Lenovo still wants premium Android tablets to exist. The company sees a market for an Android alternative to an iPad or Microsoft Surface, which is an interesting perception since many Android tablets get frowned upon by reviewers and never generate a lot of sales. Still, Lenovo believes there’s reason to offer a premium Android experience in a tablet form factor, which is why it’s announcing the Tab P12 Pro.
The device, retailing for $609.99, takes a similar approach to the Surface Pro X with its minimal bezels, kickstand (provided by an included folio case), and detachable keyboard. Unlike the Surface Pro X, of course, the Tab P12 Pro comes bundled with a keyboard and stylus. Lenovo only offers one color: Storm Grey. The tablet itself is 5.63mm thin and weighs 565 grams (around 1.24 pounds).
On the front, you’ll find a pretty large 12.6-inch 16:10 display that uses an AMOLED panel for punchier colors. Its resolution sits at 2560×1600 and, perhaps most notably of all, it has a 120Hz refresh rate. Lenovo says the screen gets up to 600 nits bright and supports Dolby Vision, HDR+ content, and 107 percent of the NTSC color gamut.
In terms of performance, the Tab P12 Pro should offer enough speed for multitasking and most workflows. There’s a Snapdragon 870 processor inside paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There’s a 10,200mAh battery that’ll last up to 17 hours on a full charge, and Lenovo says the tablet includes 45W Qualcomm QuickCharge 4.0 support. However, you’ll only get 30W charging out of the box.
Lenovo also includes four surround-sound speakers on the tablet powered by JBL, a fingerprint scanner, a microSD card reader, Wi-Fi 6, and dual rear cameras.
The Tab P12 Pro runs Android 11, and it seems that Lenovo will be consistent with updates given how it said “Android 11 or above” in its press materials. It has all of the usual multitasking features you’ve come to expect like windowing and a taskbar, but this generation, Lenovo has introduced a new feature that ties in with your Windows PC called Project Unity.
Project Unity is essentially Lenovo’s version of Apple’s SideCar for iPad and Mac. The feature works by connecting your devices to the same Wi-Fi network, opening an app on your tablet and Windows 10 or 11 PC, and punching in a six-digit code. Afterward, you can use your Tab P12 Pro like a secondary touch display and interact with any Windows app on your PC. It could come in handy if you’re on the go with your laptop and need a little bit more real estate to get work done.
Lenovo says since the Project Unity interface is a simple app, you can fire up an Android app to run cross-platform applications side-by-side on the tablet. You can also use the included stylus to draw in different Windows apps.
Project Unity should work on any Windows PC you own, so it’s likely Lenovo will release the app for all users in the future. For the time being, it’ll remain exclusive to Lenovo-branded PCs.
In addition to the Tab P12 Pro, Lenovo is also introducing the Tab P11 5G. It’s sort of a less impressive Tab P12 Pro with a similar design, an 11-inch 2K LCD display, a Snapdragon 750G processor, and a 7,700mAh battery. It also doesn’t come with a keyboard or stylus in the box.
As the name suggests, the tablet does support 5G, but that’s not necessarily a leg up on the Tab P12 Pro – Lenovo just isn’t selling a Tab P12 Pro with 5G in every market. It exists, just not for everyone.
Lenovo will launch these new tablets next month. The 5G-equipped version of the Tab P12 Pro will retail for €899, while the P11 5G will start at €499 and launch in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The only tablet making it to North America is the standard Tab P12 Pro.
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