Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 Review

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 is described as an ‘at-home entertainment tablet’ but, with an abundance of tablets in the market, what exactly is an ‘at-home’ tablet and how does it perform? Find out in this Rapid Review.

Out of the box, I was instantly impressed with the weight and feel of the Yoga Tab 13. With a combination of metal, matte plastic and fabric (which happened to be nicely etched with the ‘YOGA’ logo), the device felt sturdy and premium in my hands. Turning on the screen, I was greeted with the Lenovo logo and the typical standard Android device setup. Navigating Android 11 was a breeze; and I quickly had my games, social media and entertainment apps installed. So, after syncing my Google account and downloading the latest updates, I was ready to go!

Excellent for Entertainment

The Yoga Tab 13 feels like it has been designed from the ground up for entertainment. The quad-speaker setup demonstrates that Lenovo is committed to providing immersive sound and this investment certainly pays off. The audio from the device was simply phenomenal; with strong, deep basses and an impressively loud volume capability. I spent a lot of the time with the Yoga Tab 13 watching travel vlogs to prepare for an upcoming trip and the speaker performed extremely well across recording locations, from traffic-filled streets to quiet hotel rooms.

In terms of the screen, the 2K resolution showed a clear video with accurate colour depiction and high brightness levels. Although the screen was certainly of high quality, it was the sound that truly impressed me with this device. Games on the tablet ran extremely well with no problems and I greatly enjoyed utilising the large screen with games such as Alto’s Adventure. Even though the screen is IPS rather than OLED, the picture quality met the £550 price point!

Swiping right on the home of the device, I was taken to the ‘entertainment’ space which was a nice touch, bringing films, games and books together. Although I did not heavily use this feature, when I did use the device, it worked well even though the entertainment space often encouraged me to purchase content from the Play Store rather than free services such as BBC iPlayer.  

A Social Solution?

Although the size of the screen lends itself well to landscape games and entertainment, I found that the Yoga Tab 13 wasn’t the best device for use with social media. Whilst lying in bed, I found that apps such as Twitter were much easier to use on my phone due to the weight of the Yoga Tab 13. Despite this criticism, it is worth noting however that this tablet does not market itself as a device designed for portability and the large screen size draws immense benefits for entertainment. The 13” size lends itself especially well to split-screen usage and I particularly enjoyed watching a YouTube recording of Disney’s D23 expo on YouTube on one side of the screen whilst reading the matching blog post on the second half.

Additionally, there is only one camera on the device, with just front-facing capability. Although the front-facing camera will not win any awards in video quality, it works well with the facial recognition login feature and would suffice for the occasional Zoom call!

Stand-Out Features

Even though I was impressed with the device throughout, two features of the Yoga Tab 13 stood out to me. Firstly, the back of the tablet comes with a metallic kickstand which can be used to place the tablet in a variety of positions. I was at first hesitant with the usefulness of this addition but by the end of my time with the Lenovo Yoga Tab 13, the tablet had become a key staple within the home. In the kitchen, I would set the tablet up to act like an Amazon Echo Show device; watching vlogs as I cooked. Again, the high sound quality easily filled the room, rising above the noise of our extractor fan and delivering clear and punchy audio.

Additionally, the most surprising element of the device was the second-screen functionality. Serving as a secondary monitor via the included HDMI adapter, the Yoga Tab 13 made an excellent pair with my budget 11.6” Windows 10S laptop. The once poor screen quality and tinny speakers of my budget laptop received an instant upgrade without the need for additional power cables or the typical heavy weight of expensive portable monitors.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Yoga Tab 13 is a true ‘at-home’ tablet. There are certainly more portable alternatives out there but for watching entertainment on a tabletop at home, Lenovos’ device combines best-in-class audio with a fantastic screen; perfect for daily use!

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

You can purchase the Yoga Tab 13 from the Lenovo store here.