Meswao B5 / B5 Basic: specs, size and price

Both versions have the same 16-inch screen, MediaTek Helio G99 processor, 12,000 mAh battery and Android 16. The B5 has 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage (black); the B5 Basic has 12 GB and 128 GB (silver) and is slightly cheaper. For videos, the web and documents, the Basic is enough; the B5 is worth it if you keep many apps open or store films for offline viewing (both have a microSD slot).

They are the only two 16-inch tablets on sale, and their screens are alike (16:10, 1920 × 1200 pixels, not very sharp at this size). The rest is quite different:

• Choose the Acer Iconia A16 if you mainly watch videos at a table or in bed: it has a built-in kickstand, it is lighter (980 g instead of 1,120 g) and it is the cheapest of the two. But its Allwinner A733 is about 30 % slower, it has less memory (6 or 8 GB) and no keyboard or stylus.
• Choose the Meswao B5 if you also want to write or work: it offers an optional keyboard with touchpad and an active stylus, more memory (12 or 16 GB), a bigger battery (12,000 mAh instead of 8,000) and Widevine L1 for HD streaming on Netflix and Prime Video (Acer does not say whether the A16 has it). It needs a case or a stand.

These three large, low-cost Android tablets have screens of 1920 × 1080 or 1920 × 1200 pixels, not very sharp at this size (about 140 ppi), and none has a published update policy. The 16-inch 16:10 screens are about as wide as the 15.6-inch 16:9 screen of the MES-B3 Pro, but about 11 % taller in landscape, with about 11 % more area.

• Choose the Meswao MES-B3 Pro if you want a tablet that has been reviewed: it is the only one of the three with a hands-on review on this site and an independent test (Notebookcheck, original MES-B3). It is the thickest (about 1 cm) and weighs 1,085 g.
• Choose the Meswao B5 for the largest screen with a keyboard and a pen: the same Helio G99 chip and the same optional keyboard with touchpad as the MES-B3 Pro, but 16 inches, 12 or 16 GB of RAM and Widevine L1 (according to Meswao); it is the heaviest (1,120 g), and no independent review exists yet.
• Choose the Acer Iconia A16 for videos: it is the lightest (980 g), has a built-in kickstand and a headphone jack, and is the cheapest; but its chip is slower, and it supports neither a pen nor a keyboard.