Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) vs Huawei MediaPad T3 - Multimedia tablet battle
Tablets have begun to be exciting again thanks to renewed focus by manufacturers. So today, we look at two models from Huawei and Samsung.
We are pitting the PHP 7,990 Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) and the PHP 6,490 Huawei MediaPad T3 8 8 against each other to know if you really need to spend that much for a decent tablet.
Let's start!
Inside the box, both the Samsung Galaxy Tab A and the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 contain the tablet, Wall charger, SIM ejector tool, USB-A to micro USB cable and documentation.
Both are lightweight and solid feeling in the hand because of the build material combination of glass, polycarbonate, and metal. The unibody design of the Huawei Mediapad T3 allows for less parts which makes the overall package slimmer and lighter.
The back is made of a combination of the metal frame and a polycarbonate back cover. On the top right part of the back are the rear-facing cameras. On the top middle part of the back cover is the branding and at the bottom middle part is the regulatory information.
On top of both devices are 3.5mm headphone jacks. At the bottom of the Mediapad T3 are microphone port and a micro USB port while at the bottom of the Tab A are the speaker grills, microphone port, and micro-USB port.
On the left side of both devices are the power button and the volume rocker. Huawei has also decided to place the SIM tray under the power button.
On the right side of the Tab A is the SIM tray while the Mediapad T3's right side is smooth.
The Mediapad T3 measures 211 x 125 x 7.95 mm and weighs only 340 grams while the Tab A measures 208 x 138 x 7.4 mm and weighs only 347 grams.
In front of the Samsung is an 8-inch 1920 x 800 WUXGA TFT at 189 ppi while in front of the Huawei is an 8-inch IPS screen w/ HD 1280 x 800 resolution at 189 ppi. Both displays are surrounded by nearly the same sized bezels. Both offer Blue light filters to make it easier to the user's eyes.
Side-by-side, the 283 ppi display of the Samsung is able to display slightly crisper text and is noticeably have a higher maximum brightness than the Huawei. The Huawei's IPS display, on the other hand, has a more vibrant color, deeper contrast, and better viewing angles.
So in the display department, even though the Galaxy Tab had crisper text and higher maximum brightness, the IPS display of the Mediapad is just better for content consumption.
Both tablets feature a 3.5mm headphone jack but do not come with stock earphones.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A has two speaker grills at the bottom but only the right side has a speaker while the left side has a microphone. The Huawei MediaPad T3 8, on the other hand, has the speaker on the earpiece above the display.
For content consumption, the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 has a better placement because the speaker is facing you. It would have been great if either tablet offered stereo speakers.
Both produce similar audio quality with a decent sound quality across the volume range. At maximum volume, the sound from both tablets become tingy with loss of depth. We recommend keeping the volume at 70 to 80 percent for the best audio quality.
Sound quality is identical when plugging earphones via 3.5mm headphone jack or via Bluetooth.
At the back of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is an 8MP rear-facing camera. Camera modes include Photo, Video, HDR, Panorama, Pro, Live Focus, and continuous shot. Video can shoot up to 1080p at 30 fps.
While the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 features a 5MP rear-facing camera. Camera modes include Photo, Video, HDR, Time-lapse, Filter, Watermark, Audio note, Document scan, and Watermark modes. Video recording is up to 1080p at 30 fps.
Both cameras feature a 2MP front-facing camera. Tab A has three modes: Live Focus, Photo, and Video with 8 levels of beautification while the Mediapad T3 has three modes: Photo, Video and Filter modes with 5 levels of beautification.
Inside the Galaxy Tab A is a 2.0GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 429 quad-core processor with the Adreno 504 and 2GB RAM while inside the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 is a 1.4GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor with the Adreno 308 and 2GB RAM.
In our usual benchmarks, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A scored 87,502 in AnTuTu, 168 in GeekBench's single-core tests, and 557 in GeekBench's multi-core tests.
The Mediapad T3, on the other hand, got 63,079 in AnTuTu, 121 in GeekBench's single-core test, and 431 in GeekBench's multi-core score.
Even though the Galaxy Tab edges the Mediapad T3 in benchmarks by a small margin, the performance is nearly identical in real-world use. We would navigate through the OS, launch an app and use the app in a smooth experience. Multitasking is where both tablets struggled especially when there are more than 4 apps running the background because of the 2GB RAM.
