Not all tablets are created equal but with so many gadgets on offer it’s not so easy to see which one will give you the most bang for your buck. So we decided to compare two of Android's best: Huawei’s Mediapad M5 Lite 10 and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A, both of which have the same recommended retail price of R5,999.

Here’s what we found when we put their specs head-to-head.

Same-same

There is a lot of overlap between the two tablets. Both have the same size screen (25.6cm) and display resolution, sporting 1,920 pixels by 1,200. Both have the same processing power, battery life and 3GB RAM and the ability to hook up to any of your preferred 4G LTE networks. And both include a free stylus to work some scribble magic across the screens.

… But different

Although both have the same display, the Mediapad M5 Lite 10 is only slightly thinner and a whopping 83g lighter, which makes a huge difference on your wrists while you’re holding it for long periods of time. And you’re going to want to do that thanks to its four Harman Kardon speakers, twice that of the Galaxy Tab A.

The Mediapad also has extra megapixels in the front camera, sporting 8MP in the front and back as opposed to the Galaxy Tab A, which has only 2MP in the front and 8MP in the rear camera. Add to that, the Mediapad has double the memory space to hold on to all those memories and movies with 32G ROM compared to the Samsung’s 16G.

The Mediapad is also pre-installed with Android 8 while the Galaxy Tab is still on Android 6. Android updates will continue to be available on this device.

The Mediapad also has a fingerprint scanner. Not only is this a much-welcomed additional safety feature but a doorway that can unlock a special “Kids Corner” with your little ones fingerprint. Kids Corner is a specially designed kids zone where your children will have access to fun characters that guide them through four apps; the audio recorder, cameras, a Kids Painting app, and a gallery app called Multimedia but you can download suitable apps to your heart’s content from the Playstore.

And lastly The Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite 10 gives you added health benefits with the blue ray filter and a “posture detect” sensor to make sure using your Mediapad M5 doesn’t affect you adversely.

Verdict

Although both tablets are fundamentally good at their core, it’s all the added extras of the Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite 10 that nudges this mighty little tablet over the edge as the preferred tablet choice in this category.

This article was paid for by Huawei.