When it comes to smartphones, there are so many specimens from China that manage to offer good quality, while maintaining really low prices. The tablet department, on the other hand, does not have all these exponents. Yet Teclast is the brand that moves the most in this field, offering tablets with a good value for money. On test today Teclast M16, an 11.6-inch Android tablet with 4G module, with smartphone functions.
Design
Opening the package would make anyone turn up their noses. Attention, not because the design of the tablet is insufficient, but because it is totally different from what is advertised in the catalog in the various renderings of the manufacturer's website.
The tablet itself is not bad at all, but certainly not at all similar to the advertised one, where very thin bezels stood out. Live, however, the tablet offers the classic frames well present, and overall it is pleasant. It is clear, however, that compared to the expectations of the renderings it has a lower aesthetic.
It has nothing original, but it does not make it unpleasant. It is a truly conventional tablet, with the classic front chamber placed on the upper edge, and with the on / off / stand-by buttons placed just below the volume rocker.
The other connectors reserve some surprises. First of all, there is the out port for connecting to an external monitor, as well as the 3.5mm headphone jack and the MicroSD / Sim slot.
Furthermore, on the bottom there is a magnetic connector, which is used to connect the keyboard cover, which is not included in the package, but which we sincerely recommend you to buy separately, in order to transform the tablet into a work peripheral, similar for as much as possible to a notebook, of course with the Android ecosystem on board.
Technical features
The technical data sheet of this Teclast M16 boasts, first of all, an MTK Helio X27 Decore processor, which serves to move the Android 8.0 operating system installed on board. The tablet screen is 11.6 inches with IPS technology, of course Full HD, therefore with a resolution of 1080 × 1920. In terms of autonomy there is a 7500 mAh battery, which thanks to the low consumption processor, offers at least 8 hours of local video playback.
To support the CPU an ARM Mali-T880 GPU, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB of integrated memory. The screen, as mentioned above, is 11.6 inches, with a good brightness, which on paper reaches a maximum peak of 370nit.
It is important to note the presence of the 4G module, i.e. the possibility of inserting a Sim card, and making phone calls: the dialer app is already pre-installed in the system and ready for use. Other features include 5G + 2.4G WiFi module, Bluetooth 4.2 and even a USB-C charging input.
How is it going?
The tablet offers more than enough standard usage. It can be used well without any problem when browsing the web, as well as when using email and social media or Google's productivity apps, for which the help of a keyboard would certainly benefit. We also tried watching multimedia content.
The volume is quite high, therefore suitable for watching movies, both on YouTube and on Netflix, even if the sound quality is not optimal. The audio is sufficient, not too cold or tinny, but not too deep, warm and enveloping.
The tablet does not seem to experience slowdowns or lag in everyday use, even if it is not among the fastest. We also tried the gaming side, with sufficient results. Casual games with simple graphics run sufficiently; for example Clash Royale, it works without particular problems, not at maximum speed, but still 100% playable. Same thing, for example, for Asphalt 8, fully playable, with a not very high frame rate, but still quite fluid. It is certainly not a more hardcore gaming tablet.
Multimedia
Teclast M16 offers two cameras, one on each side. The rear 8 MP and the front 2 MP. We will not dwell much on the two rooms, because they certainly are not the reason for choosing it.
Mediocre the front one, which you can only use in optimal light conditions, while at night it is difficult to use it. It will mostly be used for video calls, certainly not for taking quality selfies.
The rear camera is also rather modest, and even in this case it will be possible to use it only in good lighting conditions, while without daylight it will be difficult to take sufficient photos. Certainly, on the whole, it is not a tablet that you choose to be able to take quality photos.
Software
The tablet arrives home with Android 8.0 and in these two weeks of use we have not received any updates. It goes without saying that outdated software brings pros and cons. Among the latter, of course, an outdated interface, also and above all due to the presence of outdated applications.
You can fix the shot by installing an alternative launcher capable of rejuvenating the general UI. On the other hand, however, an older system is also a guarantee of stability, in addition to the fact that it does not burden the hardware of this tablet too much, which perhaps could at times struggle with the latest version of Android released.
Conclusions
Teclast M16 is a tablet that is certainly worth what it costs. At the time of writing it has a price list of 180 euros on a flash offer, and considering that it is a tablet that also allows you to call and surf in 4G it is certainly valid.
Certainly one should not expect top performance, so for an intense videogame use for example. The ability to install a keyboard and thus also offer a coveted productivity does not hurt at all. A small added value, even if the keyboard is not included in the package.
PRO
AGAINST
Prices and availability
At the time of writing this Teclast M16 costs 183 euros and can be purchased directly from here.
