The TCL Tab Pro 5G for Verizon is a near facsimile of the TabMax tablet that it sells abroad, but with a few important changes. Most notably, the Tab Pro supports millimeter-wave 5G, for the fastest network speeds on Verizon. And at $399.99, it’s the most affordable mmWave tablet on the market. Long battery and a vivid display make it a good companion for media consumption, but the tablet lacks the power and companion accessories needed to replace a laptop. In our minds, this partially defeats the purpose of a slate that stakes its claim on keeping you connected wherever Wi-Fi isn’t available. Ultimately, you can get a lot more power and versatility with Apple’s base model iPad (starting at $329), but built-in cellular connectivity tops out at 4G unless you spring for a mini or Pro model. Or if you’re willing to use Wi-Fi or hotspot your phone, you can save a bundle on the otherwise comparable Lenovo Tab P11 Plus, which starts at $259.99.
Good for Media
The Tab Pro 5G measures 9.9 by 6.2 by 0.3 inches (HWD). At 17 ounces, it’s a little heavy for reading in bed, but it’s the perfect weight for using when seated.
The front sports a 10.36-inch, 2,000-by-1,200-pixel LCD with medium-sized bezels. It’s not an OLED panel, but it looks crisp and vivid, with inky blacks and excellent viewing angles. TCL’s Nxtvision screen technology upscales SD content, and powers a Reading mode that converts the display to grayscale and an Eye Comfort mode that minimizes eye fatigue. Outdoor mode makes the screen a little too dim to use in direct sunlight, however.
The black plastic back panel houses a small camera module in the upper left corner. It has a texture that feels similar to the grooves on a record (but accentuated), and even makes a similar sound when you run your fingernails over it; it’s oddly soothing. This texture adds a bit of grip and helps eliminate the smudges and scratches that quickly accumulate on tablets with glossy plastic shells.
A power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor and a speaker sit on the top edge of the tablet when you hold it a vertical position. The fingerprint sensor is fast and accurate, but pressing the power button is harder than it should be because it’s flush with the chassis.
A USB-C charging port and speaker are on the bottom. The left edge includes a set of pogo pins that are presumably for a keyboard accessory, but unlike TCL’s TabMax, the Tab Pro isn’t offered with an optional keyboard (the T Pen stylus isn’t available stateside either). The volume rocker sits at the top of the left edge, while a USB port and microSD slot are at the bottom. The placement of the volume rocker makes it difficult to reach if you’re holding the tablet with one hand, but it clicks satisfyingly.
In landscape mode, the speakers create an immersive soundstage. The volume maxes out at 92dB and is loud enough to fill a room. Audio quality is better here than on the iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. The timbre is a little brassy and the mids take center stage. Upper and lower frequencies sound a little thin, but the speakers are more than adequate for Netflix binges. That said, they definitely don’t offer the same quality sound you’ll find on the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus, which has some of the best audio we’ve heard on a tablet.
Dual-band Wi-Fi is onboard, as is Bluetooth 5.0 for wearable connectivity. You won’t find a headphone jack on the tablet, but TCL includes a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter in the box for connecting wired headphones.
Full-On 5G
Although it’s easy to find an affordable 5G phone, 5G isn’t as prevalent on tablets. As a Verizon exclusive, the Tab Pro is optimized for the carrier’s LTE, sub-6GHz, and mmWave networks. LTE band support for other US and international carriers is limited if you choose to unlock the tablet.
We tested the TCL Tab Pro on Verizon’s mmWave network in Chicago and recorded solid speeds averaging 480Mbps down and 64Mbps up. That said, an Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max averaged 1.4Gbps down and 101Mbps down in the same location.
While we can partially attribute this discrepancy to network conditions and other uncontrollable variables, we should note that the tablet doesn’t use the same 5G modem as flagship phones. The Tab Pro 5G has a Snapdragon X51 modem with 200MHz of mmWave bandwidth on a single carrier, while the Snapdragon X60 (common on flagship phones) supports up to eight carriers with 800MHz of mmWave bandwidth. The difference between the two is substantial, so we wouldn’t expect them to produce similar results.
No Heavy Lifting
The TCL Tab Pro 5G runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G chipset and 4GB of RAM. The 64GB model we tested had about 40GB of free space available out of the box. You can reclaim about 2GB worth of space if you remove Verizon’s bloatware, which is preloaded in spades. If you start to run short on space, you can add up to 1TB of storage via the microSD card slot.
The tablet performs fine for everyday tasks. Apps open quickly and transitions between screens are smooth. We didn’t encounter any problems when we swiped between multiple apps, nor did we notice any caching until we opened more than a dozen Chrome tabs.
Gaming performance is a mixed bag, but if you’re a casual gamer who plays Bejeweled on your morning commute, the Tab Pro 5G is up to the task. We played Alto’s Odyssey for an hour without any lag or skipped frames. Genshin Impact, on the other hand, was a no-go; the app crashed twice and we experienced constant lag during an hour of gameplay. If gaming is important to you, the entry-level iPad offers a lot more power.
Benchmarks underscore our findings. On Geekbench 5, a suite of tests that quantify raw computing power, the Tab Pro 5G scored 521 single-core (SC) and 1,782 multi-core (MC)—exactly what we expect for a tablet with a Snapdragon 480 5G SoC. For comparison, the iPad scored 1,331 SC and 3,516 MC, indicating much stronger performance all around.
A beefy 8,000mAh battery should provide enough juice to get most people through a full day of use. In our battery drain test, in which we stream HD video over Wi-Fi at full brightness, the Tab Pro 5G lasted 9 hours and 1 minute before shutting down. An 18W power adapter comes in the box, and the tablet supports reverse charging at up to 5W.
The Tab Pro’s 13MP camera performs well in sufficient light; it’s not going to replace your smartphone camera, but it’s fine for quick reference shots and document scans.
The 8MP front-facing camera, meanwhile, is excellent for video calls. We tested the camera throughout the day and were impressed by its crisp foreground detail and color accuracy.
Android 11 Now, Android 12 Soon
The TCL Tab Pro 5G ships with a no-frills version of Android 11. Yes, Verizon adds in a suite of preloaded apps, but otherwise, the OS is essentially stock Android with a few thoughtful tweaks.
For example, TCL adds a floating window mode that allows you to easily swipe apps on and off the screen for quick multitasking. You can also open a private screen on the tablet that requires your passcode or fingerprint by holding two fingers on the screen and pushing upward for two seconds. As mentioned, TCL’s Nxtvision technology lets you adjust the display for your current task, but it also adds a few editing features to the Camera app.
TCL promises two years of security updates for the tablet, and told us that an Android 12 upgrade is in the works. After those updates, however, TCL doesn’t guarantee anything further. Both Apple and Samsung offer upgrades for a minimum of three years, with many Apple devices receiving updates beyond that.
Millimeter-Wave Isn’t Enough of a Draw
The TCL Tab Pro 5G supports Verizon’s LTE, sub-6GHz, and mmWave 5G networks, but it isn’t versatile enough to replace your laptop for use on the road (where this connectivity is arguably the most beneficial). The entry-level iPad is much more powerful, will get more OS upgrades, and works with a keyboard case as well as the Apple Pencil. If millimeter-wave connectivity is essential, consider the pricier iPad mini or iPad Pro. For Android fans, the more affordable Lenovo Tab P11 Plus offers a very similar experience to the Tab Pro 5G, minus the 5G aspect. But if you have a phone you can use as a hotspot, it’s definitely worth considering.
