• Design: Looking at the new tablet from the front, top and bottom, you'd first think the new L10 and the existing B10 are virtually identical. But Xplore actually changed the display aspect ratio from 16:9 to 16:10, and the XSLATE B10's carbon fiber bezel has given way to solid very dark gray throughout the device. Plus there are numerous small design changes. The hard handle of the XPAD version isn't just a bolt-on. It is a separate cohesive design. The XBOOK, on the other hand, mostly represents the addition of keyboard and kickstand to a standard XSLATE L10.

  

• Performance: Very big difference here. The B10 and its lower-end Bobcat sibling were quick machines, but time moves on. Instead of continuing with two different Windows models with different performance, Xplore now offers four performance levels in the same machine. On the high end, the L10 leaps ahead a full three Intel Core processor generations, from 5th ("Broadwell") to 8th ("Kaby Lake R"). On the low end, there is a two generation jump from "Bay Trail" to "Apollo Lake" (both of the Intel Atom lineage).

• Graphics: The Intel HD Graphics 505 graphics integrated in the Pentium N4200 processors available for the low-end L10 is a GT1 tier version of the Intel Processor Graphics Gen 9 generation and includes 18 Execution Units. The Intel UHD Graphics 620 graphics integrated in the Core processors available for the L10 are GT2 tier versions of the Intel Processor Graphics Gen 9 generation, include 24 Execution Units, and run at higher speeds.

• Memory and storage: Depending on the processor version, L10 units get from 4GB to 16GB of RAM, with 16GB only available in Core units. Solid state disk capacity is 128GB, but SSDs up to 256GB are available. For mass storage, the Pentium version is limited to SATA SSDs up to 512GB; the Core versions may opt for much faster PCIe-based SSDs up to 1TB. The microSD card slot remains externally accessible.

• USB Type C: In addition to two USB 3.0 ports, the L10 also gets a USB-C port with its smaller, reversible connector. The USB-C port supports the USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and DisplayPort out standards.

• Wireless: Wireless communications is much faster now. There's an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 + Bluetooth V4.2. And the optional 4G LTE mobile broadband module — which supports LTE-A Pro, CAT-12, and Dual Sim (the L10 has two nanoSIM sockets) — delivers up to 600% faster download and 300% faster upload than earlier generations.

• Camera: The XSLATE L10 provides still/video documentation with a new and higher resolution cameras. It's now 13-megapixel in the rear, and a front-facing FHD 2-megapixel webcam for conferencing and video calls.

• Display: The 10.1-inch wide-format IPS display remains unchanged in diagonal size, but it's now 16:10 instead of 16:9 aspect ratio. It still uses direct bonding, has perfect horizontal and vertical viewing angles, and is available in 500 or 1000 nit backlight versions to provide excellent outdoor viewability. Another big step forward is boosting display resolution from the B10's 768 x 1366 pixel to 1920 x 1200 pixel. That means going from 155 to 224 pixels per inch for a very noticeable increase in sharpness.

• Touch: The L10 uses projected capacitive 10-finger multi-touch with automatic mode switching to glove and wet conditions. In addition to touch, two different active pen versions are available, those being the battery-powered ePen and the time-proven Wacom technology active pen for writing, drawing, annotating and anything that needs more precision than finger touch.

• Battery: The main battery now snaps into the body of the L10, making it much quicker and easier to swap for a fresh one. The standard battery packs 36 watt-hours, with a battery life claim up to 10 hours). There a much more powerful 98 watt-hour optional extended battery that boosts battery life up to 27 hours.

  

• Ruggedness: The L10 is even more rugged than its predecessors. It can now handle 6-foot drops. IP65 sealing carries over, and as before, external ports are sealed on the inside, too. This means water won't leak in even if those ports are left open.

• HDMI: The tablet has an optional full-size HDMI-in port.

• Legacy ports: The L10 has an optional dedicated true RS232 port.

• Scanning: The XPAD version can be ordered with a 1D/2D integrated scanner located in the hard handle.

Design and implementation

As for materials, the L10 platform has a polycarbonate plastic housing with elastomer edge and corner protection over an internal magnesium alloy frame. It makes for an elegant and distinctive look that's purposeful, functional, and ergonomic.

The Xplore L10 is designed to guard against dust and liquids getting inside, something that's most easily accomplished with as few external ports and openings as possible. However, some onboard connectivity is needed in a tablet to provide functionality in the field, and Xplore has always offered a balance of onboard and docking connectivity. The L10 platform is no exception and offers generous connectivity for a rugged tablet. Below you can see the hard handle version of the Xplore L10, the XPAD L10, from the front and all four sides:

The front view shows that Xplore designed the tablet to primarily be used in landscape mode, but it also quickly snaps into landscape or even upside down mode if the tablet is turned. For hardware controls, there's an unmarked physical Windows button in the bottom center of the face. Above the display is the camera, the ambient light sensor, as well as dual microphones. To the right of the screen are four small indicator lights and the unit's fingerprint scanner.

