Post by anjian on Jun 19, 2017 2:53:09 GMT -5
Finally got one of Huawei's new tablets, this one is their upper - middle range, with $299 for a 32GB version and $349 for a 64GB version. While 64GB sounds like a better buy, my personal experience is that I really never needed past 32GB, I just don't have the time and the pockets to play, grind and invest on more than a couple of F2P mobile games, as all that pay stuff gets to really add up, especially if the F2P mobile game features gachapons (aka Japanese for random roulette gained items). And besides, it does come with a micro SD slot.
Like current top performing Android tablets like the Galaxy Tab S3 and the Asus Zenpad, it comes with 4GB of RAM.
Processor is the Huawei Kirin 950, which powered last year's Huawei flagship, the P9. The current flagship now uses the Kirin 960 processor.
Specs wise, it might be arguable that the Kirin 960 might be the fastest ARM processor smoking on Android right now with the possible exception of the Qualcomm 950. The 950 on the tablet, like last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, is more than fast enough to chew on War Robots.
The Kirin 950, regardless is an impressive chip.
4 ARM Cortex A72 cores.
4 ARM Cortex A53 cores
MALI T-880 MP4 GPU
While no longer the fastest chip in the block like last year, it zips through War Robots quite nicely. I would definitely recommend this tablet for those looking to play Android games.
The build and finish of the tablet is pretty impressive. First class. All metal, very nicely crafted and precision machined.
It comes with Harmon Kardon speakers and this is among the most impressive sounding tablets I've encountered.
The display is very bright, has deep colors, and for a while I am confused if this was OLED or not. Checking the specs says its just IPS but I felt it could fool me.
Setting up was a breeze, typical of any Android device.
If there was a drag, I would think its the Apple like EMO UI or whatever. This seems to clash of it being an Android device. Furthermore to my annoyance, the Android navigation buttons are not available by default, and I have to reach to the Settings, to enable it.
As an 8.4" tablet, this is an alternative to 9.7" tablets. While I love to play on 10" tablets, others may have a different taste to what they think fits their hands better. Some or maybe even many, may prefer to go even smaller, down to phablet size. Do note that while holding it, hands are likely to block the Harmon Kardon speakers.
Contrary to other cutting edge Android tablets, the charging connector is still a micro USB and not a Type C connector, like used on the Pixel C, Asus Zenpad 3S 10 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3.
The Android market may be shrinking, but there is still quite some life on it, and the rising Android gaming ecosystem could give Android tablets a new purpose. I would recommend this for those looking for a midrange (up to $300) tablet that will play Android games well. In fact, with Android games I would only recommend a midrange and above. I would recommend a tablet over a phablet or smartphone since games like War Robots consume enormous amounts of battery, and it maybe best to support Android gaming on a separate device. Unlike the Galaxy Tab S3, which is trying to justify its high price by serving also as a productivity and content creation device, the name Mediapad brings focus to this device's purpose --- a content and media consumer.
Conclusions:
Why? Probably the best performing Android tablet up to the $300 mark.
Caveat? Annoying IOS like user interface. However , if you plan on running games, you can probably live with it.