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Huawei has nailed a few elements in the MediaPad M3, but the tablet falls short when it comes to gaming performance, making a few other tablets out there better options for gamers.
We liked
One of the best things about the Huawei MediaPad M3 is its build. The slim, light aluminium frame looks and feels good while being seriously practical.
The screen is good too. It's sharp, and has colour modes that provide both more natural and saturated tones. The speakers are another high point, delivering impressive volume for a tablet this slim.
We disliked
The big problem with the Huawei MediaPad M3 is that its chipset doesn't seem to be able to make Android's fanciest games run well. Many run much slower than they should.
Its rear camera is nothing special either. We're not huge fans of tablet photography when most phone have better sensors, but some users will demand better phone performance than this from their slates.
Verdict
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.
