ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Blackview Tab 18 Android tablet is at the moment accessible for $299.
- This nice 12-inch Android pill has all of it — large show, highly effective processor, plenty of RAM, and loads of energy to deal with all the pieces that the common consumer wants.
- I simply want the display could possibly be a little bit brighter to be used in direct sunshine.
I like my iPad Pro, however Apple’s 12.9-inch behemoth will not be low-cost. Of us searching for a less expensive however comparably sized various have to show to Android.
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Sadly, I’ve discovered most large form-factor Android tablets to be cumbersome and cumbersome. So, it is refreshing to seek out one thing finally that is glossy, pleasantly designed, and a pleasure to carry — even for prolonged intervals.
The Blackview Tab 18 ticks all these packing containers and extra.
Blackview Tab 18 tech specs
- Show: 12-inch 2.4K, FHD+ IPS, 1200 x 2000 decision, 86.6% screen-to-body ratio
- CPU: Octa-core MediaTek Helio G99
- RAM: 12GB LPDDR4X (12GB RAM growth)
- ROM: 256GB UFS2.1
- Max microSD/TF Card Capability: As much as 1TB
- OS: DokeOS_P 4.0 (primarily based on Android 13)
- Card Slot: Twin hybrid card slots; 1 x SIM +1 TF or 2 x SIM
- Cameras: 8-megapixel Samsung entrance digital camera, 16-megapixel SK Hynix rear digital camera
- Battery: 8800mAh supporting 33W quick cost
- Speaker: Quad Harman Kardon encompass sound audio system
- Colour: Turquoise Inexperienced, Glacier Blue, House Gray
- Dimension: 277.6 x 173.2 x 7.9mm
- Weight: 632g (1.4 lb)
Here is the very first thing I observed about this pill: How skinny and light-weight it feels within the hand.
At 0.3-inch/7.9mm skinny and weighing 1.4lb/632g, this system is a bit thicker and barely lighter than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, however for a finances Android pill, it is a breath of contemporary air to not be holding a pill that feels prefer it’s fabricated from concrete.
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Certain, I would have this pill in a case to guard it from accidents as a consequence of carelessness and gravity, making it simply as cumbersome as my iPad Professional, nevertheless it’s good to see a thin-and-light Android pill.
The Tab 18 is comfy to carry for prolonged intervals.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
It is also a wonderful pill, glossy and clean, with the glass and metallic flowing into one another to create one thing that is each gorgeous to have a look at and sensible to make use of. The House Grey end on my Tab 18 was flawless, and did job of resisting scratches, put on, and even fingerprints.
Talking of fingerprints, the Tab 18 options each a fingerprint reader and face recognition biometrics, supplying you with choices for ease of logging into the pill.
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The 12-inch show can be a breath of contemporary air. It is sufficiently big to get actual work carried out. It is sharp sufficient to make prolonged studying or video viewing classes comfy. And it is brilliant sufficient to be viewable below a broad vary of situations. The contact is sweet and responsive, resulting in a really pure really feel. The TÜV-certified low-blue-light rating is a pleasant contact for many who are involved that these wavelengths are disturbing their sleep patterns.
The show is sufficiently big to get actual work carried out.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
After which there are these quad Harman Kardon encompass sound audio system, which create an immersive soundscape, taking you out of the world round you and dropping you into no matter sport or film — or enterprise assembly — you are listening to. I am no audiophile — I grew up on poor high quality blown-out audio system and headphones with that sweaty sponge — however to my ears the sound output from this pill was improbable irrespective of whether or not I used to be watching Netflix, taking part in a sport, listening to my burgeoning backlog of audiobooks from Audible, or on a voice name.
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The 8,000mAh battery is nice for about 10 hours of net shopping and common duties like e mail and enhancing paperwork, with gaming and watching movies shaving an hour or so off of this runtime, which isn’t unhealthy in any respect. That is really nice real-world runtime from a finances 12-inch pill.
Combining the large battery with the 33W quick charging functionality that may take the battery from zero to 50% in about an hour, I did not discover myself affected by battery nervousness in any respect. I’ve seen a lot worse efficiency from {hardware} that is a lot pricier than this.
As for thermal administration, I would totally anticipated this pill to get heat and toasty below heavy load, and whereas it did get heat when the going bought powerful, the thermal conductivity system that Blackview has constructed into this method, that includes over 18.6 sq. inches/12,000mm of warmth dissipation space, resulted in a cool consumer expertise throughout which I by no means noticed the pill exceed 104°F/40°C.
There’s nothing extra disquieting than attempting to make use of a pill that slowly goes from heat to hotter to “yikes, is that this factor going to burn me?” I pushed the Tab 18 as laborious as I may for prolonged intervals, and at no level did it get to some extent the place I felt that it was getting scorching.
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If you happen to go away your expectations of a blow-your-hair-back, top-level performing pill on the door, you then’re not going to be disenchanted with the Blackview. The octa-core processor and 12 gigabytes of built-in RAM provide a slick consumer expertise.
The Tab 18 cannot sustain with high-end {hardware}, nevertheless it’s greater than sufficient for many customers.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The cameras on this unit are acceptable at greatest, good in comparison with even the very best cameras from just a few years in the past however falling in need of all of the computational wizardry that higher-end units carry out on images. On the excessive ends of images — low mild or full-sun daylight – the cameras wrestle. However for regular captures in regular situations, they’re good for these eager to trawl for likes on social media, and in addition for capturing images for reviews and different work or school-related actions.
Once more, keep in mind the value right here. $299. Not that way back you could not have dreamt of a 12-inch pill for something near this worth. Now you are getting such a pill with a robust processor, a great deal of RAM, luggage of storage, and first rate cameras for $140 more than Apple charges for a 3-meter Thunderbolt 4 cable.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Blackview Tab 18 is a good pill, splendid for work, faculty, or if you need a pill for the lounge or workshop. I’ve put this system via its paces and I’ve no complaints. The value makes this an unmissable deal so long as you are keen to forgo an Apple or Samsung brand emblazoned on the again. Finally, if you need extra energy and efficiency — energy and efficiency that the majority customers by no means actually make the most of — then you’ll have to dig deeper and pay extra. If you need a pill and never an ego booster, the Tab 18 is properly value a glance.