Unlike smartphones, the tablet market is going down hills. At one point, aimed to be a truly mobile handheld computing device to replace heavy laptops, these days, tablets are considered to be an obsolete tech to be used as a multimedia station for entertainment. At the time where the only true tablet is considered as the iPad, on MWC 2018, we saw Huawei leveling up its tablet game with the launch of high-end Huawei Mediapad M5. The tablet comes in three different variants, namely, MediaPad 8.4, MediaPad 10.8 and MediaPad Pro.
All of these three tablets come with a 2K display and curved screen. They are made of unibody metal construct to give a premium feel to it. Giving life to them is EMUI 8 on top of Android 8.0 Oreo.
Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4
Huawei MediaPad 8.4, like the name suggests, comes with an 8.4-inch display. If you want a portable tablet to indulge in multimedia consumption then it is perfect for carrying. If you want a stationary multimedia station that stays in your home, office or room then you may want to consider the bigger 10.8-inch variant.
Whatever the screen size may be, you will be able to watch HDR content on all the variants. Being the base variant, it sure has some drawbacks compared to its bigger siblings. Mediapad M5 8.4 only offers dual Harman Kardon speakers instead of quad setup on 10.8 variants. But all of the models feature Huawei’s Histen surround sound technology for a more immersive experience. The small size also means a relatively smaller battery size – 5100mAh to be exact. Nonetheless, it offers full HD video playback of up to 11 hours. With Quick Charge, you can juice it up within 2 hours.
The tablet is powered by Kirin 960 – Huawei’s last-gen flagship chipset. It is coupled with 4GB of RAM. So this device is no slump even if you want to do some heavy gaming. The 8.4-inch variant offers two storage options – 32GB and 64GB. It offers a 13MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and 8MP front camera with the same aperture. Tablet cameras are usually terrible but the ones in MediaPad M5 looks promising.
Huawei MediaPad M5 8.4 Specifications
Display: 8.4-inches 2K (2560 x 1600)
Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 960
CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: Mali-G71 MP8
Android Version: EMUI 8.0 on top of Android Oreo
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB | 64GB, non-expandable
Connectivity: 802.11/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB C
Rear Camera: 13MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF), no flashlight
Front Camera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus
Battery: 5100 mAh | Quick Charge 9 V / 2 A
Price: Not available
Huawei MediaPad M5 10.8
Huawei MediaPad sports a 10.8-inch 2K display with the same resolution as its smaller sibling. The perk of having a bigger display is having two extra speakers – a quad speaker setup on the tablet for an immersive surround sound for media consumption. Not to forget, it also supports HDR content.
Powering the MediaPad 10.8 is the Kirin 960 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. Three storage options are available for the tablet – 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB with no support for expansion. On the optics front, it carries the same 13MP rear and 8MP front setup. Being a larger device does give it an edge on the battery size. It offers 7500mAh battery which gives around 10 hours of screen on time with full HD playback.
Huawei MediaPad M5 10.8 Specifications:
Display: 10.8-inches 2K (2560 x 1600)
Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 960
CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: Mali-G71 MP8
Android Version: EMUI 8.0 on top of Android Oreo
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB | 64GB, non-expandable
Connectivity: 802.11/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB C
Rear Camera: 13MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF), no flashlight
Front Camera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus
Battery: 7500 mAh | Quick Charge 9 V / 2 A
Price: Not available
Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro
The word “Pro” on gadgets is used to signify that the product is for professionals. It is true with the MediaPad M5 Pro as well. Every Other internals of this tablet is same as the MediaPad M5 10.8. But what makes this device Pro is the support for Stylus and keyboard.
The stylus comes with 4096-layer pressure sensitivity for different tilting and shading functions. The pen comes inside the box so no need to buy it separately. It carries a USB C port for charging which can be shown and hidden by twisting the cap of the pen. The tablet would be a great pick for digital artists who want to hone their craft on the go. Also for school or professional work you can attach a keyboard to the tablet. When attached to a keyboard, desktop mode would be turned ON to provide a laptop-like feel. The keyboard, however, has to be bought separately.
Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro Specifications:
Display: 10.8-inches 2K (2560 x 1600)
Peripherals: Huawei Stylus – 4096 pressure points | Keyboard
Chipset: Hisilicon Kirin 960
CPU: Octa-core (4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: Mali-G71 MP8
Android Version: EMUI 8.0 on top of Android Oreo
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB | 128GB, non-expandable
Connectivity: 802.11/ac WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, USB C
Rear Camera: 13MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF), no flashlight
Front Camera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus
Battery: 7500 mAh | Quick Charge 9 V / 2 A
Price: Not available
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