Lenovo has been one of the preferred brands when it comes to tablets in India as it provides plenty of options and has significant sales. And the newest entrant in its lineup of tablets is the flagship Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet which has just been launched in India.
Lenovo P11 Pro (2nd Gen)
Rs 39,999
What Is Good?
- Excellent display
- Brilliant stereo audio
- Great gaming performance
- Versatile for everyday use
- Premium and lightweight design
What Is Bad?
- Less than average camera performance
- Magnets on accessories are rather strong
The tablet has been priced at Rs 39,990 for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant which means that it competes directly with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE and a few upcoming ones from brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus.
And with specifications like the MediaTek Kompanio 1300T SoC, 11.2-inch 2.5K OLED Screen with 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ it weighs heavy on the competition. We at MySmartPrice were sent the device to review and I took up the task. I have been using the device for some weeks now and here are my observations about it
Before I begin I have to say that I will try to present this review based on how my experience was of using the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet during a long journey that I took recently. This journey took around 20 hours and included flight time, long wait at airports and cab time. But I will include my observations from my weeks of use as well.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Design
I’ll start off with the design of the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet which at a cursory glance is sleek and compact with a solid in hand feel. The device comes with the Lenovo Precision Pen 3 and an optional Thinkpad inspired keyboard and back cover. This made me think that I could use this instead of a laptop while I travel.
I unboxed the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet and quickly attached the Precision Pen 3 and the keyboard and back cover which snapped on with magnets. While it did seem to double the thickness of the tab with both the back cover and the keyboard, it does protect the device from scratches from both sides as I put it in the bag. It only weighs 480 grams and some with the Precision Pen 3, the cover and keyboard which meant that it was much lighter than the MacBook Air I use.
In the cab I opened the device to catch up on some of my social media handles, and could conveniently just flip over the keyboard without having to detach it and use the tablet in portrait mode. The device has moderately thick bezels which are neither too thin nor too thin which make holding the device convenient without accidentally triggering touch on the display.
The selfie camera is on the broader side but does a good job recognising the face from either orientation. The power and the volume rockers are on the top corner which means that these are easily accessible from either orientation as well.
The rear panel has a dual tone glass like design in the Storm Grey colour really makes the design stand out from the rest of the crowd of tablets that have similar design, it even got me some looks at the airport. The back panel also has the 13MP rear camera sensor on the corner which is right next to where the Precision Pen 3 magnetically attaches itself.
The left side panel when holding the tablet in portrait mode has the keyboard connectors and the volume rockers are on the right. Both the top and bottom panels have two speakers each which means there are a total of four speakers for a stereo sound effect. The top panel also has the power button and the SIM tray, while the bottom one has the USB-C port. There is no 3.5mm audio port which means wired headphones will need a USB-C connector, but I used Bluetooth earbuds which were no hassle to connect for audio at all.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Display
The Tab Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) features a 11.2-inch cinematic OLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1536 pixels and an aspect ratio of 15:9 aspect ratio. Now this is a large standard display size when it comes to tablets, but that is pretty much as that is average about this display.
While I waited at the airport, I used the tablet to play some Apex Legends and the buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate made movements super-smooth, and the 360Hz touch sampling rate ensured even the lightest touches elicited a response in the game. I was seated beside a glass pane wall during daytime and the peak brightness of up to 600 nits ensured that I could see everything on the screen. And with TÜV Rheinland Full Care Display Certification it is expected to be less harsh on the eyes as well.
After I boarded my first flight, I stopped playing games and started watching some Cyberpunk Edgerunners that I had downloaded and the Tab Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) display heightened the experience with Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+. Heightened yet accurate contrast, colour and detailed textures were some of the highlights of the experience.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Audio
For audio the Tab Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) features a set of quad-speaker system from JBL which are placed near the four corners. And after I got off my first flight, I checked in for my second flight and needed to place a video call. So I found a quiet corner of the airport and jumped on the call. The speakers were clear enough even at a lower volume and the two microphones at the top near the front camera picked up my audio perfectly. Once I was done with the call I ensured I wasn’t disturbing anyone and finished the episode of Edgerunners I was watching without headphones. The speakers did a magnificent job with stereo audio even in a place as big and open as an airport. They were loud, clear without being bass heavy and just a perfect touch of treble. Dolby Atmos heightened the stereo effect and the four different speakers enhanced audio based on different sources on the screen.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Software
The software bit of this review is best explained by the experience of using the laptop to do my work as a news editor. I constantly need to use multiple Google Chrome windows with multiple tabs each along with a Brave browser window. These are supplemented by my use of Adobe Photoshop and Slack to communicate with my teammates. With the keyboard the Tab Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) is a sufficient replacement for a laptop.
