Teclast T40 HD tablet review – The budget tablet with lots of fast storage and mobile data

The Chinese company Teclast offers a large selection of inexpensive tablets, most featuring lots of storage and a large battery, allowing you to take plenty of photos and videos on the device which you can look back on for a long time. The Teclast T40 HD is also equipped with these features: For just over US$200, you get 128 GB of storage, a large 7,200 mAh and it even gives you the option to make calls or surf the web using a SIM card. If anything, its comparatively slow processor makes us worry a little.

In this review, we will be taking a closer look at the tablet while trying to find out whether the competition can keep up with its extensive features — or whether it might actually be capable of more. The tablet has a metal unibody case in the color Space Gray — when it comes to colorings, the manufacturer has clearly taken a leaf out of Apple’s book. Its brushed back gives it a high-quality feel and a small plastic strip along the top next to the cameras allows for adequate signal strength for the antennas.

Its case is built nicely and can repel pressure well. However, you can hear a clear creaking noise when you twist the device — almost as if connections are opening and snapping back into place. With a weight of 460 grams, the Teclast T40 HD does well within the comparison field.

For its size, it is neither extraordinarily heavy nor is it as light as a feather. Its footprint is also average for its size. The tablet’s bezels aren’t terribly slim, but this allows you to hold it without accidentally activating the touchscreen.

Within this price class, 128 GB of storage and 8 GB RAM are classed as plentiful. Its USB-C port is connected using the USB-2. 0 standard, so its wired data transfers aren’t faster than on other devices and it isn’t possible to output picture using this connection.

It doesn’t feature NFC support. Thanks to its 3. 5-mm jack, you can connect headphones and speakers without needing to occupy the USB-C port.

On the right side of the bottom of the tablet’s case, you will find a slot which accommodates up to 2 SIM cards or one SIM and one microSD, letting you expand its storage. The Teclast T40 HD accepts microSD cards with up to 1 TB of storage. We tested the reader using our Angelbird V60 reference card.

During the copying test, whereby 250 photos are transferred from the SD card onto the tablet’s internal storage, the Teclast T40 HD did quite well, achieving 34. 3 MB/s. This makes it easy to store data, as it can access the microSD card quickly.

The reader also showed itself as being quite speedy in the CPDT benchmark. The manufacturer has installed Android 13 onto the tablet and it has hardly changed anything about Google’s operating system. It comes with no sponsored and barely any additional apps preinstalled, meaning you can decide to fill the device’s storage space however you like.

At the time of testing, the latest security patch was from August 2023 — a while ago. Upon asking about how long the manufacturer is set to supply the tablet with updates, Teclast said it was still working on this and will supposedly publish a list soon. You can currently expect infrequent updates for 2 to 3 years.

You would assume the tablet will see Android 14, but this hasn’t yet been confirmed. Thanks to its Widevine L1 support, you can enjoy HD streaming from all the major providers. WiFi 5 is the fastest WLAN standard mastered by the Teclast tablet — in our test using the Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000 as a reference router, it achieved values of around 306 to 358 MBit/s, making it average for this class.

All-in-all, its transfer rates remained quite stable. Close to the router, websites are loaded quickly and with a distance of 10 metres to the router with 3 walls in between, you still have access to 3/4 of the original signal. Websites are still loaded quickly but you can feel that its transfer rates aren’t quite as high.

You can also make use of cellular networks up to 4G in order to access the internet on the go or to make calls. The Teclast T40 HD has good reception, however, it can’t keep up with high-end phones. Within the city, we managed to connect to the network for the entirety of our test.

We analyzed how accurate the Teclast T40 HD’s satellite location services are, as the tablet supports all major locating networks. If you step outside, you are faced with rather long waiting times before being located with an accuracy of 9 metres. This hints at the Teclast pad not being the most accurate at locating.

This was confirmed during our practical test — a bike trip — during which we took the Garmin Venu 2 smartwatch with us to compare. The Teclast T40 HD may have managed to record the turning point relatively accurately, however, it showed major deviations when it came to tight alleyways and crossing the bridge. As a result, the test device is only suitable for navigation purposes if you don’t have to rely on good accuracy.

As is the case with most tablets, the Teclast T40 HD’s focus doesn’t lie on camera quality. As a result, the device features quite a simple 13-megapixel lens on the back, as well as a 0. 3-megapixel lens which can’t be used to take photos on its own.

The resulting photos have quite a heavy blue tint, are overexposed in lighter areas, show barely any details and large areas are often depicted as being somewhat blotchy. In low lighting conditions, images are missing some dynamics. In total, its picture sharpness is fine and for the occasional snapshot in good lighting conditions, the camera works just fine.

Videos can be recorded at a maximum of 1080p and 30 fps. When doing so, the autofocus sometimes takes its time and can be seen pumping. Its picture quality is okay.

The front of the tablet has a selfie cam with a resolution of 8 megapixels. Even in good lighting conditions, we noted some color tints. The level of detail and sharpness are fine, meaning you can definitely use the camera as long as your expectations regarding quality aren’t all too high.

