Lenovo’s recent stream of hardware has caught our attention, and deservedly so. The Lenovo Tab Extreme is an intense 14-inch tablet that runs Android and is built to be the best at two things: both work and play.
Build & design
The first thing you notice with the Lenovo Tab Extreme is the sheer size of it. It measures 12.9 inches high and 8.3 inches wide, which is obviously big for a tablet. It takes on a more aggressive aspect ratio that leans toward 2:1 rather than 16:9, which lends itself to one of its main purposes.
The body is cased in aluminum, and the back houses a glass-covered camera bar that doubles as a charging point for the Precision Pen 3. The bar spans across the long edge of the Tab Extreme and runs about 2 inches wide. Under that, the back of the device is bare metal with a set of pin connectors for the keyboard.
The bottom of the tablet houses two USB ports – 3.2 and 2.0 – that are capable of Display Port out and in, respectively. Each end houses two speaker grills. The volume rockers are in a good spot on the right toward the top, while the power button is around the corner.
The Tab Extreme takes on a very simple design, which works very well for it. The camera bar definitely lies in a sort of weird spot, but Lenovo has done a good job of positioning accessories around the unique design. As size goes, it’s absolutely massive. It sort of has the same feeling as the Galaxy View, which was comically large and just a burden. Fortunately, the Tab Extreme is much better quality and makes up for it in thickness – 5.85 mm.
Accessories
The Lenovo Tab Extreme comes with two important accessories – a keyboard and Precision Pen 3. The keyboard attaches magnetically to the rear of the device and allows for two points of adjustment. The hinges supporting it are rather strong, and I never had an issue with the tablet sinking down on the keyboard. The magnet that lets it attach to the Tab Extreme is robust as well, making for a solid connection that’s quick and difficult to detach.
Here’s where that camera bar plays into the design, as the lip of the bar adds a little bit of friction to the top of the keyboard backing, making it nearly impossible for the keyboard to detach while in use. It’s only with a direct pull away it will come apart.
The keys themselves are actually very comfortable to use. I had poor expectations originally because I had been burned in the past, but the Lenovo keyboard that pairs with the Tab Extreme is perfectly adequate for remote work or whatever needs to get done.
Lenovo also includes a small magnetic stand that slots into an empty square on the keyboard back. That stand has a magnet of its own – again, very strong – and opens up one flap to set the tablet upright. I simply left the stand attached at all times, as there’s no reason to ever remove it with it being compatible with the keyboard attached.
I’m not an artist or anything even remotely close to one, but I found the Precision Pen a valid option for sketching or taking notes. I found it plenty accurate, and it gets the job done, though I felt it was a little light and thin.
The method of charging and storing the pen is an interesting one, however. Lenovo set two spots the pen can be placed, held on by a magnet. The first spot doesn’t charge it, but it does hold it. That’s located at the bottom of the tablet if you’re using it in a landscape orientation. That spot works well, and if you have the keyboard attached, it cradles and protects the pen when closed.
The other spot charges it, and that’s located on the back in the middle of the camera bar. Frankly, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this spot. Setting the Tab Extreme in a bag results in the pen being torn off, and you can only ever place the tablet face down. However, if you’re using the keyboard, it’s a little easier to grab the pen off of the back of the tablet than under it. Alternatively, it would be nice if both spots offered wireless charging, but I can understand why they don’t.
Display
Without a doubt, the most prominent part of the Lenovo Tab Extreme is the display, as is actually just the case with any tablet. The tablet houses a 14.5-inch OLED panel that can hit 120Hz. Since the tablet puts emphasis on entertainment, the panel comes in at 3000 x 1876, which is classified as 3K. While it isn’t quite 4K, it does shine with Dolby Vision and HDR content.
Playing shows on Disney+ or other apps that support content beyond 1080p allows for the display to shine. On its massive display, content looks absolutely fantastic. Shows like Ahsoka on Disney+ shine and show how good the display really is.
It is worth noting that watching content below 720p makes for a bad experience. That can obviously be said for just about any device these days, but the display is so big that low-quality content shows their flaws very easily and just doesn’t look good. However, if you download shows/movies or have a stable internet connection for streaming high-end content, the Lenovo Tab Extreme will prove a fantastic entertainment hub – more on that below.
Performance
The Tab Extreme relies on a Dimensity 9000 to handle Android 13. As it stands, that’s somewhat of a midrange chip. It doesn’t quite have the performance of some tablets of similar size, but that’s okay. I found that the Tab Extreme handles itself pretty well when it comes to watching shows, movies, or YouTube videos. It also does well with sketching and general work, like any kind of writing.
Certain apps support four-way multitasking, but most only allow for side-by-side viewing. On this tablet, that’s still like having two smaller tablets for each open app and makes for a pretty nice multitasking experience.
I wouldn’t expect it to do so hot with heavy photo editing or heavy gaming, though it absolutely rocks as a GeForce Now display. It’s equipped with 12GB of RAM, which helps in a lot of places, but there is still some lag to be noticed in certain places.
Overall, Android 13 runs pretty well. Lenovo has a light skin over the Google software, though it’s actually pleasant to use. This has been a theme with Lenovo’s OS versions as of late – they aren’t a burden to learn and come as mostly useful versions of Android.
One such add is the Entertainment Space. It’s essentially a version of Google TV crammed into Android for large-screen devices.
Swiping all the way to the left reveals a slew of entertainment choices, pulled straight from your streaming services. That center suggests shows and lets you continue watching whatever you were in the middle of, much like Google TV does. It’s a great addition.
Another area I found Lenovo’s version of Android to have a nice touch was in the Quick Settings and main Settings menu. It isn’t overcomplicated, and it has just enough Lenovo flare to bring the OS together.
Camera
There isn’t much to be said about tablet cameras in general, but the Tab Extreme does offer something a lot don’t. The 13MP front-facing ultrawide camera supports automatic pan and zoom in certain apps like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. This is a lot like the iPad Pro’s sensing camera that tracks you as you move around. It’s a welcome feature, and it’s neat to see that the Tab Extreme is making use of it.
Battery life
The “extreme” moniker comes into play when battery life is mentioned, as well. The 12,500mAh battery is rated for 12 hours of playback, and that’s just about been my experience. On idle, it’ll last for days into weeks. When in constant use off and on, I have a hard time killing it in less than two days.
Of course, watching movies for hours on end will do a number on the battery, but it’ll still take a while to completely drain. Fortunately, Lenovo equipped the Tab Extreme with 68W quick charging using the included brick, which gets the tablet back up to 100% in just over an hour. Even getting it to 30% would last you a good few more hours.
Final thoughts
As Android tablets go, the Tab Extreme is, in my opinion, one of the best available right now. On display and battery life alone, it has a lot going for it in the “excessive but welcome” category. With Android 13 and a pleasant skin that doesn’t get in the way, it goes even further. The Dimensity 9000 SoC can be somewhat limiting, but that will only ever affect those who rely on heavy-duty apps and processing. Streaming and light work is a different story.
At $1,000, the Tab Extreme sits in the same place as some high-end phones. With that in mind, it isn’t priced too high for what it is, in my opinion. With the included keyboard, that price seems like a fair spot for it to be in. Considering you’re getting a large display reading at just under 4K that can handle multitasking and whatever show you’re binging. If any of that fits, I’d say it earns a spot in your bag – just make sure you have a big one.
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