While the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic were largely to blame for an unprecedented decline in global smartphone shipments last year, the tablet market actually thrived in 2020 as more and more people found themselves in need of affordable devices capable of performing both home entertainment and work tasks.
Apart from Apple and Samsung, which happen to be the world’s largest tablet vendors, Lenovo had a whole lot to gain in the industry, boosting its sales numbers quarter after quarter (into 2021) on the back of a vast and diverse product portfolio.
Said portfolio is likely to expand in the near future with a somewhat familiar model that could however appeal to certain audiences in a totally unique way. If Google Play Console records discovered by MySmartPrice are to be trusted (which is almost surely the case), the first Moto-branded slate in a long time is right around the corner.
Unlike the Razr and Defy brands, it doesn’t look like the Xoom name will be revived (at least for the time being). More importantly, the Moto Tab G20 arguably doesn’t have what it takes to crack our list of the best tablets money can buy in 2021, although its commercial success (especially in markets like the US) may depend on exactly how much money you’ll need to pay for the low to mid-end 8-incher.
The newest Lenovo Tab M8 generation is not up for grabs yet, in case you’re wondering, but an older model with 3GB RAM and a Full HD display can be purchased at a measly $160 stateside.
That virtually guarantees the Moto Tab G20 will compete directly against the likes of Amazon’s ultra-affordable Fires, which could be a decent first step towards something bigger. After all, Motorola has made great progress in the US smartphone market of late thanks to solid mid-rangers in addition to dirt-cheap devices, which is what one would expect the brand to do in the tablet landscape as well.
Keep in mind that Motorola is far from the only major company preparing its tablet market comeback, with the Nokia T20 likely to target the sub-$200 price bracket too before long and the recently unveiled Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 and Mi Pad 5 Pro offering much better specifications for not a whole lot more dough, at least in China.
