Huawei MediaPad T2 Review - Good LTE Tablet Alternative?

At long last we are finally able to review the Huawei MediaPad T2. It is a tablet from the previous generation of Huawei's MediaPad lineup. How does it fare?

Huawei MediaPad T2 review!

With the release of the Huawei MediaPad T3, the MediaPad T2 may get some people's attention as a good alternative for the current gen MediaPad. We put it to the test and to see what you can expect in terms of performance and overall quality.

Huawei MediaPad T2 Specs

Display: 7-inch WSVGA IPS 1024 x 600 resolution at 170 ppi

CPU: 1.5GHz SC9830 quad-core processor

GPU: Mali-400

RAM: 2GB

ROM: 16GB expandable via microSD card up to 64 GB

Back Camera: 5MP f/2.8 w/ AF

Selfie Camera: 2MP f/2.8

Battery: 4,100mAh LiPo

OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS w/ EMUI 4.0

Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, LTE, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, single SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, sound

Others: Loud speakers, phone function

Dimensions: 191.8 x 107 x 8.5 mm

Weight: 278 g

Price: PHP 7,490

Unboxing / Accessories

Unboxed!

When you open the box what you get is pretty straightforward. You get the MediaPad T2 7.0 tablet, a 1A USB wall adapter and the micro USB cable. There is the quick start guide and warranty card as well. However, there is no free pair of headphones included.

Build Quality / Design

Nice build!

We are impressed with the Huawei MediaPad T2's combination of aluminum metal, textured plastic and glass in terms of the build. The back of the device has textured quality plastic at the top and bottom while the middle part is made out of metal.

Headphone jack on top

Ports and mic below

Power button and volume rocker at right

Design looks like your average tablet. But, bezels are thick. The phone is quite handy due to its textured top and bottom parts. It looks decent in general.

The buttons are placed on the top right side of the device. The buttons themselves are tactile and clicky. They seem to be made out of metal as well.

The 3.5 mm headphone port is fount at the top while the USB charging port is found at the bottom. The speaker and earpiece are combined so it has a front facing speaker for media consumption which is a plus. The SIM slot is located at bottom right part of the tablet.

Display Quality

Not that high resolution

The display is a 7-inch WSVGA IPS display at a 1024 x 600 resolution. It has a pixel density of 170 ppi. The display is which is, in terms of size, is a great thing for watching movies and playing some games. However, the resolution leaves a lot to be desired. It can only play YouTube videos up to 480p which is the Standard Definition.

This goes the same way with other video files and platform. It will glitch up if you play ant video clip above 480p. Most of the people who would but this maybe wouldn't mind that but for a device geared for media consumption it could have been better at 720p.

Color reproduction is fairly accurate with a slight bit of saturation here and there. Brightness is good enough for indoor usage however it lacks a bit when used outdoors. It can be sometimes tough to see the display under direct sunlight.

It also has 5-points of touch which is enough for most games and multitasking gestures.

Audio Quality

We know what to expect in terms of audio quality in tablets. The Huawei MediaPad T2 is no different. We appreciate the front facing speaker which works great in a quiet area.

However, it is severely lacking in this area. The volume is not loud enough which is  especially obvious when you are watching a movie. You will have a hard time hearing dialogues.

On the other hand, if you use a pair of headphones or earphones, you will get a fairly decent sound quality. Yes, it does not have a dedicated DAC but the sound quality is good. It can be improved in terms of volume but overall, the earphones experience is much better.

Microphone is decent for calls and basic recordings.

Battery Life

Nice battery score!

We are quite pleased with the battery benchmark results we got from the MediaPad T2 which has a 4,100mAh battery. It has a 7-inch screen and it still got up to 9 hours and 41 minutes of Work 2.0 battery life results.

Decent battery performance!

Outside of benchmark environments, the MediaPad T2 stayed on for 3 to 4 days on exclusive standby with WiFi on. Normal usage with WiFi, we got around 8 hours of straight usage while with LTE connection it lasted just under 8 hours. Gaming battery life, however, will only give you around 6 hours of straight usage. But, take note that we said straight usage, on normal circumstances you will not be using this for that long so overall, this is an impressive power efficient tablet.

Charging time is around 2 hours and 45 minutes from 20% to 100%.

Camera

Camera behind!

The cameras in the Huawei MediaPad T2 is nothing special. It has a 5MP f/2.8 sensor with AF at the back and a 2MP f/2.8 sensor for selfies. We have to understand that this is not marketed for the cameras. This is designed for media consumption, social media and browsing. Nonetheless, we tested this and this is our verdict.

The rear camera is good when there is great lighting. There is manual or pro mode as well. You can adjust the ISO and white balance in the camera app settings but not while focusing on a subject. The autofocus can be faster as well. Low light shots are a struggle and images has a lot of noise as well.

Lowlight performance

The selfie camera is what you can expect. The selfies I took came out darker that what I expected. Even in a room where there is good lighting the image came out with a lot of noise and again a bit darker. Since this is not a camera centric device, we can let it slide.

Selfie camera filters

It can also shoot videos at 720p using the rear camera which is passable at best. We only recommend you use this for video capturing if you really have to.

Performance

Benchmark scores

The Huawei MediaPad T2 has a 1.5GHz SC9830 quad core processor, Mali-400 GPU, 2GB of RAM with 16GB ROM that is expandable up to 64GB.

During our test usage, with proper resource management multitasking can be snappy. However, if you open up a lot of resource heavy apps like the Facebook app, Chrome, Messenger and Camera App all at once, it can bring the device into a crawl.

The 2GB of RAM is still usable with proper task management but the 16GB of ROM can be a bit of a problem. Pair it with an microSD card and that easily be remedied.

Gaming wise, we tried some of the popular games and the results are a mixed bag. In terms of games such Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor, lowering the graphics settings can help but frame drops will happen. More demanding games such as Asphalt 8 can make the MediaPad T2 heat up as it pushes its limit to keep up with the fast paced game.

EMUI

EMUI 4.0 is put on top of Android Marshmallow and we liked it overall. It looks good and performs very well. If it is not for your taste, you can throw on a custom launcher and make it suit your needs. Out of the box, we feel that EMUI 4.0 on the MediaPad T2 is the way it is meant to be used. There is an on-screen navigation bar as well.

Notifications and shortcuts

The LTE connectivity on the MediaPad T2 is pretty impressive to say the least. It is fast and stable which makes it a really good backup device when you are out and about. And yes, you can even do basic texting and calls as well.

Pros - Great "premium-feeling" build, impressive battery life, LTE connectivity, phone functions

Cons - No mention of glass protection, display can be improved to have better resolution, speakers improvement, no camera flash, better selfie camera, no OTG

Verdict

The Huawei MediaPad T2 is a bit of a tweener in my opinion. Why? Almost all of its features feels like it is almost there but not quite enough.

The display can benefit from a 720p upgrade, 32GB of ROM and maybe 3GB of RAM. We understand that this may mean a price hike but again, smartphones with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM is getting more affordable.

Build / Design - 4

Display - 3.5

Audio - 3.75

Battery - 4

Camera - 3.5

Performance - 4

Average - 3.79 / 5