Lenovo Tab P12 Pro

Lenovo starts its 2022 year with the Tab P12 Pro. This high-end tablet will shake up a segment that was cruelly lacking players capable of dethroning the hegemony of Samsung under Android and Apple under iPadOS.

 

Presentation

Continuing its development on the high-end tablet segment - started with the Tab P11 Pro -, Lenovo presents its heir, the Tab P12 Pro. This premium model with its impeccable finish is designed to challenge the players already established on the Android market, first and foremost Samsung.

 

Ergonomics

With its new model, Lenovo intends to demonstrate its know-how. So, even if it is not original compared to the competition, we have to admit that this P12 Pro is very well finished. The whole aesthetic is based on a rear part in two shades of gray. This back has magnetic segments to accommodate a protection that also serves as a keyboard. A new generation stylus (which we will come back to) is now positioned at the back when not in use. It holds firmly thanks to a magnet and this allows it to recharge. This use case is far from being a novelty, but it remains appreciable. However, we would have liked to see the stylus placed on the edge rather than on the back, for practicality reasons.

This is not possible, however, because of the thinness of the tablet. In fact, it measures only 5.6 mm thick and is one of the thinnest on the market with the Galaxy Tab S5e. For the rest, the P12 Pro adopts dimensions of 285.6 x 184.5 mm - larger than the P11 Pro and equivalent to the Samsung Tab S7+. In terms of weight, this tablet is 565 g.

On the front, Lenovo offers a 12.6-inch panel. The very thin borders around it allow the screen to offer a display area of nearly 88%. The front camera module (8 megapixels) is off-center on the right - it is therefore designed for use in landscape mode.

The third generation Precision Pen is a perfect ally for those who want a little more productivity. It gains a much more complete Bluetooth connectivity, allowing it to turn into a little "magic wand". In terms of design, we think it's the best pen available on an Android tablet. Its ergonomics are very close to a real pen, which makes it pleasant in hand. It is neither too big nor too thick.

For the rest, the P12 Pro has two buttons to control the volume. These are located at the very top of the right edge. The start button also serves as a fingerprint reader. This one is placed not far from the volume buttons, but on the top edge. Four speakers are present to offer a very good quality stereo sound despite the absence of a mini-jack 3.5 mm. The left edge hosts the connectors necessary to place the keyboard sold separately. Finally, everything is charged via a USB-C port.

 

Screen

The P12 Pro is one of the few tablets on the market to offer an Oled panel. A 12.6" screen with a definition of 2560 x 1600 pixels with a 16:10 ratio. In addition, it offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, but not adaptive.

By default, the display is not so well calibrated with a color temperature exceeding 6600 Kelvin (which is still good), but a delta E of 3.2. By choosing a different color mode (Default + Warm), you get a better controlled delta E at 1.3, as well as a color temperature pointing to 6179 K.

Lenovo indicates a maximum brightness of 600 nits, which we were able to confirm by measuring 556 cd/m² at maximum. The management of reflections is correct with a reflectance of 46%. This allows a reading without too much discomfort under the sun. At its lowest, the screen can go down to 4 cd/m², which is still pleasant for reading in the dark.

The Oled technology allows the P12 Pro to offer an almost infinite contrast ratio and a non-existent remanence. We measured the touch delay at 48 ms.

 

 

Performance

Like the Yoga Tab 13 from the same manufacturer, the P12 Pro uses the Snapdragon 870 processor coupled with 8 GB of RAM. It delivers slightly better performance, which puts it on the podium of the most powerful tablets in our comparison.

The tablet gets an overall score of 104, just behind the Huawei MatePad Pro and MatePad Pro 12.6". The RAM management (101) is excellent. The P12 Pro is very responsive, does not falter and we did not feel any slowdown in use. The use of the stylus also reinforces this impression of responsiveness, which is not unpleasant.

In games, the tablet performs more than well and records a score of 108. It is able to offer 60 fps on average, with a peak that occasionally reaches 66 fps. At minimum, it drops to 53 fps, which is still comfortable for playing your best titles, and shows its stability during games. Big games run smoothly, even the most demanding ones, like Genshin Impact.

