Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD review: A solid media slate

Finding the right tablet shouldn’t be a chore. Inexpensive tablets are abundant, although we certainly do not recommend all of them. In addition, finding a tablet that is good for children can be problematic. Enter the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD, a 10-inch Android tablet with a dedicated kid mode and a Google Assistant display to boot. Find out if it’s the right cheap tablet for you on this Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD review.

See also: The best cheap Android tablets

What you need to know about the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD

• Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD (2 GB, 32 GB): $ 129.99 / £ 149
• Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD (4 GB, 64 GB): $ 169.99 / £ 199

This tablet is available in different SKUs. These SKUs are available in different locations and with different specifications / prices. In the US, the model we tested is specifically only available at Walmart.com and your Walmart store. Walmart charges a low price of $ 129.99 for this tablet, which is a great price.

The Walmart version of the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD has a 10.1-inch display, a MediaTek processor with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, a 5,100 mAh battery as well as an 8-megapixel main camera and a 5 -Megapixel camera. Iron gray is the only color available, but it has an aluminum body. It also comes with a charging station.

A variant sold direct by Lenovo has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage at a higher price of $ 169.99. In certain regions there is also a version of the tablet that supports the Amazon Alexa Home Hub functionality instead of the Google Assistant. Our version has the latter, which is activated via the dock.

For those who want a slightly sharper display, Lenovo also offers a Tab M10 FHD Plus with a 1080p resolution display that increases the price to $ 149 by default. This model was released in early 2020 and comes with Android 9 Pie, but is otherwise basically the same as the standard Smart Tab M10 HD.

What is good?

With the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD, Lenovo has designed and built solid hardware. The 10 inch screen makes for a great device. The aluminum case is strong and feels good. They also have a lot of amenities. Lenovo gave the Smart Tab M10 HD a USB-C port for charging and a compartment for microSD memory cards to allow for expanded storage (up to 256 GB). The tablet has stereo speakers, a headphone jack, good buttons and pogo pins on one side for the included charger. The dock is sturdy and holds the tablet at a reasonable angle to view content while it is charging, although it is not adjustable.

Technically, the screen offers a high-resolution resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels. The pixels are a good size and the screen is suitable for everyday use. It looks a lot better than the 8-inch display on the Amazon Fire 8 HD Plus tablet with the same resolution. It’s a lot bright and not overly reflective. I found that I could use it in a bright room without any visibility problems.

Lenovo designed and built a solid piece of hardware. They have a lot of conveniences.

Lenovo did a commendable job with the kids software. Regardless of whether you activate the children’s software at startup or with the dedicated app, the Google Kids Space software comes pre-installed with child-oriented content. That way, kids can customize their experiences too, and parents keep control of screen time, daily limits, and more. The only hurdle is having your child have a supervised Google Account, which not all parents want to create.

The Google Assistant viewing feature is great. Just like a Nest Hub, the Smart Tab M10 HD gets its smarts from the Google Assistant. When docked, it acts like a Google Nest Hub smart display, so you can interact with the tablet using “Hey Google” requests. It worked well.

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What’s not so good?

Some might find the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD a bit cumbersome. First, the screen uses an aspect ratio of 16: 9, so the tablet is elongated in shape compared to the shape of tablets with 4: 3 or 3: 2 displays. Plus, it’s a bit top heavy when used in portrait orientation, which leads to hand fatigue. This would definitely affect more children than adults.

It also feels under-challenged. The octa-core MediaTek P22T just doesn’t have enough oomph at times. This could be the limited amount of RAM that the tablet is holding back. The Smart Tab M10 HD definitely got stuck while multitasking or running multiple apps in the background. I tested Asphalt 9 and found the gameplay to be choppy at best, but everyday tasks like surfing the internet or checking emails are smooth enough.

The sound could be better and the battery life is only mediocre for a tablet.

Sound could be better. The tablet supports Dolby Atmos, but the stereo speakers have limited reproducibility. It’s not bad, but I would prefer a bit more bass when watching movies. I appreciate having an FM radio on board, but you’ll need wired headphones to take advantage of this.

The battery life is only mediocre for a tablet. It can handle 10 hours of regular surfing and up to 8 hours of video. I only watched 7.5 hours of video when I tested it. The competing tablets from Amazon (and many others that we tested) typically achieve 10 hours of video.

The tablet ships with Android 10 and there is no word from Lenovo about how long the tablet will be supported from a software standpoint. After all, the vibration motor is really terrible. I suggest you turn off all haptics.

Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD Review: Should I Buy It?

If you’re looking for a simple tablet to enjoy Netflix or surf the web, the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD is for you. It covers the simple things with ease and has almost every feature you could want. If you’re looking for something specifically for kids, the Smart Tab is also a great choice. As long as you don’t mind creating a full-fledged Google subordinate account to manage, you can easily control the kids’ usage. I wouldn’t recommend the M10 HD for gaming or any other hardcore use.

With tablet and Smart Hub features, the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD feels like a bargain.

With the Google Assistant on board, a charging station, and the Nest Hub-like experience as a bonus, the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD feels like a bargain for $ 129.99.