A tablet is primarily a multimedia processor for watching videos, listening to music, playing video games and reading books. With this in mind, Lenovo has released Yoga Tab 13 with a huge display, sound from JBL and an integrated stand. Not without a unique option, this tablet can turn into a portable monitor for your computer or laptop!
Specifications
- Screen: 13 inches, 60 Hz, LTPS, 2160 x 1350, 196 PPI.
- Operating system: Android 11.
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, 7nm.
- CPU: Cortex-A77 (1 × 3.2 GHz + 3 × 2.42 GHz) + Cortex-A55 (4 × 1.8 GHz).
- GPU: Adreno 650.
- Memory: 8 GB (LPDDR5) + 128/256 GB.
- Main camera: absent.
- Front camera: 8 MP (f / 2.0, fixed focus) + ToF sensor.
- Battery: 10 200 mAh, non-removable, fast charging PD or QC, included adapter 30 W.
- Dimensions: 293.35 x 203.98 x 6.2-24.9 mm.
- Weight: 803 grams.
- Connectivity: dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b / g / n / ac / ax), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.2, USB OTG, micro HDMI video input with HDCP 1.4 support.
- Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, illumination, Hall, digital compass, face recognition.
Appearance and ergonomics
The Yoga Tab 13 format is noticeably different from the usual tablets and is much better adapted to the main use cases. On one side there is a cylindrical grip with a folding leg. In the normal position, the novelty first of all resembles a convenient screen that is securely standing on the table. In this mode, it is convenient to watch movies or play with a connected gamepad.
The stand smoothly unfolds 180 degrees and reliably holds the screen in any position. The hinged frame can be hung on a hook or simply grabbed with the palm of your hand – the mount is quite reliable, and a small backlash does not interfere at all. Anti-slip rubber pad. But in real use, the anti-slip pads on the long ends were not enough for me. Ordinary semi-matt plastic will wear out over time, and in some cases even scratch the table.
The transformer is no less easy to read. The cylinder is easy to hold in one hand, and the thumb rests on the frame without touching the display. Since the center of gravity is located precisely in the thickening, the 803g tablet feels no heavier than many “light” competitors.
If you hold the tablet with your other hand, your palm rests on a pleasant woven Alcantara insert – the most controversial part of the case. Alcantara is a woven fabric with a velvety texture that captures every speck of dust. After several reviews, it looks good, but once you grab the tablet with dirty hands, getting rid of the marks won’t be easy. And over time, the fabric will inevitably wear out and lose its former gloss. The panel is non-removable, so changing the cover will not work – this is an incredible omission for a tablet designed for many years of use. The main semi-matt plastic turned out to be quite wear-resistant, albeit easily soiled. The front speaker grill is made of metal. The body is far from solid and creaks slightly when squeezed in the hands.
The third use case is a convenient canvas for pictures. The tilt can also be adjusted with the folding stand. Our hero supports the Lenovo Precision Pen 2 touch-sensitive pen with pressure recognition.
There are no good cases for a custom case. And the Yoga Tab 13 doesn’t even need it: a comfortable stand is already built in, and the plastic nub and Alcantara insert are already grippy. I don’t want to make a heavy case heavier, it is already 200-300 grams heavier than conventional tablets with a similar diagonal. You also don’t have to carry the Yoga Tab 13 with you, it’s a home, one might say, bedside gadget.
When the tablet is on the stand, the power button and volume rocker are on the right. And this is inconvenient: in order to squeeze tight keys, you need to hold the tablet with your other hand. The location of the buttons on the top seems to be much better. The second point is related to biometrics, the Yoga Tab 13 has only software facial recognition. It is usual for new tablets, but unacceptable for models for 60 thousand rubles.
Display and sound
The Yoga Tab 13 has a huge 13-inch LTPS screen with a resolution of 2160 x 1350 pixels, good for multimedia. At least, the eyes will definitely not get tired, thanks to the lack of PWM flickering. The matrix can be scolded only for the standard 60 Hz sweep, while the market is gradually being captured by screens of 90 Hz and 120 Hz.
The unusual format influenced the positioning of the audio system. The two speakers are directed frontally and slightly downward, creating a rich sound base. Two more loudspeakers on the top end play along, give an unprecedented volume for a tablet. The impressions from this combination are wonderful. While watching movies, you get a gorgeous stereo panorama, almost the effect of presence. The music sounds powerful and detailed – individual instruments do not merge into a mess, and vocals are delivered in a separate layer. This is not typical of classic tablets in thin cases.
