Notebookcheck Logo

Acer Iconia Tab 10 Tablet Review

Gold chain substitute. The Acer Iconia Tab 10 stands out with above-average performance at an ambitious price. But can it meet these expectations? A few minutes of close contact with the device quickly leave a lasting impression.

As far as technical features are concerned, Acer does not want to miss out on the latest Iconia Tab: A Mediatek-MT8176 processor supported by a PowerVR-GX6250 graphics unit are way above average when it comes to affordable tablets. Given the equipment, the price of just under 300 Euros (~$370) seems quite reasonable. However, there are also some characteristics that put this price into perspective. But more on this at a more convenient time. The Iconia has already had some predecessors, but it is the first one that we test ourselves. 

We want to use some of the devices that are already in our database in the price-performance category for our comparison. There is the Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus, which is the best comparable Tablet in terms of equipment, but which costs 50 Euros (~$60) more. The same goes for the Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite, which has even less main memory (3 GB) and less hard drive (32 GB). The latter was on sale for 100 Euros (~$122) less.

The Amazon Fire HD 10, however, can clearly underbid the price with 225 Euros (~$275), which must get along however with only 2 GB of RAM. The 2017 iPad from Apple also has 2 GB of main memory and is at a similar price level.

Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 (Iconia Tab 10 Series)
Processor
Mediatek MT8176 6 x 2.1 GHz, Cortex-A72/-A53
Graphics adapter
Memory
4 GB 
Display
10.10 inch 16:10, 1920 x 1200 pixel 224 PPI, Capacitive, IPS, glossy: yes
Storage
64 GB eMMC Flash, 64 GB 
, 52 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: 3.5mm, Card Reader: microSD-Card, Sensors: Accelerometer
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8.9 x 267 x 169.2 ( = 0.35 x 10.51 x 6.66 in)
Battery
6100 mAh Lithium-Ion, Battery runtime (according to manufacturer): 8 h
Operating System
Android 7.0 Nougat
Camera
Primary Camera: 5 MPix
Secondary Camera: 2 MPix
Additional features
Speakers: 4, Keyboard: Virtual, Keyboard Light: yes, Stand, 12 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
531 g ( = 18.73 oz / 1.17 pounds), Power Supply: 76 g ( = 2.68 oz / 0.17 pounds)
Price
299 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The case tries to convey a high-quality appearance with various design applications. However, these cannot hide the fact that the entire cover is made of the cheapest plastic. This can be both seen and felt. Touching the device quickly creates a feeling of lack of stability, which is immediately confirmed by the attempt to twist it: It cracks and creaks at all corners and edges. After this attempt, the user starts handling the Acer with velvet gloves only. 

Due to the protruding speaker jaws on the left and right as well as the weight of more than 500 grams (~1.1 lb); there are no new top marks. The volume buttons are not attached to the edges as usual, but on the left side next to the display surface between the two speakers. When touching the device in a normal manner, they are often triggered by mistake. The same applies to the special button between the right-hand speakers, which is intended for quick access to special multimedia functions. The strange shape and arrangement turned out to be rather inconvenient during testing. However, these shortcomings do not make the device difficult to use. Apart from minor nuisances, it is easy to hold and comfortable to use.

Size Comparison

267 mm / 10.5 inch 169.2 mm / 6.66 inch 8.9 mm / 0.3504 inch 531 g1.171 lbs262 mm / 10.3 inch 159 mm / 6.26 inch 9.8 mm / 0.3858 inch 497 g1.096 lbs247 mm / 9.72 inch 173 mm / 6.81 inch 7.1 mm / 0.2795 inch 475 g1.047 lbs241 mm / 9.49 inch 172 mm / 6.77 inch 7.1 mm / 0.2795 inch 460 g1.014 lbs240 mm / 9.45 inch 169.5 mm / 6.67 inch 7.5 mm / 0.2953 inch 478 g1.054 lbs210 mm / 8.27 inch 148 mm / 5.83 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 2.9 g0.00639 lbs

Connectivity

As far as the technical equipment is concerned, this fits in well with the asking price. Mediatek's MT8176 and the PowerVR-GX6250-GPU are fast enough and should not cause performance problems in the near future. 64 GB of RAM is now standard in the middle class. As far as RAM memory is concerned, manufacturers are apparently trying to score higher and higher, although it is very rarely utilized. It also underlines the trend towards using tablets more as full-fledged computers that can replace notebooks.

