Teclast P80 Pro: A Brief Review of a Small Tablet

Another tablet has landed in my hands, but this time it isn't one of those 10–11-inch "giants". It's a small, modest tablet with a screen diagonal of just 8 inches. I liked it, even though it has its share of drawbacks. Read on for the full review, including a closer look, teardown, tests, and conclusions.


Before getting into the review itself, here are the main specifications:
Operating system: Android 7.0
Processor: MTK8163 Quad Core
GPU: Mail-T720
RAM: 2 GB
Flash memory: 32 GB
microSD card slot (up to 128 GB)
8-inch IPS display
Resolution: 1920 x 1200 (16:10)
Cameras:
Front: 0.3 MP
Rear: 2.0 MP
Navigation: GPS
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 2.4 and 5 GHz + Bluetooth 4.0
3.5 mm headphone jack
microUSB port — OTG
micro HDMI port
Battery: 5000 mAh
10-point multitouch (claimed), 5 in reality.
Dimensions (length x width x thickness): 212 x 124 x 9.0 mm (measured)
Weight: 360 grams (369 in reality)

The tablet comes in a fairly large box made of thick cardboard. For some reason, the stickers listing the specifications have been covered up, even though there are no errors on them. This is the first time I've seen anything like this.
The inside of the packaging is lined with foam to cushion impacts.


The package contents are minimal:
1. Teclast P80 Pro tablet
2. USB-to-microUSB cable
3. Manual, warranty card, and other paperwork


The manual is quite substantial, but essentially useless since it isn't available in Russian. The cable is a standard one, and there's no charger included. The assumption is that the user will buy one separately or charge the tablet from a computer. It's a debatable choice, but a reasonable one: why pay extra for a charger if you might already have one?


The tablet really is compact; it looks more like an oversized phone.





There are two cameras: a 0.3 MP front camera and a 2.0 MP rear camera. Personally, I don't see the point of including a front camera at this resolution; it's not even useful for Skype. The rear camera isn't much better, either: it has no autofocus and the resolution is low. However, it sits noticeably recessed into the body and has a protective glass cover.


The photo isn't great, of course. It was very overcast that day, though I doubt bright sunshine would have made a huge difference.


For a closer look (literally), I took the tablet apart and, while I was at it, measured the battery capacity properly. It's very difficult to open; the clips are extremely tight.







The tablet has an IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. That's more than enough for a screen this size; Full HD movies look pretty good on it, at least.
No complaints about the viewing angles: the colors don't shift, although the panel is probably from the budget range too.


There's plenty of brightness, and the image is easy to see even with the flash on. There is one drawback, though: dark areas of the image show some unwanted backlight bleed, especially when viewed at an angle.



There was no need to go through the initial setup: the tablet booted straight to the "desktop", though in English, so I had to go into settings and switch to Russian.
Not many apps are preinstalled, mostly the usual ones: Gallery, browser, Play Store, calculator, radio, and so on.
Since there are practically no physical controls, everything is operated using on-screen buttons. These include the usual navigation buttons, as well as screenshot and duplicate volume-control buttons.


The tablet runs Android 7.0, with a fairly recent firmware version dated April 25 of this year.
As I mentioned above, very few apps are installed, leaving about 25 GB of storage available to the user.


The manufacturer provides a separate utility for firmware updates, but it didn't find anything new. I assume this is actually the latest version.


Apart from the charge termination voltage, CPU-Z didn't provide any new information; quite a lot of the specs were already listed in the product specifications.


The main performance and temperature tests are under the spoiler, as usual.


Since very few apps were installed out of the box, I only checked the Play Store, installing a few apps along the way.


I also installed the YouTube app. It works perfectly, and you can select resolutions up to 1080p.


Above, I measured the battery capacity. But since this figure isn't always directly related to battery life—it also depends on backlight brightness, screen type, and software optimization—I ran some additional tests.
Two Geekbench tests (at maximum and minimum brightness), plus PCMark at 60% brightness (the most comfortable setting). The discharge curve is almost perfectly linear right up until shutdown, which is very good.


In the video playback test, with brightness set to 50%, I got about 7.5 hours.


The tablet has a dual-band Wi-Fi module, so I tested it on both bands. Under normal conditions, the connection speed was 65 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 135 Mbps on 5 GHz.
To give you an idea of the test conditions, I also took a screenshot showing how many access points there are around me on the 2.4 GHz band. The 5 GHz band is still clear, with just two networks: mine and my neighbor's.


But as we know, connection speed and data transfer speed are two completely different things, and are sometimes only loosely related.
It turned out that on the 2.4 GHz band (first screenshot), everything is basically fine while the tablet is in the room next to the router, with speeds of up to 45 Mbps. Move it a little farther away and the speed drops to 30 Mbps; at a distance of about 10–11 meters from the router, with additional obstacles in the way, the connection disappears altogether.
Things are noticeably better on 5 GHz. To start with, the speed near the router is about 90 Mbps; in the next room it's 76 Mbps, and farther away it drops to 32 Mbps. But where the 2.4 GHz signal is no longer detectable, 5 GHz still works, although the speed becomes very low.

I should point out that even at a long distance, the 5 GHz connection, while not exactly fast, is quite reliable—the tablet literally clings to the access point by its "teeth."


And of course, GPS navigation. The tablet only supports GPS; there's no GLONASS support.


Sensitivity isn't very high: it sees 7–9 satellites even "out in the open," but the tests showed that it works very reliably.
I recorded a track while carrying the tablet in a bag in my hand. It was about half a meter above the ground. After about an hour of walking, the battery had used 20% of its capacity, with brightness set to 100%.


Part of the track covered the same route in both directions. As you can see in the screenshot, the results don't vary much, especially considering the small number of satellites visible to the tablet.


The track was also recorded accurately among the buildings, so the GPS performance can be considered quite satisfactory.
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Now for a few conclusions based on everything I've learned while using this device.
As for the good points, I'd say:
1. Quite solid build quality, with no play, creaks, or anything like that
2. The battery capacity matches the stated specification
3. The screen gets plenty bright and displays a decent image.
4. Stable GPS performance
5. A microHDMI output and OTG support
6. No overheating
7. Decent battery life
8. Good performance and fast operation with the built-in flash memory.
8. Low weight.

There are noticeably fewer drawbacks, though there are some:
1. The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi has low sensitivity.
2. The touchscreen supports 5 touch points instead of the advertised 10
3. The cameras are practically nonexistent.
4. I really miss having a SIM card slot.

Now, in plain English. To me, the biggest problem with this tablet is the lack of a SIM card slot. Given its dimensions, battery life, screen resolution, and screen size, it would be a pretty good tablet for using the internet away from home. For example, it fits easily into a woman's handbag and could be used on the go, but internet access would only be available over Wi-Fi.
This tablet would also be a very good choice for a child, mainly because it's lightweight and compact.

Otherwise, my only real complaint is the low sensitivity of the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. The tablet is very stable, doesn't overheat, is comfortable for watching YouTube, and can handle simple games and web browsing just fine. If needed, you can connect it to a larger screen. A full-size USB port would have been nice too, but that's rare on devices like this.

That's all. I hope you found the review useful. As usual, I'm happy to answer any questions.