Lenovo blew everyone out of the water at CES 2023 with the announcement of the Tab Extreme tablet, which is very reminiscent of the iPad.
With the announcement of a brand-new tablet, we have to take a look at what’s already on the market and see how it stacks up.
The new Lenovo Tab Extreme is focused on high-end performance and is one of the few Android tablets available with such a vast array of features. Due to its impressive specs, we want to see how it compares to what’s arguably the king of tablets, the iPad Pro M2.
The Lenovo Tab Extreme has a starting price of $1199.99/€1199 and is expected to be available in March of this year. We will be sure to update this article once we know more about the UK pricing.
Keep reading to find out all the key differences between these two tablets so you can decide which is worth your time.
iPadOS 16 vs Android 13
The Lenovo Tab Extreme runs and comes installed with Android 13, while its Apple rival runs on iPadOS 16. The Tab Extreme allows users to multitask with support for four apps simultaneously at once via split screen, and the ability to open up 10 different apps as small floating windows.
Android 13 also can recognise between your hand and a stylus, which should result in fewer accidental stray marks when using a pen to write on the screen. Moreover, Android 13 has introduced a taskbar within the UI as well as an update notification option, which should make multitasking and browsing feel much more streamlined than tablets that ran on the previous OS.
iPadOS 16 is also aiming to improve multitasking, with apps like Files being expanded to have more viewing options. The new feature Stage Manager lets users resize windows like you can on a Mac, with the option to create individual spaces using multiple apps at once with overlapping windows, a feature that’s not been seen before on an iPad.
Users can now hook up their iPad to an external display with resolutions up to 6K, for even more workspace room. Plus, Apple has finally bought the native weather app for the iPad, keeping the same design as the iPhone variation – just a whole lot bigger.
Extreme Tab has a more impressive battery
The iPad Pro M2 packs a 40.88watt battery, with the battery life staying on par with the previous iPad Pro (2021) model. During our testing, after watching a movie in Dolby Vision HDR with full-screen brightness for 13 minutes, the battery dropped by 5%.
Apple claims that the iPad Pro can last up to 10 hours during regular use, but this will depend on the content you’re engaging with and the brightness of the screen.
The Tab Extreme features a 12300mAh battery, with Lenovo claiming that it supports up to 12 hours of video playback on a full charge. Since we have not yet tested these claims we can’t be sure that it will outshine the iPad Pro, but the claims make it sound like it will have a more reliable battery life.
Unlike the iPad Pro, the Tab Extreme also has support for both fast and wireless charging, which should make it more accessible and better equipped to handle long journeys. They both use the same USB-C port for charging.
Lenovo has a limited storage capacity
The Extreme Tab has a slight disadvantage when it comes to storage, as it caps out at 265GB. This can be upped by another 1TB using a microSD card, but it would have been nice for Lenovo to offer higher storage options for those who want to download films or TV shows onto the device.
Apple knocked it out of the park when it comes to storage, offering 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB variations. While not everyone will require the 2TB option, it’s a safe bet for those who want to engage in content creation on the device.
In terms of RAM, the Tab Extreme comes with 12GB, while the iPad Pro comes with 8GB or 16GB of memory, with the higher option being reserved for the 1TB and 2TB storage models.
Extreme Tab trumps the iPad Pro camera
Lenovo kitted out the Tab Extreme with a 13-megapixel rear camera, which has an aperture of f/2.4, alongside a 13MP front camera with an RGB sensor and an ultra-wide field of vision.
Apple opted to install two rear cameras on the iPad Pro, a 12MP wide lens (f/1.8) and a 10MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.4), with a 12MP front camera for selfies.
Due to the sizes of these tablets, they will be better suited to scanning documents than taking quick snaps while out on the go. However, the improved front camera on the Extreme Tab could be incredibly useful for anyone wanting to engage in work Zoom calls, or video calls with friends.
Plus, since the Apple front camera is situated on the short portrait side of the device, rather than the longer landscape side, it can be said that it’s less suited for video calls in general, with our review noting that it would be more accessible in a different position.
You might like…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