In terms of connections, there are hardly any surprises. On the left side there is a Micro-USB port for loading and data exchange. The jack socket for the headset is positioned above it. At the top, there is a small hump that turns over the back into a camera lens cover. This can be opened at the top - cleverly hidden - and brings out a micro HDMI connection and the microSD slot. The slot is well hidden, but with the cable plugged in it does not look very elegant. The manufacturer claims the slot holds microSD cards of up to 128 GB.

According to the manufacturer, the HDMI connection should be able to output an image at a 4K resolution. This was rather difficult to verify in the test. Although an image could be generated on a 4K monitor with HDMI, Android does not support the settings for Windows. Settings indicated that a 4K resolution was activated. But since the screen was only mirrored, there was not much to see. Only the lagging reaction of the tablet during the image composition indicated that it had to do considerably more. We left it at that. The tablet communicates wirelessly with WLAN 802.11ac and Bluetooth version 4.0. There is little to complain about here.

Software

The operating system used is Android 7.0. Security updates are from August 2017, which is not precisely up to date when compared to the Amazon Fire HD, whose Fire OS is based on Android 5.1. A flood of updates is certainly not to be expected. Otherwise, Acer has integrated EZSnap and EZWakeUp, which are supposed to make it possible to take screenshots and wake up from hibernation with the help of finger gestures. This worked more or less elegantly in the test. In addition, there are some advertising apps that are automatically installed when the device is started, but can be deleted again. The Office Suite from Microsoft, including Skype are also pre-installed.

Furthermore, Acer follows the perceived trend towards the missing App Drawer and has placed all installed apps on the home screen. There is no further app overview. From the author's point of view, this is a sensible trend. For many users, it can be confusing to find some apps on the start screen, while others are hidden elsewhere. This mostly superfluous duplication may soon be a thing of the past. If you like it anyway, you can install your own App Drawer. Basically, it seems solid, but the removal of unwanted apps is annoying. If you have to use advertising apps, Lenovo's approach is preferable: a selection screen will appear during setup to determine whether or not these apps should be installed. Perhaps it is not so well paid for by the advertisers.

Start screen
Start screen
Pre-installed Microsoft Office
Pre-installed Microsoft Office
Google Apps
Google Apps
End User License Agreement and Activation of Televisors
End User License Agreement and Activation of Televisors

Communication and GPS

The Acer Iconia is equipped with a fast 802.11-ac WLAN, which is not quite as fast as the WLAN of the iPad, for example. However, the Android comparison devices are all around the same standard, so these values do not speak for any of the Android devices in particular. In addition, the iPad is equipped with MIMO antenna technology and therefore slightly faster. In normal use, the WLAN showed no anomalies and ran smoothly.

As a further communication module, the Iconia has Bluetooth version 4.0 as well as GPS and GLONASS. A SIM card cannot be used with the Acer.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Apple iPad (2017)
A9 / PowerVR GT7600, A9, 128 GB NVMe
389 MBit/s +62%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
Adreno 506, 625, 64 GB eMMC Flash
263 MBit/s +10%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
Adreno 505, 435, 32 GB eMMC Flash
258 MBit/s +8%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
PowerVR GX6250, MT8176, 64 GB eMMC Flash
240 MBit/s
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
PowerVR GX6250, MT8173, 64 GB eMMC Flash
227 MBit/s -5%
iperf3 receive AX12
Apple iPad (2017)
A9 / PowerVR GT7600, A9, 128 GB NVMe
465 MBit/s +77%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
Adreno 506, 625, 64 GB eMMC Flash
350 MBit/s +34%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
Adreno 505, 435, 32 GB eMMC Flash
338 MBit/s +29%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
PowerVR GX6250, MT8176, 64 GB eMMC Flash
262 MBit/s
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
PowerVR GX6250, MT8173, 64 GB eMMC Flash
241 MBit/s -8%
GPS outside
GPS outside
GPS outside
GPS outside
GPS Indoor
GPS Indoor
GPS Indoor
GPS Indoor

On the other hand, the integrated positioning module is very pleasing and can be used to determine the position of both American GPS satellites and Russian GLONASS satellites. In open air it can measure the distance with a very good accuracy of about 5 meters (~16 ft). Indoors, this is slightly worse, but still pretty good at 8 meters (~26 ft). However, it is difficult to receive a satellite Indoors at all. In comparison to our Garmin reference device, there are no special incidents to report. The deviation is within the usual range. Mobile phones and tablets call up the location less frequently, so the distance will appear less "round" and there will be slight deviations in the length of the route.

