Description of Lenovo tab 3 8. Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

You can argue as much as you like about the future of tablets, but this will not stop technology manufacturers from updating their devices in this category. And even though there hasn’t been anything really new for a long time, some things are still gradually improving, which ultimately has a good effect on the user experience. And even before MWC 2017, a new Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus tablet appeared, which recently fell into our hands. We will discuss it today.

Equipment and first impressions

Lenovo has not yet changed the packaging design and the Tab3 8 Plus is sold in the same cardboard box with a color print on the front side. Inside the device there is a charger and a power cord. The latter is shorter than the standard. If in most cases the length of the charging cable is 1 meter, then the cable included with the Tab3 8 Plus is only 70 cm. It’s good that it is removable and can be replaced with a more suitable option for a specific user.

The coating on the back cover immediately attracts all attention. Such soft-touch plastic has already been found in Lenovo products (for example, in). In my opinion, the coating is nice, but impractical. As before, it is noticeably different to the touch from the usual panels made of aluminum or ordinary plastic, but on top of that it is also very easily soiled. Before buying, you should try to hold the tablet in your hands, because not everyone will like this material.

Design and usability

Externally, tablets rarely receive any original design. Of course, there are exceptions (Lenovo also has them), but this is clearly not about the Tab3 line. On these devices, the arrangement of the working elements changes slightly, but the overall appearance does not change in any way. Only those who closely follow the brand will be able to recognize a specific model.

Tab3 8 Plus in Ukraine is presented only in dark blue, but there is also a gray back cover. The front panel still remains black, completely covered with glass. The case itself can hardly be called large, but it does not pretend to be the most compact either: 209.5 × 123.5 × 8.6 mm, weight – 320 grams. It is easy to carry, and working with it in weight is also not difficult. For greater comfort, you should get a cover or a stand case.

All buttons are located on one side (on the right side), which is very convenient. Also, both connectors (microUSB and 3.5 mm Jack) are on the same edge. I was pleased with the presence of stereo speakers, which are located on the sides when the device is oriented horizontally. On the case you can also find a thick plug, under which a tray for a memory card and SIM is hidden. At the back there is a camera with flash.

It’s difficult to make the tablet stand out in any way when using it. It has large enough frames so that your fingers don't get in the way of watching videos. The build quality did not disappoint. The only thing that really needs to be changed is the placement of the front camera. It is often covered by the palm, and due to the position, the person in the video does not look at it. This will be critical for those who often use video calling. Everyone else is unlikely to experience any discomfort in use.

Display

As the name suggests, the tablet has an 8-inch screen. Its resolution is 1920x1200 pixels (283 ppi). Although this figure is not a record, it is enough for work. And the size itself, in my opinion, is one of the most successful options, which is both compact and large enough for most common tasks.

The color rendering of the IPS matrix deviates slightly towards cool shades. I also want to add a little saturation. There are no corresponding items in the settings, but there is an Adaptive display menu with five settings options: Media, Standard, Reading, Child and Custom. The latter will help “adjust” the picture to the desired shades. In general, the display has enough colors. The viewing angles did not disappoint.

Most importantly, I would like to add lighting. On a sunny day there will be a lot of reflections on the glass. But this will only affect those who often take a tablet with them and use it in open areas. Indoors, of course, there are no complaints about the backlight (except for the light sensor, which you immediately want to turn off due to its clumsiness). The sensor works great and recognizes up to 10 simultaneous touches, but the glass lacks a good oleophobic coating.

Sound

Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus is equipped with stereo speakers on the sides of the body - a very useful thing for a tablet. I would like at least some bass from them, but they are still suitable for movies and streaming videos. For music, it is better to use headphones or external speakers. The manufacturer claims support for Dolby Atmos technology, but subjectively, it does not affect the sound.

Hardware platform and software

The tablet does not have top-end components to operate, but this does not prevent it from working well. An eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (MSM8953) with an Adreno 506 video core is responsible for all calculations. The RAM capacity is 3 GB and the storage capacity is 16 GB. Such storage, of course, may not be enough for those who use a large number of applications and/or games; for everything else, you can install a memory card. There is also support for Wi-Fi (AC), Bluetooth 4.0, the ability to install two SIMs and use an LTE connection (one slot is shared with a memory card).

