Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 Tablet review: Family and productive tablet in one

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 has set itself the ambitious goal of appealing to a very broad group of buyers. The 11.2-incher positions itself as an all-rounder and aims to score in web surfing, multimedia use and gaming. Account management and a Kid’s Mode also make the Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 suitable for families, and with accessories such as the docking keyboard and the stylus, the tablet can even be transformed into a mini-laptop.

In order to cut a good figure as a productive tablet for work, Lenovo has integrated several multitasking features into the Android 12 OS that are reminiscent of operating systems such as Windows. As soon as the optional keyboard is magnetically docked, the tablet switches to a special desktop mode in which apps are displayed in a window instead of a full screen and can be resized and positioned as desired.

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

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Prices are as of 27.11.2022 and are subject to change.

Standard features of the Lenovo tablet include Bluetooth 5.1, quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, support for DRM Widevine L1 and a USB-C port that nominally transfers up to 5 Gb/s with USB 3.2 Gen.1. At the same time, it also supports Power Delivery 2.0 and can provide a DisplayPort 1.4 connection, which allows the tablet to be used as a touch display for notebooks. The USB-C port also takes over the function of the audio port.

Android 12 is used on the tablet. Lenovo promises three years of security updates and two OS upgrades for the tablet, so it should be eligible for the next two versions of the Android operating system. At the time of review (end of November), the Android security updates were from September 5 and thus not quite up to date.

Lenovo has added a few apps to the Android OS. Conveniently, no bloatware is among them. The small software assortment includes two note apps (Lenovo Instant Memo, Nebo) and the calculator app MyScript Calculator 2, which are productivity tools tailored for the Precision Pen 3. Other apps include Microsoft Office 365, Netflix and the Tablet Center support app, which can also be used to purchase a warranty extension.

Multiple users can be created via the account management, which also makes the Lenovo tablet suitable for families. The Kid’s Space app is also included, which allows parents to provide their children with child-friendly content.

Special productivity mode

As in the predecessor, a special user interface is activated when the optional Keyboard Pack is attached to the tablet. The so-called “Productivity Mode” is reminiscent of a desktop OS because all open apps additionally appear as icons in a bar at the bottom of the screen. The Android icons and the app drawer are also displayed on the left and can be easily reached with your finger or the stylus.

If Productivity Mode is not needed when the keyboard is docked, it can be deactivated at any time. Conversely, it can also be switched on without the docking keyboard.

In Productivity Mode, apps are not displayed in full screen, but each in its own window. These can be moved anywhere on the desktop, resized and maximized, minimized and closed via the corresponding icons. While not all applications support Productivity Mode, most apps and some games like Subway Surfers ran smoothly under testing. 

The open windows can be quickly and clearly arranged using a method known from Windows. If you drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen and then release it, it automatically resizes itself so that it occupies exactly the left or right half of the desktop.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 makes use of satellite navigation systems GPS (L1, L5) and Glonass (L1) to determine its location. Under testing, localization worked well at an accuracy of up to 2 meters both indoors and outdoors.

However, GPS accuracy is not quite as high in practical use, as our short bike ride shows. The Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 occasionally records the almost 10-kilometer route much less precisely than the Garmin Venu 2 fitness tracker. Sometimes the GPS placed us in the house wall instead of on the road, and sometimes we rode through the lake instead of over the bridge. Nevertheless, the level of accuracy is still sufficient for everyday navigation tasks with Google Maps & Co.

The camera module of the Lenovo P11 Pro Gen 2 consists of a 13 MP main camera (f/2.4) and an 8 MP fixed-focus selfie camera (f/2.0).

The selfie camera can record videos at up to 1080p at 30 frames per second, covers a field of view of 83° and automatically brightens the display by default. It achieves a good bokeh effect in portrait mode, the strength of which can be adjusted in 5 levels. If you want appear fresher in video chats, you can also activate a beauty filter. This also works in 5 levels, but only produces somewhat believable results in the first one.

On the back, there is a 13 MP camera with LED flash and autofocus, which can record videos in a maximum of 4K at 30 FPS and, like the camera, has a decent image quality. As with the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro predecessor, photos are quite decent by tablet standards and impress with sharp and realistic photos in good lighting conditions. However, if you enlarge the images, it quickly becomes apparent that image details are lacking.

Zoom shots with the main camera are blurry and photos taken in low-light conditions are simply poor. Compared to the Tab P11 Pro, Lenovo has eliminated the 5 MP wide-angle camera from the back of the successor, but this is not a big loss in view of its rather mediocre performance.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 comes with a 20-watt power adapter (10V/2A), a USB-C 2.0 charging cable, a removal tool for the microSD slot, and a quick-start guide.