According to Xplore, hard handle XPAD versions will run about $100 (plus the optional scanner in the handle) more than pure tablet versions. As stated above, the handle isn't just a bolt-on; it's an integrated housing design that also has a forward-facing speaker and two additional programmable function buttons.

The picture below shows the XSLATE L10's left side with its large heat exchanger slots and an I/O block that actually has a protective door (removed for better viewing of the ports) that can be locked to ward against accidental opening. The I/O block includes the audio jack, two full-size USB 3.0 ports, a reversible USB-C port (can be used for video-out), and a microSDXC card slot.

On the right side (below) is the power switch, a tiny round "security" button that brings up the alt-ctl-del menu, and a volume rocker. All buttons have tiny embossed markings that are difficult to see/read. On the bottom right is a protective door that covers the power and RJ45 LAN jacks. On the other side is the unit's optional port, here used for an HDMI-in port (true serial is also an option).

Unlike in the XSLATE D10 that had its battery underneath a cover bolted down with many small screws, the XSLATE L10 battery securely snaps into the backside of the tablet and is then locked in place. The springloaded sliding lock itself can be locked with a screw. The Li-Ion battery (7.6V, 4.770mAH, 36 watt-hours) has a rubber friction seal to keep dust and liquids away from the battery contacts and also the caddy with its dual micro-SIMs. Compared to its B10 predecessor, the L10's battery can be exchanged for a fully charged spare in seconds. No need to power down either; the L10 has an internal 3.1 watt-hour bridge battery that provides plenty of power even for a very slow battery exchange.

There are no wires and connections between the halves, again with the exception of the rear camera connector.

Like the XSLATE B10, the new L10 has a small fan as part of Xplore's internal thermal management system that also includes a custom copper heat spreader and heat piping to regulate heating and cooling in extreme temperatures. We'd rather not have a fan, but at this point it remains a necessity to guarantee safe operating temperatures and also guard against heat-related performance throttling. Xplore commented that the fan makes it possible for the XSLATE L10 to maintain full performance over the entire operating temperature range. Given that we've witnessed performance of some fanless designs drop dramatically when the system gets hot, including a fan makes sense.

There are cooling slots and vents on the housing, and those can be disconcerting as it looks like liquids can go right into the tablet's interior. That's not the case as the fan, which doesn't mind a bit of water, is mounted inside a sealed "enclave" inside the tablet.

A look at the inside of the L10 reveals a complex assembly of components, boards, connections, modules, shielding, securing, and mounting. Unlike in consumer tablets like the iPad where all electronics are integrated and hyper-miniaturized onto a singler tiny board, inside the L10 there is a full-function and very highly configurable and expandable PC. That means massive design logistics to meet all the goals and requirements, which include all the wired and wireless connectivity imperative in a mobile device. And that means antenna modules along the perimeter, outside of the mandatory electric shielding, and also a central point for optional external antenna pass-through.

Below a closer look at some of the interesting details of the L10 platform. From left to right the external antenna pass-through block, an example of the sealing of I/O blocks, and on the right the thermal management system with its heat pipe and fan.

Note that the antenna pass-through provides five antenna connections instead of the usual three. This gives customers the option of connecting dual LTE, dual Wifi, and one GPS antenna. This means full MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) dual antenna connection for both LTE and Wifi for best possible wireless performance, especially in areas with marginal coverage. According to Xplore, there currently is no another system that has this capability.

And more details below: On the left a closeup of the tongue-and-groove sealing method between the halves of the L10 case, the internal backup battery that allows hot-swapping of the main battery, and the tiny caddy for the two nanoSIMs.

As of late, it's become increasingly difficult to make everything smaller yet, with process technology, generally defined as "half the distance between identical features in an array," now approaching the single digit nanometer range. So with their 6th, 7th and 8th generation of Core processors, Intel has mostly been optimizing and fine-tuning things. And to make things more confusing yet, Intel codenamed some of the chips in their 8th generation "Kaby Lake Refresh" and others "Coffee Lake."

There is, however, one big advance 8th generation ultra-low voltage mobile processors: they are for the first time available in quad-core configuration. Four cores, eight threads. Xplore jumped on that advance with their new L10, giving the platform a distinct processing edge over systems using earlier generation dual core CPUs.

Maximum performance, of course, adds cost, not only due to the chip itself, but also due to supporting technology. So Xplore makes a lower-end L10 available as well. The Pentium N4200 chip Xplore chose is also a quad-core design, but this one has Intel Atom DNA and is part of codename "Apollo Lake" (which succeeded "Braswell" which succeeded the "Bay Trail" chip in Xplore's initial Bobcat tablet).

