Lenovo Moves Away From Alexa With New Android Tablets

Lenovo kicked off this year with a slew of new products. The company introduced Android tablets that allow users to dock the tablets and use them as Alexa-powered smart displays. It is now moving away from Alexa, introducing new devices that only come with Google Assistant. Lenovo still sells the Android tablets that come with Alexa, of course — so adding these new Google Assistant options is actually a really good move.

At IFA 2019, Lenovo is launching two new smart tablets: the Yoga Smart Tab and the Smart Tab M8. Both of which only come with Google Assistant.

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Succeeding Lenovo’s Yoga Tab 3 series, the new Yoga Smart Tab is somewhat of a premium Android tablet with Google Assistant. The device features a 10.1-inch FHD IPS display, with dual JBL Hi-Fi speakers optimized by Dolby Atmos that will be useful for playing music. The design itself is pretty premium since the device is built using metal and aluminium, giving it a premium soft-touch matte finish.

The device has a kickstand that lets you use it in four different modes, so you can use it as a regular handheld tablet, standing it up like a TV, laying it on a table, or hanging it somewhere using the hook. It also supports Google Assistant’s new Ambient Mode so you can use it as a digital photo frame, while also interacting with the Assistant using the 360-degree far-field microphone.

Lenovo is also launching the new Smart Tab M8, which comes with Google Assistant. The company’s Smart Tab M10, which came out earlier in the year, featured Alexa. The idea here is basically the same — it’s a regular handheld tablet that can be docked for a Smart Display experience with Google Assistant. The dock of the M8 does look a little less premium than the one on M10, though. The design is still pretty premium, though, thanks mostly to the full-metal design. The device itself is powered by a Quad-Core 2.0Ghz processor and features dual MEMS microphones for talking to the Assistant.

Lenovo’s Smart Tab M8 will be available in October for $119.99, while the Yoga Smart Tab will sell for $249.99 this month.

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  • jules_wombat

    05 September, 2019 - 2:56 pm

    <p>Interesting that not only is Android becoming the default client, but that Google Assistant now being recognised as the default AI assistant platform. I published my own DialogFlow assistant plugin a month ago. Got £200 x12 month Google cloud credits, so Google is supporting its developer base very well. </p>

  • obarthelemy

    05 September, 2019 - 3:00 pm

    <p>I've been buying Yoga android tablets for everyone until they seemingly discontinued them 2 yrs ago. People are delighted nwith the form factor which is a real delight for in sedentary tablet. I'll be getting a handful of those.</p>

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