Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review

The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 ($679) is an entertainment-focused Android tablet with an impressive 13-inch display and quality speakers that can make you feel like you’re watching movies and shows on a proper TV, instead of a bulky tablet. Playing games is a delight too, thanks to the speedy Snapdragon 870 processor and 8GB of memory. The slate can even act as a secondary monitor for your laptop or tablet, giving its 2K screen a bit of extra versatility.

Because of its size and bulk, don't expect to carry the Yoga Tab 13 around as easily as you would a standard tablet. It's expensive too, especially compared to most Android tablets. But if you’re looking for a big, beautiful tablet that's an entertainment powerhouse, the Yoga Tab 13 is a great choice. It's one of the best Android tablets we've seen in 2021, and one of the best tablets period.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Price and availability 

• Price starts at $679, though you can find it on sale for less
• Check our Lenovo coupon codes to save

The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 is currently on sale for $609 thanks to Black Friday. This is $70 off the normal $679. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Octa-Core CPU, a Qualcomm Adreno 650 GPU, 8GB of LPDDR5 memory, 128GB of storage and runs on Android 11. You’ll find a USB-A to USB-C cable and charger packed with the tablet.

If you want to pick up some gaming accessories with your tablet, the Yoga Tab 13 Xbox Gaming Bundle is on sale for $699 (discounted from $904). The bundle includes the Yoga Tab 13, a Legion H500 Pro headset, a Shock Blue Xbox Series X controller, and a gift card for 6 months of Xbox Game Pass.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Design 

• Battery bulge looks odd but is surprisingly functional
• Built-in kickstand works well
• Not easy to carry around

The cylindrical battery on the Yoga Tab 13 gives it a distinct look. Though it appears odd compared to regular flat tablets, it’s actually quite practical. Whether you’re left-handed or right-handed, it’s easy to hold the Yoga Tab 13 with the protruding battery. The tablet’s metal kickstand hinges are attached to the bulge, as are two JBL speakers. If you want, you can use the kickstand to hang the tablet from a wall or doorknob.

A Shadow Black aluminum chassis surrounds the top half of the tablet’s backside. The soft Alcantara material covering the bottom half feels good to hold and provides solid grip. You’ll find the Yoga logo emblazoned across the Alcantara material. A textured power button, volume sliders and a micro-HDMI port reside on the unit’s right side. The sole USB-C port rests on the left. Two additional JBL speakers rest along the top edge. You’ll find two microphones, one on each side of the display.

The Yoga Tab 13 is 0.24-0.98 x 11.55 x 8.03 inches in size and weighs 1.83 pounds. Its large size and considerable weight (its nearly twice as heavy as tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 and Amazon Fire HD 10) preclude it from being an ideal portable device. It works best when situated on a flat surface like a desk or kitchen counter.

Because of the slate’s unusual design, it’s difficult finding a suitable protective case for it. You can find protective sleeves online, but nothing in the way of shell cases. This is another reason why it’s best to use this device at home instead of on the road.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Display and audio 

• Clear, sharp 2K (2160 x 1350 pixels) display
• Impressive audio quality

The Yoga Tab 13 has a 13-inch capacitive touchscreen display with a 2K (2160 x 1350 pixels) resolution and 60Hz frame rate. Its large IPS LCD screen is great for watching movies, YouTube videos and streaming content. The screen also supports the optional Lenovo Precision Pen 2. The bezels are decidedly large for a tablet released in 2021, but they aren’t a deal-breaker.

Per Lenovo’s advertising, the screen is capable of reaching 400 nits of brightness. However, the display achieved a maximum of 390 nits during our tests. While that isn’t the advertised 400 nits, it’s not far off. Still, it's not quite as bright as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 (499 nits) or the iPad 2021 (473 nits).

The screen achieved 105.6% of the sRGB color gamut (100% is considered most accurate, though higher scores just mean more vibrant colors), which is comparable to the iPad 2021 (105.3%) and the Galaxy Tab S7 (111% in Natural color mode).

Images look bright and vibrant, even from afar. Unfortunately, the screen is hard to see if you’re using the tablet in direct sunlight. The 60Hz refresh rate is nice, though it's not quite as smooth as the 120Hz refresh rate available on high-end tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus or the iPad Pro 2021.