Powering the Galaxy Tab A is a 5,100mAh that charges via micro USB while the Mediapad T3 is powered by a 4,800mAh battery.
In our daily use, the Galaxy Tab A lasted two full days without charging or 12 hours in our tests. We would advise charging this from time to time as it takes around 4 hours to charge from 0 to 100 with the included 5V2A charger.
On the other hand, the Mediapad T3 also lasted a little more than two and a half days or 16 hours in our tests. It also takes around 4 hours to charge from 0 to 100 percent.
Even though the Galaxy Tab had a large battery capacity, the Mediapad lasted longer in our daily use and in our battery tests.
One unique feature of the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 is the dedicated "Children's Corner" where you can set-up an individual child only account for your kids that will provide information and fun content in a safe parent-supervised environment. Parents can limit the total number of hours or the number of uses a child can use the tablet per day.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) advantages - larger 5100mAh battery, better Snapdragon chip, Android 9.0 out of the box, Bluetooth 4.2
Huawei MediaPad T3 8 advantages - IPS display, better battery optimization, Children's Mode
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) vs Huawei MediaPad T3 8 |
We are pitting the PHP 7,990 Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) and the PHP 6,490 Huawei MediaPad T3 8 8 against each other to know if you really need to spend that much for a decent tablet.
Let's start!
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Inside the box |
Inside the box, both the Samsung Galaxy Tab A and the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 contain the tablet, Wall charger, SIM ejector tool, USB-A to micro USB cable and documentation.
Build Quality/Design
 |
| Rear side |
Both are lightweight and solid feeling in the hand because of the build material combination of glass, polycarbonate, and metal. The unibody design of the Huawei Mediapad T3 allows for less parts which makes the overall package slimmer and lighter.
The back is made of a combination of the metal frame and a polycarbonate back cover. On the top right part of the back are the rear-facing cameras. On the top middle part of the back cover is the branding and at the bottom middle part is the regulatory information.
 |
| Top side |
On top of both devices are 3.5mm headphone jacks. At the bottom of the Mediapad T3 are microphone port and a micro USB port while at the bottom of the Tab A are the speaker grills, microphone port, and micro-USB port.
 |
| Bottom side |
 |
| Left side |
On the left side of both devices are the power button and the volume rocker. Huawei has also decided to place the SIM tray under the power button.
 |
| Right side |
On the right side of the Tab A is the SIM tray while the Mediapad T3's right side is smooth.
The Mediapad T3 measures 211 x 125 x 7.95 mm and weighs only 340 grams while the Tab A measures 208 x 138 x 7.4 mm and weighs only 347 grams.
Multimedia Experience
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| Both have 8-inch displays |
In front of the Samsung is an 8-inch 1920 x 800 WUXGA TFT at 189 ppi while in front of the Huawei is an 8-inch IPS screen w/ HD 1280 x 800 resolution at 189 ppi. Both displays are surrounded by nearly the same sized bezels. Both offer Blue light filters to make it easier to the user's eyes.
Big screens, enjoyable experience!
Side-by-side, the 283 ppi display of the Samsung is able to display slightly crisper text and is noticeably have a higher maximum brightness than the Huawei. The Huawei's IPS display, on the other hand, has a more vibrant color, deeper contrast, and better viewing angles.
So in the display department, even though the Galaxy Tab had crisper text and higher maximum brightness, the IPS display of the Mediapad is just better for content consumption.
Both tablets feature a 3.5mm headphone jack but do not come with stock earphones.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A has two speaker grills at the bottom but only the right side has a speaker while the left side has a microphone. The Huawei MediaPad T3 8, on the other hand, has the speaker on the earpiece above the display.
For content consumption, the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 has a better placement because the speaker is facing you. It would have been great if either tablet offered stereo speakers.
Both produce similar audio quality with a decent sound quality across the volume range. At maximum volume, the sound from both tablets become tingy with loss of depth. We recommend keeping the volume at 70 to 80 percent for the best audio quality.
Sound quality is identical when plugging earphones via 3.5mm headphone jack or via Bluetooth.
Cameras
 |
| Rear cameras |
At the back of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is an 8MP rear-facing camera. Camera modes include Photo, Video, HDR, Panorama, Pro, Live Focus, and continuous shot. Video can shoot up to 1080p at 30 fps.
