The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 (starting at $189) is a 10-inch Android tablet for people on a budget. It’s a well-built slate with amazing battery life and great cameras. Unfortunately, its average performance is disappointing. But if you’re just looking for a cheap tablet for watching streaming content and reading books, this one serves the purpose.
when compared to The best Android tabletsHowever, the Tab M10 Plus falls short. But overall, it’s a pretty good slate, especially for kids or those looking for something more affordable than the iPad. Here are the pros and cons in our full Lenovo Tab M10 Plus review.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Specifications
| Header cell – column 0 | Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 (Start) | Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 (tested) |
|---|---|---|
| price | $189 | 210 bucks |
| CPU | MediaTek Helio G80 | MediaTek Helio G80 |
| ram | 3 GB | 4GB |
| an offer | 10.6 inch 2K (2000 x 1200) | 10.6 inch 2K (2000 x 1200) |
| storage | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| ports | USB-C (1x), headphone jack | USB-C (1x), headphone jack |
| battery life | up to 14 hours (rated) | 14:09 |
| Dimensions | 6.25 x 9.89 x 0.29 | 6.25 x 9.89 x 0.29 |
| Weight | 1.03 pounds | 1.03 pounds |
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Price and configuration
- Starting at $189
- $210 for the high-end model
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 starts at $189 Lenovo site (Opens in a new tab). This model has a 10.6-inch 2K (2000 x 1200) display, MediaTek Helio G80 CPU, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The tablet also comes with Android 12 installed.
For $210, you can get the Tab M10 Plus with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This is the model we tested and reviewed.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Design
- Thin and light
- Comes in two colours
The Tab M10 Plus is a modest tablet that sports a sleek unibody design made of aluminum alloy with a two-tone finish. Comes in Storm Gray or Frost Blue. I love the storm gray color of our review unit, though the Frost Blue looks amazing, too. Despite its slim profile, it has a sturdy slate.
The tablet measures 6.25 x 9.89 x 0.29 inches and weighs 1.03 pounds. Being so light, the Tab M10 is comfortable to hold for long periods of time. This also makes the board an unobtrusive travel tool. For comparison, the The ninth generation of the iPad Weighs 1.07 pounds.
There’s a power button on the top of the M10 Plus, along with two volume buttons and a microSD slot on the right side. Quad speakers adorn the top and bottom. You’ll find the front camera roughly in the middle of the left side, which puts it in the middle of the top when you rotate the tablet to landscape mode.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Display
- Sharp image quality
- Great for watching videos and reading
The Tab M10 Plus’ 10.6-inch screen is a convenient canvas for watching videos from sites like YouTube TV and Netflix. The resolution of 2000 x 1200 also ensures sharp image quality.
The trailer for Apple TV’s Ghosted looked impressive on the Tab M10. There are a lot of scenes happening at night but I had no trouble making out what was happening on screen. When it started working, the 60Hz refresh rate kept up with all the fast cuts.
I enjoyed reading the DC Universe Infinite comics on the Tab M10 Plus. The actual comic book page is larger than this tablet, but the screen size ensured I was able to read text clearly and highlight fine details in the graphics. The Tab M10 Plus is also great for reading e-books from apps like the Kindle.
When we brought it into our test lab and pointed our devices at it, the Tab M10 Plus’ panel delivered an average brightness of 373 nits. That’s less than the 400 nits Lenovo advertised, but still very good for a tablet in this price range, on par with the $174 Nokia T20 (374 nits) but not as bright as the Amazon Fire HD 10’s $149 (420 lumens).
| Header cell – column 0 | Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 | Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021) | Nokia T20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| nits (brightness) | 373 | 420 | 374 |
| sRGB | 112.3% | 106% | 90.9% |
| DCI-P3 | 79.4% | 75.5% | 64.4% |
| Delta E | 0.22 | 0.37 | 0.39 |
Color-wise, the Tab M10 Plus’ screen covered 112.2% of the sRGB color gamut and 79.4% of the more demanding DCI-P3 color space (closer to 100% is best). The Fire HD 10 (106% / 75.5%) delivered similar results, while the Nokia T20 (90.9% / 64.4%) didn’t fare as well in those tests.
When we measured the display’s Delta-E value, where lower numbers indicate more color-accurate screens, the Tab M10 Plus scored 0.22. This is better than the Fire HD 10 (0.37) and Nokia T20 (0.39).
In terms of our lab tests, we compare the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus from 2023 with tablets from 2021 because the Tab M10 Plus is powered by the MediaTek Helio G80 CPU, an older chip that debuted in smartphones in 2020. Hence, it is Comparable to older tablets though released years later.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Audio
- Clear and loud sound
- Great for video and music
The Tab M10 Plus’ speakers delivered great sound when watching videos or listening to podcasts. Even with the volume turned up to maximum when watching the aforementioned Ghosted video, everything came out crystal clear, with no distortion or other sonic hiccups.