In synthetic tests, the tablet shows average results. But this performance is enough for normal operation of the system and games. But judging by the storage capacity, the target audience of the Tab3 8 Plus is mainly interested in communications and the Internet rather than in labor-intensive tasks. And for working with a browser, social networks, documents, mail and other undemanding applications, the Tab3 8 Plus is great. True, applications are unloaded from RAM quite quickly, but you will still be able to actively work with multiple tasks. At the same time, the case practically does not heat up while watching videos or playing games.

The OS on the tablet is Android version 6.0.1. The appearance is not much different from stock Android. There is also no large amount of pre-installed software, but there are problems with installing some applications. For example, Google+ and the application of one Ukrainian bank simply cannot be installed from Google Play. And it’s not entirely clear how many other applications are incompatible with the device and for what reason. It has not yet been possible to configure SmartLock, and attempts to do so resulted in Google Services crashing. Otherwise there were no problems.

Autonomy

In such a rather large device, the manufacturer managed to fit a battery with a capacity of only 4250 mAh. In the PCMark test it lasted a little over eight hours, and in everyday use it lasted at least seven. This is taking into account the connected SIM card and no restrictions on use. Of course, there are higher autonomy indicators, but I’m not sure that more is often needed per day (of course, it depends on the usage model).

To fully charge the battery from the included charger it will take about two and a half hours.

Cameras

Naturally, the Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus could not do without cameras. The front one has a resolution of 5 megapixels, and the main one – 8. A fairly standard combination for an inexpensive tablet. On the back side there is a flash adjacent to the camera. I wouldn’t say that this is the most convenient device for photography, but the results are already better than what similar gadgets had before.

As happens in most cases, the main condition for good photography has not changed - good lighting. On a sunny day you can take a pretty good shot, with good colors and details. But in a home environment, the picture will look “soapy”, detail will be lost and other artifacts will appear. Of course, it’s also difficult for the camera to focus in such conditions. The same goes for video (maximum resolution is 1080p).

The front camera is suitable for video calling, but is unlikely to satisfy you with its pictures. In addition, as already mentioned, it does not have the best location, which is why in the picture it seems that the user is looking very far away.

Site evaluation

Pros: display, operating speed, autonomy, minimal heating, ability to install two SIM cards

Cons: the sound of stereo speakers, the display backlight is not enough for a sunny day, 16 GB of storage is not enough

Conclusion: Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus is a mid-budget tablet with a good set of specifications. But, unfortunately, it was not without compromises. And if you can still watch a movie with not the best speakers, then 16 GB of storage is already very little to take several large games on the road. On the other hand, buyers of such a device are unlikely to focus on toys, but rather use communications, social networks and surf the Internet, for which such a device is quite suitable.

Specifications

Choosing an inexpensive and balanced tablet is becoming more and more difficult every day. The tablet boom has passed, the market is shrinking, and there are fewer offers. Here you have either an expensive and excellent tablet from A-brands, or a cheap but compromised option from second-tier manufacturers. The Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus series with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor (TB-8703F and TB-8703X) appeared on the Russian market in 2017. It was in the middle price range, i.e. These tablets could not be called cheap. A few months ago it was replaced by the Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus series, and the price has increased even more, but the Tab 3 8 Plus tablet remains on the markets of other countries, including China. I’ll tell you about this tablet today. This is a balanced and high-quality product from an A-brand with a price of about $120.

