Lenovo Tab P12 Paper (with matte display) review – Screen revolution within the mid-range tablet class?

Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .

Many customers would like their device to have a matte display: This means you can use a tablet outside with fewer reflections, and a smartphone wouldn't be as big a fingerprint magnet. For the longest time, this feature was reserved for professional devices which were in turn too expensive to be used as an everyday device or were barely usable. Furthermore, there is the question surrounding longevity, color accuracy and the white haze that covers a display with such a coating—ruining its brilliance.

Now, the first devices to use new nanotechnology are hitting the market, which supposedly sorts these problems while also keeping the price in check. Apple presented this technology on its new iPad Pros and Lenovo has followed suit with its large Tab P12 with a matte display (sometimes also called the Tab P12 Paper). The tablet is mostly identical to the Lenovo Tab P12 we tested. Its largest differences are its case color and—of course—the matte display.

The manufacturer demands a surcharge of US$50 for the non-reflective screen surface and at the moment, there aren't many other offers from online retailers to confirm that this surcharge is the standard.

Lenovo relies on its so-called "Sage" color for the large, matte-screened tablet's case, allowing it to stand out from the crowd as well as from the regular Tab P12. Its build quality is good and the tablet boasts great stability and barley perceptible material transitions. 

Now to come to the pivotal question: Has Lenovo simply applied a matte film onto the tablet's display? We can luckily give you the all-clear: It's actually a conventional display panel (still visible on the front cameras) that's been given a special treatment, so there's no need to worry about a film coming off or a noticeable edge. Instead, the glass is treated with silver nanoparticles, giving it a matte and slightly rough surface.

In terms of connectivity, nothing has changed: 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM are normal for the price class. You'll have to do without NFC but in turn, it features a magnetic mount for the Lenovo Tab Pen on the back and a docking port for a keyboard which can be purchased as an accessory.

Its microSD card accepts cards up to 1 TB in size but all-in-all, it isn't the fastest.

The Tab P12 continues to support WiFi 6 as its fastest WLAN standard. Our test using the Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000 router showed slightly larger data rate fluctuations than its sister model but in total, the Tab P12 with a matte display delivers very stable transfer rates between 700 and 900 MBit/s—meaning it can make use of a gigabit internet line quite well. The regular Tab P12 already didn't come with an LTE option but instead, you can make use of satellite navigation. 

Its software continues to be based on Android 13 and although an update to Android 14 is planned, it is now somewhat overdue. The manufacturer has additionally promised an update to Android 15 as well as four years of security patches starting from its release date.

Lenovo's operating system is called ZUI 15 and quite a few features have been adapted to make working on the tablet feel more productive. Included in this is a bar along the bottom edge which shows your frequently used apps—similar to the Windows taskbar. Unfortunately, when running some non-optimized apps, it sometimes covers part of the content. It also has split-screen support using multiple applications and apps can be opened, moved and resized in their own windows. However, this doesn't work with every third-party app.

The panel still only has a refresh rate of 60 Hz, so you shouldn't expect any improvements to how it reacts to inputs or how smooth the tablet feels to operate. The Tab P12 with the matte display can still be navigated reliably and it is by no means slow. 

The Lenovo Tab Pen Plus comes delivered with the device and on the manufacturer's website, you can purchase a bundle which includes the non-backlit keyboard with a touchpad that can be directly connected to the tablet. This transforms the device into a laptop replacement. Of course, Bluetooth keyboards of your choosing are also compatible. 

Good to know: The plastic tip of the pen can't scratch the display glass. Metallic objects, on the other hand, are much more likely to do so—but this isn't any different on shiny displays. 

The LTPS panel features a high resolution of 2,944 x 1,840 pixels, allowing for quite detailed depiction even on such a large display with a 12.7-inch diagonal. Unfortunately, the screen brightness we measured on the Tab P12 with the matte display was a lot lower in our test using a spectrophotometer compared to the shiny-screened Tab P12. In addition, it showed relatively poor brightness when compared to other devices, too.

But what is it like with light shining onto it, can the matte display truly show its strengths? We tested it using a powerful flashlight and observed that the technology doesn't just have advantages: In very bright light, such as in direct sunlight outside, the matte surface scatters light very strongly. Although the light source isn't reflected directly, a large part of the display is still unrecognizable. In this case, a glossy surface feels more dazzling due to its direct reflection, but a larger area of the image remains visible.

With relatively weak light sources—such as lamps indoors or at a window—the matte coating does well: Reflections are entirely eliminated and its picture quality is hardly affected. So even with a matte display, the Tab P12 remains a tablet for indoor use or for sitting in shady outdoor locations.

Colors appear vivid and thanks to the display's velvety texture, structures even feel more tangible than on shiny panels. We didn't measure any PWM flickering, so sensitive users should be able to use the tablet with no issues.

When it comes to color accuracy, the tablet achieved decent values, however, they are worse than those of its shiny-screened counterpart. Our spectrophotometer measured highly distorted saturation values in particular. Overall, a glossy tablet is therefore better suited for professional color assessment.

The MediaTek Dimensity 7050 is a mid-range SoC that ensured a mostly smooth system during our test. Although you shouldn't trust the tablet to run very complex apps and several modern benchmarks didn't run due to its lack of graphics interfaces, it should still be well-equipped for everyday use as well as gaming with medium requirements.

However, the originally more expensive OnePlus Pad has since dropped significantly in price and offers even more power. The OnePlus tablet is also significantly faster than our test device when it comes to storage, but overall, data transfers are similarly fast on the Lenovo Tab P12 Paper thanks to its UFS 2.2 flash, with loading times not being too long.

Its large case is well suited to dissipating the heat generated by the device's SoC and we measured a maximum temperature rise of only 37.4 °C after prolonged load. This should provide a certain temperature buffer even in hot environments before the system overheats. The device's 3DMark stress test results show that the SoC isn't throttled after prolonged load.

The large tablet comes with four speakers, which are also Dolby Atmos enabled, and provide quite a powerful sound—for a tablet. You shouldn't expect too much real bass, but their overall sound is well balanced and it's fun to listen to your favorite music on this device.

Of course, it sounds even better with headphones, which can be connected via the USB-C port or Bluetooth. Its selection of Bluetooth codecs is limited to SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX and aptX HD.

Thanks to its 10,200 mAh battery, the Tab P12 with the matte display should technically be perfect for ensuring very long runtimes. We noted a few minutes more than the model with a glossy display during our WLAN test, but its overall performance of 11:32 hours is unfortunately poor.

The tablet can be charged at a maximum of 30 watts but it only comes with a 20-watt power, meaning it takes over 2:30 hours to charge it fully.

At the moment, the version of the Tab P12 with the matte display is not yet available in the United States. It will be available to purchase via Lenovo's online store soon, where you can currently purchase the regular version of the tablet for US$329.99.

Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here .