The reason why Xplore did this is not only to offer two distinctly different performance levels, but also to have successors for both the old XSLATE B10 and the old Bobcat. The B10 was roughly twice as fast as the Bobcat, and our guess is that Xplore wanted to migrate that performance ratio to the two versions of the new L10 platform.

To see how the two versions of the new Xplore XSLATE L10 perform compared to the B10 and Bobcat they are replacing, we ran our standard Passmark Software PerformanceTest 6.1, a suite of about 30 tests covering CPU, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, memory, and disk and then computes scores for each category and an overall PassMark score. The results are as follows:

Xplore Technologies XSLATE L10 Comparisons and Benchmarks

	Xplore Technologies	Xplore Technologies	Xplore Technologies	Xplore Technologies
Model	XSLATE L10 (2018)	XSLATE L10 (2018)	XSLATE B10 (2015)	Bobcat (2014)
Processor Type: Intel	"Kaby Lake R" Core i7	"Apollo Lake" Pentium	"Broadwell" Core i5	"Bay Trail" Atom
Processor Model	8650U	N4200	5350U	E3845
CPU Speed	1.90GHz	1.10GHz	1.80GHz	1.90GHz
Turbo Speed	4.20GHz	2.50GHz	2.90GHz	No turbo
OS Software	Windows 10 (64-bit)	Windows 10 (64-bit)	Windows 8.1 (64-bit)	Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	15 watts	6 watts	15 watts	10 watts
BatteryMon min draw	3.0 watts	3.1 watts	4.5 watts	4.7 watts

PassMark version	v6.1	v9.0	v6.1	v9.0	v6.1	v9.0	v6.1	v9.0
CPU Mark	10,289.7	8,848.7	5,235.3	2,054.7	3,845.5	NA	1,924.9	NA
2D Graphics Mark	423.2	664.1	139.4	239.0	416.9	NA	149.2	NA
Memory Mark	2,613.7	2,297.6	672.8	1,040.7	1,241.2	NA	397.1	NA
Disk Mark	12,791.2	11,050.9	4,407.8	4,344.2	4,946.9	NA	2,513.9	NA
3D Graphics Mark	805.9	1,219.4	179.8	355.4	460.1	NA	158.0	NA
Overall PassMark	5,962.9	3,609.1	2,457.3	1,151.3	2,364.7	NA	1,133.8	NA

To say the results are astonishing would be an understatement. The overall PassMark score of 5,962.9 clocked by the 8650U-equipped version of the XSLATE L10 is far and away the fasted we've ever recorded with version 6.1 of the PassMark benchmarking suite. The presence of four processing cores, eight processing threads, and blisteringly fast PCIe-based storage perhaps combined to overwhelm PassMark 6.1's weighting that was likely calibrated for an era of hard disks and dual core CPUs.

The results are equally amazing for the lower-end Pentium N4200-equipped version of the L10. It actually beat Xplore's old high-end B10 in PassMark v6.1, even though that model was based on a genuine, powerful 5th generation Core processor. The relatively lowly (compared to the B10's Core i5-5350U) N4200 machine couldn't match the old B10 in graphics, memory and disk benchmarking, but ran away with it in processor performance, clocking a narrow overall victory over the B10.

So based on PassMark v6.1, the Core-based XSLATE L10 is easily twice as fast as the already quick Pentium-based version. And the new "low-end" L10 is as quick as the old "high-end" B10.

To cross-check, we also ran the PassMark 9.0 benchmark suite on both versions. There, the 8650U-based machine still clocked the, as of June 2018, highest score we've ever recorded at RuggedPCReview.com, although outscoring recent high-end Kaby Lake-based products by less of a margin.

The picture on the right was taken with our FLIR ONE Pro thermal imaging camera. It's an infrared picture of the Pentium N4200 version (top) and the Core i7-8650U version both running the PassMark benchmark suite. The higher thermal load of the powerful Core processor is plainly obvious, as is the heat emanating from its fan vent. That's the difference between a thermal design power of 6 watts and one of 15 watts.

What that means is that the Core-based XSLATE L10 is a high-performance tablet for virtually any job, even complex, demanding ones. It actually beat our new 6-core Intel 8th generation "Coffee Lake" powered office Dell Vostro desktop with nVidia discrete graphics (the big Vostro, in fairness, had a handicap in its use of a rotating hard disk instead of solid state disk).

Very low power draw

Finally, the usual qualifier: battery life is as relative as gas mileage in a car, or more so. Putting full, continuous load on the system will draw down battery power much more quickly.

Cameras

Unfortunately, the standard Windows 10 Camera app is very basic and in no way takes full advantage of either of the integrated cameras. We definitely recommend searching for a third party camera app.

Multi-touch vs. gloves and rain