Which Lenovo Tablet Has the Best Battery Life?
Lenovo’s wide selection of tablet computers emphasizes portability, reliability and best of all, long battery life. How long? Keep reading.
The Lenovo tablets with the best battery life are in our versatile Yoga tablet series: you can keep working (or streaming, or playing games) for up to 20 hours* straight, or leave the system in Standby mode for two weeks -- sometimes much longer -- before recharging.
Impressive battery life extends to our other Lenovo tablets, as well. Models in both our ThinkPad and Lenovo tablet lines boast up to 15 hours* of unplugged usage time (estimates differ between Windows tablets and Android tablets). Many models also offer RapidCharge technology that can restore your battery to 50% power or greater in substantially less than an hour – even while you keep working.
All published battery life projections for Lenovo tablets are estimates based on typical tablet activities. Actual performance on specific tasks will vary based on your system settings, usage patterns, and other factors. The figures shown are based on testing with MobileMark 2014.
What types of batteries are used in tablets?
As a leader in tablet ingenuity, Lenovo builds its tablet PCs to run on Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for optimum charging life. Li-ion batteries are the go-to power sources for portable computers and tablets because of their lightweight design and reliability.
Prior to Li-ion batteries, most chargeable electronics used nickel-cadmium (NiCad) or nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries that suffered from the so-called “memory effect,” which forced you to drain batteries completely in order to recharge them to their original capacity. Today’s Li-ion batteries lose only about five percent of their charge each month compared to a 20 percent loss per month for NiMH batteries, and they are largely free of the memory effect. Additionally, Li-ion batteries consist of non-toxic metals that can be recycled, making them a more environmentally friendly option.
What are some tips to save your tablet battery life?
Tablets are portable, powerful and convenient, but they depend on batteries that – by their nature – will eventually run out of charge, sometimes (if you’re not paying attention) at the worst possible time. Fortunately, there are some settings and usage habits that can help conserve your tablet’s battery life:
- Start by lowering your tablet screen’s brightness setting to a dimmer but still comfortable level. You can usually see everything clearly at half of the potential brightness or less. Full brightness taxes your battery and usually isn’t necessary for viewing.
- Turn off your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and/or cellular services when you know you won’t need them or are at a location where the necessary signals will be too weak. Even when these services are not in active use, tablets can consume battery power searching for and maintaining the connections.
- Close apps and programs when you’re not using them. Tablets are good at multitasking, but the process wastes battery life if you’re not actively using every tool and function you’ve got open. In particular, pay attention to apps that rely on GPS or involve frequent push notifications, both of which can shorten battery life.
- Occasionally, use your tablet until the battery is almost completely drained, then re-charge it. Although new Li-ion batteries are not as susceptible as older models to the “memory effect” (see above), it is still believed that a full discharge/recharge cycle – once in a while, versus every time – can have positive effects on long-term battery life.
Does long battery life mean that my tablet will be heavier?
Tablet users want extended battery life without sacrificing convenience and portability. Fortunately, long battery life doesn’t necessarily mean heavier devices.
Manufacturers go to great lengths to extend unplugged times without adding extra weight. Advances in battery design (see above) have helped substantially. Plus, the latest tablet processors demand less power than earlier CPUs, making it easier to build tablets that are high performing, lightweight and long-lasting.
Over the years, various reviewers have noted that Lenovo tablets, particularly the Yoga Series (including the innovative Yoga Book), have some of the longest battery life projections of any tablets on the market. Yet even with their extended unplugged times, many Lenovo tablets still weigh less than 1 lb.
