Lenovo has two new Android tablets w/ Google Assistant ‘Ambient Mode’ from $119

Ben Schoon | Sep 5 2019 - 11:30 am PT

lenovo smart tab m8 tablet google assistant ambient mode

Earlier this year, Lenovo debuted an Android tablet that doubled as an Alexa smart display. Now Lenovo is giving a pair of its Android tablets the same treatment, this time with Google Assistant Ambient Mode and prices starting at $119.

If you don’t recall the Lenovo Smart Tab, it’s a pretty standard Android tablet from the company. However, with an added dock and some software tricks, it turned into a fully functional Amazon Alexa smart display. It was a clever way to make a tablet more useful.

Today, Lenovo is launching the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab and Lenovo Smart Tab M8. On both of these Android tablets, Lenovo ditches Alexa in exchange for Google Assistant.

The Lenovo Smart Tab M8 is the most exciting of these two options. It offers up a traditional tablet form factor with an 8-inch HD display, Android Pie, and even optional LTE. It runs on a MediaTek A22 processor that is paired with 2 GB of RAM and up to 32 GB of storage. It’s a pretty middling tablet, but Google Assistant gives it some powerful functionality.

With a “Smart Charging Station” included in the box, you can set up the Tab M8 as a Google Assistant smart display with home control, music, and more. It won’t support every feature that the Google Nest Hub does and doesn’t have the same interface either, but a lot of the same functionality will work.

Lenovo Smart Tab M8

For a more premium tablet, the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab offers a 10.1-inch FHD display, USB-C, 8 MP/5 MP cameras, a Snapdragon 439 chipset, 3 GB or 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB or 64 GB of storage, and up to 10 hours of battery life, too. It also features dual speakers powered by JBL and a unique design that has an integrated kickstand.

The Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab also includes the same Google Assistant Ambient Mode as the Tab M8, but without the included docking station. It still offers far-field microphones, though, which means it will also work as a smart display.

Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab

Pricing for the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab starts at $249 with availability starting this month. The Lenovo Smart Tab M8 (with Google Assistant), on the other hand, costs $119. That option will be available in October alongside the company’s new Google Assistant Smart Display.