The Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 is the sequel to the 2020 flagship tablet from Lenovo. The Gen 2 is a bit of a mixed bag, as it upgrades a few features over the previous model but then also leaves several others on the chopping board.
For starters, the Gen 2 has a newer and faster MediaTek Kompanio 1300T chipset that replaces the previous Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, a 120Hz display, and you can now configure the memory up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. On the other hand, the new model has plastic construction instead of aluminum, lacks the ultra-wide camera on the back and the fingerprint sensor, has a battery that’s 400mAh smaller, and a display that’s also a tiny bit smaller with a slightly lower resolution.
enovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 specs at a glance:
Body: 263.7×166.7×6.8mm, 480g; Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame; Stylus support (magnetic).
Display: 11.20″ OLED, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 120Hz, 420 nits (typ), 600 nits (peak), 1536x2560px resolution, 15:9 aspect ratio, 267ppi.
Chipset: MediaTek Kompanio 1300T (6 nm): Octa-core (4×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G77 MC9.
Memory: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
OS/Software: Android 12.
Rear camera: 13 MP, f/2.4, (wide), AF.
Front camera: 8 MP.
Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 8200mAh; 20W wired, QC3.
Misc: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass; stereo speakers (4 speakers).
The model we have for review today is the top-of-the-line model with 8/256GB memory and comes with the 2-in-1 keyboard and Precision Pen 3 stylus in the box. This promises to turn the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 into a full-fledged work machine on the go.
Let’s see how it performs.
However, even if they look similar, the Gen 2 model lacks the aluminum body of its predecessor, instead opting for plastic back and sides. We don’t think this looks particularly worse but it does feel less rigid overall. The back surface is also prone to highlighting fingerprints and smudges.
The three physical buttons are in the same location as before, with the power button on the top right and the volume buttons near the top of the right edge. The power button lacks the fingerprint sensor found on the Gen 1 model and in fact, there is no fingerprint sensor anywhere on the Gen 2, forcing you to use passcodes if you want to secure your device.
Our model was configured with the 2-in-1 keyboard, which is a two part accessory that includes the keyboard and a back cover. The keyboard attaches to the base of the tablet using magnets and connects using a physical connector, so it works even when Bluetooth is disabled.
The three physical buttons are in the same location as before, with the power button on the top right and the volume buttons near the top of the right edge. The power button lacks the fingerprint sensor found on the Gen 1 model and in fact, there is no fingerprint sensor anywhere on the Gen 2, forcing you to use passcodes if you want to secure your device.
Our model was configured with the 2-in-1 keyboard, which is a two-part accessory that includes the keyboard and a back cover. The keyboard attaches to the base of the tablet using magnets and connects using a physical connector, so it works even when Bluetooth is disabled.
The included back cover has a flap on the bottom that can be adjusted to angle the display to your preference. The hinge is sturdy and has about 140 degrees of motion, making it very flexible. There is another flap on top of the back cover, which opens up to reveal the stylus.
While the keyboard accessory improves the typing experience on the tablet considerably, there are a few issues with it that mar the overall experience. Using the device on the lap isn’t particularly comfortable unless you have very long legs that can accommodate the edge of the hinged flap on the back. Otherwise, there is a very real threat of the display just falling off and dragging the keyboard with it, something that cannot happen with a traditional laptop.
Second, the keyboard attaches magnetically to the display when closed and does so quite aggressively. Opening the keyboard to access the display is often a chore, as there is not much of a lip to grab on to to pull and the keyboard clings on as if for dear life. A weaker magnet system, a longer lip to grab on top, or a tab near the edge to pull on are all good ideas that could have been implemented to make your life easier.
The keyboard and the back cover have a soft touch outer surface that has a leather-like finish and generally feels pleasant to touch. The keyboard can be flipped behind the display, at which point it automatically gets disabled and the on-screen keyboard gets enabled.
Unfortunately, neither the tablet nor the keyboard accessory are dust or water resistant, so make sure to take care of them.
Display
The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 has a 11.2-inch, 2560×1536 resolution, 120Hz OLED display. The display resolution is slightly lower than the 2560×1600 panel on the Gen 1 model but the 120Hz refresh rate is new. The device also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and DCI-P3 coverage.
The display quality is good, with a wide color range and good brightness. The display is set up all sorts of wrong out of the box but can be quickly set to standard sRGB color range and white point by switching to the Standard mode through settings. The 120Hz refresh rate makes a world of difference while web browsing or playing games that support it. There is a bit of warping while scrolling when using the tablet in portrait mode as the display is wired to be used in landscape mode but it’s not easily noticeable.
The display has two issues, one of which is in software and can be easily fixed. The harder to fix issue is with the viewing angles; the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 display, like several cheaper OLED panels on the market, has a noticeable green shift when viewing off angle. Normally, this is not an issue on phones but on a tablet, where the display can be quite large, looking at the screen dead-on in landscape mode causes noticeable green tint on the left and right sides. However, this is only noticeable on white or gray screens and otherwise not an issue.
The easier to fix issue is with HDR. While the display has good performance while viewing Dolby Vision and the relatively scarce HDR10+ content, HDR10 was broken during our testing in the current firmware. This led to raised blacks, which looked gray and caused the entire image to have a washed out appearance with reduced contrast. There also seems to be dynamic tone mapping permanently enabled for HDR10 content, which should never be the case as it interferes with the creator’s intent. Hopefully, Lenovo notices and fixes the issue with raised blacks and either disables or provides an option to disable dynamic tonemapping.
The display also has support for the Lenovo Precision Pen 3 stylus, which works really well. You get hover support as well as pressure sensitivity. The latency performance is good, at least for the quick tests we performed, and should also be adequate for most drawing and note taking use cases.
Source: gsmarena
