Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 Y700 Review: my favorite compact gaming tablet!
A compact tablet makes for a great gaming device. | Image by PhoneArena
Summary and should you buy it
The Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 is an exciting new compact tablet for mobile gamers. It's a significant refresh over last year's Gen 4 model, as it introduces important new features like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, as well as a bigger, 9,000 mAh battery. The Legion Tab Gen 5 is a major competitor to the RedMagic Astra 2 gaming tablet.
While both tablets may seem like very similar propositions at first glance, they actually employ different strategies. While the RedMagic Astra 2 has a slightly bigger, 9” OLED screen and integrates liquid cooling, allowing users to push the performance of the Elite Gen 5 chip to its absolute maximum, the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 takes more of an all-rounder approach. It does so by sticking to a slightly smaller 8.8-inch LCD display (of amazing quality), having no active cooling solutions, but at the same time offering popular tablet features that are missing on the Astra 2, like stylus support, a microSD card slot, and desktop UI mode.
We've run the Legion Tab Gen 5 through our special PhoneArena Battery test and performance tests, the results of which you can find below. I've also pushed it to the limit multiple times, not only with AAA gaming sessions but also by loading multiple applications and browser tabs on it, and essentially using it as my main computer for a full day.
I'm happy to report that the Legion Tab Gen 5 passed all of these tests with flying colors, and proved to be a reliable and capable work, media, and entertainment machine.
The price of the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 (also called Y700 in some markets) varies, but you can typically find it for about $850 in the US. However, our deal hunting team frequently finds it on discount, so it's worth waiting for a good deal to pop up. I'd say, if you wait for a decent discount, the Legion Tab Gen 5 is absolutely worth the investment. It'll be great for pretty much any use case (except as a notebook replacement, but that's fine).
Table of Contents:
Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 Design and Display
I still think they should find a way to have trigger keys on the back.
At the same time, if you are sick of 12-inch and 13-inch, laptop-replacement wannabes, the Legion Tab's 8.8-inch form-factor would be a breath of fresh air. It weighs roughly 360 g, which makes it very convenient and easy to pick up and go.
Like the RedMagic Astra, there are no trigger keys or any other gaming features on the exterior, which makes sense because it's difficult to find a suitable place for those on a tablet. I believe something could be done to integrate trigger keys on the back of the tablet, but I'll leave that to the engineering teams.
Image by PhoneArena
What the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 has that many other tablets don't, including the Astro 2, is a microSD card slot. This allows you to easily expand the storage space of your tablet, thus making it more convenient to store large libraries of movies, videos, music, games, or whatever you wish. I really enjoy this feature – it makes the tablet extremely versatile and powerful.
The benefit of the Legion Tab Gen 5's compact form factor for gaming is clear, because the manageable size and relatively low weight mean you can conveniently hold and use the tablet as a handheld device. Not to mention, you can simply attach a telescopic game controller to it and turn it into a full-featured gaming handheld.
Display Measurements:
There are no biometric features on the Legion Tab Gen 5, so you'll have to rely on a good-old PIN, if you'd like to lock your device. Of course, there's basic facial recognition for everyday convenience; you just won't be able to use it for sensitive things like banking or purchasing.
Stylus
Image by PhoneArena
I tested the Tab Pen Plus, and can confidently say that it works like a charm with the Legion Tab Gen 5. Lenovo’s note-taking software is very well made, and writing with the pencil feels great. The response time is very fast, and honestly, I don't have any complaints here. This $50 upgrade turns the Legion Tab Gen 5 into a very competent tablet for note-taking or drawing.
Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 Performance & Benchmarks
Not as extreme as the RedMagic Astra 2, but faster than your typical Android tablet.
Image by PhoneArena
While it doesn't have a fan or liquid cooling, the Legion Tab Gen 5 does have a sophisticated passive cooling. I found temperatures under extreme stress to be relatively reasonable. It’s not easy to make the Legion Tab Gen 5 throttle – the hardware is very well optimized for demanding workloads. But, as usual, if you're planning to push your tablet to the max for long periods, it's always a good idea to get an external cooler.
CPU Performance Benchmarks:
GPU Performance
Gaming performance
On top of that, there is the 165 Hz display, the 480 Hz touch sampling, as well as bypass charging, which is a must for longer gaming sessions. The latter is very important, because it would allow you to keep battery temperatures lower and thus avoid harming your battery's lifespan.
If you’re into PC game emulation, there is a built-in version of GameHub, but of course, you can always install any GameHub version yourself, or go for GameNative, or the new kid on the block, DroidDeck.
Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 Software
Lenovo's ZUI is very good. The gaming software could look a bit more refined, but it's very functional.
I really like what Lenovo is doing with the software. The Legion Tab Gen 5 is running Android 16 with what Lenovo calls ZUI 18 on top. It's fairly close to a standard Android experience, with some very useful upgrades and changes.