GPS Acer Iconia
GPS Acer Iconia
GPS Acer Iconia
GPS Acer Iconia
GPS Acer Iconia
GPS Acer Iconia
GPS Garmin Edge 500
GPS Garmin Edge 500
GPS Garmin Edge 500
GPS Garmin Edge 500
GPS Garmin Edge 500
GPS Garmin Edge 500

Cameras

We do not want to say much about the two cameras here. The main camera shoots photos with 5 MP resolution. The portrait camera has a 2MP sensor. Neither are particularly outstanding. For a tablet the camera functions are of secondary importance. Two megapixels is enough for Skype calls. The result is just as flat as the resolution: the images have little sharpness, lousy colors and look faded.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3

Our subjective impression is substantiated by the measurable factor. And it does not make the tablet look so bad. While the sharpness of our ColorChecker photos is not convincing due to the low resolution, the color accuracy of some colors is astonishingly precise. However, these successes are only sporadic. The example of the highest shades of gray can be seen as an indication of this: While the darkest gray is almost perfect, black is just a darkened gray. This heavy fluctuation in accuracy is probably also the reason for the lack of subjective quality impression.

Sharpness under laboratory conditions
Sharpness under laboratory conditions
Sharpness under laboratory conditions
Color accuracy under laboratory conditions

Accessories and warranty

In addition to the standard accessories such as a USB cable and charger, Acer has also thought of a stand. This serves its purpose and can be used practically. In terms of appearance, it is a product made of cheap plastic, suggesting similar stability to the tablet itself. On the website of Acer a matching bag is also advertised. However, Acer is not able to name a dealer who offers this. We have missed a cable with a Micro HDMI connection for use with the tablet, which not everyone has in stock.

Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices & Operation

Acer obviously has not spared money with the touch screen. It supports 10-finger touch and is exemplary in terms of gliding ability and reaction time. The Iconia uses an acceleration sensor (accelerometer) to detect the orientation of the tablet. The Acer tablet uses Google's standard keyboard as a writing input medium. A pen input is not provided.

Keyboard input
Keyboard input
Keyboard input
Keyboard input

Display

The reflective IPS display of the Acer Iconia Tab 10 is decent. With a resolution of 1920x1200, it corresponds to what is expected in this price range. A brightness of only 320 cd/m² and the relatively uneven brightness distribution are less convincing.

297
cd/m²
331
cd/m²
353
cd/m²
312
cd/m²
340
cd/m²
322
cd/m²
310
cd/m²
316
cd/m²
295
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 353 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 319.6 cd/m² Minimum: 40.24 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 84 %
Center on Battery: 340 cd/m²
Contrast: 1789:1 (Black: 0.19 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 15 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.09
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10
Apple iPad (2017)
IPS, 2048x1536, 9.70
Screen
3%
16%
24%
19%
Brightness middle
340
426
25%
443
30%
435
28%
514
51%
Brightness
320
399
25%
428
34%
413
29%
485
52%
Brightness Distribution
84
91
8%
94
12%
93
11%
88
5%
Black Level *
0.19
0.38
-100%
0.36
-89%
0.25
-32%
0.46
-142%
Contrast
1789
1121
-37%
1231
-31%
1740
-3%
1117
-38%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
15
4.5
70%
3.3
78%
4.4
71%
1.4
91%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
22.8
7.9
65%
7.2
68%
7.7
66%
2.9
87%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
4
5.2
-30%
2.9
27%
3.2
20%
2.1
47%
Gamma
2.09 105%
2.23 99%
2.27 97%
2.35 94%
2.22 99%
CCT
6940 94%
6875 95%
6961 93%
7056 92%
6647 98%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

In terms of the overall ranking of the screens of the comparison candidates, all competitors appear to be at a comparable level. The Amazon Fire has the worst display with 11% difference to the Iconia. The supposedly best is the Huawei MediaPad m3 Lite with +16%. Lenovo and the 2017 iPad are on an almost identical level. However, there are significant differences in detail. While the Acer performs particularly poorly in terms of brightness and color accuracy, the iPad is clearly ahead in this respect. The black level and the contrast have exactly the opposite effect. The Huawei Media Pad does indeed present the most balanced values here, even if it does not achieve the best score in any of the scores. The Delta-E value for color accuracy is particularly bad for the A3-A50. Here the other candidates are at least 10 points better. However, a color cast is less clearly visible. Only the grayscale image shows a fading off into pink. However, this is not noticeable in everyday life. 

