The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 is happening in Las Vegas this week, and it’s where all the brands show off the latest in technology, including tablets. But with everything that happens over the course of a few days, it is hard to keep up with all of the announcements from the likes of TCL, Lenovo, and more.
To make it easier for you, we have compiled a list of the best tablets announced so far at CES 2023.
TCL Nxtpaper 12 Pro
This next-generation tablet from TCL offers a unique and immersive display for users. The TCL Nxtpaper 12 Pro features a 12.2-inch 2K screen that uses upgraded Nxtpaper display technology, and it has a premium, bezel-less design, so you get the most out of the display. For the uninitiated, the Nxtpaper display technology is similar to an LCD display, but TCL has added special layers on top that make it look and feel like paper versus a traditional display. It’s also much better at limiting unwanted fingerprint smudges.
The Nxtpaper 12 Pro uses a 3:2 aspect ratio instead of the usual 16:9, so you get 18% more content than the competition. TCL also includes a low-latency E-Pen that can sense over 8,192 pressure levels, making activities like story-writing, note-taking, and even sketching feel incredibly natural and precise — like a traditional pen on paper.
TCL’s Nxtpaper 12 Pro is super lightweight and slim, clocking in at less than 600 grams. This is a perfect tablet for taking with you on the go, whether you want to watch a movie or even be productive. And for those who want to continue working, the Nxtpaper 12 Pro can easily go into a split-screen mode for note-taking or a presentation with PC mode.
There’s a massive 8,000 mAh battery packed inside the Nxtpaper 12 Pro, and it supports reverse wireless charging for other devices. The TCL Nxtpaper 12 Pro is now available at $499, and a 5G version will also be made available later, starting at $549.
Lenovo Tab Extreme
The Lenovo Tab Extreme is the most powerful tablet from Lenovo yet. Featuring a 14.5-inch 3K OLED display with DCI-P3 color gamut with a 1M:1 contrast ratio and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, it’s like a portable home theater that goes where you go.
And it’s not just the visuals that look amazing; The sound is top-notch with Dolby Atmos support and eight high-performance JBL 4-channel speakers that are evenly split between woofers and tweeters for a dynamic, spatial audio experience.
Packed inside the Lenovo Tab Extreme is a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 octa-core processor, and you get 12 hours of battery life.
Lenovo designed the Tab Extreme with the rise of hybrid lifestyles in mind. You can use the Tab Extreme with the magnetic dual-mode stand to put the tablet in either vertical or horizontal orientation, giving it the flexibility to adapt to whatever viewing angle you need it for at the moment. You can also get the separately sold dual-hinge keyboard to mount the tablet and tilt it to your preferred viewing angle — the Tab Extreme floats and emulates a traditional laptop or desktop PC. And, yes, it looks a lot like an iPad Pro.
Features like adaptive audio and visual capture keep you in the center of the frame during video calls, filter out environmental noise, and more, making the Tab Extreme one of the most powerful Android tablets around.
Software-side, the Tab Extreme features Android 13 with Lenovo’s latest user interface software. You can multitask with up to four apps simultaneously through split-screen and up to 10 apps through floating windows. The Tab Extreme also supports sketching and control panel input with users’ PCs through USB-C, as well as Lenovo Freestyle for file sharing.
Lenovo Smart Paper
On the other end of the spectrum, Lenovo also introduced its evolved entry in the digital notepad space, the Lenovo Smart Paper. This slim and lightweight tablet features a 10.3-inch anti-glare e-ink touch display housed in an all-metal casing. With the Smart Paper, you get the natural pen-on-paper feeling but with smart features to optimize productivity.
Lenovo Smart Paper also includes an active, battery-less stylus pen that is stored within the tablet case itself. Since this stylus has no battery, it never has to be charged, and it has 23-millisecond latency for a fluid and lag-free writing experience. There are nine different pen settings, including ballpoint, pencil (both wooden and mechanical), marker, and even calligraphy if you’re so inclined. The stylus has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt detection, and there are 74 notepad templates — this is truly “smart paper.”
Some of the other smart features of the Lenovo Smart Paper include two integrated microphones, so you can do voice recordings with your note-taking. As you record and take notes, you can tap on specific notes to hear the audio recorded at that moment for context, or just play the entire recording again. It’s perfect for classroom lectures and meetings.
The Lenovo Smart Paper includes 50GB of storage, which is enough for over 50,000 note pages. These pages can also be deleted and moved around, organized into folders, and everything is searchable with keyword search, as handwriting is easily converted into text. There is also a Lenovo Smart Paper app on Android, iOS, and Windows devices, so all of your Lenovo Smart Paper notes are synced, backed up, and accessible on all of your devices.
TCL Tab 8 LE
Those who are in the market for a decent tablet on a budget can look forward to the TCL Tab 8 LE. This super-compact tablet has a featherweight design, allowing you to fit it into your coat pocket or a small bag. The TCL Tab 8 LE has an 8-inch HD display with a quad-core processor and LTE connectivity, so you can stay productive no matter where you may be.
The 4,080mAh battery should also last all day, and you get 5MP front and rear cameras that are great for recording simple videos while you’re on vacation or if you need to take a work call. The dual stereo speakers will also deliver immersive sound for those moments when you want to wind down and catch a movie before bed. While the TCL Tab 8 LE only has 32GB of internal storage, you can expand the storage with microSD card support up to 512GB.
TCL prototype with super-slim bezels
TCL also had a demo unit at its booth at CES 2023 showing off a prototype with some of the slimmest bezels you’ve ever seen on a tablet. In fact, TCL claims that this tablet has a 94% screen-to-body ratio, which is pretty much unheard of at this point in the tablet market.
TCL is really pushing the boundaries with this prototype, which features a 14-inch OLED display with a 94% screen-to-body ratio and 3840 x 2400 pixel resolution. If you look at the math, that’s above 4K resolution on a tablet (that’s not to mention an impressive 120Hz refresh rate).
Again, this is only a concept, and it’s unclear whether TCL plans to mass produce this for the consumer market. Some obstacles that TCL faces, if it does, are cost and user experience when actually using such a large, bezel-less display. From the prototype unit, it doesn’t appear to have a front-facing camera anywhere, which may also suggest an in-screen sensor as a possibility.
Samsung Flex Slidable Solo and Flex Slidable Duet
Samsung showed off its Flex Hybrid tech on the CES 2023 show floor, including two concepts for a large-screen slidable display: the Flex Slidable Solo and Flex Slidable Duet. With the Solo, the screen can expand out further in one direction. The Duet allows the display to be expanded out in both directions. When this slidable display is not expanded in either direction, it is between 13 to 14 inches. When you expand it, however, either on the Solo or Duet, it can expand all the way out to 17.3 inches.
Again, these were just concepts with the purpose of showing how the slidable part of the Flex Hybrid displays work. It’s unclear if Samsung will be mass-producing these for consumers in the future.
Lots more to see at CES 2023
CES is always jam-packed with a lot of cool new innovative tech, and it’s definitely hard to catch every single thing that is announced. So far, these are the best new tablets that we should expect later this year.
We’ve also highlighted the best smartwatches of CES 2023, the most impressive smartphones, and the most unusual mobile gadgets of the show.
