Some inputs work, some don’t, others provide 3 ways to attain the identical finish. In supported apps with a pill mode it really works effectively, however for a big majority of expertise it exposes the weaknesses of Android on tablets. The keyboard is a pleasant thought, however the software program lets it down.

The show is a special story, a wholeheartedly constructive one. It’s an 11.2-inch OLED panel with 2.5k decision, a 120Hz refresh charge and HDR functionality. It doesn’t matter what you might be watching, the colors and distinction pop pleasingly, and the HDR compatibility implies that supported content material seems gorgeous.

Set at 120Hz, the quick refresh treasure makes swiping by means of the interface as quick as you want, and the two.5k decision means most content material seems crisp and detailed.

A significant bonus is within the brightness achievable, as this can be a pill that can be utilized in reasonably vivid daylight, which isn’t one thing that may be mentioned about most. It additionally will get dim sufficient to work effectively for bedtime studying, which the included studying mode makes simpler.

The expertise of watching is helped significantly by the 4 loud facet audio system, which give physique and quantity to TV and music alike, working effectively to nearly fill a room.

Cameras

• Rear primary digicam has 13MP and a flash
• Entrance going through digicam is 8MP

As with each pill, there’s a planet-sized caveat in the case of the snappers: don’t use this as your primary digicam.

With a single 13MP f2.4 rear snapper the Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 has enough specs to seize paperwork within the workplace and its entrance going through 8MP digicam works effectively sufficient for video calls. The principle distinction it has is a flash for the rear digicam, which can assist with doc scanning in dimmer environments.

Element is respectable, dynamic vary okay and noise largely effectively managed, placing it on the identical stage as smartphones that value $150/£150.

There’s no night time mode, which implies low-light photographs look as if they arrive straight from 2016. It is a system meant for incidental capturing, and for that activity it really works effectively sufficient.

Efficiency

• Runs a Mediatek Kompanio 1300T processor
• Comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default
• Runs Android 12

To date, the strengths of the Lenovo P11 Professional Gen 2 are these of its Gen 1 predecessor. It has the identical physique, display and keyboard case, warts and all. The actual modifications to justify the additional outlay and the brand new launch are inner.

With extra RAM and a more moderen processor, all variations of the Gen 2 have only a bit extra oomph than the Gen 1, although what this implies in context is troublesome to discern. The sorts of duties, even for work, that almost all are inclined to pursue with a pill haven’t modified loads with time – since 2021, Microsoft Phrase hasn’t develop into dramatically extra superior and e mail stays the identical as ever (and can eternally extra).

Sadly, Android nonetheless isn’t effectively optimised for tablets. In 2023, the vast majority of apps seem affronted to not show on a portrait display, or at a decision of greater than 6.5 inches.

Regardless of whether or not it’s a well-liked workplace programme, a sport, an e mail app or in any other case, you’ll run into rampant bugs, quirks and unpolished interfaces. In a world the place the iPad units the usual for high quality pill apps, Android remains to be very a lot the poor cousin.

Lenovo tries to compensate for this on the P11 Professional Gen 2 with just a few intelligent software program tips. When plugging within the keyboard, a ‘productiveness mode’ is activated. This makes the interface show windowed apps by default, provides a Home windows 10-esque begin bar and notifications column, and it permits use of the trackpad. It’s unlucky that many apps don’t play properly, changing into borderline unusable when windowed or displaying tiny textual content normally.

There’s additionally the difficulty of navigation. For easy duties like bringing down the notification shade or wanting on the checklist of energetic apps on Android, you’ll discover that the controls have both vanished or modified. Till all of those points are ironed out the ‘Productiveness’ mode is one thing of an oxymoron. When it does work, equivalent to on Google Docs, it sings, however for essentially the most half it stays extra of a deterrent than an attraction.

Past Productiveness mode, Lenovo adorns Android with its typical suite of modifications, that are mild and customarily helpful. For essentially the most half, it’s a inventory model of Android. There’s a little bit of battery care accessible in settings, and choices to make use of a Lenovo stylus, however normally it’s laid again in its strategy. In a market the place the likes of Xiaomi takes a ‘extra is extra’ strategy to design, this could solely be construed as a constructive.

A notable inclusion too is Lenovo Freestyle, an app which works, theoretically, to permit the P11 Professional to behave as a wi-fi show for a Lenovo PC. It actually does this, however by way of an obscure and arcane set of directions. Following the pyrrhic activity of extending the show, the ensuing interface on the pill is laggy. I’d solely advocate pursuing this feature whether it is an utter emergency. The likes of the Nokia T21 carry out the identical perform and higher for a fraction of the worth.

The pill itself, for the duties it wants to attain, has sufficient energy. For making its means by means of the interface, doing e mail, phrase processing and extra the P11 Professional Gen 2 has sufficient juice to maintain up. In Geekbench 5, it achieves a single-core rating of 989 and a multicore rating of 3180, which is actually an enchancment over the predecessor.

Whereas the CPU speeds had been wonderful, maintaining with the competitors, its 3DMark outcome highlights a substandard graphics efficiency. This isn’t a tool (regardless of the nice display) that’s meant for gaming. Although it achieved playable framerates with many titles, it didn’t fairly have the graphical constancy to face up with the massive boys.

As a complete, the P11 Professional Gen 2 doesn’t fairly earn its chops as a productiveness machine, although its faults on this regard are the fault of Android for tablets too. The place it shines is in additional normal ‘pill’ use, which could be taken as studying and watching TV.

Battery life

• Has a 8200mAh battery
• Affords 20W quick charging
• Fees over USB-C

Battery life on a pill could be an odd beast. These are gadgets with two massively various use instances, the primary of which is within the residence. There are numerous thousands and thousands of tablets that by no means go away the lounge, and for these sorts of customers battery life doesn’t actually matter. Then there are those that take their tablets with them on a regular basis, between international locations and throughout working days, who want each drop of battery life they will get.

In opposition to this, the place does the P11 Professional Gen 2 sit? It’s nice to say, fairly effectively. On every week of journey, with intermittent use, the pill lasted for 4 days with the odd little bit of TV and studying for a mixed complete of 9 hours of display on time. Given the everyday use case described, this may be taken to imply it’s a helpful journey companion, and that it may survive a full work day if pushed.

As for quick charging, it tops out at 20W, which isn’t quick by any standard definition. A full cost from 1% to 100% took two hours, which means you’ll must plan charging time forward if you happen to intend to journey.

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FAQs

Is there a charger included?

A charger is included with this pill.

Is the Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 waterproof?

It’s not rated for splash resistance.

Does the Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 have a headphone jack?

It doesn’t have a headphone jack.

Does the Lenovo Tab P11 Professional Gen 2 have wi-fi charging?

It doesn’t have wi-fi charging.