On May 24, Lenovo launched YOGA Pad Pro, Pad Pro, and other tablets from the Pad series, in China. All of these launched 2021 refresh of the Pad lineup are powered by Qualcomm SoCs and runs Lenovo’s ZUI 12.5 OS based on Android 11.
Lenovo has always marketed the YOGA Pad Pro as one of their flagship series and the 2021 tablet is worthy of the flagship tag with its specs as well as its features.
The tablet comes with a Kick-stand, which allows the tablet to be in a wall-hook “hanging mode”, presentation/vertical mode, and a “creative mode” that enables the device to lie to the surface at an elevated angle. The “creative mode” orientation of the device is perfect for digital artists.
Display
The tablet boasts a 13-inch LTPS LCD panel running at a resolution of 2160X1350 pixels (2K). The panel has an aspect ratio of 16:10 with a peak brightness of 400 Nits and is clocked at a 60Hz refresh rate. Furthermore, the panel also supports HDR10, Dolby Vision, and 100% sRGB coverage.
With the device having multiple feature sets catered towards digital artists, it is unclear why Lenovo did not go with a panel having higher peak brightness or true HDR support, or a higher refresh rate than 60Hz.
The display’s most unique feature in the YOGA Pad Pro is the micro-HDMI it comes with. The micro-HDMI port enables the device to be used as a secondary portable monitor.
Meanwhile, if an external monitor is connected to the tablet, Lenovo’s ZUI will enable a desktop mode for the optimal multi-tasking and productive experience.
The panel also supports stylus input and offers up to 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The tablet does not come with a stylus in the box and users would have to buy a stylus like Xiaoxin Stylus (available at around $85) or others.
SoC, RAM, and Storage
The tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, boasts an 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, coupled with 256GB UFS3.0 storage. The inclusion of LPDDR5 and UFS3.0 sets this lineup apart from most other premium tablets in the market.
The Snapdragon 870 is a 7nm octa-core chip with a single Kryo-585 Prime core clocked at 3.2GHz, three Kryo-585 Gold cores clocked at 2.42 GHz, and four Kryo-585 Silver cores clocked at 1.8 GHz.
With these specs, the tablet is expected to get around 1030+ in the single-core benchmark and 2980+ in the multi-score benchmark of Geekbench. While in Antutu, the tablet is expected to score around 635000+.
Furthermore, the Adreno 650 is expected to score 4200+ in 3DMark “Wild Life” Benchmark.
Battery Life
The tablet is powered by a 10200 mAh battery, this would come with a video-playback time of 12.7 hours in tablet mode and 8.7 hours in display mode.
With the Snapdragon 870 based on a 7nm manufacturing process, the SoC’s efficiency coupled with the display’s low peak brightness is enough to substantiate these claims.
The device is also expected to support the QuickCharge 4+ and come with a 45-watt charger.
Camera
The tablet comes with an 8 MP front-facing shooter with a ToF (time-of-flight) sensor for face unlock.
Other features
The YOGA Pad Pro comes with a CNC aluminum body and an Alcantara soft-touch back finish, boosting the tablet’s premium feels.
Furthermore, the tablet comes with a speaker system configured by JBL which consists of two 2.5 W speakers and two 2 W speakers.
The device also comes with a 3 microphone array for better audio quality in video calls.
The tablet also comes with WiFI 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Price and Availability
The tablet is available for pre-orders in China and is priced at CNY 3300 (or around $520).