I lit up Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” to test how the speakers handle music and was pleasantly surprised. Although there wasn’t as much bass as I would have liked, the vocals and instruments sounded good. But if you are not satisfied with the sound quality, you can use the headphone jack to connect a The best headphones Or use bluetooth to connect one The best wireless headphones.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Performance
- Average performance
- Slow compared to older and cheaper tablets
The Tab M10 Plus is a solid little device for watching videos and reading. However, the MediaTek Helio G80 CPU and 4GB of RAM (if you’re splurging on the high-end model) don’t deliver great performance. In fact, they leave much to be desired.
During testing, I found the tablet to perform sluggishly when opening apps. There was always a slight delay between when I clicked on an app and when I launched it. This was also true when I used the apps. For example, flipping through comic book pages on the DC Universe Infinite app took much longer than on the DC Universe Infinite app iPad Air 2022 or Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. They are obviously much more expensive, so the difference in performance makes sense.
| Header cell – column 0 | single core | multicore |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 | 348 | 1,234 |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 | 1494 | 6300 |
| Nokia T20 | 347 | 1,248 |
In Geekbench 5.4, which tests overall CPU speed, the Tab M10 Plus didn’t deliver great results. The tablet scored 348 points in the single-core test and 1234 in the multi-core test. These results are nearly identical to the Nokia T20, which noted 347 on single-core and 1,248 on multi-core. However, Amazon’s cheaper Fire HD 10 bested it in both tests (1,494 and 6,300, respectively) despite being nearly two years older than the Tab M10 Plus.
| Header cell – column 0 | Wildlife Original Unlimited | Wildlife Unlimited |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 | 682 / 4.10 fps | 1/172 fps |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Nokia T20 | 519 / 3.10 fps | 132 / 0.88 fps |
The Tab M10 Plus scored 682 and hit 4 frames per second on the 3D Mark Wildlife Unlimited test, which measures graphics performance. That’s better than the Nokia T20, which scored 519 and hit 3fps — but it’s pathetic regardless. A modern game like Genshin Impact only stumbled and froze a dozen times during the intro when I tested it. This tablet is not designed to play graphically demanding games.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Cameras
The Tab M10 Plus’ 8MP front and rear cameras are one of its best features. Each delivers solid image quality, capturing photos and videos with good color accuracy and with every major detail in focus. I used the front camera to take the photo below and found that it did a great job of capturing my features, as well as a great job of subtly blurring the background.
The rear camera is equally sharp. It is easy to distinguish between different items in our testing lab. I’m not a fan of using tablets to take pictures, but if you’re so inclined, you’ll be happy with the overall image quality.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Battery life and charging
- The battery life is 14 hours
- Long shipping times
One of the greatest strengths of this tablet is its amazing battery life. In fact, it has managed to last longer than all of its closest competitors.
| Header cell – column 0 | time (hours: minutes) |
|---|---|
| Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 | 14:09 |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 | 13:45 |
| Nokia T20 | 14:04 |
| iPad 2022 | 10:57 |
| iPad Pro 2022 | 10:39 |
On the Tom’s Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness, the Tab M10 Plus lasted 14 hours and 9 minutes. This beats the Nokia T20 (14:04) and lasts longer than the Amazon Fire HD 10 (13:45).
Shipping times aren’t exactly fast. In our testing, the Tab M10 Plus took 15 minutes to charge to 9% and 30 minutes to reach 16% battery capacity. These results are comparable to the Fire HD 10 but much better than the Nokia T20, which took 30 minutes to charge to 6%.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: Software
- Runs on Android 12
- Too many pre-installed apps
The Tab M10 Plus comes preinstalled with Android 12. If you are familiar with Android, you will know what to expect. To find out more, read our full review Android 12 review.
Like the Lenovo Yoga Tab 11This tablet comes with Google Entertainment Space pre-installed. It’s easily accessible from the home screen and brings together a variety of your most-used apps in one place — including streaming services, movies, podcasts, TV shows, books, and more. It is a convenient feature for those who want quick access to their favorite apps.
The tablet comes with several pre-installed apps, including games like Swing Man and apps like the Opera browser. This type of bloatware can be easily removed if you don’t want it, but it’s unfortunate that it comes pre-installed at all.
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 review: The verdict
Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 is an Android tablet that offers average performance at an affordable price. Cheap tablets like these are great for kids and budget shoppers. Despite its unimpressive performance and lack of premium features, the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 is ideal for people who mainly watch videos or read e-books – especially if you demand long battery life.
If you’re looking for an alternative, the Amazon Fire HD 10 not only offers better performance and nearly identical battery life, but it also costs $40 to $60 less than Lenovo’s slate. However, you’re stuck running within Amazon’s FireOS, which is more limited than pure Android. If you want more options, check out our guide to The best cheap tablets.
On the contrary, if you love Apple products, then… iPad 2021 It is a solid choice. Sure, it’s a bit tall at this point, but it still beats the Tab M10 Plus Gen 3 by a fair margin and is now regularly discounted to $269 or less.
