It's not often that a 4G-ready tablet comes equipped with high quality surround sound. So if you like to immerse yourself in your favourite apps on-the-go, this is the tablet for you.
The MediaPad M5 Pro's quad-speaker system produces a loud bassy sound that also supports Hi-Res audio, keeping the treble sweet and the bass anchored for a truer, more immersive listening experience. Tuned by Harman Kardon, the tablet delivers quality sound with more bass and less distortion.
The tablet's screen, 10.8 inches wide with 2K resolution, is great to look at. To my eyes, some sort of colour saturation trick is at play which makes the images pop. Just like Apple's True Tone technology, the screen automatically adjusts, dimming the brightness according to the surroundings to reduce eye strain.
Speed wise, demanding games play well, with no display glitches or any of the weird ratio stretching that many tablets have. ROV runs fine as well, but with this large a screen, it's a bit difficult to reach some parts of the screen at the most hectic moments.
The table keeps going for a long time without needing to be plugged in, with its 7,500mAh battery capability. It can be fully charged in around 3 hours.
M-Pen, a stylus built by Huawei, is a 4,000-level pressure and tilt sensitivity digital pen. The tip is a little too slippery when used on the MediaPad screen, so a matted screen protector is recommended for precision. I created a few drawings on this tablet and, with most drawing apps, I found that there is a slight lag between what you draw and what is displayed on the screen. However, this is quite typical for any tablet that can be drawn on, including the iPad Pro or Samsung Galaxy Tab. The stylus can also be used just like a mouse.
The all-curved body is a plus when you don't want the side of the device to dig in to your hands, which can be a little painful with something as big and weighty as this.
The optional keyboard that comes with this set, when attached to the tablet, transforms the usual Android user interface into something akin to a Windows desktop. It can be very useful and makes document creation a lot more user friendly then the usual Android UI. But there is a language change bug, which I found very annoying as it prevented me from typing in Thai. The keyboard seemed a bit fragile at first but it survived me and my daughters for a whole week fine, so it is pretty durable.
I would like to commend Huawei for adding swipe gestures to the home button (which also functions as a fingerprint sensor), enabling you to return to the home screen, go back or do an app switch. However, I would also like to curse the fact that it's a bit too sensitive to accidental touch (and caused unwanted app exits many times a day).
The MediaPad M5 Pro supports multiple user accounts, which can easily be switched on-the-fly when logging on with another user's fingerprint. So you can lock the screen, pass it on to another person without them seeing your private information and let them use their own set of apps and information.
Sadly, the volume and power buttons are very difficult to find in the dark or by feeling because they do not protrude enough from the case. It's annoying but not a deal-breaker.
I did a kid-test by giving my two daughters the tablet to use for a few days and, in the end, they ditched the pen and keyboard (like me) and just used it to play games and watch YouTube.
So will this replace your PC? No. Is it a good media consumption device? Yes, very.
Specs
Screen: 10.8-inch with 2560x1600 resolution
OS: Andriod 8.0 with EMUI 8.0 on top
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, max 256GB expandable via microSD
Battery: 7,500mAh
Weight: 498g
Connectivity: 4G, USB-C, fingerprint sensor, ambient light sensor, M-Pen
Camera: 13MP (rear), 8MP (front)
Price: 18,990 baht (plus 3,990 baht for M5 Folio Keyboard)
