Lenovo has squeezed eight speakers into its chunky new tablet

Tablets aren’t known for their room-shaking bass, but Lenovo’s new 11.5-inch Tab Plus delivers. It features 26 watts of sound produced by four woofers and four tweeters split across each side of the tablet (when used in landscape mode). To take full advantage of the Tab Plus’ audio capabilities, Lenovo has included the option to connect other devices wirelessly to the tablet and use it as a Bluetooth speaker.

Powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G99 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage expandable using a microSD card, the Tab Plus is definitely not a powerful productivity tool. Lenovo positions it as a media consumption device first and foremost, which is also reflected in the front and rear cameras that are only 8MP. The tablet ships with Android 14, and Lenovo promises two years of OS upgrades and four years of security patches.

The Tab Plus’ 11.5-inch, 90Hz 2K LCD display is far from the best in its class, but Lenovo claims its 8,600mAh battery will keep it streaming for up to 12 hours (it doesn’t specify if that’s streaming audio or video). While 45W fast charging means a completely empty battery can be revived within 90 minutes.

The built-in pop-up kickstand on the back makes it easy to use the tablet as a Bluetooth speaker, but for those who prefer to listen privately, a 3.5mm headphone jack is still included that supports 24-bit, 96kHz high-resolution audio with Dolby Atmos tuning.

One big trade-off of these four built-in speakers is the very noticeable bulge at the back of the new Tab Plus that pushes the thickness of the 7.77mm tablet down to 13.58mm. Remember, Apple has managed to shrink the size of the new 13-inch iPad Pro to just 5.1mm, apart from the camera bump.

Although Lenovo didn’t specify where the new 11.5-inch Tab Plus will be available starting today except in “select global markets,” its $289.99 price tag could make it a tempting solution for those tired of carrying a tablet and a separate wireless speaker for listening. mechanism. Enhance her voice.