I myself use iPad tablets mainly for work. But for my children, the iPad is contraindicated after the second one is broken. In 2014 they had the amazing Google/ASUS Nexus 7 powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon S4. It was a very high quality tablet. It was mainly used for YouTube, games, browser and movies/cartoons at home and on long trips. Yes, it got hot like an iron in 3D games, the micro-USB connector was on its last legs, and the operating time was already running out. But he continued to serve faithfully until the children dropped him on the tiles. The screen crashed and the sensor almost completely failed. Of course, it would be possible to replace the screen for $20, but I wanted something new and more powerful. The choice fell on Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus (TB-8703F) - this is a version without a 4G modem, only with Wi-Fi. Over the years of using tablets for myself, I decided that 4G support in a tablet is not needed at all, because... There is always a smartphone at hand, and now they all know how to be an access point. Of course, for some, the presence of a modem is a prerequisite; for this case, there is the TB-8703X model with 4G support (but this review will not be about it). As a last resort, the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus can work with 4G modems via USB right out of the box (I'll talk about this a little later). With points (of which I had accumulated a cart and a bag in the form of various “bonuses”), Gearbest came out with a completely ridiculous price. Now at Gearbest The Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet (Deep Blue) can be purchased for $121.99. And the white version with a coupon BfridayRU61(not many coupons) for $124.

Specifications

Equipment

Inside: tablet, charger, micro-USB cable<>USB A (about 70 cm), booklets and quick guide in Chinese (since the package is for the Chinese market).

Appearance and ease of use

Measured dimensions and weight of the tablet: 209 × 122 × 9 mm, 325 g. The front part of the tablet is covered with glass combined with the display (without an air gap). The glass is framed by an aluminum (or hard plastic painted to look like aluminum) frame. On the front panel there are: front camera, light sensor, proximity sensor and event indicator. The event indicator is one-color - white.

On the right side there is a power button and a volume rocker. Both elements are made of plastic, fit tightly and rattle. They feel distinctly to the touch.

On the left side there is a compartment with a micro-SD card tray.

At the top end: micro-USB port, speaker, microphone, mini-jack for headphones.

At the bottom end: another microphone and another speaker.

The back cover is made of white matte plastic. Collects fingerprints in small quantities. The main camera and LED flash are located in the corner.

The assembly is tight, there is no play or creaking. It fits perfectly in the hands, there is no discomfort. In general, there are no complaints about the quality of materials and workmanship, but there is no feeling of a premium product, just a solid tablet. For example, when you pick up the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3, you immediately feel that you are holding an expensive and premium product.

Additionally, I bought an inexpensive case for the tablet, for only $6. I don’t like cases, additional protective glass, etc., but when the tablet is intended for children, a protective case is simply a must - this is from bitter experience. I thought it would be some simple case, but it turned out to be, without exaggeration, simply magnificent. It is made in the shape of a book with a plastic basket. The inside is velvet, and the outside is soft material with imitation leather. The case has two magnetic plates. One for closing (it also acts on the Hall sensor in the tablet). The other is for forming a triangular straight prism - a stand. The tablet fits perfectly in the case, the size of the tablet visually increases slightly.

Software

I would like to note the presence of children’s accounts in the system with control over programs, sites and operating hours.

Screen

Matrix type - IPS. Resolution - 1920x1200, full lamination, i.e. without an air gap. The pixel structure is typical for IPS matrices.

There is an oleophobic coating, of high quality - although fingerprints remain, they are in moderate quantities, and can be removed in one pass with a cloth. Fingers glide across the glass comfortably. [UPDATE: In the comments, some owners claim that the oleophobic coating is missing or of poor quality. Keep this in mind when choosing a tablet. In the review I indicate my personal feelings, and I have no complaints about the oleophobic coating].

The sensor handles 10 simultaneous touches. There is a special mode for working with gloves (of course, not all). In this case, the sensor will consume a little more energy.

It is possible to change the color mode. You can use preset options or your own. The color mode can be set individually for each application. If necessary, the color mode selection can be disabled.

The viewing angles are excellent. The overall brightness drops only slightly and the color temperature changes slightly. There is no change in black level diagonally.

Overall, the display on the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is of high quality.

Location determination

Communications

Wi-Fi adapter supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz), MIMO 1x1. The connection is kept confidently; the connection was stable anywhere in the apartment. At 5 meters from the router through one reinforced concrete wall, the tablet shows a good level of speed that matches (at this location) many devices with 1x1 MIMO. Tests 2.4 and 5 GHz.