While in portrait mode the device is similar to an android phone and in landscape mode it transforms into a tablet display and when the keyboard is attached, it transforms to a display akin to windows. It’s easy to switch between windows with Alt+Tab and the interface is easy enough to choose between different windows. One can swipe from either side to invoke the ‘back’ function which is rather convenient when using a large display.
I worked on Chrome checking some copies and smoothly switched to the other chrome window with an Alt+Tab to look for more news. While that was done I switched over to Photoshop and made some edits to an image using the Precision Pen 3. Meanwhile I had Twitter on a split screen checking for updates from different sources. I quickly saved my image on Photoshop and opened up the chrome tab and uploaded it to the new story done by one of my teammates. While this does take a little getting used to, it is not a difficult transition at all from using a laptop.
But some apps which are not yet optimised for larger displays like tabs or even the landscape mode appear a little wonky, but that is more the fault of the app developers than Lenovo. The company has integrated the whole of Google’s suite of products into the tablet and while the tablet features Android 12 it comes promised with upgrades till Android 14. It also features Google Kids Space which parents can use to restrict their access to the different sensitive apps and features.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Accessories
While the Lenovo Precision Pen 3 is available in the box the Thinkpad style keyboard is an optional purchase for the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) and is priced at Rs 5,499. But these accessories together complete the whole experience that the Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) has to offer. But that does not mean that the tab is not worth getting without the keyboard. One can still enjoy most features of the tablet.
The Precision Pen 3 easily snaps on either the back or the top panel of the tab meaning that it can easily be reached. It has a seamless pencil design that ends in a smooth tip that does not in any way offer resistance when gliding across the screen. There is a button on the Pen that throws up the on screen pen options. It attaches to the back of the device and can be wirelessly charged. There is a status bar on the screen which displays how much charge the pen has left.
The keyboard is a two part accessory with one attached to the back panel of the Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) which acts as a stand and as a cover for the Precision Pen 3 as it charges. The keyboard snaps magnetically in place at the bottom of the tablet. It has a touchpad but is not backlit, which in my opinion is not needed as the light from the display is enough to light it up. I had no issues using the keyboard on the flight while all lights were turned off. The keys have a satisfying travel distance and are almost comparable in size to the keys on a MacBook Air.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Battery
Finally we come to one of the most aspects of the tablet which is the battery life and the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen)’s 8000mAh unit outdid my expectations and lasted for about 12.5 hours with heavy usage. And by heavy usage I mean social media, watching shows and films, playing games and even some office work. It lasted me for two whole flights and wait time in between. This is rather impressive, and with the 20W charger provided in the box the tablet took about 45 minutes to charge the tablet back to full capacity from about 10 percent.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Performance
This is one section where I will talk about my experience as a whole of the laptop. The device features a MediaTek Kompanio 1300T chipset which Lenovo apparently chose because it supports 5G and is a great one for gaming. This shows as the tablet was pretty efficient in handling games like Apex Legends. It may not have hit 120FPS while playing a match but it definitely did average around 90FPS, which is still something.
There are negligible heating issues and it scored 759 in the single-core benchmark on Geekbench and 2920 in the multi-core one. While on 3D Mark’s Wild Life test which is geared more towards gaming it scored 4219 which puts is just below some of the flagship smartphones.
At no point did it feel that the tablet was struggling to handle any of the apps that I was running on it and handled transitions like a champion with zero hitches in between. The tablet comes with a 8MP RGB camera on the front and a 13MP RGB camera on the back. And this is where I felt that the device could have improved a bit. On the few occasions that I used the rear camera the photos were less than impressive and while the front camera is fine for video calls, its nothing to write home about.
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) Tablet Review: Verdict
The Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) is a true premium segment tablet from Lenovo. It has an excellent build quality and great in hand feel with the thin form factor. Excellent and well responsive Precision Pen 3 is a great tool in the hands of artists who can use it to full potential and for amateurs as well those who just want to take some notes. Its performance as a device to consume media content is top of the line and watching films and shows on it is a treat. It is a great device for large screen gaming on the move as well.
One of the only things about the tablet that irked me more than being a serious inconvenience is that the magnets on the keyboard and the back cover are a little too strong and at times it is just difficult to pull them open.
But in all this is an excellent tablet at this price range and should be on top of the list of people in the market for a tablet with a budget of Rs 40,000. Apart from occasionally using my smartphone, the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen) was the only device I used while travelling and I honestly didn’t feel the need to use anything else.
