Lenovo Tab Extreme takes on the iPad Pro, complete with Magic Keyboard clone

For a few years now, Lenovo has been a reliable builder of high-end Android tablets. Its latest is the "Lenovo Tab Extreme," an extra-large tablet whose 14.5-inch display lands right in the normal laptop range. It also has a laptop-sized price: $1,199. The tablet is meant to compete directly with the iPad Pro, and there's even a floaty "magic keyboard" clone.

 

The display is a 14.5-inch 3000×1876, 120 Hz OLED with an ambient colour sensor. That's big, and the tablet without any accessories weighs 740 g (1.63 lbs). There's pen input via the included "Lenovo Precision Pen 3," a magnetically attachable Bluetooth pen with 4,096 levels of pressure, tilt sensitivity, and all the usual detection.

 

The big new addition is the new "Lenovo Tab Extreme Keyboard," which attaches to the tablet via magnets and pogo pins, allowing it to be powered by the tablet battery. The whole thing cribs Apple's "Magic Keyboard" design, with the tablet floating above the keyboard. The hinge works a lot like a laptop, allowing you to tilt the screen to a comfortable position or just close the whole thing like a traditional laptop. The keyboard is full-size and has backlit keys and a tiny trackpad at the bottom.

 

If you don't want to drag the full keyboard around, the tablet also has a lightweight kickstand that can magnetically attach to the back. The kickstand will support the tablet in landscape or portrait modes, and with DisplayPort in and out over USB-C, you can use the tablet as an extra monitor or power a second monitor with it. While the keyboard is self-supporting, it has a cutout on the back to make room for the kickstand so both accessories can be attached at the same time. When you rip the tablet off the keyboard, it's ready to go, with the kickstand already attached.

 

There's also a magnetic kickstand that can attach along with the keyboard case. They fit inside each other.

 

You can end up with a stack of acessories. This is the closed keyboard case, plus the kickstand, plus the pen.

 

The pen can magnetically attach to the side of the tablet like this.

 

And it will hang above the magic keyboard.

 

There's also this folio case.

 

There are two USB-C ports, one in the usual spot centered on the side of the tablet and another on that same side in the corner. Both can be used for charging, reverse charging, and audio out. One port, a Type-C 3.2 Gen 1, is for DisplayPort out, while the other 2.0 port is for DisplayPort in. The tablet can either be a monitor or power another monitor with Android. There's certainly plenty of room for two USB-C ports, saving you from having to use a dongle if you want to plug in a monitor and charge the tablet simultaneously.

 

Its SoC is a MediaTek Dimensity 9000. This is rather rare in the Android space, but it's a Cortex X2 chip, putting it in the same generation as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (a 2022 flagship chip). The tablet has 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a 12300 mAh battery, and 68 W quick charging. For cameras, it has a front 13 MP sensor, a rear 13 MP main sensor, and a 5 MP wide-angle sensor. There's a fingerprint sensor on the power key, a microSD slot, and Wi-Fi 6E compatibility. Lenovo wants this to be a "Media powerhouse," so the device has eight speakers.

 

The tablet comes with Android 13, and Lenovo offers three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates. That's a big improvement for the company, which didn't do great at providing consistent Android updates during its ownership of Motorola. There's no release date.