The tablet supports connecting USB Ethernet adapters and 3G/LTE USB modems (which operate via the NDIS interface) via a USB OTG adapter. I didn’t find out which USB Ethernet controllers (Realtek and ASIX), but I checked the LTE modem from Yota - it worked without problems.

I tested Bluetooth with Sven headphones, a Samsung headset and a Xiaomi gamepad. Everything worked normally.

Sound

The tablet has an FM radio. The antenna is the headphones, but the sound can also be output to the speakers. For some reason, the radio program interface is implemented only in portrait orientation.

The tablet also has a vibration motor. It is not felt as strongly as in smartphones, but its presence is a nice bonus.

Cameras

Main camera with 8 MP resolution and f/2.2 aperture, the sensor is unknown. There is an LED flash that can be used as a flashlight. The camera supports HDR shooting. Takes it just as quickly as regular photos. All images can be characterized as follows: the dynamic range is narrow, the overall sharpness of the images is average, the noise reduction does not spare small details, there are no optical defects, the color rendition is natural, the exposure is correct. Focuses clearly and quickly. But it can’t cope with macro photography (it often makes mistakes with focus when shooting macro). Shooting text with flash works well. Here are examples (I added an HDR option to one frame):

The video is shot at 1080p30 resolution. Bitrate - 20 Mbit/s. Even in poor lighting, the frame rate does not drop and remains at 30 fps. Full-time autofocus works correctly. For a budget camera it takes very good pictures. It copes even with low artificial lighting.

Front camera with 5 MP resolution and f/2.2 aperture and fixed. The front camera supports HDR. The video is shot at 1080p30 resolution. Bitrate - 20 Mbit/s. Even in poor lighting, the frame rate does not drop and remains at 30 fps. This is very important for video chats. Here is an example of a photo with and without HDR:

Playing video

First of all, let's check the presence of system audio decoders. For the test I will use four MKV files with tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, MP3, AAC 2.0.
AC3 (Dolby Digital) decoder is present at the system level, i.e. it is licensed, which is logical, because The tablet is equipped with Dolby Atmos technology. There is no DTS decoder. Additionally, I checked the presence of an AC3 decoder in MediaCodec - it is there.

Let's check the support of hardware video decoders. For the test, I will use MKV files in which 1080p video has a bitrate of 10 Mbit/s (for a tablet this test is enough): H.264, HEVC (H.265), HEVC Main10.
There is support, in both cases it plays with good uniformity without any complaints.

Video from HD VideoBox + MX Player HW, including from the main moonwalk service in HLS streams, played perfectly. IPTV from Edem and OTTClub in Perfect Player with the HW+ decoder also worked flawlessly.

Internal storage, micro-SD, USB OTG

MicroSD cards up to 64 GB are supported (officially), but there are several reviews that not all 64 GB card models are seen by the device (it’s better to first look at the reviews on the forums for a specific card model). I performed all tests with a 32 GB card. The installed microSD card can act as a separate removable drive or it can be combined into a single unit with the internal memory of the device (i.e. in my case I get 43 GB of total internal space).

Let's check which file systems are supported on media via USB OTG and microSD in the form of a removable drive.
Let's check the capabilities of the SD controller. On the left is the result of the card running on a PC with a proven and fast card reader, on the right is the result on a tablet.

The speed is limited by only one bottleneck - the USB 2.0 interface, otherwise there are no restrictions.

Performance

This fairly fast and “cold” SoC is often installed in mid-range devices. The system in Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus works very quickly and smoothly, all programs also work quickly. For clarity, I will provide performance data for Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 (MediaTek MT8176).

AnTuTu, Geekbench, Google Octane, Mozilla Kraken

3DMark, GFXBench and Epic Citadel

Charger

We discharge the tablet completely and connect the standard charger via the EBD-USB tester. The tablet starts to consume 9.5 W. This goes on for about 1 hour 40 minutes(CC stage). During this time, the tablet battery is charged to 85% . Then the charge controller switches to CV mode and charging continues for another 1 hour 26 minutes. The total charging time is 3 hours 6 minutes.