Subjectively, there is little exposure to the screen. The colors are strong and bright enough for the current season. In summer, however, it could cause problems when used outdoors due to its poor brightness.

ColorChecker AdobeRGB
ColorChecker AdobeRGB
ColorChecker sRGB
ColorChecker sRGB
Colorspace AdobeRGB
Colorspace AdobeRGB
Grayscales sRGB
Grayscales sRGB

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
28.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 16.4 ms rise
↘ 12.4 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 72 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
31.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 19.6 ms rise
↘ 11.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 36 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Even in this cloudy, autumnal winter we have spared no effort and went out in the few rays of sunlight to take a reliable picture of our test objects. As can be expected from the brightness measurement of less than 300 cd/m², the display is no longer easy to read in direct sunlight. But it is still possible. The strong reflection of the display is more problematic than the brightness, as can be seen on the shadow image.

Shadow
Shadow
direct sunlight
direct sunlight

However, there is little to complain about in terms of  the offered viewing angle stability. Even the edges, which traditionally drift into gray, are still recognizable as black for the most part.

Viewing angle stability
Viewing angle stability

Performance

With the MT8176-CPU and the PowerVR-GX6250-GPU, the Acer Iconia Tab10 is very well positioned in terms of power reserves for this price range. Although the GPU made its debut in 2014, it is still one of the top performers in its class, but does not support modern interfaces such as Vulkan. The generous RAM equipment of 4 GB and the sufficient solid-state memory of 64 GB (of which approx. 51 GB is still available ex works) support this. The device can hold its own against the competitors from the Android warehouse in our benchmark tests. All comparators are on a par. The crown of the relay winner moves erratically from one candidate to the next across the tests, so that there is no particular recommendation to be found here. Only the iPad seems to play in a completely different league - despite only slightly higher street prices. Compared to the Huawei MediaPad, the Antutu benchmark achieves almost three times the speed. In competition with the Iconia Tab, which scores best in this Android benchmark, it still has almost 63% lead. In 3D, the lead is even more striking. When it comes to storage speed, the Iconia also ranks among its opponents and stands out neither positively nor negatively.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score
Apple iPad (2017)
128706 Points +63%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
78980 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
63777 Points -19%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
62725 Points -21%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
46814 Points -41%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
5843 Points
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
5648 Points -3%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
5438 Points -7%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
4895 Points -16%
Work 2.0 performance score
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
4827 Points
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
4626 Points -4%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
3927 Points -19%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
3678 Points -24%
BaseMark OS II
Overall
Apple iPad (2017)
2441 Points +140%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1312 Points +29%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
1281 Points +26%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
1016 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
362 Points -64%
System
Apple iPad (2017)
4680 Points +139%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
3214 Points +64%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
2329 Points +19%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
1957 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
1902 Points -3%
Memory
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1513 Points +56%
Apple iPad (2017)
1341 Points +39%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
1214 Points +25%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
972 Points 0%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
968 Points
Graphics
Apple iPad (2017)
4569 Points +552%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
1015 Points +45%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
833 Points +19%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
764 Points +9%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
701 Points
Web
Apple iPad (2017)
1213 Points +51%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1010 Points +26%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
850 Points +6%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
803 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
10 Points -99%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
1541 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1204 Points -22%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
868 Points -44%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
662 Points -57%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
4323 Points +74%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
3305 Points +33%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
2889 Points +16%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
2489 Points
Compute RenderScript Score
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
3235 Points +5%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
3081 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
2242 Points -27%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1562 Points -49%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score
Apple iPad (2017)
29326 Points +162%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
13742 Points +23%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
13227 Points +18%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
11209 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
9906 Points -12%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score
Apple iPad (2017)
44645 Points +281%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
13239 Points +13%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
12771 Points +9%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
11719 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
10102 Points -14%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
15850 Points +63%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
15117 Points +55%
Apple iPad (2017)
13324 Points +37%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
9729 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
9275 Points -5%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0
Apple iPad (2017)
2584 Points +178%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
929 Points
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
852 Points -8%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
682 Points -27%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
599 Points -36%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics
Apple iPad (2017)
4320 Points +389%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
884 Points
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
731 Points -17%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
598 Points -32%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
518 Points -41%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
2031 Points +80%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1347 Points +19%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
1313 Points +16%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
1128 Points
Apple iPad (2017)
1074 Points -5%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1)
Apple iPad (2017)
1957 Points +225%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
602 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
489 Points -19%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
464 Points -23%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
315 Points -48%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics
Apple iPad (2017)
2519 Points +352%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
557 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
413 Points -26%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
381 Points -32%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
259 Points -54%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
1991 Points +136%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
1363 Points +62%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
1318 Points +56%
Apple iPad (2017)
1098 Points +30%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
843 Points
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen
Apple iPad (2017)
56 fps +229%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
21 fps +24%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
20 fps +18%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
17 fps
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
14 fps -18%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen
Apple iPad (2017)
80.8 fps +349%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
23 fps +28%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
22 fps +22%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
18 fps
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
17 fps -6%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL
Apple iPad (2017)
28.7 fps +246%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
9.5 fps +14%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
9.2 fps +11%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
8.3 fps
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
6.9 fps -17%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen
Apple iPad (2017)
40.6 fps +378%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
9.9 fps +16%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
9.8 fps +15%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
8.5 fps
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
7.5 fps -12%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen
Apple iPad (2017)
18.5 fps +225%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
6 fps +5%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
5.7 fps
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
4.7 fps -18%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
4.5 fps -21%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen
Apple iPad (2017)
28.5 fps +375%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
6.4 fps +7%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
6 fps
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
4.9 fps -18%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
4.8 fps -20%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
3.3 fps +6%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
3.1 fps
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
2.5 fps -19%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
2 fps -35%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
3.5 fps +17%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
3 fps
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
2.6 fps -13%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
2 fps -33%
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score
Apple iPad (2017)
1061 Points
AndroBench 3-5
Random Write 4KB
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
11.8 MB/s +35%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
9.37 MB/s +7%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
8.77 MB/s
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
8.5 MB/s -3%
Random Read 4KB
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
38.8 MB/s +183%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
37.3 MB/s +172%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
27.72 MB/s +102%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
13.7 MB/s
Sequential Write 256KB
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
147.7 MB/s +60%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
135.5 MB/s +47%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
92.4 MB/s
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
60.3 MB/s -35%
Sequential Read 256KB
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
270.1 MB/s +55%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
262.2 MB/s +51%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
173.7 MB/s
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
133.5 MB/s -23%

