Even though phones seem to be getting bigger by the day there are still some things that you need a tablet for: not having to wrestle for the remote to see how your favourite Netflix show ended; reading a nice book in bed; or even studying for your next exam on the go. But not all of us have the money or the iPad inclination to get the job done. That's where awesome little Android offerings come in.
The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite comes with a pen stylus included in the box. For those who are artistically inclined, this wonderful addition is a game changer. It will open up a whole new world of artistic expression for no extra cost – and is super fun to take meeting notes (and doodles) with too.
For your entertainment, the 25.6cm screen comes with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200px - all the better to see with. The colours are vivid even when the screen brightness isn't pumped up to the max.
The combo of the size (24,3cm× 16,2cm) and smooth slim (7.7mm) aluminium body fits nicely in the hand and in landscape mode rests well on your thighs for causal watching or gaming. It also 478g so it won’t make your arms get tired quickly. But make sure to sit up straight or else the "posture detect" sensor will give you a talking to about your posture. It also has a distance sensor, which knows if you have the screen too close to your face. So no matter how intense Fortnite gets, be sure to not get too intense about it.
The only downside is the bevel, which oddly, is stubbornly staying in across the tablet genre, regardless of brand, but cellphone screens have been giving so much more lately it feel odd seeing so much space on the side.
But at least the bevel houses a fingerprint scanner, another otherwise rare inclusion in this price range. The bevel is also home to front-facing 8MP camera, 6MP more than its closest competitor in this price range, so perhaps the outers screen lining can be excused for now.
Not to be left out you there is another 8MP camera on the back as well.
As far as sound goes, you are treated to double industry standard 4 surrounding Harmon/Kardon speakers and a smart power amplifier. Huawei call it its Histen 5.0 audio-enhancement tech but it's essentially like a baby set of surround-sound speakers, making a nice all-rounded difference. But for those who want a more solitary sound experience the almost extinct headphone jack still prevails.
Another fun tiny helpful thing is when the tablet is locked, you can still access the camera and a little swipe up from the bottom reveals access buttons to sound recording, calculator, and QR code/barcode scanner.
In terms of the nitty gritty, you are looking at 3GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, an MicroSD card slot to expand that storage to meet your needs, and a Kirin 659 octavos-core chipset. It’s got a nice length of battery life thanks to its 7,500mAh battery more importantly supports quick charge and comes with a quick-charge adapter in the box.
The Huawei M5 lite’s recommended retail price R5,999 or R399/R349 as part of a contract.
This article was paid for by Huawei
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