Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite 8 prices and specs

FOR

• Sharp screen
• Super-loud stereo speakers
• Slim, light and fancy aluminium shell

AGAINST

• Poor gaming performance with some titles
• Pedestrian rear camera

The Huawei MediaPad M3 is a tablet with lots of admirable qualities. High screen resolution, ultra-low weight and speakers that go loud enough to become an anti-social menace in some situations earn a big thumbs-up.

It's a pity, then, that the M3 is thrown off balance quite so dramatically by oddly poor gaming performance with high-end titles. The casual games everyone gets obsessed with for weeks at a time run fine, but those with console-like graphics tend to struggle to an extent that's quite rare for a tablet of this quality.

You'll need to think carefully about whether this is going to be an issue for you before choosing the Huawei MediaPad M3 over an iPad mini, Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 or cheaper ASUS ZenPad Z580C.

The tablet does not have a design that stands out, but simplicity is what you are looking for, then you are not going to have any issues with how it looks. The tablet features a full aluminium design but does not feel slippery, its curved sides provide a nice grip for great one hand usability. The MediaPad M3 Lite sports an 8-inch display that comes with a 1920×1200 resolution, it is a strikingly attractive display to look at and there are no tablets in the same range that offers such a display, there is also a SIM card slot on the side with 4G connectivity, while you can also surprisingly make calls with it through the tablet’s loudspeaker. RIP privacy.

When it comes to performance it really depends on what you are doing with the device. There are some obvious lags and jitters when navigating around software, the tablet comes with Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 based on Android 7.0, which technically has machine learning abilities that should technically offer a decent enough experience despite using a Snapdragon 435 processor, hence it isn’t something I expect. However, watching videos in Full HD and 4K is a different story, as I haven’t noticed any signs of lags or breakage in the video quality, the 3GB of RAM is also sufficient for simple app switching while as expected, some apps will not run in the memory.

The camera on the MediaPad M3 Lite isn’t impressive and it is understood for a tablet camera, the 8MP camera will work fine for general purposes but it isn’t one that could replace your smartphone’s camera. For instance, the camera shutter is slow and could easily cause blurry photos, while colour and contrast isn’t great, you will also experience high noise levels in low light.

As a mid-range tablet, the Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite certainly ticks a few boxes for what it is meant to be, it has a great pair of features, decent enough everyday performance and battery life, all of this would cost you a RM999 price tag, which is pretty affordable and it does serve as a serious contender to Samsung's Galaxy Tab A tablets.

The MediaPad M3 Lite 8 was designed to be a small media device for on-the-go media hounds. With its colorful and bright screen and long runtimes, it falls into this niche perfectly. The tablet is a great fit for casual users looking for a beautifully designed tablet to meet their web browsing and media consumption needs. The great cameras are a nice addition. The device is held back by its poor gaming performance, anemic storage, unnecessary bloatware, and below-average wireless speeds. Power users and gamers will be sorely disappointed with the tablet, but most will find the tablet perfectly acceptable for enjoying video playback and lighter gaming.

The deciding factor will inevitably come down to price. Outside of its build quality, the WiFi-only version doesn't offer much more than its cheaper competition. At USD $199, it may be out of reach for those wanting a tablet solely for YouTube and the like. There are better options, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7, which starts about $50 cheaper. The Asus Zenpad 3 8.0 offers more power, a higher density screen, and typically retails for less than $50 more. However, the Huawei MediaPad line frequently goes on sale; at the time of this writing, Amazon has the device listed for $170. This makes the device much more tempting.

Consumers in search of a tablet for light web browsing and content consumption that doesn't look the part of a cheap plastic toy may want to consider the Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite 8. However, they will need to make compromises on gaming and CPU performance. All said, the MediaPad M3 Lite 8 is a beautiful, if expensive, budget tablet that dazzles with its looks rather than its power.