Built-in Dolby effects make the sound more focused and tune the sound to your liking. The audio system responds friendly to adjustments, I personally added expressiveness to the low with the help of an equalizer.
Hardware and software
The tablet is based on pure Android 11 with functional additions from Lenovo. The company has brought in mostly stylistic changes. For sharing with kids, Google’s Kids Space was originally preinstalled. There are a minimum of extraneous applications, there are no harmful ones at all. The Russian package is completely absent in the current firmware. Since the Yoga Tab 13 is not focused on work tasks, there is no multi-window business mode in the shell. We have to be content with the standard Android interface, poorly adapted to the huge display. The main screen looks empty and the icons are large. The same goes for non-optimized apps that don’t support landscape orientation. You can refine your desktop by installing a third-party launcher.
The multimedia essence of the novelty is hinted at by Google’s Entertainment Space on the home screen. This is an aggregator of video content, games and books, of little use in Russia due to its focus on Western services.
One of the few Lenovo additions is the smart options based on the ToF sensor. This is a real depth sensor mounted on the front next to the front camera. With its help, the tablet recognizes movement next to itself, and then lights up the screen without the power button. The same module is used for bokeh effect and face retouching during video conferencing.
Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870. This is an excellent compromise, given the overheating and throttling of the flagship Snapdragon 888. Our hero has a familiar pseudo-three-cluster layout – one of the cores of the productive cluster is overclocked to an impressive 3.2 GHz, but architecturally does not differ from the others. RAM as much as 8 GB, they did not regret it. And the built-in 128 GB drive pleased with unprecedented speed. If you are a fan of downloading more movies to memory, you should pay attention to the 256 GB version, since the tablet lacks support for microSD memory cards.
The hardware of the Yoga Tablet 13 is good for video games, and the tablet transforms into a console after connecting a wireless gamepad. I spent a couple of evenings in GTA Vice City – I remembered my youth and appreciated the possibilities of iron. The tablet showed a consistently smooth picture at maximum settings without drawdowns after half an hour or an hour of continuous play.
Stress testing confirmed the complete absence of throttling over long distances.
Special feature: monitor mode
Pay attention to the convenient location of the ports on the sides of the cylinder, thanks to which the wires do not bulge, but lie comfortably on the table. The micro HDMI connector on the left is the video output. It transforms the tablet into a portable monitor with speakers for a computer, laptop or even a game console.
The monitor can also be connected to a tablet, USB-C 3.1 Gen. 1 supports not only charging, but also peripherals with DisplayPort video output. The software does not have a desktop mode, the image from the main screen is simply duplicated onto the external one.
There is no audio jack on the case; instead, it is suggested to use an adapter for USB-C.
Autonomy and charging
A capacious 10 200 mAh battery partly justifies the impressive dimensions of the tablet. In the test of the autonomy of “Treshbox” lasted 14.5 hours – this is a very strong result for large tablets with flagship hardware. In a real run with all the benchmarks, one hour throttling test and videos, the Yoga Tablet 13 lasted exactly ten hours for the rest of the time. In multimedia mode with constant online videos and loud music through the speakers, I discharged it on average for 2 days with 13 hours of active screen.
Trashbox.ru battery test results:
27:47
24:54
23:29
23:10
19:30
19:10
19:07
17:07
15:25
14:33
14:18
13:03
13:00
11:31
11:28
11:21
10:18
9:32
All battery test results and test method description
The 30 W charger is fully equivalent in power to a capacious battery. The stock adapter is equipped with USB-C, and the tablet supports Quick Charge 4.0, compatible with previous versions of the Qualcomm standard and Power Delivery.
Recall after two weeks of use
The Yoga Tab 13 format is ideal for consuming content, and the built-in stand is a great find. Except for one thing, the Alcantara insert will surely lose its neat appearance on the long journey of the tablet. It is completely incomprehensible to me who decided to use a very delicate material for a device that sometimes I want to grab with dirty or damp hands. Despite this, I would take such a tablet for my own use, since it is ideal for constantly playing different videos somewhere in the background. And in your free time, you can also play with a wireless gamepad, top-end hardware allows.
Pros:
- convenient format with a cylindrical bead;
- reliable built-in stand;
- a huge screen by the standards of tablets;
- well-placed speakers from JBL;
- portable monitor mode;
- good location of connectors;
- productive hardware without throttling;
- complete charging with USB-C.
Minuses:
- easily soiled Alcantara insert;
- corpus corpuscles.
May not like:
- poorly scaled software without multi-window mode.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
