Last week, the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro finally made its way to India. The tablet that first went official in November 2021 has debuted in the country for a premium price tag. Despite being old, it competes directly with the latest Galaxy Tab S8 series in the region due to its pricing. But is it really worth its asking price? We try to answer this question in this article.
Pricing
The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro is priced at ₹69,999 in India for the sole 8GB + 256GB memory configuration. The WiFi-only tablet ships with a Lenovo Precision Pen 3 stylus and a 30W charger.
On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus arrive in both WiFi-only and cellular (5G) variants. But they are limited to 128GB storage in the county and do not ship with a charger. However, an S Pen stylus is included in the box.
Talking about the price, the WiFi version of Galaxy Tab S8 and Galaxy Tab S8 Plus costs ₹58,999 and ₹70,999, respectively. Whereas, the cellular model of these tablets retails at ₹74,999 and ₹87,999.
In other words, the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro sits between the Galaxy Tab S8 and the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus in terms of pricing
Discounts and Offers
Samsung is known for offering numerous discounts and promotions from time to time. The offers vary across channels as the company has a better reach in the country.
For example, buyers can currently avail of a ₹2,000 discount coupon, a ₹7,000 cashback on HDFC Bank cards, and a 5% referral discount on the Samsung Shop app.
Unfortunately, Lenovo does not offer discounts at this scale. The coupon discounts are limited and sales are very rare.
Software
Samsung is the only Android OEM releasing tablets across different price segments regularly for years. Hence, the company has developed a much better software than its competitors, like offering Samsung Galaxy ecosystem benefits and desktop-like features like Dex.
Also, it is the only brand to offer longer software support. For instance, the Galaxy Tab S8 series, which is currently on Android 12, is eligible for 4 Android updates and 5 years of security updates.
On the other hand, the software support for the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro ends in late 2024 itself. It boots Android 11 right now and it is scheduled to receive Android 12L by the end of June and Android 13 after it goes official later this year.
Specifications
The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro has an upper hand in the storage, battery, and display departments. It offers 256GB of internal storage, a 10,200mAh battery, and a Dolby Vision-supported 12.6-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and up to 120Hz refresh rate.
Anyway, though the Galaxy Tab S8 features an 11-inch LCD panel, buyers can opt for a 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display with the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus whose WiFi-only variant is only slightly costlier than the Lenovo tablet. In fact, with the offers, the Samsung model could be had at a cheaper price.
But none of these Samsung tablets offer Dolby Vision and they are backed by smaller 8,000mAh and 10,090mAh batteries. Further, 128GB is too low if you happen to store and play lots of games. However, it is worth noting that you could use a MicroSD card on all three tablets for media purposes.
The biggest difference between these tablets is the chipsets powering them. The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro house the stable Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC. While the Galaxy Tab S8 and the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus feature the latest unstable Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip.
For authentication, the Lenovo tablet provides 3D face unlock, in addition to a fingerprint sensor. Whereas, the Samsung tablets offer Apple’s Center Stage-like feature and 4K video recording on their front camera.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro (aka Lenovo Xiaoxin Pad Pro 12.6) is a good product. It has almost all the bells and whistles for a premium Android tablet. But it lags behind the overall better experience offered by Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 series.
In most regions, the Lenovo model is way cheaper and thus it is easy to recommend it over any other Android tablet at the same price point. For the unaware, it costs around $550 on average globally.
But in India, the story is the opposite. The product costs the same as the Galaxy Tab S8 series. It retails at $900, which is almost $300 more than in other regions.
It is very difficult to choose the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro over the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 or the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus in India.
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