Why I Recommend Lenovo's Gaming Tablet Over the iPad Mini

CNET

18 hours ago

8.0
/ 10
SCORE Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 $450 at Lenovo Pros Nice-looking display with a 165Hz refresh rate
Works with mobile controllers
Nice bundled accessories
Smooth gaming performance Cons No microSD slot
No fingerprint scanner
Behind on Android updates
Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3
8/10 CNET Score
$450 at Lenovo
The world of Android tablets sometimes feels like a crapshoot, but every now and then, a seven or 11 appears. There are the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10s of the world, which offer the best Android tablet experiences, but also fantastic tablets like the OnePlus Pad 3 and great budget options, too, such as the Lenovo Tab Plus.
Another Lenovo, the Legion Tab Gen 3 was a surprise to see at this year's CES. The 8.8-inch gaming-focused tablet is slightly larger than the iPad Mini but in the same ballpark on price at around $450. For the money, you get strong performance, solid build quality and an overall excellent set of specs and features. After spending several weeks with one, I can say it's a pretty awesome little tablet, and it's won me over enough to earn an Editors' Choice award.
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Fantastic hardware
Let me start with the size. At 8.8 inches diagonal, it's larger than the best large phones, but still smaller than most tablets made for entertainment. You might not expect it to be great for gaming, but the more I used it, the more I realized it's nearly the perfect size. Larger tablets get too heavy to hold for long sessions, and unless you've got a kickstand case, propping them up can be a hassle. Being larger than a phone makes it easier on your eyes, though. Plus, some of the best mobile controllers, like the Razer Kishi Ultra, even fit the Legion Tab for an incredible mobile gaming experience.
Lenovo also packed an impressive display into the Legion Tab. It's an 8.8-inch, 2.5K (2,560x1,600 pixels) touchscreen with a 165Hz max refresh rate and covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.For reference, the iPad Mini has an 8.3-inch display with lower resolution, in a tablet that's actually a bit larger -- and don't get me started on those massive bezels. The Legion Tab has blissfully thin bezels.
The speakers on the Legion Tab are also impressive. Its stereo audio is bolstered by Dolby Atmos support, and sounds fantastic. They're not as good as the speakers on the OnePlus Pad 3 or anywhere near the iPad Pro's, but they're impressive for a tablet this size.
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The Legion Tab Gen 3 is also a performance powerhouse. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is still an incredibly strong mobile chipset. I never once experienced any slowdowns or stutters during my time with it. Every game I played ran beautifully, even at the highest available settings.
There's only one configuration of the Legion Tab available, which comes with 12GB of DDR5X RAM and 256GB of storage. The lack of expandable memory or an option for more storage might be a deal breaker for some, especially as game downloads get larger and larger. Annoyingly, Lenovo released a Legion Tab Gen 4 exclusively in China that does include a microSD card slot, and the company confirmed to me that it's not leaving China anytime soon.
Keeping the lights on is a 6,550-milliampere-hour battery that recharges at 65 watts, and there's a fast charger included in the box. There are two USB-C ports on the Legion Tab that both support fast charging. The port on the right side (or bottom when holding in portrait) is USB 2.0 and only for charging. The bottom port (or left side when holding in portrait) is USB 3.2 and supports up to 10Gbps transfer speeds and display out so you can connect it to an external monitor for better gaming or desktop use.
This is more useful than you might think because Lenovo has an excellent desktop mode for its tablets. When you connect an external keyboard or mouse, the tablet turns into a pseudo-desktop experience, similar to Samsung DeX. I've used this often on both the Tab Plus and the Legion Tab, and while it won't replace my laptop anytime soon, it can be useful.
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On the back, you'll find two cameras: a 13-megapixel main shooter and a 2-megapixel macro lens -- yes, somehow still a thing in 2025. Around front, there's an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. While I never expect much from tablet cameras -- aside from the macro one -- these actually aren't terrible. They aren't going to replace a premium phone camera, but they're better than I expected. The selfie camera is good enough for a quick video chat or group gaming session on the go, and the back camera is alright for snapshots and video clips if you don't have anything else handy.
One of the most pleasant surprises was what Lenovo included in the Legion Tab's box: a protective case with holes to help keep it cool during long gaming sessions, a tempered glass screen protector with an easy-install kit and an Apple-like folding cover that doubles as a stand. The cover is a bit flimsy, and I kept taking it off to use the tablet, but it's really nice to see good accessories included, boosting its already good value.
The biggest downside of the Legion Tab's otherwise fantastic hardware is the lack of a fingerprint sensor. Yes, you can use Face Unlock for the tablet itself, but that doesn't work for password managers or anywhere else in the software where you'd use biometric security. Incorporating a fingerprint scanner in the power button is pretty common these days, so I'm disappointed it's not here -- especially at $449.
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Fast software with slow updates
On the software side, it's running Android 14, and sadly, there's a fair bit of bloatware and ads out of the box. The software itself is pretty smooth, especially on the 165Hz screen, but several included games and app recommendation tools are just ads. I understand the need to make money off devices like these; the ads and preinstalled apps help lower prices, but it's nonetheless disappointing to see on a small tablet that's $550 when not on sale.
Also, the fact that it launched with Android 14 in 2025 (Android 15 was released in June 2024) and is still on Android 14 halfway through the year doesn't bode well for long-term software support. Lenovo has never been great about this, though the Legion Tab is promised three OS updates and four years of security patches. Just don't expect them to arrive quickly -- Android 16 is on the way, and it's still stuck on Android 14 with no timeline for getting Android 15.
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Best way to game on the go
Overall, I'm smitten with the Legion Tab Gen 3. This is the perfect mobile device for gaming. It's small enough to fit comfortably in my backpack and my favorite mobile controller, but powerful enough to play anything I want. The screen is gorgeous, and the battery gives me plenty of playtime. Plus, there are some useful accessories bundled in the box.
I do wish there were more storage options, and Lenovo absolutely needs to be better about its software updates, especially when it wants $549 for the tablet. However, it's regularly discounted for as low as $449, so if you can wait for a sale, do it. Still, there really isn't a better option for mobile Android gaming tablets right now.