Intro
I have found a lot of the reviews for this tablet to be out of date. The tablet shipped to me was pre-loaded with Android 6.0 but I was able to update it to Android 7 immediately. What I ended up with was a pretty stock version of android which I appreciated for its lack of bloatware (I would actually consider the number of pre installed Google apps to be the biggest offender here). I did not experience any kind of battery drain, start up issues, or screen flickering with the unit I received. With the update to Android 7 I was able to utilize my 128GB MicroSD card as “internal” storage immediately. Since I don’t plan on hot-swapping the card this means my Yoga has an effective 160GB of storage. So with that, let’s dive into the review.
Design
This is where the Yoga tablet blows every other tablet I’ve used out of the water and it all is thanks to the folding hinge/stand which in practice proves to be much more versatile and stable than expected. “Yoga” was definitely an appropriate choice to name this device. The screen is able to achieve a surprising range of angles where you are still able to poke at the screen without supporting the back and is stable on everything from knees to bed tops to chair arms. I’ve also been using the stand in open mode for holding the tablet in landscape mode which offers up different options when lying in bed. The beefy spine is also handy (pun alert) for holding the tablet in portrait mode. In all I’ve found the Yoga tablet to be much easier to hold than any other whether I’m standing, sitting, laying, or walking about.
The hinge and outer rim of the tablet are made of aluminum, the face is glass, the back is faux leather, and the speaker front and area behind the stand are plastic. All of the normally touched surfaces feel nice and premium and not slippery. The only real downside in the feel of the tablet is that the stand feels sharp and indeed it sounds terrible when sliding the tablet across a table, I’m careful around wooden table tops with this thing. The absence of a finger print reader is also sorely felt and the oversized power button can be a little too easy to bump while playing certain games where you’re supposed to use your left thumb to control movement.
Screen
I’ve found the 2HD IPS display to be a joy. While I don’t have another tablet to directly compare it to, the images are detailed, naturally vibrant and generally look excellent for watching media. Text is similarly clear and the size of the screen overall is reminiscent of a magazine folded over which is fantastic for reading articles in portrait mode. Brightness is very adjustable though the auto-dimmer tends to be on the dimmer side. I was hesitant to get a 10” tablet as I had been looking at 8” models (because they are easier to hold) but the larger screen changes the experience of android and definitely opens up some elbow room vs android on a phone.
Sound
The speakers are fantastic delivering clear and rich sound for music and video streaming and are easily loud enough to be watching a show on Netflix while working in the kitchen. The sound quality does begin to fall off after about 10 feet, so for anything outdoors you'll likely still want to use a BT speaker.
In my opinion the Dolby Atmos does enhance the sound and the speakers sound best above about 40% volume. As a few other reviewers mentioned there is a slight buzz from the speakers at very low volume levels, but I was able to fiddle with the Dolby Atmos settings to at least minimize (but not eliminate) the problem to where I could ignore it. I also only noticed this at the first 2-3 volume levels.
Battery
My Yoga 3 Plus arrived with 50% charge. Using the supplied charger the initial charge-up took a little under 2 hours to get up to 100% capacity before the initial start up. While it charged for the first time I periodically checked in on the charge level and noticed that it charged fastest from 50% to about 80% and then it started to slow down until it was trickle chagrining from 95% on. This is the proper multi-stage method for charging lithium batteries to maximize their performance and lifespan so this was awesome to see. The battery easily lasts a day of constant use and multiple days of normal use. One annoying thing is that the Yoga 3 doesn’t recognize other chargers (like Anker) so it will not charge quickly without its supplied wall adapter. I also wish the ring around the power light pulsed while charging and stayed solid when full, but it is solid while charging and turns off when full.
Performance
The Yoga 3 Plus is perfectly capable of handling your basic streaming and web surfing needs. I’m not a huge gamer but the ones I’ve tried run smoothly and start quickly. All apps in general start fast and run smoothly. I did notice that some apps aren’t compatible with the tablet, the most disappointing of which was WhatsApp. I haven’t benchmarked the tablet but the experience is fluid and I haven’t been particularly annoyed by any glaring flaws.
Conclusion
Lenovo has a winner on their hands with the aptly named Yoga tablets. With its innovative built in stand, tremendous battery life, beautiful display and immersive sound the Yoga Tablet 3 10” Plus ticks all the right boxes at the right price. Don’t let a few minor issues distract you from an otherwise amazingly well thought out device as Lenovo simply has Samsung and Apple beat when it comes to a tablet that flexible enough for use anywhere in the house you might go.
*** Update ***
A few more niggles after spending more time with the tablet.
- I find that it needs to be restarted more often than an Android phone - about once every 3 - 5 days - otherwise it starts acting up. It just needs to go through the shutdown and start up process, it doesn't freeze or require a hard reset.
- Occasionally the system will hiccup and be unresponsive to scrolling or input.
:-The screen is a little too sensitive to touch and will sometimes register the electric field of your finger when it is very very close to, but not touching the screen
In all though I still love(d) my Yoga tablet so much that I bought another to replace the one that was stolen out of my car since first writing this review.
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 Pixels |
| Processor | 4.4 GHz core_i5 |
| RAM | DDR4 |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Iris Xe Graphics |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ax |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