Battery life

• Web browsing. Display brightness 75%, Internet access via Wi-Fi. A script is launched in the Chrome browser that every minute loads a random site from hundreds of popular ones in a separate frame. The test runs until the tablet is completely turned off.
• Playing video. Brightness 75%, Internet access via Wi-Fi. In the YouTube client, a very long video is selected (in this particular case, Fireplace for 12 hours), which is played with a resolution of 1080p until the tablet is completely turned off.
• 3D games. We will use the GFX Bench test. We charge the battery to 85% and run the battery life test in 3D mode 3 times. We calculate the average result.

Conclusion

Let me remind you that the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet (Deep Blue) can be bought at the Gearbest store for $121.99, and the white version with a coupon BfridayRU61(not many coupons) for $124.

Are you looking for a device within 8 inches that can be used as a tablet and a smartphone? Such a device will allow you to play games on the big screen, as well as talk on the phone. Interested? Then the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is just such a tablet.

Design

At first glance, the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus does not seem like anything unusual. This is a fairly standard compact tablet. The front panel is reminiscent of the Nexus 7 from 2012 or 2013. The dimensions of the tablet are moderate, but in my subjective opinion, the frames around the display are a little large; they could have been made a little smaller.

Front panel

The front panel of the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet is completely black. The main part is occupied by an 8-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. The aspect ratio is 16 by 10. The oleophobic coating, if present at all, is of some very low quality. On top we have a 5-megapixel front camera (it’s a pity that it’s not in the center), a proximity and brightness sensor, as well as a notification sensor (very large and only in one color).

The front does not have any rounded edges. There is a small lip around the entire front panel. Whether this is good or not is difficult to say. On the one hand, when people place the tablet with the screen on any surface, for example, on a table, this side protects the screen itself. On the other hand, when using the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus, you will constantly touch this side with your fingers. For me this was not a problem, but still, touching this side with your fingers every time does not cause a pleasant sensation. It would probably be better not to have it.

Rear panel

On the back panel there is an 8-megapixel camera, which protrudes from the body by about 1-1.5 mm. There is also a flash, a hybrid slot for two SIM cards (nano + micro) or for one microSD memory card and one SIM card. The slot has a rounded plug with the Lenovo brand inscription on it. By the way, this is the only Lenovo inscription on the tablet.

At the bottom of the rear panel there are two stickers crookedly pasted with various information, for example, IMEI number and country of manufacture. Many people, including me, have a question: why put such stickers on? The point is not even that they are glued crookedly, but in general in their presence. They do not carry any useful information, but greatly spoil the appearance. Moreover, it is almost impossible to remove the stickers.

Peculiarity

The most interesting design feature of the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is its back cover. It is made of matte blue plastic, which is pleasant to the touch. Everyone we gave this tablet to hold in their hands said that the matte back cover was very cool. In addition, it does not leave fingerprints, of course, unless you have very oily hands. And in general, the matte part is not only on the back of the tablet, but on all its sides. We can't say it adds style or a premium look, but in practice the matte plastic is very comfortable.

Side faces

On the left side of the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet there is nothing except an extension of the SIM card slot. On the right side there are mechanical buttons such as power and volume controls. They are made with high quality, there are no complaints. They press well and do not wobble.

On the top edge we have a 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones, a second microphone, one of two stereo speakers and a micro USB connector. On the bottom edge of the tablet there is a main microphone and a second stereo speaker.

Assembly

Overall, the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is very well made. If you lightly drum your fingers on the back cover, you will hear as if there is a millimeter space under the cover. Perhaps we are being a little picky, however, such things make themselves felt after some time of use.

Comfortable to the hand

This tablet is really comfortable to hold in one hand. But, as we wrote above, the frames around the display could be made smaller, thus reducing the size of the tablet. The thickness is not that great, but some competitors can make similar tablets 2-3 mm thinner, and with an even larger battery capacity.

