Reminiscent of the aluminium backed Samsung's and Apple iPads, the build quality and super sleek design of the M3 10 Inch Lite is fantastic. They complement each other very well. Coming in at under one third of an Inch in thickness, it's very thin but still has some weight to it, so feels great in the hand. Out the box it comes with Android 7.0 Nougat and the feature rich EMUI 5.1.
This is a great combination, which gives it the ability to make certain features a bit more convenient than just having the standard Android 7.0. Some of those conveniences include an App tray, more shortcuts to make important features within easier reach, accidental tap detector (still a work in progress), and a single-hand setting which makes the device a bit more easier to operate certain tasks when using just one hand.
Quick Spec
The core specification includes a 10.1 Inch 1920 x 1200 IPS (ClariVu) Display, Qualcomm Octa-Core (MSM8940) Processor @ 1.4GHz, Adreno™ 505 GPU, 3GB RAM, 32GB built-in storage (can hold an additional 128GB), Dual cameras (8mp front facing fixed focus camera + 8mp auto focus rear), incredible Harman / Kardon four speaker "SmartPA" sound system, WiFi, Bluetooth, SD Slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, micro USB port, outstanding battery life (6660mAh), fingerprint scanning technology for added security, split screen and parental controls. It also comes with a manufacturers 2 year warranty.
Stand out features of the Huawei MediaPad M3 10 Lite
Responsiveness and Stability
With its powerful Qualcomm Octa-Core (MSM8940) Processor and 3GB RAM, It's very fast and responsive. Even when multi-tasking to a considerably high level, it still has the ability to remain stable and non-lethargic. That also goes for high resource using activities, too, like gaming and video playback. Browsing the Internet offers very little strain on the Huawei 10 Lite's large CPU reserve, and it can do this using minimal effort. Even with a multitude of different tabs open, some of which being complex, and often annoying Java-heavy websites, and with many Apps running in the background, the system lag remains impressively low. A very stable, versatile tablet.
The Screen
Whilst not the highest PPI at 224, the screen offers a really good level of clarity and depth. Viewing angles are excellent. The display also benefits from having ClariVu-Eye Care Mode technology, which is basically an eye friendly feature that can filter out potentially harmful blue light and automatically adjust the brightness of the screen to suit the lighting conditions of the users surroundings, offering an optimal, eye strain-less experience. Although some users would disagree. But overall the screen is excellent.
Speaker System
This is not your usual set of tinny speakers that are found in so many tablets these days, it's a much more fulfilling experience. Having the full Quad (4 speakers) Harmon / Kardon speaker system, this is rated as one of the M3 10 Lite's best features. The sound quality this device is capable of producing is second to none when compared to any competitor at the price range. Whether listening to music, gaming, or watching a movie, you will instantly be aware of how much more fuller and enhanced the audio is. Brilliant speaker set up.
Battery Duration
The M3 10 Lite has an excellent battery duration, even when performing battery sapping requests like watching films and playing games. Video playback duration for this model is stated as approximately 10 hours, and the standby time can far surpass that. By all accounts it holds a charge really well. This is a sure sign of high quality cells being used inside the battery. With many machines being notoriously slow to reach a full charge, it's also faster to charge than most.
Other things worth mentioning
With the added advantage of being able to set a micro SD card as the default location, you can now install Apps directly on to the storage card, and then run them from there. So the 32GB of internal storage space that's in the 10 Lite is of little concern if / when it becomes full and you still want to install more Apps. Just buy an SD card and install them directly onto the card.
Despite what some product descriptions claim, in the UK the Huawei M3 10 Lite is not a Phablet. It does (or some models) have a SIM card slot (some have two), but the models designated for the UK market (also USA and Europe) are not compatible with the phone Networks of those locations. I believe its only Asia where this feature is compatible.
Problems
This is such a great tablet for the money that it's hard to really find many faults or negatives that are consistent enough to be worth mentioning. Some of the other models from the range do have a few minor issues here and there, but this one seems to be the most trouble-free of them all. There have been a few complaints about a weak WiFi signal, which were quickly rectified (full refunds issued) and put down to a few faulty devices slipping through the net. This is very believable, because on the other hand there are lots of reviewers complimenting how good the WiFi strength is.
The main "problem" with this model is actually not a problem with the tablet at all. The main issue is down to the sellers putting up the wrong information in the product descriptions. In this case, on Amazon. For example, some buyers thought they were getting the BAH-L09, which is 4G mobile data enabled, but in reality they were sent the BAH-W09, which is not 4G SIM card compatible. So really, the tablet is not at fault at all here, it's basically down to human error.
This has not only happened with 4G related matters either, but with many different aspects, all feature related. So be sure to ask the seller in advance if there's anything you are unsure about that you absolutely need the device to have before purchasing to avoid disappointment. If it's 4G you're after, give either the M3 8.4″ with Kirin 950 Processor, or the T3 10 Zoll LTE Phablet a look.
The Zoll LTE doesn't have the same level of specification as the model reviewed here (though still very good), but does come in at a lower price and is confirmed to be 4G mobile data compatible for UK Networks. Great machine. In closing, the 10 Lite is a fantastic, very refined device, and no doubt top-shelf for what it costs to buy. In fact, overall I'd say this particular model is better than the similarly priced offerings from Samsung and Apple.
