The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 ($269/16GB list) is essentially a shrunken down, scale model of its 10.1-inch bigger sibling, the Yoga Tablet 10. Both use the same design, same display resolution, and same processor. The display is sharper and its design is even more comfortable in the smaller form factor, but otherwise, the Yoga Tablet 8 fails to wow in the same way as the Yoga Tablet 10. Of the two, this is the Yoga Tablet to get, but it's also entering a far more competitive tablet arena, going heads up with the superior and cheaper Nexus 7($99.99 at Amazon), which remains our Editors' Choice for small-screen tablets.
Design and Features
The Yoga Tablet 8 is smaller, but otherwise physically identical to the Yoga Tablet 10, so head on over to that review for a full breakdown on the design and features. I'll focus on a few usability differences here. Being smaller and lighter, the cylindrical grip makes an even bigger difference here—the 14.1-ounce Yoga Tablet 8 feels nearly weightless. The kickstand is still a bit difficult to open, but is as sturdy and useful for propping the tablet up in a variety of positions as the full-sized Yoga. It's worth noting that the speakers appear to be the same size on both Yogas, which is a good thing as they're among the better tablet speakers I've heard.
The 8-inch IPS LCD features the same 1,280-by-800-pixel resolution as the Yoga 10, which makes for a noticeably tighter display on the smaller model. It still can't touch the Nexus 7's 1,920-by-1,200-pixel display, but it's a reasonably nice panel.
This is a Wi-Fi only tablet that supports 802.11b/g/n networks on the 2.4GHz band, but not the faster 5GHz band. Also onboard are Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS, both of which worked fine in my tests. $319 gets you 16GB of internal storage, while just $20 more doubles that to 32GB. There's a microSD card slot hidden behind the kickstand, and our 64GB SanDisk card worked fine.
Similar Products
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10
Google Nexus 7 (2013)
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7" (Wi-Fi)
Lenovo claims up to 18 hours of Web browsing over Wi-Fi on a single charge. We don't test Web browsing specifically, but in our battery rundown test, which loops a video with screen brightness set to max and Wi-Fi on, the Yoga 8 turned in a respectable 8 hours, 28 minutes. That should be plenty to last you through the day.
Performance and Conclusions
The Yoga 8 is equipped with the same quad-core MediaTek processor, and since the display resolution is the same, performance is identical between the two. Head over to the Yoga 10 review for a full breakdown, but to recap, the Yoga 8 will suffice for casual Web browsing and media consumption, but shows some lag, especially when changing screen orientation. Unfortunately, the Yoga 8 features the same heavy-handed Lenovo skin on top of Android 4.2.2.
If you're sold on Lenovo's "multi-mode" concept, the Yoga Tablet 8 is the Yoga you're looking for. Its display is sharper and the unique design makes for a more dramatic difference in how light the tablet feels in your hand. But the Yoga Tablet 8 isn't as good of a bargain as its 10-inch sibling, costing more than superlative tablets like the $229 Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX 7"($179.99 at Amazon). The Nexus 7 offers a better display, faster performance, and a pure Android experience straight from Google—it remains our Editors' Choice for small screen tablets.
The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 is better than its 10-inch counterpart, but it isn't the best small-screen Android tablet out there, and it's more expensive than many competitors.
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