While the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 features a 5MP rear-facing camera. Camera modes include Photo, Video, HDR, Time-lapse, Filter, Watermark, Audio note, Document scan, and Watermark modes. Video recording is up to 1080p at 30 fps.
 |
| Front-facing cameras |
Both cameras feature a 2MP front-facing camera. Tab A has three modes: Live Focus, Photo, and Video with 8 levels of beautification while the Mediapad T3 has three modes: Photo, Video and Filter modes with 5 levels of beautification.
Performance/UI
 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab A Benchmarks |
In our usual benchmarks, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A scored 87,502 in AnTuTu, 168 in GeekBench's single-core tests, and 557 in GeekBench's multi-core tests.
 |
| Huawei MediaPad T3 8 Benchmark scores |
The Mediapad T3, on the other hand, got 63,079 in AnTuTu, 121 in GeekBench's single-core test, and 431 in GeekBench's multi-core score.
Even though the Galaxy Tab edges the Mediapad T3 in benchmarks by a small margin, the performance is nearly identical in real-world use. We would navigate through the OS, launch an app and use the app in a smooth experience. Multitasking is where both tablets struggled especially when there are more than 4 apps running the background because of the 2GB RAM.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab offers slightly better performance over the Mediapad T3
Powering the Galaxy Tab A is a 5,100mAh that charges via micro USB while the Mediapad T3 is powered by a 4,800mAh battery.
In our daily use, the Galaxy Tab A lasted two full days without charging or 12 hours in our tests. We would advise charging this from time to time as it takes around 4 hours to charge from 0 to 100 with the included 5V2A charger.
On the other hand, the Mediapad T3 also lasted a little more than two and a half days or 16 hours in our tests. It also takes around 4 hours to charge from 0 to 100 percent.
Even though the Galaxy Tab had a large battery capacity, the Mediapad lasted longer in our daily use and in our battery tests.
 |
| Huawei MediaPad T3 8's Kid's mode |
One unique feature of the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 is the dedicated "Children's Corner" where you can set-up an individual child only account for your kids that will provide information and fun content in a safe parent-supervised environment. Parents can limit the total number of hours or the number of uses a child can use the tablet per day.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) advantages - larger 5100mAh battery, better Snapdragon chip, Android 9.0 out of the box, Bluetooth 4.2
Huawei MediaPad T3 8 advantages - IPS display, better battery optimization, Children's Mode
Huawei MediaPad T3 8 Specs
Display: 8-inch IPS screen w/ HD 1280 x 800 resolution at 189 ppi
CPU: 1.4GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor
GPU: Adreno 308
RAM: 2GB
ROM: 16GB
Back Camera: 5MP
Selfie Camera: 2MP
Battery: 4,800 mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat w/ EMUI 5.0
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, A GPS,
Dimensions: 211.07 x 124.65 x 7.95 mm
Weight: 350 g
Price: PHP 6,490
Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) Specs
Display: 8-inch TFT screen w/ WUXGA 1920 x 1200 resolution at 283 ppi
CPU: 2.0GHz 64-bit Snapdragon 429 quad-core processor
GPU: Adreno 504
RAM: 2GB
ROM: 32GB
Back Camera: 8MP
Selfie Camera: 2MP
Battery: 5,100 mAh
OS: Android 9.0 Nougat w/ OneUI 1.1 on top
Connectivity: WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, A GPS, GLONASS
Dimensions: 208 x 138 x 7.4 mm
Weight: 347 g
Price: PHP 7,990
Verdict
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| Which one should you pick? |
Both tablets offer similar build quality from the same build materials of glass, polycarbonate, and metal.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019) is a respectable tablet with a good TFT display, decent performance, long battery life and runs on Android 9 Nougat.
BUT, because the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 is more affordable, has a better IPS display, a stronger battery life, and can do 90 percent of what the Galaxy Tab A can do.
BUT, because the Huawei MediaPad T3 8 is more affordable, has a better IPS display, a stronger battery life, and can do 90 percent of what the Galaxy Tab A can do.
So in this comparison, even though the Tab A wins in most categories, but because the Mediapad T3 performs so closely a more affordable price, we have to give it to Huawei.
It even has a dedicated mode for kids!
They have been consistently offering good quality built devices with good performance at great prices.
It even has a dedicated mode for kids!
They have been consistently offering good quality built devices with good performance at great prices.
What do you guys think?
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