I love the Yoga Tablet, it’s something different in my hands. Today almost all tablets have the same design. Yoga tablet is not. It is different and this is one of the factors that made me think positive about it. It’s not expensive, it’s not too cheap, it’s a smart device for connected users. I wish it had even better specs because the competition on that level is really big. Lenovo Yoga 8 and Lenovo Yoga 10 are two different tablets with small differences. Lenovo Yoga 8 has better specs and I am glad to have it on my hands. Now let’s compare it to all other Android devices with 7 and 8 inches screens.
SCREEN
Lenovo Yoga 8 has an HD multitouch display with IPS technology at 8 inches. The IPS technology guarantees vivid colors, brighter backlight and wide viewing angles. It’s a good screen with 189 pixels per inch. Of course we have seen better screens as the 7 inches Google Nexus 7 (323PPI screen) or the LG G Pad 273PPI screen. So Lenovo could have done better here.
CAMERA
The tablet has two cameras, a front one at 1.9MP and a back one, the main camera of 5MP. Being used to bigger cameras from smartphones, the 5MP camera seems too old. It’s only to take photos when you have no other devices around you. Lenovo Yoga will not replace your camera. We can find tablets with bigger cameras but they also have bigger screens like the Sony Xperia Tablet Z or Asus Transformer TF1700 with 8.1MP and 8MP cameras. Google Nexus 7 and LG G Pad have also a 5MP camera but take better shots. The front camera is great for video chat, I prefer the front one from the back to be honest.
PROCESSOR
Lenovo Yoga tablet has a quad core processor at 1.2GHz and 1GB of RAM. There are no problems with the processing power. Of course this is not the fastest machine of the market but it is fast enough to make your internet life better. There are a lot of quad core devices on the market like the LG G Pad, Google Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. All of them have 2GB of RAM and that’s the main disadvantage of Lenovo Yoga 8, the 1GB of RAM. Lenovo could double it without problems but then the price would also go up.
BATTERY
The battery is something Lenovo could be proud of. The battery of 6000mAH is not bad and there are also some software apps to make this battery last even longer. The numbers speak by themselves. For example with Yoga 8, you can read for 21 hours (at 20% backlight) or watch HD movies for 14.5 hours (50% backlight) or browse the net (Wi-Fi) for 13 hours (50 backlight). The device will charge for 5.5 hours and you are ready to use it again. You can customize your power settings and schedule power on and off to make the battery last longer. Now checking other Android tablets, we can find no other 8 inches device with such a big battery. LG G Pad (8.3 inches) has a 4600mAh battery and all Android tablets with batteries more than 6000mAh are 10 inches tablets (with Google Nexus 10 at 9000mAh). So Lenovo did a great job here.
SOFTWARE
Lenovo Yoga 8 has Android 4.2 and not the latest Android version, not even Android 4.3. Of course the differences between versions are not that big. One of the best features of the tablet is the sound coming from the Dolby Digital Plus technology. It is true that the sound is great because of the two front speakers of the device. The software makes the sound sound even better when you watch a film, listen to music of watch a YouTube video. Only the HTC Beats Audio technology can be compared to that technology and that is another example of why all the Android devices should have the speakers on the front side. Apart from the Dolby software, you can find some preinstalled apps on your device that will make your life easier.
SIZE & DESIGN
This tablet has a great battery but it remains extremely thin because of the design which is really unique. The design is both beautiful and practical. The center of gravity is very close to the hand and the tablet sticks to your hand. So no fatigue here when you hold it. Of course you need two hands to control the 8 inches screen but this tablet is well designed. The cylindrical shape gives you a great battery without making this device fat or extremely difficult to hold. It is true that it is more comfortable to grip than any other device. Moreover you can hold it with 3 different ways, the stand mode, the hold mode and the tilt mode. Check the video to see what these three modes are for.
VIDEO REVIEW
VERDICT – should I buy this device?
This device has a unique, huge battery for its size, multi mode capabilities that will let you use it in ergonomic positions, great sound and some smart apps to make your life easier.
I liked Lenovo Yoga 8 because it’s a different tablet and it’s a great solution. I like to hold it on my hands and this device is really eye catching. Of course there are better specs but Lenovo Yoga 8 has what I really need, a super powerful battery, great sound and a multimode body.
I wish it had a better screen and 2GB of RAM but you cannot have it all. Or can you Google?
COMPARISON CHART
| Spec | Lenovo Yoga 8 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 189 | Google Nexus 7 | 323 | 59% |
| Camera | 5.0 | Sony Xperia Tablet Z | 8.1 | 62% |
| 2nd camera | 1.6 | Sony Xperia Tablet Z | 2.2 | 73% |
| Processor | 4 * 1.2 | LG G Pad | 4 * 1.7 | 71% |
| RAM | 1000 | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | 2000 | 50% |
| Battery | 6000 | Google Nexus 10 | 9000 | 67% |
| Thickness | 7.3 | Sony Xperia Tablet Z | 6.9 | 94% |
| Weight | 401 | Google Nexus 7 | 290 | 62% |
| Android | 4.2 | Google Nexus 7 | 4.4 | 71% |
| Release Date | 2013-10 | - | Today | 85% |
| Our view | 85% | - | 100% | 85% |
| AVC rating method | Rated: 01/20/14 | Best price | Total Rating | 70.7% |