Android tablets are making a comeback after years of being something disappointing because, well, why wouldn’t you just buy an iPad instead? As Android as a platform has improved tablet support and as Google has pushed harder for tablet-optimized apps, the experience has gotten a lot better. The limitation, then, came in hardware, as tablets have either been huge and powerful, or tiny and bordering on unusable. For years, I’ve been wanting a compact Android tablet with flagship specs, and that’s finally what the Lenovo Legion Tab has delivered – even though it’s technically still not a product designed for me.
The Lenovo Legion Tab series has been around for a while now, offering smaller Android tablets with high-end chips and plenty of storage and memory. The focus behind these tablets has been around gaming and making tablets that are perfectly optimized for that use case. Mid-size displays make room for a fairly big battery and for proper cooling, while also not being as cramped as a smartphone. I’ve looked on in envy at this series, which was largely only available in China, since it debuted, because it addresses a place in the market that everyone else is ignoring.
There are plenty of really good Android tablets on the market today. The OnePlus Pad series delivers high-quality hardware and a solid ecosystem at a fair price. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab series has numerous options and those stunning AMOLED displays. The Google Pixel Tablet also presents a different use case in being a hub for the home, something I’ve enjoyed having on my desk for a long time. But for any remotely “high-end” tablets, big screens have been common place. The Pixel Tablet and base Galaxy Tab S flagship are generally the smallest of the bunch, and they have displays around 11 inches in size. For me, that’s not been the right fit. I’ve wanted a tablet that’s small enough to slip into my backpack without a second thought on a flight and that’s easy enough to carry and use basically anywhere. 11-inch tablets, and even more so the larger sizes, have just not fit that use for me.
That’s why, when the Lenovo Legion Tab (Gen 3) went on sale in the US earlier this year, I snapped one up immediately.
Legion Tab fits the bill perfectly. A compact 8.8-inch display, but with all of the power I could ask for with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 under the hood, 12GB of RAM, and plenty of storage at 256GB. I’ve now been using this tablet for the better part of three months, and I’ve got some thoughts on it.
Starting off with the hardware, I’ll again circle back to the display. The compact form factor here can’t go underappreciated. This tablet is so perfectly sized for travel, which was my main use case in mind. The 8.8-inch display with its 16:10 aspect ratio slips into a backpack with ease, and is fully usable on a plane where other tablets are more of a struggle. In planes with seatback device holders, 11-inch tablets barely fit, while the Legion Tab fits with room to spare. It also made stowing the tablet much easier. The tablet is also very lightweight, which opened the door to adding a MagSafe-style ring to the back of the case and being able to use mounts to better position the tablet on a tray table or on the seat in front of you. That light weight also makes it easier to simply hold for long flights, or for long movie/gaming sessions.
The Legion Tab itself is made from aluminum and has a solid build. It’s sturdy and subdued. You’d never know looking at it that it’s a gaming tablet, and that’s a choice I very much appreciate. The aluminum is pretty prone to fingerprints and other smudges, though, so I kept it in the included case 99% of the time. I even picked up a white version of the case (pictured above) that Lenovo sells for one of the variants sold in China.
But what about foldables, and just big screen phones for that matter?
There’s absolutely an argument to be made for these devices over the Legion Tab. But, as someone who uses a Pixel 9 Pro Fold as their daily phone, I still find the Legion Tab invaluable for a few reasons. Firstly, using this tablet for movies or games means that I’m not draining my phone battery all day. On travel days especially, that’s important. Secondly, there’s the aspect ratio. Whether it’s a foldable or a big phone, the aspect ratio isn’t designed for media consumption. Games work better on 16:10, and so do movies and TV shows too. The Legion Tab offers a bigger display compared to my Fold, mostly just because it actually uses its screen space more efficiently.
The display itself, though, isn’t the biggest highlight. The 165Hz panel is fast for games and has good range on its brightness, but the backlight has some uneven areas. I’d have much rather had a 144Hz or 120Hz AMOLED panel in place of this LCD. It’s perfectly acceptable as is, but it could be better. The included glass screen protector is a nice touch too, but I ended up buying a plastic matte screen protector which makes for a better overall viewing experience.