Iron

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus runs on the 64-bit Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 platform. This processor comes with a single 8-core ARM Cortex-A53 cluster, where each core can be overclocked from 652 MHz to 2.0 Hz.

Paired with the Snapdragon 625 is the Adreno 506 graphics accelerator at 650 MHz. This combination allows you to run almost any game, even at ultra high settings.

In terms of memory, the tablet offers 16GB of internal storage. If you wish and have the money, you can use an external microSD memory card up to 256 GB. Does anyone actually use that much memory? If yes, write about it in the comments. But there is 3 GB of RAM.

Tests

In tests, the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet performed well. The GeekBench 4 single-core performance test showed 860 points, while multi-core performance showed almost 3000 points. Graphics tests show 3362 points, which is quite a good result for a tablet. A similar situation is in AnTuTu, where the tablet managed to score 61647 points.

Screen

The Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet has an 8-inch IPS LCD capacitive touch screen with 16 million colors with support for up to 10 touches. The screen covers 70.7% of the front panel of the tablet. Its resolution is 1920 x 1200 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of about 283 PPI.

The screen looks good on paper, but in practice it gives off a rather cheap impression. Probably Lenovo wanted to save money on this.

The tablet has a big problem with brightness. Despite the fact that the maximum brightness is enough to watch YouTube videos outdoors in clear weather, at night, with minimum brightness, the screen is too bright. For my eyes this is real torture. When going from 100% brightness to 0% the difference is not that big.

Games

The Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet has no problems with games at all. Everything works well and without any complaints. We launched many different toys, from free to paid, from powerful to simple. Everything works well. Here we must pay tribute to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and the Android 6.0 operating system, which is well optimized for this hardware. During prolonged gaming, the tablet begins to heat up, but not critically.

Cameras

What can you expect from tablet cameras? Surely most of us don't need cameras on our tablets at all. At least on the back panel.

It seems that Lenovo has the same opinion on this matter, so it did not agonize over the decision too much. Both the front and rear cameras take good photos and videos. This is quite enough for Instagram.

Lenovo has placed more emphasis on the rear camera. It has a resolution of 8 megapixels, while the front one is 5 MP. I don't know about you, but I almost never use the camera on the back. The front camera can sometimes be useful, for example for Skype video calls.

Networks

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus has support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac in 2 channels, as well as Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot. There were no complaints about working with the Internet at all. Everything works very well.

In addition to Wi-Fi, the tablet has a GSM, HSPA and LTE mobile internet module.

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus supports two nano-SIM cards. This means that you can use the tablet as a regular phone. Ask why? I don't know. Perhaps some people will decide to save money on buying a smartphone and immediately buy the 8-inch Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus tablet.

Sound

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is equipped with two stereo speakers. They are located on the side edges, as a result of which the sound diverges on both sides of you. Sound quality is questionable. Maybe someone will like it. As for volume, they are very loud.

The sound from the headphones was simply terrible until we ran the Dolby Atmos program with an equalizer. After this, the sound from the headphones turned into a gorgeous work of art. However, it is quite strange to make a separate function that must be additionally enabled in order to get high-quality sound from headphones. Not everyone knows about Dolby Atmos and how to use it. Why can't this be done by default?

operating system

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system. This is actually pure “Andryusha” with various additional “findsticks” from Lenovo. Everything works flawlessly. There were no problems during the entire period of use.

The tablet was presented not so long ago, at the beginning of 2017, and it remains a mystery to us - why Android 6.0, and not the latest version? Updates to Android 7.0 Nougat are unlikely, so the user will have to enjoy what is available.

Battery

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is equipped with a 4250 mAh battery. It should be noted that the thickness of the tablet is almost 9 mm. Strange, isn't it? If it were Meizu or Xiaomi, they would have managed to use the same battery in a 5 or 6 mm thick case. Or cram a battery twice as large into a 9mm case.

As for battery life, a full charge should last a full day. Thanks to a good processor, clean Android and good optimization, the Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus shows very good battery life.

