I’m a Diehard Apple Fan, but This July 4th Offer on the Lenovo Tab Plus Has Me Seriously Reconsidering My iPad Obsession

I’ve been part of the Apple ecosystem for close to 20 years — since first buying a MacBook in 2006 and getting a free iPod (remember those?) with my purchase. While these days I do most of my work on a much newer MacBook, I’ve used an older iPad for travel for a number of years. My teenage son is after a new tablet for himself, and though my instinct is to go back to Apple, this Fourth of July offer on the Lenovo Tab Plus has me seriously considering snapping one up.

Available directly through Lenovo, the Lenovo Tab Plus is down to $220, a $130 discount on the usual price. For that you’ll get 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage, great picture quality and excellent sound thanks to built-in JBL speakers.

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It turns out I’m not the only Apple devotee with a penchant for Android tablets. Cesar Cadenas, a writer over at CNET’s sibling site ZDNet, wrote a favorable review of the Lenovo Tab Plus. Among his many praises, he particularly loved the JBL eight-speaker system, which packs a surprising punch. As someone who usually feels the need for an external speaker or headphones with my iPad, I love the idea of decent sound quality built in.

The Lenovo Tab Plus features an 11.5-inch display, and weighs in at 1.4 pounds. That’s pretty lightweight, which makes it ideal for travel. The other tempting feature, beyond that speaker setup, is the integrated kickstand for easy viewing. Ultimately, this device is made for streaming movies, gaming and maybe a bit of e-reading and light internet surfing. As a secondary device to a laptop, it makes a lot of sense. Especially for the teen who keeps borrowing my tablet.

You’ll also get a MediaTek Helio G99 processor and an Android 14 operating system, which can be upgraded to Android 16. It’s capable of a 1TB of expandable storage capacity if you choose.

Not convinced? Check out CNET’s roundup of the best Fourth of July Apple deals right now. And be sure to browse through some of our other roundups for round the clock bargain updates, including items under $25, top deals from Amazon competitors like Best Buy, Walmart and Home Depot, and more.

Why this deal matters

The Lenovo Pad Plus offers an elevated tablet experience with a decent-sized screen at an already competitive price of $350. With that price dropped down by more than $100, it places this Android tablet firmly in the running, especially if you’re on the hunt for a device for a student.