Report: Lenovo's Yoga Tablet 3 (8-inch) is a decidedly, surprisingly low-end affair

Rozetka

Lenovo’s Yoga series of products has proven to be quite influential when it comes to the PC: countless copy-cats have emerged that have sought to use the 360-degree flexible form factor that allows a traditional laptop to bend on its back and become a tablet. With respect to Android offerings on the other hand, the Yoga line has been designated as a slightly different type of product. Specifically, it involves a strong hinge that rotates around, acting as a stand or, in the case of last year’s Yoga Tablet 2, allows the device to double as a picture frame.

A new finding out of Ukraine has some interesting details on what is apparently the 8-inch variant of Lenovo’s Yoga Tablet 3. Specifically, product retailer Rozetka has -perhaps mistakenly- listed it prematurely. The specs are, to be quite frank, decidedly of a budget-friendly affair.

The device will be powered by a Quad-core 1.1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 SoC, and have just 1GB of RAM. The screen will be an IPS LCD with 1280X800 resolution. There will be 16GB of on-board storage with support for microSD. The camera, which apparently swivels, will be 8 megapixels. Rounding out the specs, the Yoga Tablet 3 will have a 6200mAh battery (which lasts an estimated 20 hours) and come with Android 5.1. Both Wi-Fi Only, and an LTE variant are listed. 

Rozetka

As some reports have mentioned, the battery capacity is actually smaller than the 8-inch Yoga Tablet 2 however the actual longevity has increased. This is no doubt a result of the decision to drop the display resolution from the current Full HD to 1280X800. The CPU has also gone from an Intel Atom Z3745 to the Snapdragon 210. Perhaps most surprising of all is the actual design of the product; while the Yoga Tablet 2 offered refinement and a more streamlined, perhaps sophisticated look to the original offering, the 3rd incarnation looks almost comically childish, especially given the giant Lenovo and Yoga logos that adorn the front and back sides.

Assuming these pictures are legitimate, it would be the first time Lenovo has sought to adopt a black color scheme for Android. Last year’s model was also available in black, but only in the Windows-variant editions. The hinge is a lighter shade, an almost grey pallet, and especially with the separated camera module, may not offer the same level of sophistication that previous models had in opting for a uniform color scheme.

Just what Lenovo is attempting with this product is unclear. While the Yoga Tablet series has never been about cutting edge specs, at least with last year’s model in particular, the jump to Full HD made the offering a worthwhile follow-up to the original. With this, Lenovo has taken a decidedly different approach to hardware. It’s possible the Tablet 2 was not well-received, or that consumer feedback reflected a greater interest in the battery while not particularly caring about the screen resolution or RAM.

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As the Yoga Tablet series typically comes in multiple size variants, there are likely to be others, though it remains to be seen as to what the specs for them might be. It’s possible Lenovo could still produce one mid-range (or even premium) model for this year. It remains to be seen as to when this product refresh will officially be announced, but it’s likely word will break in the next few weeks.

Provided this is indeed the Yoga Tablet 3, what are your thoughts on the specs and design? Would you consider this if the price is right? Let us know in the comment section.