Head to head Samsung S6 Lite vs Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite – An artist review

Started 4 years ago 2136

I use the Samsung S6 Lite and the Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite to do some of my Paintology drawings. However, this is not truly a fair comparison since the Huawei is over a third less than the cost of the Samsung but nevertheless pitching the tablets against each other will give you an idea of which device might be better for you.

As it stands the two tablets are ideal for watching videos, netflix and general browsing but the real test of the two devices comes out when testing the Paintology app through both of the devices. Ideally, you want to do a drawing that is long and similar as you can see the performance degradation (if any) ie. due to memory management, cpu power etc.

I made two similar drawings using the Paintology app on both devices using the native pen of the Samsung S6 tablet and the pen for the Huawei M5 Lite (Fig. 1). I needed to purchase the native pen for the M5 Lite which cost me an extra $30 but even with this extra outlay the tablet was still significantly cheaper than the Samsung. Fig. 2 shows my attempt at a photo realistic drawing of a packet of Walkers crisp packet which is very popular in the UK. Fig. 3 is an equally popular snack which is a packet of KP Peanuts and created with the Huawei Mediapad M5.

Fig. 1 Samsung S6 Lite vs Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite

Fig. 2 Samsung S6 Lite drawing with Paintology

Fig. 3 Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite drawing with Paintology

The drawings on the two tablets took about the same time, approximately 3 hours and both were done with the gray scale mode of drawing of the Paintology app. If I were to pick a winner on the ‘feel’ of the drawing, the Samsung wins due to it’s fluidity and extra cpu power. However, the Huawei performed equally well and perhaps as not as fluid but it never hampered me in any way of doing the drawing. Comparing the cost, you have to give it to Huawei for creating a very great value tablet.

The pens for each operated differently for each with the Samsung having a ‘platicky’ feel to it’s nib which made the drawing a little more pleasant than the Huawei which had a harder ‘glassy’ feel when drawing with the pen. Another issue I found with the Huawei pen is the shiny surface which had an uncomfortable feel in my hands as I was drawing for an extended amount of time. Half way through the drawing, I wasn’t enjoying the slippery surface of this pen compared to the Samsung pen which has a hard plastic shell, my fingers would become dry from time to time with the Huawei pen. I had a bright idea and decided to wrap the pen with plaster which provided a much better feel to the grip and was more pleasant to draw (Fig. 4). Naturally, I could not do anything with the nib and this had a harder feel to the glass surface but this did not deter me from making a good drawing. I think Samsung has more experience with pen users whereas the folks on the Huawei camp would use the tablet for general purpose of browsing, watching videos, playing games etc. and less intensive work using the pen. It maybe the reason why Huawei did not package the pen with it’s tablet and sold as a separate item.