 

Photo

The tablets offering two photo modules are quite rare in the landscape and are mostly found on the high-end. That's why the Lenovo P12 Pro integrates a wide-angle module as well as an ultra-wide-angle module. The first is 13 megapixels when the second is 5 megapixels. A configuration identical to the P11 Pro, but also to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+, its main competitor.

Main module: 13 megapixels
Although touch tablets are not generally designed for mobile photography, they are getting better and better, even if they are still far from smartphones. This P12 Pro offers a fairly convincing daytime result, despite a dubious colorimetry pulling towards the red. Details are slightly more present than on the S7+, and the software smoothing is less marked.

In low light, the Lenovo tablet offers a better exposure, especially thanks to a strong increase in ISO. The digital noise also seems to be more contained than on the Samsung model.

Ultra wide angle module: 5 megapixels
On the ultra wide-angle daytime, the P12 Pro delivers a blurred and crushed shot, but yet with more details than the Galaxy Tab S7+. Here also the photo adopts a tone that turns red, where the competing tablet offers a slightly more natural rendering.

At night, the picture is not really usable. The strong increase in sensitivity gives a little more light to the image, but the resulting digital noise crushes all the details of the image.

Front module and video
On the front, the tablet benefits from an 8-megapixel module. The quality of selfies is good, but its main interest lies in the video (in 1080p). As the lens is not centered, taking a selfie or video conferencing will only be done in landscape mode. The quality delivered is rather good, the tablet manages well with strong luminosity coming from the back. In short, everything to make video conferences in optimal conditions. With the rear modules, it is possible to film in 4K at 30 frames per second.

 

 

Autonomy

Just like the performance aspect, the autonomy aspect is the same as for the Yoga Tab 13. With its large 10,200 mAh battery, the P12 Pro can endure 17 hours and 30 minutes of use. A very good score, almost three hours better than the one we obtained with its competitor with an Oled panel, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+. Tablet usage varies, but in theory this should allow you to space out recharges by two to three days, or even a little more with moderate usage. Switching the screen to 60 Hz will give you two hours of battery life.

To recharge it, you can rely on a 30W power supply. This allows the tablet to regain its autonomy in 1 hour 44 minutes. Note that Quick Charge 4.0 compatibility offers a power of 45 W - if you have a suitable block.

 

Interface & OS

The Tab P12 Pro runs on Android 11, with a very light software interface made by Lenovo. Many options are also present so that you can best use the tablet with your pen. Taking quick memos, controlling the camera or your slides during a PowerPoint presentation, copying text, highlighting it, taking a screenshot, etc. So you can see that the P12 Pro + Precision Pen 3 combo is quite effective for those who want to be more productive.

To go even further, Lenovo introduces an application with its new tablet. Called Project Unity, it allows you to turn your P12 Pro into an extended screen. By downloading the companion app from the Windows Store and after a quick pairing, your computer can have a second 12.6" screen. Of course, your two devices must be on the same network and you'll have to create a Lenovo account in the process, but we have to admit that it works very well. If we were afraid of some latency, it is not the case at all. By moving a program to your tablet, you can even control it with the pen and not use the mouse. This means that, for digital drawing enthusiasts, the P12 Pro can become a graphics tablet.

Let's add that the fact of having its tablet in extended screen does not make it unusable in a more "classic" way since a swipe up brings you back to the home screen without making you lose the connection with your computer.

For now, Project Unity is still in its infancy, and Lenovo has affirmed its commitment to constantly improving its application. With such a promising start, we can't wait to see what happens next. Unfortunately, the application is only available on the P12 Pro, so owners of a P11 or P11 Pro won't be able to enjoy this new feature.

 

Conclusion

With its P12 Pro, Lenovo delivers a (large) tablet, very well finished, powerful and equipped with one of the best Oled screens on the market. The stylus with which it is compatible extends its potential, especially since it is pleasant to use. In short, the Chinese brand manages to bring together everything you'd expect from an Android touchscreen tablet and is a serious alternative to Samsung and its Galaxy Tab S.