Conclusion

Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus is a really good tablet. Among the positive qualities, it is worth noting a pleasant-to-touch back panel, hardware, a clean version of Android, optimization, and battery life. This set is enough for the user to be ready to run to the store.

At the same time, we cannot help but mention the disadvantages, of which there are not many. This is a typical design and quite thick frames around the display, stickers on the back panel, a hybrid slot for a SIM card and a MicroSD memory card.

The golden age of tablets has already passed, so manufacturers rarely delight us with new products in this segment. And this is not surprising, because modern smartphones have grown significantly in size over the past couple of years, so they often duplicate the functions of their larger counterparts. But Lenovo is persistently developing its line of tablets, and the manufacturer presents not only flagship solutions, but also more affordable ones, which include the Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus.

The Lenovo line of tablets is extensive and quite confusing, and the Tab 3 is a whole family of different devices, so it’s better to navigate by the code, and in our device TB-8703X. The model appeared back in October 2016, but was presented only at MWC 2017. The tablet is equipped with an 8-inch matrix with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of ROM. In addition, it is possible to install 2 SIM cards, there is support for 3G and LTE (a modification without LTE is also available).

Specifications

Appearance

The appearance of the Lenovo Tab3 8 Plus is quite standard, so it can easily be confused with hundreds of other 8-inch tablets. The only distinguishing feature that is worth paying attention to is the interesting “soft touch” type cover coating. The coating is rougher than the usual coating of this type. However, this did not affect the ease of use in any way, and the tablet easily and naturally slips out of your hands.

Last but not least, such agility is associated with the rather impressive weight of the device. The build quality is high and when you try to twist and squeeze the case does not creak, even if it bends under pressure. The device case is protected according to IP52 class, which implies partial protection from dust and from water drops falling at an angle of 15°.

On the front side above the display there is a front camera and a light sensor. There is no speaker here, which is quite reasonable, because with such dimensions it is logical to use a headset for telephone conversations. The main camera and LED flash are visible from the rear.

On the right side surface there are volume and lock keys. On the left, under a tight-fitting plug, there is a compartment for a tray for installing a pair of SIM cards, one of which can be replaced with a microSD storage medium.

The tablet has a pair of speakers installed on the top and bottom ends, which allow you to experience stereo sound when the tablet is oriented horizontally. There are also a pair of microphones: one on the bottom, the other on the top. At the top there is also a mini-jack audio jack (3.5 mm) and a micro-USB connector, which looks at least strange in a device introduced in 2017.

Display

The resolution of the 8-inch display is 1920x1200 pixels, i.e. ratio 16:10. This aspect ratio is a little unusual, especially in light of recent trends in smartphone screens, in which the aspect ratio is increasingly shifting towards cinema-like. The cinema aspect ratio is good for viewing media content, but 16:10 is still more suitable for working with documents, so it’s worth writing down as a plus for the tablet. The display supports up to 10 simultaneous touches. Unfortunately, there is no oleophobic coating.

The maximum display brightness is low by the standards of smartphones and tablets – 384.71 cd/m2. This level is clearly not enough to use the tablet outdoors on a sunny day. To measure the brightness of the black field, we had to resort to a little trick due to the dynamic, non-switchable brightness adjustment, which sharply reduces the backlight level when the screen is filled with black. To obtain correct data, a set of black and white fields in a checkerboard pattern was displayed on the screen, after which a measurement was made. The result is 0.36 cd/m2. As a result, the static contrast corresponds to a level of 1069:1. At the minimum backlight brightness, the luminosity of the white field is only 7.66 cd/m2, which is not enough even when working with the tablet in a dark room. The color temperature over the entire luminosity range is within 7190-7543 K. This is slightly higher than the reference value, but not at all critical. The color gamut is slightly different from the standard sRGB color space. The DeltaE color deviation on the gray scale is in the range of 0.6...9.7, and on the primary colors (RGBCMY) - 3.5...14.8.

