Alldocube iPlay 70 mini Ultra Review: This Tablet Beats Samsung & Xiaomi!

8-inch tablets with decent performance used to be a real rarity. But lately, this market is blooming, and with the Alldocube iPlay 70 mini Ultra, a budget tablet has finally appeared that does a lot of things right. It’s clearly better than the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 and Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE 8.7.

On paper, it promises a lot: a 2.5K screen, a Snapdragon chip, 12 GB of RAM, and a high-quality design. All that for a launch price of just 280 Euros. But is Alldocube promising too much?

We tested it thoroughly and compared it closely to the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3. In this review, we’ll make clear when the iPlay 70 mini Ultra is worth it and when you’re better off choosing the Lenovo.

Read: I Love These 3 Games On My Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+

Display

While most 8-inch tablets in recent years only had a basic HD resolution, the iPlay 70 mini Ultra comes with 2560×1600 pixels on an 8.8-inch IPS display. That results in a pixel density of 343 PPI, and it has a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz.

So Alldocube finally delivers a really nice, sharp, and high refresh display that we’re able to read and play on comfortably. In this price range, 8-inch devices usually only have 60Hz and, like we said, just a basic HD resolution, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 and Redmi Pad SE 8.7.

With up to 500 nits, the display reaches a solid brightness and is on par with the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 – although that one looks a little brighter in reality. Colors look great and similar, but unlike Lenovo, you can’t adjust them in the settings.

Design and Build Quality

From the outside, the 8 mm thin and 335 g light iPlay 70 mini Ultra gives a high-quality impression. The well built metal case feels sturdy and premium, the buttons sit tight and don’t wobble.

A small design highlight is the red power button, which gives the device some unique character. On the back, there’s a slightly raised camera with LED flash.

The tablet’s ports are pleasantly modern: a USB-C 3.1 port not only allows faster charging, but also supports external monitors. Additionally, there’s a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

Hardware and Performance

Positioned as a compact gaming tablet, the iPlay 70 mini Ultra clearly focuses on performance. Inside sits a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 – a current mid-range SoC that in many benchmarks performs on the same level as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, and even beats it in GPU performance. This chip was used in the old Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 2.

It doesn’t quite outmatch the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 of the newer Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3, but still offers impressive scores in Geekbench 6 for a tablet costing around 300 Euros.

In everyday use, this is noticeable right away: apps launch quickly, the system responds smoothly, and multitasking is smooth and stutter free. It only falls a bit short in terms of convenience – there’s no PC mode or freely movable windows, just the split-screen view.

In practice, we were able to work with Adobe Premiere Rush without issues. Videos could be edited and exported quickly without the tablet slowing down. The generous 12 GB of RAM clearly contribute to the stability, especially in demanding apps. The internal storage is 256 GB.

During our benchmark tests, the device got warm fairly quickly, which is actually a good sign. It proves that the vapor chamber cooling system Alldocube advertises works and quickly transfers the heat outward through the case. That way the chip doesn’t throttle as fast.

Gaming Test

In the 3D Mark gaming benchmark, the iPlay 70 scores pretty well and lands above the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 2, but below the Gen 3. And it’s clearly more powerful than the Samsung A9 or Redmi Pad SE 8.7.

Genshin Impact runs on the iPlay 70 mini Ultra very smoothly at the highest graphics settings with 60 FPS. After about an hour, the FPS drops slightly, but in general the chip handles the graphics very well.

In Fortnite, you can set 90 FPS at 75% 3D resolution and the general low-quality preset, and in the game we get a consistent 70 to 80 FPS, which is quite good. If you want high-refresh gaming with epic graphics, you’ll have to spend much more on a more powerful tablet.

By the way: we find an 8-inch device really nice for gaming. It’s very handy, you can take it anywhere, and it’s really comfortable to play on a smaller touchscreen.

Read: Lenovo Tab Review: A True Budget King or E-Waste?

Battery Life

On a 10-hour car ride, we played several rounds of Wild Rift and hours of Block Blast, which is surprisingly addictive. And we were amazed how long the tablet’s battery lasted, because it held out for 6 hours. That’s really good for a constant gaming session.

In our battery test, the iPlay 70 mini Ultra reached a total of 8 hours and 50 minutes playing an HD YouTube video at maximum brightness, which is a pretty good result.

Software and Updates

The iPlay 70 mini Ultra runs Android 14 in combination with Alldocube’s own interface OS 3.0L. The interface sticks closely to stock Android and overall feels simple and straightforward. The settings are minimalist, but all the basic functions are available.

Here’s the biggest weakness: the update policy. We’re not expecting it to get a single major Android update. Occasional security patches and bug fixes should be provided, at least for a while. But obviously, this is a major weak spot.

For comparison: Samsung promises 7 years of updates for their newer tablets, and Lenovo and Xiaomi also promise up to 3 major version updates. iPads are also kept up to date for around 6 to 7 years.

Speakers

There are two stereo speakers built in, certified by DTS. Using a DTS app, you can adjust the equalizer for music, movies, or games, or set it manually. In terms of sound, the speakers are okay, but clearly worse than those of the Legion Tab Gen 3. So they’re not especially good, but definitely adequate.

Camera

We didn’t expect much from the cameras. Installed are a 5-megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel main camera with flash. The photos and videos from both cameras are relatively bad. They still should be good enough for documents and snapshots.

Conclusion

The Alldocube iPlay 70 mini Ultra is a surprisingly powerful 8-inch tablet mainly aimed at gamers and tech fans on a budget. With the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, 12 GB RAM, and a smooth 144 Hz display, it delivers performance in this price range that we usually only see in much more expensive devices.

The solid build, microSD slot, and good battery life also speak in favor of the device. If you like to game on the go or want a compact media tablet with lots of power, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck here. 

The biggest downside remains the software: it probably won’t get any Android upgrades, and even security updates will likely stop soon. That makes it hard to recommend as a long-term work device or for handling sensitive data. Stylus support is also missing.

Here’s the bottom line, the iPlay 70 mini Ultra is a strong but niche tablet with high performance, but clear compromises, especially in software. If you’re looking for an all-round worry-free package, the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 is the better choice – but you’ll also pay more for it.