In our photo lab, we photographed a test chart and color chart under controlled lighting conditions and using the main camera on the back of the device. We did this once in full studio lighting and once at only 1 lux. In low light, the camera can barely capture any image information and in good lighting conditions (as seen earlier), we noted color tints and some areas aren’t depicted very cleanly.

The tablet’s scope of delivery includes a power supply, USB cable as well as a tool for opening the SIM/microSD slot. Teclast also offers a folio case which can be purchased on its website. The manufacturer only gives this device a 12-month warranty and it has recommended to refer to the point of purchase.

The Teclast T40 HD’s touchscreen doesn’t offer refresh rates over 60 Hz. Still, the display is pretty precise, right into the corners and along the edges. Its power button and volume rocker can also be operated reliably.

The T40 HD doesn’t feature a fingerprint sensor. In turn, you can unlock the device via facial recognition using the front-facing camera. Once learned, faces are recognized reliably and the tablet is unlocked speedily.

However, pure 2D facial recognition isn’t quite as safe and can be overridden using masks or pictures. The tablet’s IPS display measures 10. 36 inches in diameter and has a resolution of 2,000 x 1,200 pixels.

It is large enough to depict images without any visible pixels. With an average maximum brightness of 346 cd/m², the screen is quite bright for the price class but in total, it is still more suited for indoor use. The colors seem rather muted, which fans of natural depiction will like.

At the same time, it does have quite a hefty red tint, as identified during our tests using a spectral photometer and the CalMAN software. We also noted that the screen doesn’t depict colors (especially light green and blue tones) very accurately. All-in-all, we wouldn’t recommend using the screen to evaluate print colors.

The display doesn’t need PWM, so sensitive users should be able to use the Teclast T40 HD with no issues. On bright days, the screen’s brightness is barely enough for it to remain legible. In the shade, you can also use the tablet outdoors from time to time.

The screen’s good viewing angles mean that you can read from it from any angle — even really flat ones. The graphics unit, on the other hand, is barely good enough even for simple 3D uses and using the screen’s full resolution. It only starts to appear smoother when you reduce the resolution.

When surfing the web, our test device isn’t actually all too bad — it often loads pages quite quickly. You may have to wait for images to load sometimes but in total, the Teclast T40 HD is a speedy surfer. Its 128 GB UFS 2.

0 storage is something special for this price class — in terms of size as well as speed. Data transfers are accelerated thanks to the fast flash and loading times are kept shorter than on many other devices within this price range. Unfortunately, the Teclast tablet doesn’t get along well with the software from GameBench , meaning we aren’t able to deliver any fps rates.

In any way, you can barely manage to run demanding games at more than 30 fps — this is mostly not even offered by games. Controlling games via the touchscreen and the location sensor works nice and precisely. Even under longer periods of processor load, the device’s case barely heats up and it isn’t noticeable at all.

Subsequently, it is no wonder that the SoC had no issues keeping its performance stable and high during the 3DMark stress tests. The Teclast T40 HD’s stereo speakers don’t get particularly loud and at maximum volume, the sound pierces your ears a little uncomfortably. Sound seems a little imprecise but voices are played back clearly.

The same can be said for singing which is very present and clear. However, playback precision leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to quite a few instruments — but for casual listening, the speakers are usable. External headphones or speakers can be connected using Bluetooth or the 3.

5-mm jack. This works perfectly and the tablet has access to HiRes audio codecs for wireless connections (aptX HD & LDAC). Its battery with a generous capacity of 7,200 mAh proves to be very long-lasting and it managed to beat the similarly priced comparison devices.

It lasted 15:02 hours when surfing via WLAN and you can play movies from the flash memory for almost 18 hours before the screen goes out. If you like gaming, you can still get 4:24 hours of runtime under very high load if there is no power socket nearby. For a price of just over US$200, the Teclast T40 HD makes a decent impression: Its passable speakers, long runtimes and its Widevine L1 support all make the tablet a great companion for streaming and movie nights.

The device comes with plenty of fast storage, a high-resolution and somewhat bright screen, as well as the option to use cellular data for calls or to surf the web on the go. Even so, the Teclast T40 HD likes being indoors more than it does being outside: On bright days, its screen isn’t quite bright enough, its speakers aren’t loud enough to drown out ambient noise, and its location services are a bit inaccurate. Its cameras are usable for snapshots or scanning documents — however, as is the same with all cheaper tablets, you can’t expect the same picture quality as can be achieved on expensive smartphones.

Its software support is rather rudimentary, too, and you will have to make do with quite a short 12-month warranty. A sleek metal case and extensive features (including lots of fast storage and a cellular modem) all make the Teclast T40 HD an interesting device within its price class. If you don’t place much importance on battery life but are on the hunt for more performance and better sound, then you should take a look at the Teclast M50 Pro .

On the other hand, the Lenovo Tab M10 2022 (Gen 3) also supports LTE, but you’ll have to settle for an older version of Android. While the Teclast T40 HD is not yet available to purchase on Amazon, you can find the manufacturer’s other models here . The T40 HD retails for just over US$200.

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