Motorola's new rumored tablet may just be the Lenovo Tab 4

There is a rumor floating around that Motorola may be working on a high-end tablet, its first in years, but with an unusual focus on productivity.

Android Police heard from a trustworthy source that the premium tablet in question would be in the 9-10 inch range, though no other technical specifications of it are known.

Color me excited, well, up until the curious “Productivity Mode” that shuffles Android’s interface elements around to look a bit more like that of a desktop operating system, like Chrome OS.

Now, it’s not that I wouldn’t appreciate such a feature in a tablet. I love being productive, it’s just that I can’t get over the possibility that this source’s information is actually pointing to the Lenovo Tab 4 10, which was unveiled to the world at MWC 2017 and is very much not a secret. 

 More about the maybe-not-so-secret Moto tablet 

The 10-inch variation of said Lenovo tablet is set to launch globally this month starting at $149 (the Plus model that offers more RAM among other additions is going for $249) and comes with what appears to be the same productivity chops as the rumored Moto tablet.

Taken from the MWC 2017 materials provided by Lenovo:

“The Lenovo Tab 4 10 and Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus can transform into a 2-in-1 Android workhorse through the addition of the optional Productivity Pack—a Bluetooth keyboard that also doubles as a protective sleeve and stand. This integrates with the built-in productivity interface, which features a taskbar and instant app switching, support for multiple windows and optimization for mouse and keyboard operations.”

Credit: Android Police

Credit: Android Police


Looking at the image above forwarded along to Android Police, it’s obviously impossible to tell what sort of tablet this software is running on. It could very well be a Motorola device, and to be completely honest, that’s what I hope it is.
The company has been on a hot streak in the mobile scene and I'd love to see the touches it could put on a future tablet.

It’s just that with so little information, of course, besides the image of software that I have personally seen running on the Lenovo Tab 4 10, it’s hard not to cast a load of doubt on this one ringing true. That, or this new Motorola tablet just isn’t shaping up to be the most exciting thing in terms of features. 

Cameron Faulkner

Cameron is a writer at The Verge, focused on reviews, deals coverage, and news. He wrote for magazines and websites such as The Verge, TechRadar, Practical Photoshop, Polygon, Eater and Al Bawaba.