Battery Life, Camera and Verdict

Dell Venue 10 Pro 5056 – Battery Life

While this is hardly the fastest Windows 10 tablet on the market, it’s got a seriously impressive battery life. In my PowerMark test with brightness set to 40%, it lasted 8 hours and 21 minutes.

That puts this tablet comfortably into the same realm as iPads and other class-leaders and means it will last you most long haul flights off a single charge.

Dell Venue 10 Pro 5056 – Camera

The Venue 10 Pro has cameras back and front but it’s only the rear one that you’ll want to use for anything but video calls. It takes a perfectly reasonable snap and can shoot 1080p video too, though quality is not at the level where I’d want to rely on it regularly.

Focussing is also slow, particularly when recording video, and low light image quality leaves a lot to be desired. All in all, it’s the sort of camera performance I’ve come to expect of a tablet.

Related: 10 best tablets you can buy right now

Should I buy the Dell Venue 10 Pro 5056?

There’s still not many reasons why you’d buy a Windows tablet rather than an iPad or Android tablet. They don’t offer the same performance, app range and general touchscreen ease of use. However, with the Venue 10 Pro 5056 Dell has created a surprisingly compelling offering.

With excellent battery life, adequate performance for tablet-style use and the option to drop back to the full Windows experience when needed, it’s versatile, long-lasting and portable. To get the most from it you’ll probably still want to get the keyboard dock and stylus but even on its own it works well.

For most users it still makes more sense to opt for an Android tablet or iPad but if you see yourself needing to go full Windows on occasion, or if you need it for work, this is a good option considering its competitive asking price.