Last week, Huawei announced a new tablet simply called the MatePad which is actually a less-powerful version of its MatePad Pro flagship tablet. The MatePad is targeted at students and packs some pretty interesting specifications.
Huawei isn’t the only manufacturer that has announced a lite version of its flagship tablet. About a fortnight ago, Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite which is a cheaper version of its flagship tablet – the Galaxy Tab S6.
This post will compare the two new tablets which actually have more similarities than differences.
Design
Samsung and Huawei have gone with slightly different designs but the same materials. So you get a glass-covered display, an aluminum frame, and an aluminum back on both devices.
The two tablets have moderately-sized bezels, though not the slimmest we have seen. On the back, Huawei has adopted a pill-shaped camera housing for the MatePad while Samsung settled for a square-camera housing.
With respect to dimensions, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite and Huawei MatePad are not too far apart. Samsung’s tablet measures 244.5 x 154.3 x 7 mm while the MatePad measures 245.2 x 155 x 7.4 mm. The Galaxy Tab S6 is slightly smaller and thinner but surprisingly weighs more at 467 grams compared to the MatePad that weighs 450 grams.
Display
The two tablets both have 10.4-inch displays with the same 1200 x 2000 resolution. Both are also LCD panels, so there isn’t a difference in quality.
Performance
The Huawei MatePad is powered by a Kirin 810 processor while the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is powered by the Exynos 9611 processor. When it comes to performance, the Kirin 810 is the superior chipset. It has 2x Cortex-A76 cores and 6x Cortex-A55 cores compared to the Exynos 9611 that has 4x Cortex-A73 cores and 4x Cortex-A53 cores.
Based on the above, apps and games should launch and load faster on the MatePad. You should also have a better multi-tasking experience on Huawei’s tablet.
The MatePad is available in 4GB RAM and 6GB RAM variants with 64GB and 128GB of storage respectively. Samsung’s own tablet is available in a single 4GB RAM variant but you can choose between 64GB or 128GB of storage. The two tablets support storage expansion. Huawei’s tablet will allow you to add up to an extra 512GB while the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite doubles it to 1TB (US Site says 512GB).
Cameras
Another area where the two tablets are identical is the camera, the rear camera to be specific. Both have an 8MP camera but Huawei adds an LED flash to its setup which Samsung skips.
For selfies and video calls, Huawei goes with an 8MP sensor again but Samsung settles for a 5MP camera.
There is no camera comparison available yet, so we can’t say which tablet takes better pictures.
Battery and Fast Charging
Huawei ships the MatePad with a 7250mAh battery capacity with support for 18W fast charging (fully charged in 2.8 hours) and boasts it will provide up to 12 hours of video playback.
The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has a smaller 7040mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging and claims it will last up to 13 hours on a single charge for video playback.
Other features
Both tablets have an active stylus – M-Pencil for the MatePad and S-Pen for the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. However, Huawei doesn’t include the stylus in the box, so you have to buy that separately.
Another area where Samsung’s tablet wins is the addition of an audio jack. We are quite surprised why Huawei decided to skip it on a mid-range tablet. Huawei compensates for the lack of an audio jack by adding four speakers (Tuned by Harman Kardon) as against the two speakers (Tuned by AKG) on the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. The MatePad also ships with a Type-C to 3.5mm audio cable in the box.
Both tablets come in LTE and Wi-Fi-only variants. However, Samsung opts for e-SIM connectivity for its own LTE version according to the official UK page.
The two tablets also ship with Android 10 out of the box with EMUI 10.1 on the MatePad and One UI 2 on the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
Price
Huawei’s MatePad sells for ¥1899 (~$269) for the 4+64GB Wi-Fi-only version compared to the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite’s $350/£349 price for the same configuration. However, if you throw in the price of the M-Pencil stylus which is ¥499 (~$70), the price tag almost levels up.
The 6+128GB Wi-Fi-only MatePad is ¥2199 (~$311) while the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite with the same configuration is $420.
If you want the LTE version of the MatePad with 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage, the price is ¥2499 (~$353). Samsung is selling the 64GB LTE version for £399 in the UK along with a free Book Cover (worth £59.99) for those who pre-order (Wi-Fi versions are eligible too). There is no info on the price of the 128GB version of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
Conclusion
Both tablets are aimed at students as an affordable version of their more-powerful siblings which are targeted at professionals. However, they each have their strengths and weaknesses.
While the MatePad is definitely the better tablet in terms of performance and even price, its lack of Google Apps will not make it the first choice for several buyers outside China.
The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has the advantage with support for Google Apps and Services, though it comes with an average chipset. It also has the S Pen included, and if you were to pre-order, you’d get a free case too.
If you do not mind the weak processor of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, it is the better buy. However, if you do not need the S Pen, the Galaxy Tab S5e which now sells for less ($330 on Best Buy) is a better alternative.
The Galaxy Tab S5e has a more powerful chipset, an OLED screen, better cameras, quad speakers, a fingerprint scanner, and faster charging (18W). It is also pretty thin at just 5.5mm but lacks an audio jack.
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