Blackview Link 8: $219–$220 thin 13-inch Android tablet with 18GB RAM

Blackview's Link 8 is available now for about $219–$220, ZDNET reports. The tablet is positioned as a thin, light roughly 13-inch Android device aimed at users seeking a large, portable display for browsing, media and everyday tasks. The reviewer describes a tablet that measures 8.4 x 11.1 x 0.3 inches (214.2 x 282.98 x 8.4mm) and weighs 1.5 pounds (25 ounces).

It uses a 12.7-inch IPS display at 2160 x 1600 resolution with a 90Hz refresh rate and about 300 nits of brightness, and supports Widevine L1 DRM. Inside is an octa-core MediaTek Helio G100 at 2.2GHz, 18GB of RAM (6GB physical plus 12GB virtual) and 256GB storage, running DokeOS_P 4.2 based on Android 15 with full access to the Google Play Store.

Audio comes from quad-box Smart-PA stereo speakers; cameras are a 16MP main and 2MP depth sensor on the rear and a 13MP front camera. The 8,400mAh battery is rated for roughly six hours of sustained runtime and supports 18W fast charging. Included accessories are a folio case, stylus, mouse and keyboard.

ZDNET's reviewer, after a few weeks of use, found the Link 8 to be a very decent tablet for the price: capable and smooth for everyday apps and large video files, though not a benchmarking winner. The display is described as comfortable indoors but may be too dim for direct sunlight compared with much brighter tablets; the accessories feel somewhat plasticky and a better keyboard and mouse are suggested for long-term use.

Key Topics

Tech, Blackview, Dokeos P