Optional tablet accessories include the Lenovo Precision Pen 3 and the Lenovo Keyboard Pack, a magnetic 2-in-1 keyboard with touchpad and a Type Cover.

Lenovo provides the standard 2-year warranty for its tablet. This can be extended to 3 years for a surcharge of around US$100, which also includes better services such as next-business-day repair and extended phone support.

Thanks to its 120 Hz screen, which works with a touch sampling rate of up to 360 Hz, operation on the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 is very smooth. Unlike the Tab P11 Pro, the successor no longer has a fingerprint sensor, so only 2D facial recognition is available for biometric authentication. It does its job well, but is dependent on sufficient ambient or display brightness for a high hit rate.

The separately available Lenovo Precision Pen 3 supports 4096 pressure levels, has an integrated tilt detection, and automatically connects to the tablet via Bluetooth. The Keyboard Pack, which is also optional and equipped with a touchpad, consists of a keyboard and a cover and turns the Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 into a kind of mini-notebook.

The rubberized surface of the keyboard protects the tablet and attaches to to its underside via 4 pogo pins. The back of the cover can be angled for better ease of use, which allows the tablet to be opened up to a maximum angle of about 135°.

The OLED display of Lenovo’s Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 has a resolution of 2560 x 1536 pixels and displays its 15:9 image at up to 120 Hz. Alternatively, you can switch to 60 Hz and thus squeeze a little more battery life out of the tablet. HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision are supported.

With an average of 633 cd/m² and a maximum of 642 cd/m² (APL18 measurement), the OLED screen of the Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 has a much higher brightness than its predecessor, Tab P11 Pro. When compared to similar competitors in its price and performance class, Lenovo’s tablet is ahead and is brighter than the Apple iPad Air 5 2022 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 5G, for example. The tablet achieves a maximum of 472 cd/m² with the ambient light sensor deactivated. At the lowest brightness level, it still remains comparatively bright at 5.52 cd/m².

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 uses permanent DC dimming to control the display brightness. In all brightness levels we measured, it was a constant 120 Hz, which corresponds exactly to the refresh rate. Thanks to this uniformity and the very flat amplitude curve throughout, the DC dimming should not be annoying, even for sensitive users.

… smaller is better

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To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession – a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

To adjust the image parameters, you can choose from the three color modes Standard, Natural and Bright. At the same time, the color temperature can be set via three presets (Standard, Warm and Cold) or manually via the color wheel.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 delivers the best color reproduction if you leave the color mode and color temperature on standard. The tablet then reproduces colors and grayscale very faithfully. The gamma curve and the RGB balance are also exemplary.

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Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

With its 4 Dolby Atmos-compatible speakers, the responsive 120 Hz screen and the ARM Mali-G77 MC9 as pixel generator, games on Lenovo’s tablet are not only fun but also run smoothly at higher detail levels.

The Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 was able to fully show off its 120 Hz screen in two of three games: Armajet and Subway Surfers can be played at an almost constant 120 frames per second.

PUBG Mobile, the third and graphically much more demanding game we tested, is limited to 30 frames per second in HD/High settings. But we noticed here that higher FPS rates could be possible, since the frame rate did not drop at any point in the game. In fact, in the HDR/Ultra setting, which is one level higher and can also be selected as the maximum, 40 FPS is possible – for whatever reason – and is kept almost constant by the tablet.

Frame rates were determined with our Gamebench testing tool.

Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)

Battery Runtime

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 is a very good Android tablet that offers a lot of value for the official price of US$354.99. It also does some things better than its predecessor.

Plus points include the OLED display, which is now almost twice as bright with 120 instead of only 60 Hz, the more powerful Dolby Atmos speaker quartet, and the faster SoC. Another plus point is the promise of tablet updates up to Android 14.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 is a very good and versatile Android tablet, but performs worse than its predecessor in terms of battery life.

The Productivity Mode with its Windows-like interface also remains a plus point of Lenovo’s tablet. Multitasking is quite easy, even without the optional accessories, although it is sometimes a little tricky to minimize and maximize icons with your finger, or to make a window larger or smaller.

If you really want to work smoothly in Productivity Mode, you should get the docking keyboard and preferably also the digital input pen, which then increase the purchase price accordingly.

The Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 is not better than the Tab P11 Pro in every respect. For example, there is still no option for mobile telephony, which unnecessarily reduces its range of application. In addition, the battery life has even worsened slightly compared to the 11.5-inch predecessor, which may be due to the combination of a smaller battery, brighter display and the switch to a faster SoC.

Alternatives to the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 include the Apple iPad Air 5 2022, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 5G and the Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro. The Samsung and Xiaomi tablets also feature a 120 Hz display, whereas the Apple iPad Air 5 2022 is limited to 60 Hz.