Sound

The tablet is equipped with a pair of speakers, which is the exception rather than the rule for tablets. Of course, just by installing a pair of speakers you won’t be able to immediately get a plus in karma, because you also need them to sound. When playing a sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 1 kHz at a distance of 1 meter from the tablet, a level of 85.1 dBA was recorded. By the standards of mobile devices, this is a good result. Moreover, when set to the maximum level, the sound is clear and detailed, without obvious defects such as hissing, crackling and the like. The body of the device does not resonate, for which we must thank the plastic panels and high-quality assembly. Unfortunately, a pair of small speakers are too much for the low frequencies, but otherwise, especially compared to other tablets in its price category, the test subject sounds good.

The level on the analog audio output turned out to be very high. When playing a sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 1 kHz and operating at a load of 32 ohms, a result of 446.6 mV was obtained. Not a record, but very good. Unfortunately, every time you plug in headphones or a headset, the volume automatically drops to an unacceptably low 37.9 mV. This level is not enough even when using headphones with an impedance of 32 Ohms, but for some reason the developers considered it the maximum possible for safe listening.

The Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec built into the SoC formally supports 24-bit audio with a sampling rate of up to 192 kHz. Unfortunately, the tested tablet produced a rather distorted signal when playing audio with a sampling frequency of more than 48 kHz. However, most music is distributed at a sampling rate of 48/44.1 kHz, so there is essentially nothing wrong with this feature. Sound quality testing on the analog audio output was carried out using a Creative E-MU 0204 USB external audio interface and Right Mark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) software in 24-bit/44.1 kHz mode. The result was a total score of “excellent”.

General results

Performance

The tablet is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, made using the 14 nm FinFET LPP process, which in theory should ensure low battery consumption. This is an 8-core solution (Cortex-A53), in which all cores operate at frequencies up to 2 GHz. The Adreno 506 is responsible for the video subsystem. The volume of single-channel RAM of the LPDDR3 933 MHz type is 3 GB. The ROM capacity in the tested modification is 16 GB, which is not always enough, especially if you store video files in the built-in memory. Fortunately, the memory can be expanded with a microSD card, and this will not be as painful as in the case of smartphones, because the tablet, by and large, does not need 2 SIM cards .

System performance was measured using synthetic PCMark, 3DMark, Geekbanch 4 and AnTuTu v6. Memory speed was assessed using the AndroBench application. The opponents were the Lenovo P2 smartphone, built on the same system-on-chip as the hero of the material, ZTE Axon 7 mini, based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 and Moto M based on SoC MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755).

Testing was also carried out in cross-platform javascript tests (Mozilla Kraken JavaScript and SunSpider). The results of these tests significantly depend on the browser used, therefore, to minimize the impact, Google Chrome will be used in all reviews, as the most common one.

Camera

The tablet is equipped with an 8 megapixel main camera with an f/2.2 aperture. In general, after one glance at the characteristics it is clear that the tablet is not capable of surprising anything. In practice, it is capable of taking good photos in bright sunlight, but only if there are no areas in the frame with a large difference in brightness, otherwise the dynamic range is sorely lacking, and the camera does not automatically switch to HDR mode. The flash consists of a single, but fairly bright LED, which at a distance of one meter provides an illumination of 34.1 lux. It may not be a record, but it’s very good.

The photography control program does not have an abundance of settings, but changing the basic photography parameters is still possible, namely: activating the flash, activating geodata recording, selecting resolution and quality, setting the self-timer, activating the face detection function, selecting the sensitivity level and white balance settings, compensation exposition.

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Controlling the camera using the Camera 2 API is impossible, just as shooting in RAW is impossible, so measuring the noise level of the matrix is ​​essentially pointless due to too aggressive noise reduction. To evaluate image quality, a test pattern was captured with all available sensitivity values. Below are cropped fragments.

To evaluate the resolution, it was decided to add shooting a test pattern at different illumination levels, namely: 1000 lux, 20 lux and 3 lux with flash. Based on the resulting images, the resolution was determined in cycles per pixel (one cycle is one dark and one light line) in the central part of the frame (MTF50).

Shooting in low light

Illumination 50 lux	Illumination 50 lux + flash	Illumination 3 lux + flash

Sample pictures
Main camera

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.