Accessories are a key thing to talk about, too. Since this isn’t a tablet that’s been sold globally, accessories aren’t easy to find. I applaud Lenovo for including not only a charger in the box, but also a two-piece case with a cover and stand, as well as a tempered glass screen protector. As mentioned, I still ended up getting a matte protector via AliExpress, but I’m also glad to see that more options are appearing on Amazon including other styles of cases and screen protectors.
Battery life is solid too. Lenovo’s Android skin is a bit aggressive about background apps while the device is asleep, leading to excellent standby. That’s a tradeoff I can accept on a tablet. On multiple occasions I’ve left the tablet on my desk, asleep for a week, and picked it up to find plenty of battery left. Charging is quick too with 45W over USB-C, and with your choice of two USB-C ports.
Speaking of that Android skin, let’s talk about the software.
Lenovo does not make my favorite tweaks to Android, but the overall skin is relatively clean. This isn’t a “gamer’s experience” full of gaudy design elements, but Lenovo has gone for a boxy design that, personally, isn’t my favorite. You’ll still find Google’s tablet improvements including Android’s taskbar and notifications and Quick Settings on the same screen, but split down the middle in landscape view. Lenovo’s stock launcher is slow, laggy, and full of bizarre choices such as only being able to remove apps from the screen using a long-press pop-up. I quickly swapped this out with Lawnchair, a Pixel Launcher clone, which speeds things up and feels much more familiar.
Performance as a whole during general usability is a slightly mixed bag. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12GB of RAM, it can’t not be fast, but I often find myself seeing bits of lag and little hiccups in places I don’t expect. On the whole the experience is fast and smooth, but it’s a little frustrating to occasionally see things run slow for no obvious reason. As mentioned, swapping out the stock launcher goes a long way in eliminating these hiccups, but I’d like to see Lenovo work on this. The Legion Tab will get three Android OS upgrades during its lifetime, but it does ship with Android 14, so it’s one behind.
Where this tablet is designed to shine is in games, and it generally does. I don’t play a ton of mobile games, but I did try out quite a few titles on the Legion Tab. Fall Guys and Little Big Workshop are standbys for me, and they perform extremely well on this tablet. I was surprised, though, to find that Fortnite was a laggy mess. No matter what combination of settings I tried, the game was bordering on unplayable. It was the only title I ran into with that problem, though. Other light titles such as Air Control, Radiant Defense, and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evaison also, unsurprisingly, performed very well.
But gaming really did take a backseat to this tablet simply being a media consumption device, at least for me. It’ll be a great pick for gamers, but you can easily think of this as an iPad Mini for Android, and it works just the same.
My time with the Legion Tab thus far has been a delight. This is truly the tablet I’ve wanted for years, but it has one big red flag that, for many, is an understandable dealbreaker. Despite its $549 price tag ($50 up from when it first launched), it lacks any form of secure biometrics. There’s no fingerprint sensor, no secure face ID. There’s face recognition, but it’s camera-based and, put simply, terrible. Not only does it not work at all in low-light situations (such as on a plane), but it just flat out doesn’t work sometimes. I’ve had to rescan my face on multiple occasions just to get it to recognize me again. When it does work, face unlock is quick, but too often it doesn’t work.
While I’m willing to put up with just using a PIN instead, Lenovo absolutely should not forgo at least a cheap fingerprint scanner on the sequel. Anything would be better than this.
So, should you buy the Legion Tab?
I think that this tablet is one that fits a niche. It’s not for everyone. There’s a reason that even Apple only refreshes the iPad Mini every few years, and that’s because not everyone wants one.
Lenovo Legion Tab customers fit into one of two basic molds in my mind. There’s the target demographic, the mobile gamer. This customer wants a powerful device that’s bigger than a phone, but not as cumbersome as a full-size tablet. The Legion Tab serves this purpose nearly perfectly. The other customer is, well, me. Someone who wants a smaller Android tablet that’s powerful enough to not be a laggy mess and play the occasional game, but ultimately just cares about a smaller display for media consumption. $549 is a high price to pay for that following a recent price hike, but there are so few options out there that, well, there’s really no choice.
Legion Tab is available in the US only from Lenovo’s website.
- Legion Tab (Gen 3) at Lenovo.com
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