What makes a smart tablet smart? In the Lenovo YOGA Smart TABlet, it’s the built-in stand, Google Assistant, and Google Photos slideshow.
Six years ago, my favorite tablet at home was the Lenovo YOGA Tablet. It was the bomb. Why?
Because it had a built-in stand. Before this tablet, I used my iPad for everything.
I really underestimated how something as simple as a stand would revolutionalize my tablet use. But it did.
Fast forward to 2020 and Lenovo has reinvigorated the Yoga tablet with a JBL stereo speaker bar and a built-in Google Assistant.
They call it the YOGA Smart TABlet with Google Assistant.
As an avid Google Assistant user, the Yoga Smart TABlet with Google Assistant is right up my alley.
There are so many things you can do with Google Assistant!
Virtual voice assistants are growing in popularity.
A study by Juniper Research forecasts that people will interact with voice assistants by 2020 on over 8.4 billion devices. That’s a lot of assistance!
YOGA Smart TABlet
The YOGA Smart TABlet with Google Assistant is a nice looking tablet with a dark grey aluminum chassis.
The metallic stand is a great kickstand to hold the tablet up. But the stand can do even more.
You can stand it on a desk, counter, or even your stomach!
The hinge on the stand has two locking positions.
One resides at an 80-degree angle and the other is around a 180-degree angle. It depends upon your preference.
However, I have found that you can adjust these angles by lightly pressing down on the tablet, getting it just right.
You can change the orientation of the screen so the stand props up the tablet when laying down on a table.
The YOGA Smart TABlet stand has a hole in it so you can hang the tablet on a nail or hook. So many options.
Google Assistant Built-In
If you’ve read much on our website, you’ll know that I am a big Google Assistant fan.
I’ve tried Siri and Alexa and none of them are as accurate or helpful in the requests I’ve given them.
Google Assistant by far is most useful, in my opinion.
You can connect your Google Assistants together too, providing a group of speakers to play music through or use them as an intercom to talk with family members.
With the YOGA Smart TABlet’s 3 built-in microphones, Google Assistant can hear your commands from across the home.
YOGA Smart TABlet with Google Assistant Uses:
Kitchen
- Watching videos
- Listening to music
- Cooking recipes
- Adding items to your shopping list through Google Assistant
- Checking the weather
- Reminders from your calendar
- Setting cooking timers – even multiple ones at one time
- Asking Google questions like substitutions in recipes
- Looking up recipes on your Pinterest account
- Learning new skills online through videos
- Show pictures from your Google Photos account as a photo frame
Bedroom
- Using as an alarm clock
- Helpful with meditation
- Listening to music
- Checking the weather
- Checking your schedule
- Looking over your emails
- Use for your Kindle reader – don’t need to hold it
- Watch movies
- Play game apps (Ticket to Ride and SongPop are some of my fave’s)
- Checking the news
- Asking Google Assistant to remind you to do things later
- Adding items to your calendar/to-do list
Office
- Using timers to help you organize your time
- Pulling up the calculator to figure out quick math
- Asking Google Assistant questions to help you with your work
- Checking your calendar
- Using it for Zoom or other video calls
- Asking what your current stock prices are
- Asking Google Assistant to remind you to do things later
- Adding items to your calendar/to-do list
Family Room
- If you connect it with Google Chromecast you can ask Google Assistant to turn on your TV
- Mirror videos/programs from your phone onto your TV through Chromecast or HDMI cable
- Watching movies
- Adjusting any smart home devices you connected through the Google Home app
- In some cases, you can download TV brand apps to control your TV and ROKU set-top streaming device
- Listening to music
- Asking Google to turn down your smart home connected lights or thermostat
- Show pictures from your Google Photos account as a photo frame
Outside
- Playing music while in the pool or getting some sun
- Watching a movie at night while sitting in the spa or sitting outside
- Perfect for camping! Watch movies, listen to music, play app games
- Watch how-to videos when gardening, building things, etc.
- Listening to music
- Asking Google Assistant to help you with your project details
Lenovo YOGA Smart Tab with Google Assistant
FEATURES:
- Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 439 processor
- 10.1″ FHD (1920 x 1200) multi-touch screen
- 4GB LPDDR3 memory
- 64GB hard drive
- Android Pie™ operating system
- Front camera is 8MP Autofocus
- Rear camera is 5MP Fixed-focus
- 7000mAh battery – can last for up to 10 hours of video playback
- 2 x 2W JBL® speakers withDolby Atmos®
- Sturdy metal stand
- 3 x digital microphones to hear Google Assistant commands from across the room
- The Google Assistant’s Ambient Mode – can show a clock or a slideshow of your Google Photos
- Uses the latest USB Type-C 2.0 cable
- Includes a 3.5 mm Headphone/mic combo
- Has a microSD card slot (up to 256GB) for storage
- Settings include an option to reduce harmful blue light which can cause eyestrain
PROS:
- The kickstand is immensely helpful, you’ll be surprised how often you use it
- The battery lasts for days
- It uses the latest USB-C port for faster charging
- A great supplement to your computer to quickly access information and Google Assistant
- Great for Zoom or Google Meet – is bigger than your phone and is portable – no need to be tied to a PC for video calls
- Great looking HD display, very crisp
- Movies and videos sound great with the JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos®
- The MicroSD card slot allows you to add up to a 256 GB card to store more movies, music, and files
- Can turn into a picture frame of your favorite Google Photos when not in use
- Lenovo included a kids mode which restricts apps and time allowed for kids
- You have the option to set up face recognition to access the tablet
- The selfie front-facing camera is better than I thought it would be. Makes it easy to take pics with its kickstand, kind of like a photo booth
CONS:
- The cameras are better than I thought they’d be but they are not the best in low light situations
- Sometimes the tablet freezes and it needs to be rebooted
- Kickstand doesn’t work in portrait mode
The YOGA Smart TABlet with Google Assistant is available from Lenovo for $249.99 with free shipping.
A Mom’s Perspective
I use the YOGA Smart TABlet with Google Assistant every day. From checking emails, stocks, and the news in the morning. To help me search the Internet
and answer questions while working during the day.
And at night, I use it for my recipes, most of which I get from my Pinterest boards.
I absolutely love using the Smart Tab Yoga for video calls, the built-in stand makes it so handy.
I even use it with my work, as in the case of reviewing the Tori Explorer Pack.
The YOGA Smart TABlet worked great holding itself up so I could play games on the tablet using the tori toys virtually.
It works great too for exercise. My daughter is following a YouTube exercising routine. She has been using her phone.
But the YOGA Smart TABlet has a much bigger screen and it stands up on its own!
With plenty of HD space, a fast process, decent memory, great JBL speakers, a crisp HD multitouch display, built-in Google Assistant, and the ever-so-helpful kickstand, you’ll find it hard to be separated from the YOGA Smart TABlet for very long.
*I was given a Lenovo YOGA Smart TABlet with the Google Assistant for purposes of review. All opinions are my own.
