Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite vs Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2018: which premium tablet should you buy? [Sponsored]

It can be a dizzying experience shopping for a premium Android tablet in South Africa, but there are two notable offerings from Samsung and Huawei that are worth a look: the Galaxy Tab A 2018 and the Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite.

But how do these two tablets stack up? We look at both in more depth, feature by feature.

Size

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A is the larger tablet, with a 10.5 inch display, but this does come at a cost. It weighs 534 grams, and is some 26cm long. The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite is more compact, with a denser 10.1 inch display and thinner body at 7.7mm. It’s also shorter, at 24cm long.

Chipset

Internally, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2018 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 chipset that tops out at 1.8GHz. It also features 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite also has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, but its powered by the octa-core Kirin 659 chipset, with a higher maximum clockspeed of 2.36GHz.

Battery and charging

Although its smaller and lighter, the MediaPad M5 Lite has a larger battery at 7500mAh. The Galaxy Tab A 2018 features a 7300mAh cell. Notably, the Huawei tablet also has fast charging technology.

Camera

The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite features an 8MP sensor front and back, with the rear camera toting autofocus too. The Samsung tablet settles for a 5MP sensor up front, and an 8MP at the rear.

Security

For those who value security, the Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite features a fingerprint sensor up front, below the screen. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2018 does not feature physical authentication.

Stylus

Unlike the Galaxy Tab A 2016, the 2018 edition does not come with the S-Pen stylus. The Huawei MediaPad M5 Lite however comes with the M-Pen stylus, which allows users to draw and jot down notes easily.

Price

Finally, how do these two tablets stack up in terms of price?

Both will cost you, at most, R399 per month on contract. Prepaid pricing is notably different though. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2018 will fetch a premium at R7499. The MediaPad M5 Lite costs R5999.

Feature image: Huawei

This article is sponsored by Huawei.