One thing I don't like is the app launcher because it can show very few apps. But I really love Lenovo's Desk mode. It changes the behavior of the OS to act more like a desktop OS. It has a much bigger and more functional taskbar with applications, and each app opens in a fully resizable window. It's just a very useful feature for multitasking.
One thing I don't like is the app launcher because it can show very few apps. But I really love Lenovo's Desk mode. It changes the behavior of the OS to act more like a desktop OS. It has a much bigger and more functional taskbar with applications, and each app opens in a fully resizable window. It's just a very useful feature for multitasking.
Lenovo's tablet also features superb external monitor support. For example, you can easily use a high-resolution, 4K monitor with a high refresh rate with the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5, and everything will look nice and smooth. This is in contrast with most other tablets out there, which only show a 1080p picture at 60 Hz max.
Entertainment Space | Image by PhoneArena
Lenovo's gaming overlay also enables a bunch of great gaming features, like keymapper, which allows you to map keyboards, mice, and game controllers to work with mobile games. Meanwhile, one of my favorite ones is the very useful option to disable operating system gestures in a smart way so that they don't interfere with your gameplay.
Legion Tab Gen 5 Audio Quality
I was pleasantly surprised by the stereo speakers of the Legion Tab Gen 5. Comparing them to those of the RedMagic Astra 2, the Lenovo has decidedly more bass and punch. If we take the iPhone 17 Pro speakers as a reference, the Legion Tab Gen 5 sounds louder and bassier. It could have been a little cleaner in the high end, too, but overall, I think Lenovo did a great job tuning the speaker system here.
The stereo effect is also very nicely pronounced, plus the positioning of the speakers is very good – you won't be blocking them with your hands even when you're holding the tablet in landscape.
Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 Battery and Charging
It's very, very good. 9000 mAh capacity, 68W fast charging, and no battery drain. What more could you ask for?
The fifth generation of the Lenovo Legion Tab has gotten a battery capacity upgrade all the way to 9,000 mAh. This is a pretty sizable battery for such a compact tablet. As a result, I find battery life here to be superb.
As you can see in the benchmarks, the Legion Tab Gen 5 outperforms its competitors and seems to be very well tailored to gaming workloads. The RedMagic Astra 2 is not far behind, but its battery is ever so slightly smaller, so that explains its slightly lower battery scores here on the PhoneArena Battery test.
PhoneArena Battery Test Results:
When it comes to charging, Lenovo has done a great job here, giving its tablet super-fast 68W wired charging. While that’s not as blazing fast as RedMagic Astra 2’s 75 watts, charging speeds are still plenty fast with the Legion Tab Gen 5. A full charge takes about 1h 14min, and a 30min charging session can take the battery from 0% to 53%.
Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 Camera
Selfie camera on the short side? I thought we were well past that!
Image by PhoneArena
I think Lenovo did a very good job with the cameras here, considering this is primarily a gaming tablet. There's a 50MP main shooter and an 8MP selfie one.
The main shooter is pretty decent for what it is. There is a bit of a camera bump here, but the quality is good. Photos have a decent amount of detail and reasonable color reproduction. The camera does a confident 2x optical zoom as well, which I enjoy. Still, don't expect wonders from this camera.
Images by PhoneArena
Sadly, in a very old-school fashion, the selfie camera is located on the short side here, so if you're planning on doing any video calls using the Legion Tab 5 Y700, keep in mind you may need to keep the tablet in portrait orientation.
Video recordings out of the Legion Tab Gen 5 are mostly a pain to watch, primarily due to the complete lack of stabilization.
Legion Tab Gen 5 Specs
Here's an overview of the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 specs:
|
|
| Lenovo Legion Tab 8.8" 5 | RedMagic Astra 2 |
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| 206.46 x 128.5 x 7.59 | 207.1 x 134.2 x 6.9 mm |
| Weight | |
| 360.0 g | 363.0 g |
| Size | |
|---|---|
| 8.8-inch | 9.1-inch |
| Type | |
| IPS LCD, 165Hz | LTPO, 185Hz |
| System chip | |
|---|---|
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SM8850-AC (3 nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SM8850-AC (3 nm) |
| Memory | |
| 12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS) 16GB/512GB | 12GB/256GB (UFS 4.1) 16GB/512GB 16GB/1TB |
| OS | |
| Android (16) | Android (16) |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| 9000 mAh | 8300 mAh |
| Charge speed | |
| Wired: 68.0W | Wired: 75.0W |
| Main camera | |
|---|---|
| 50 MP (Autofocus) | 13 MP (PDAF) |
| Front | |
| 8 MP | 9 MP |
| Bluetooth | |
|---|---|
| 6.0 | 5.4 |
| WLAN | |
| Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7,dual-band 2X MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax, be |
Wi-Fi 6,dual-band Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac |
| USB | |
| Dual Type-C ports, USB 4.0 | Dual Type-C ports, USB 3.2 |
| Sensors | |
| Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor |
| Location | |
| GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou | GPS, A-GPS |
| Other | |
| Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | |
See the full
Lenovo Legion Tab 8.8" 5 vs RedMagic Astra 2 specs comparison
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