Lenovo has launched its latest line of Yoga tablets at the IFA 2015 tradeshow in Berlin. The electronics manufacturer introduced the Yoga Tab 3 Pro as its new flagship, replacing the Yoga Tab 2 Pro, and also released the Yoga Tab 3 line, a slew of much more affordable offerings.
The Yoga Tab 3 Pro looks almost the same as its predecessor. However, the similarities end there. Lenovo's current king of the hill is the first of its kind to have a built-in projector, ideal for projecting a 70-inch image. The tablet itself runs on a native 2570 x 1600 resolution, which is rich for a 10.1-inch QHD display.
As it appears, going with the 10.1-inch screen over that of the 13-inch paid off well for the Yoga Tab 3.
"Screen is now 10 inches as opposed to 13, which leads to a higher pixel density on its Quad HD display. And yes, it's very very sharp to my eyes," reviewer Chris Welch commented.
To the side is the sound bar, which is packed with four front-facing Dolby Atmos speakers. The same neat contraption for the speakers also holds the 10,200mAh battery that, according to Lenovo, will last for 18 hours or more depending on the usage. To top it off, Lenovo also equipped the Yoga Tab 3 Pro with a 13MP main camera and a front-facing one that is 5MP.
For connectivity, the tablet offers Wi-Fi, as well as support for 3G and LTE bands.
Under the hood, the Yoga Tab 3 Pro is powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8500 SoC processor, a quad-core that is clocked at 2.24GHz. It also comes packed with 2 GB of RAM and an expandable memory slot that offers support for 32GB and 64GB cards. The tablet runs on Lenovo's customized version of Android 5.1 Lollipop but granted the processor, it is capable of running on Windows.
As for the Yoga Tab 3, Lenovo offers two versions: an 8-inch and 10-inch variant. Unlike their bigger brother, however, these two are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210, have 1GB of RAM and only offer support for a 16GB of memory expansion. With the drop in specs, the native resolution was also cut to 1280 x 800 pixels for both versions. The system runs on the same customized Android 5.1 Lollipop but, due to the processor, running on a Windows system is no longer an option.
"That means you're stuck with Android; there's no longer an option to run Windows," said reviewer Devindra Hardawar.
The battery and camera were also downgraded. Both versions will have a 6,200mAh battery and an 8MP main camera. However, Wi-Fi, 3G and LTE connectivity still remain as optional upgrades.
Both the 8-inch and 10-inch Yoga Tab 3 will be available for $169 dollars and $199 dollars, respectively, starting on Oct. 1. The Yoga Tab 3 Pro, however, will not be available until November. Pricing for the Pro starts at $499 dollars.
