Huawei may be facing an existential threat due to US trade restrictions, but that isn’t stopping the Chinese electronics company from launching new devices.

The company has just pulled the veil off a few new devices including the Nova 5 series of smartphones and the new Huawei MediaPad M6 Android tablet family.

I find the tablets particularly interesting, since there’s not a lot of competition in the mid-range/high-end Android tablet space these days.

The MediaPad M6 comes in two versions. There’s an 8.4-inch model with a 6,100 mAh battery and starting price of CNY 1,999 (about $290). And there’s a 10.8 inch version with a starting price of CNY 2,299 ($335) and a 7,500 mAh battery.

Both models have the same key specs, including:

  • 2560 x 1600 pixel display
  • Kirin 980 processor
  • 4GB/64GB WiFi-only model or 4GB/128GB 4G LTE model
  • microSDXC card reader
  • 13MP rear and 8MP front camera
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • USB-C port
  • 802.11ac WiFi
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Champagne gold and Silver ash color options
  • Android 9 with EMUI 9.1 user interface

The 10.8 inch model measures 10.1″ x 7″ x 0.3″ (257mm x 179mm x 7.2mm) and weighs 1.1 pounds (498 grams). Its screen features 280 pixels per inch, and Huawei says you can expect up to 11 hours of battery life during video playback, and it takes about 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery.

The smaller version has a 359 ppi display, measures 8.1″ x 4.9″ x 0.3″ (206.4mm x 125.22 x 7.4mm) and weighs 11.3 ounces (320 grams). Despite having a smaller battery, it should get more run time, with up to 12.5 hours of battery life while watching videos.

Huawei says the MediaPad M6 tablets will both go on sale in China in early July. There’s no word on if or when we’ll see them internationally. While the company does have a history of selling its tablets around the world, Huawei’s under a bit of pressure these days.

Huawei MediaPad M6 8.4

Huawei MediaPad M6 10.8

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15 replies on “Huawei’s MediaPad M6 Android tablets sport Kirin 980 chips, 8.4 inch or 10.8 inch displays”

  1. The screen is from tianma, so there will be PWM flicker on these two?

    1. Brad, I’m still unable to edit my post, even though you said you’ve increased the time to do so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  2. I have the M5 10″ version. I love the tablet but have only received one security update since I purchased it about 5 months ago. Still on Android 8.

    1. I have the M5 8.4 version since one year and I got the security updates every month until now. And I’m on Android 9 Pie since several weeks.

      Are you sure you have the M5, and not the T5 or M5 lite ?

        1. It’s funny. But it’s almost like Huawei read your comment and wanted to prove you wrong. Gateway night I got an update on my m5 8.4 LTE with Google’s June security update, and like Nicolas I am on android 9. BUT I ordered mine on Aliexpress and one thing about android fragmentation is that it can be not only among different manufacturers and models but also among countries (though this last one sometimes has more to do with carriers and is more common on cell phones…which technically this is).

          1. Yeah, don’t buy Android devices meant for the internal Chinese market. Only buy their international export devices.

  3. How have Huawei been with updates on the previous MediaPads? Is the M3 still getting Android updates?

    1. No. July 2018 was the last security update for the M3 and nothing since, so unless Huawei got its act together with the M5 regarding security and software updates, I’d say they aren’t all that great.

      1. That’s unfortunate but pretty much what I expected. Updates are still the worst part of the Android ecosystem.

        1. It’s why I stick to Android One devices. Even Xiaomi AO devices get updates every 2 months.

    2. Funny enough I rooted my M3 this weekend and almost bricked it, but did it so I can have 100% control but still on stock nougat outdated PoS. This will be the last Huawei device I own to be honest, at least in the Android world. Also since the Kirins are so hard to develop for, the availability of custom ROMs for anything that is not the $1000 flagship from Huawei is pretty much null.

Comments are closed.