Huawei MediaPad M2 10.0: An impressive multimedia powerhouse

Huawei is trying to get itself into the premium segment that’s currently dominated by Apple and Samsung. At one corner, you have the iPad Pro, the largest from Cupertino with a 12.9″ screen, four-speaker set-up, an optional keyboard cover and a stylus that’s called the pencil. On the other camp, you have the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 that’s their thinnest and lightest.

During the launch of the Huawei Mate 8, they have also announced the MediaPad M2 10.0 and it isn’t just a bigger version of the MediaPad M2 8.0. If you’re looking for a tablet to consume your iflix and Netflix shows, this could be your cup of tea.

Like the name suggests, this is a 10″ tablet (10.1″ to be exact) with a wide 16:10 display aspect ratio. The screen does 1920×1200 resolution which gives a pixel density of 224 PPI (pixels per inch). The design is nothing to shout about but it gets a metal back like most of its unibody smartphones.

At the front of the M2 10.0, there’s a fingerprint scanner that unlocks on a single tap. While it looks like a Samsung tablet, there are no capacitive keys on either side, as it uses on-screen buttons. You can, however, access the back and recent apps from the fingerprint scanner by swiping either to the left or right which isn’t as intuitive. The fingerprint unlock is super quick but setting it up require more fingerprint taps than usual.

As an “M-series” tablet, this is a multimedia-centric device. Unlike the smaller M2 8.0, this doesn’t have two but a total of four speakers (2 treble + 2 bass) enhanced by harman kardon. The speaker grills are located at the top and bottom, and the audio is output is actually quite impressive for video and music playback.

On the inside, the MediaPad M2 10.0 runs on a Kirin 930 processor with either 2GB or 3GB RAM. It also comes with a choice of either 16GB or 64GB of storage but you can still expand it further with microSD. WiFi and 4G LTE variants are also available too depending on spec levels.

For those who wish to sketch, the tablet is also available with a stylus that’s called the M-Pen. It boasts 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity which is the same as the Galaxy Note5 S Pen and double of a Surface Pen with the latest Surface Pro 4. The M-Pen is like a typical ball-point clip pen and it feels just right.

There are two buttons on the side – one for selection and another for eraser. At the other end of the M-Pen is a metal clip which helps to secure itself in a shirt pocket.

In case you need to take a picture with it, it gets a 13MP f/2.0 main camera that comes with a flash light. For selfies and skype videos, it gets a 5MP front shooter. The MediaPad M2 comes with a 6,660mAh battery and it still maintains a respectable 7.35mm thickness while weighing about half a kilogram. It feels bulkier than a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 but the four-speaker set up will definitely be appreciated for watching videos on demand.

This multimedia oriented tablet is heading for Malaysia in late April 2016 and it will be sold in the following 4 options:

Silver: 2GB RAM+16GB storage, WiFi – RM1,299
Silver: 2GB RAM+16GB storage, LTE + M-Pen – RM1,599
Gold: 3GB RAM+64GB storage, WiFi + M-Pen + Case – RM1,699
Gold: 3GB RAM+64GB storage, LTE + M-Pen + Case – RM1,999

Huawei MediaPad M2 10.0 Hands-on