Audio quality is one of the Yoga Tab 13’s best features. The long speaker beneath the display generates a quasi-surround sound effect. Lows, mids and highs come through with crystal clarity. The speakers also deliver decent volume that helps music, movies and games all sound great, even in an average-sized living room.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Ports 

• You're limited to just a single USB-C port and a micro-HDMI out
• No headphone jack means you have to use Bluetooth headphones

In terms of ports, you’ll only find two: a USB-C port supporting USB 3.1 on the right side of the tablet, and a micro-HDMI port on the left side that enables you to connect to a secondary screen or another device. Note that using the tablet’s HDMI mode quickly drains the battery. As such, you’ll want to keep the Yoga Tab 13 plugged in when using HDMI mode.

I would have liked it if the slate had another USB-C port. A SIM card slot for cellular connectivity or a fingerprint reader would have been also been appreciated, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. As it stands, you're stuck using Bluetooth headphones if you want to listen to something in private.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Performance 

• Movies, shows, and games all run smoothly
• 
  

Powered by a Snapdragon 870 processor and possessing 8GB of memory, the Yoga Tab 13 delivers solid performance for an Android tablet. Browsing the web, watching videos and reading digital comics are all seamless on this device. 

This tablet also runs most games you can download from the Google Play Store quite well. I played Genshin Impact, which is considered one of the more demanding titles on Android. Running at the highest possible graphical settings, Genshin Impact maintained a relatively steady frame rate. Using the game's touch controls on the tablet felt precise, and there was no noticeable input lag.

The Yoga Tab 13 scored 3,128 on the Geekbench 5 multi-core test. That's better than the Galaxy Tab S7’s 3,074 but worse than the 3,387 and 4,262 the 2021 iPad and iPad Air 4 earned (respectively) on the same test. Clearly, Apple’s slates hold the advantage in terms of performance.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Software 

• Android 11 comes pre-installed and is easy to use
• Google Entertainment Space provides a useful entertainment hub

Android 11 comes pre-installed on the tablet. Being a stock version of Android, it doesn’t come with specialized features you’d find on other tablets. Despite that, the operating system is serviceable, if unremarkable.

Swiping right brings up Google Entertainment Space. You’ll find a slew of curated apps, ranging from streaming services, books, movies, TV shows, podcasts and more. Having apps like HBO Max, Hulu, Spotify and YouTube effectively baked in via Google Entertainment Space is a no-brainer on a device made for entertainment.

As we mentioned above, you can use Lenovo’s Active Pen 2 with this device. Our review unit didn’t come with the pen so we weren’t able to test this feature.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Camera 

• 8MP front-facing camera is good for conference calls
• Lacks rear camera

You can take selfies or participate in conference calls with the front-facing 8-megapixel camera sitting above the display. The camera is suitable under normal lighting but fails under low-light conditions. Visual quality isn’t the greatest, with poor color representation and a somewhat hazy appearance. This quality is fine for conference calls where other participants may also have relatively weak cameras. However, if you want to take decent selfies, you’re better off using your smartphone.

There is no rear-facing camera to speak of. This isn’t a major loss since the tablet is clearly designed primarily for watching videos or playing games, and is a bit unwieldy to carry around as a camera. However, the lack of a back camera means you'll have a hard time playing AR games or scanning things in the real world.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Battery life 

• 14-hour battery life should last you all day

The large 10,000mAh battery gives you all-day usage. Lenovo claims the battery can last up to 12 hours. During our test, which tasked the slate with endlessly surfing the internet over Wi-Fi with its display set to 150 nits of brightness, the tablet endured for an impressive 14 hours. Our tests also revealed that it takes 15 minutes to charge the device to 16% and 30 minutes to charge to 29%.

In comparison, the iPad Air 4 lasted 10 hours and 29 minutes under the same test. We managed to get 13 hours and 16 minutes from the Galaxy Tab S7.

It took almost five days of regular use before I needed to recharge the battery. I mostly used the tablet to read digital comics (which look fantastic on such a large screen) but I also watched YouTube videos throughout the course of a given day. 

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: Verdict 

The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 is an excellent entertainment-focused tablet. Its crisp 2K screen and sharp audio quality deliver fantastic movie-watching and mobile gaming experiences. The long-lasting battery means you’ll enjoy your favorite content for hours on end. It also makes for a great secondary display.

Though great at what it does, it’s not the most portable device out there. It’s also all but impossible to find a protective cover due to its unusual design. The lack of 5G support is also a letdown, as is the lack of a headphone jack. If you’re looking for an entertainment-focused device that you don't plan to cart around much, the Yoga Tab 13 is a good choice. However, if you’re looking for a cheaper, more portable slate with similar features, the iPad Air 4 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 are good alternatives.