Huawei’s MediaPad M2 is coming to Australia in October as well, and having had a bit of a play with it today, it’s not bad for a mid-range, mid-size tablet. An 8″ all-metal body gives the MediaPad M2 (which we’re just going to call the M2, now) a unique, premium feel, in a device that we’re told will be pitched to the mid-market at an affordable price.
Inside the MediaPad M2
Internally, the M2 features a Kirin 64-bit octa-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB storage, and a 4,800 mAh battery. Android 5.1.1 Lollipop comes out of the box, as well as Huawei’s Emotion 3.1 UI.
The real use-case for tablets, for me at least, has been media consumption, both audio/video content and reading. Some people like to use tablets to capture media, and to me, this really isn’t the best thing to do — tablets are large, unwieldy and a bit heavy, and are just too awkward for serious media capture (though many will do it anyway). Huawei’s MediaPad M2 can certainly capture media; a rear-facing 8MP camera with fast auto-focus is on board, and a front-facing 2MP camera is there too for video conferencing and selfie needs.
Media Consumption
The real standout, for me, is the audio capabilities; the M2 features an audio pathway jointly developed and tuned by Huawei in partnership with Harman Kardon, and with side-facing stereo speakers, the M2 develops some pretty reasonable sound that’s not too tinny, that has fairly good bass response and all-around performance.
I think it’s important to remember, which consuming any audio, that small speakers are almost always going to have difficulty with the full range of sound, but let’s say this: of all the phones and tablets I’ve used for media consumption, the sound from the M2 is right up there; HTC’s BoomSound would probably give the M2 a run for its money, and in some instances, maybe even outclass it perhaps in low-down bass performance.
Wireless connectivity
Like most tablets, there are WiFi and LTE variants, and the LTE variant is no slouch; with a wide range of bands supported (though precise ones for the Australian market are being finalised) the M2 will fly along with Cat 4 LTE included, and a dual-SIM variant is expected (though not confirmed). Wireless 802.11ac/n is on board at both 2.4 and 5GHz, and for those who’ll be using 3G rather than LTE, DC-HSDPA+ is the order of the day with speeds up to 42mbps (network dependent).
Huawei’s MediaPad M2 will be available in Australia in October, with exact pricing and availability to be confirmed. A bit of research suggests the pricing could be sub-$500, making the MediaPad M2 a compelling option for that range of the market (and indeed, for those who might spend more for the same internals elsewhere).
Ausdroid was in San Francisco for Google’s 29 September event, and Huawei provided accomodation for our travel.Â
You can get a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 with 32Gb of storage for $475 at the Kogan website. This Huawei MediaPad M2 might be a comparable device but I think referring to its $500 pricing as “a compelling option” is a bit of a stretch. The screen will almost certainly be inferior to that of the Samsung but the sound quality and battery life will probably be better. A decent review instead of a puff piece might have addressed these issues.
Strange that there’s only 16gb on offer for a media consumption device, hopefully there will be different storage options. Just looking at that lock screen, it’s more or less a carbon copy of an ipad lock screen. The clock, pull up menu rectangle, and the “slide to unlock” wording. Even the camera icon is in the same spot and looks nearly identical.
It has a micro sd card slot 🙂