Huawei MediaPad M5
4G, 10.80", 32 GB, Space Grey
Product ratings
Pros
Cons
16 reviews
A high-end tablet and more...
After looking around for a 2 in 1 device for home use for months, but not being willing to spend 1500-2000 Stutz on it, I came across the M5 a few days ago and got it.
The unibody aluminium casing is not only very chic, but also makes the device extremely stable and it feels good in the hand. The slightly rounded edges of the display not only look great, but also support the pleasant feel. The workmanship is of high quality and looks like it has been cast from a single mould.
I am only partially happy with the features. Calling a device a MediaPad and then doing without the headphone jack is a contradiction in terms. Although an adapter from USB-C to 3.5 mm jack is included, there is only one USB-C port, so it is neither available for charging nor for OTG operation when headphones are connected. However, I will try it out next week to see if it can be remedied with a multiport adapter. The charging adapter is top-notch, as it charges the M5 from 10% battery level to 100% in just 2 hours.
The performance of the tablet convinces me, it is lightning fast across the board! Of course, I would have liked a little more internal memory and 6GB of RAM would also be nice, but in daily use this is no problem, especially since you can upgrade the internal memory with SD cards. The display is, in contrast to the AMOLEDs I am used to, very soft, but thanks to the high resolution, especially in video mode, razor sharp and very pleasant. The battery life is more than good, after 6 hours of constant video operation at 50% display brightness, there was still 40% capacity left!
A word about the Huawei EMUI and Android 8: I like both, especially the desktop function of the EMUI. With this, the M5 can be operated together with keyboard and mouse almost like a Windows computer. In pure tablet mode, on the other hand, it can be perfectly adapted to personal needs with Oreo.Pro
- Excellent workmanship and feel
- Very fast tablet
- High battery life and rapid charging cycle
- Lightning fast and accurate fingerprint sensor
- After a little getting used to, great desktop mode
Contra
- Missing 3.5mm jack connection
- Sparse accessories
- Does not support HDMI out via the USB-C port
Price/performance 100% ok.
Did exactly what I needed. Had an iPad and wanted a Samsung. Then I bought a Huawei phone and since then I have to say: why pay double when you can get the same thing for half the price?
Pro
- Fingerscan
- Super screen
- Pers/Performance is 100% O.K.
Contra
- No direct headphone plug
Top device but immature Android 8
My conclusion: In principle, it would be a top device, but in my view, the immature Android 8 drops the device from the top league to the midfield. If I were to buy it again, I would prefer a device with Android 7.
Pro
- good workmanship
- Smooth working thanks to 4GB RAM and fast processor
- good battery life
- Very good sound for tablet level
Contra
- No separate 3.5mm headphone jack
- On/off positioned very unfavourably in my view.
- No HDMI-out via USB-C, but MirrorShare works together with my Hama MiraCast adapter.
- the installed Android 8 is a step backwards from my point of view (see next points)
- no apps can be swapped to the SD as was the case with Android 7
- 32GB memory wind little if you can't swap apps to SD (see previous point)
- with multi-user use, these are not displayed on the start screen (although adjustable)
- The notification badges do not show the number (e.g. how many unread mails are waiting).
Does not meet my expectations.
At first sight a good tablet but shows its many shortcomings after months of use. With all the buttons so badly placed and of poor quality the use is not pleasant. A normal user cannot disconnect from the many snooping products of Google with their extremely annoying and useless reminder messages of all kinds! The device can only be used with Huawei's own Android EMUI, which is too unstable and inconvenient (every 2-3 days you have to confirm access and enter passcodes, an ordeal). Overall the Huawei OS is not at all accomplished or intuitive, just to adjust the volume is the obstacle course, etc.. The installation and use of "Hi Suite" (backup on PC) is confusing and the updates regularly make the PC crash (blue screen!). The support and online help are simply not very good and often in English.
Pro
- Affordable price
- Above average range
- Good finish and design apart from the buttons (2 stars)
- Image quality
- Quick charge
- Solid case
- USB or external drive connectivity! A little slow
Contra
- Extremely poorly placed buttons, inaccessible, poor quality
- Huawei EMUI Android OS intrusive and too many ads!
- Unstable during video playback, Reset every 2-3 days
- Very poor online support, often only in English
- Blocking and access problems to apps and networks (trade war?)
- Basic features complicated to access (volume)
- Not to be recommended, Huawei is no longer able to maintain its OS!
- May 2020: many functions and apps unusable!
- Never again Huawei, only licensing and access problems!
Very good
I still have to get used to how a tablet works compared to a computer. But it's pretty good so far.
As for the grip, it's so smooth that there's a certain risk of dropping it on the floor.
Not always convenient that the usb c port is at the bottom of the screen. but you can flip the tablet over.
6 out of 16 reviews
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