Legend

 
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 Mediatek MT8176, PowerVR GX6250, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017 Mediatek MT8173, PowerVR GX6250, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, Qualcomm Adreno 506, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite Qualcomm Snapdragon 435, Qualcomm Adreno 505, 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Apple iPad (2017) Apple A9, Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600, 128 GB NVMe

As far as browser performance is concerned, the Acer device can somewhat separate itself from Android competitors. As in the Antutu benchmark, the Huawei device falls back quite noticeably in some cases, whereas the iPad once again distances itself by miles.

Octane V2 - Total Score
Apple iPad (2017)
18148 Points +104%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 (Browser: Chrome Version 63)
8897 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017 (Amazon Silk 61.2)
8570 Points -4%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus (Chrome 60)
4502 Points -49%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite (Chrome 58)
3167 Points -64%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
Apple iPad (2017)
205 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017 (Amazon Silk 61.2)
137 Points
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus (Chrome 60)
93 Points
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite (Chrome 58)
61 Points
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Apple iPad (2017)
128.6 Points +172%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 (Browser: Chrome Version 63)
47.34 Points
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017 (Amazon Silk 61.2)
46.39 Points -2%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus (Chrome 60)
25.76 Points -46%
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite (Chrome 58)
20.18 Points -57%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite (Chrome 58)
11161 ms * -197%
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus (Chrome 60)
9237 ms * -146%
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017 (Amazon Silk 61.2)
3976 ms * -6%
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 (Browser: Chrome Version 63)
3756 ms *
Apple iPad (2017)
1458 ms * +61%

* ... smaller is better

In the course of our tests, we also subjected the microSD slot to a more detailed test. With the aid of the Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference card, sufficiently good values could be determined. Even if the competition demonstrates an increase in speed of between 20 and 50%, this is hardly noticeable in practice. Unfortunately, the card cannot be formatted as an internal memory. However, some apps can still be moved there.

Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50Amazon Fire HD 10 2017Lenovo Tab 4 10 PlusHuawei MediaPad M3 Lite
AndroBench 3-5
24%
54%
20%
Sequential Read 256KB
173.7
262.2
51%
270.1
55%
133.5
-23%
Sequential Write 256KB
92.4
147.7
60%
135.5
47%
60.3
-35%
Random Read 4KB
13.7
27.72
102%
37.3
172%
38.8
183%
Random Write 4KB
8.77
9.37
7%
11.8
35%
8.5
-3%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
80.4 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
55.5 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-31%
83.9
4%
78.7
-2%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
56.8 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
30.14 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-47%
61.1
8%
56.8
0%

Games

As described above, the PowerVR-GX6250-GPU offers enough power reserves to handle future games without lagging. We had no speed problems or lags in the test with “Beach Buggy Racing” and “Star Wars - Galaxy of Heroes”. However, “Beach Buggy Racing” stuttered a little at the beginning. After we increased resolution and details, it went smoothly. No, it is not a typo. This is how it was. The car racing game was slowed down a little by the imprecise control with the position sensor.

Screenshot Star Wars - Galaxy of Heroes
Screenshot Star Wars - Galaxy of Heroes
Screenshot Beach Buggy Racing
Screenshot Beach Buggy Racing

Emissions

Temperature

The heat of the Acer Iconia Tab 10 comes from the right, or more precisely from the upper back. However, no political intentions should be presumed, but only the location of the processor and GPU inside the tablet. Under stress, this part heats up to more than 40 °C (~104 °F), while the rest of the plastic casing remains almost unaffectedly cool. This feels subjectively unpleasant, even if the temperatures are not alarming.

Front side: heat development
Front side: heat development
Back side heat development
Back side heat development
Max. Load
 38.4 °C
101 F
37.5 °C
100 F
32.8 °C
91 F
 
 31.2 °C
88 F
28.9 °C
84 F
32.7 °C
91 F
 
 27.4 °C
81 F
27 °C
81 F
29.8 °C
86 F
 
Maximum: 38.4 °C = 101 F
Average: 31.7 °C = 89 F
27.7 °C
82 F
40.6 °C
105 F
41.5 °C
107 F
29.4 °C
85 F
27.1 °C
81 F
29.2 °C
85 F
29.1 °C
84 F
27.1 °C
81 F
26.4 °C
80 F
Maximum: 41.5 °C = 107 F
Average: 30.9 °C = 88 F
Power Supply (max.)  34.8 °C = 95 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 31.7 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 30 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Tablet.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.4 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 41.5 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 33.3 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.

Speakers

Pink Noise
Pink Noise

With 4 speakers installed prominently on the front panel, the Iconia tries to make a clear multimedia statement. A comparison with the Huawei MediaPad seems to be the most suitable one, which also competes with 4 speakers. Even though the result is less convincing than expected. The built-in sound generators can play well in some respects - for example in terms of volume and tones, but a convincing sound image will look different. As with all mobile devices, there is a lack of bass and the rest of the sound quality is rather average. However, the subjective sound experience is better than other tablets, especially due to the visual presence of the speakers. 

In comparison to the Huawei device, however, the Acer-Tablet is barely beaten here.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2035.248.22532.941.53137.238.64031.742.35039.6436328.330.48027.329.910026.929.812526.731.6160242920020.943.925020.955.531519.55840018.565.850017.564.163017.563.880015.763.5100015.874.9125016.679.1160015.876.3200015.477.5250015.577.131501672.6400015.867.750001665.2630016.371.3800016.371.41000016.270.61250016.465.71600016.460.7SPL28.686N1.161.2median 16.4median 65.7Delta2.28.328.629.428.62929.52932.429.132.443.936.743.933.726.733.728.926.228.924.824.624.829.124.429.141.927.441.954.720.454.76022.56056.92156.959.620.759.662.622.262.664.921.464.964.418.164.471.119.571.172.819.972.872.619.672.67516.37576.61676.676.715.476.776.615.176.673.515.273.572.414.972.470.715.170.769.615.169.666.315.166.361.81561.851.914.951.985.629.585.662.71.362.7median 66.3median 18.1median 66.37.62.97.6hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseAcer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (86 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.3% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.3% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.4% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 57% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 37% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 23%, worst was 129%
Compared to all devices tested
» 55% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 38% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 15.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.5% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 40% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 52% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 23%, worst was 129%
Compared to all devices tested
» 36% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 57% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes can be turned on/off!)

Power Management

Energy Consumption

When it comes to power consumption, the Acer Iconia must settle for the red lantern in the Android comparison. But the iPad is even worse. This can be explained by a higher power (brightness) and is also compensated by a larger battery. Compared to the Android rivals, the Acer device cannot gain any plus points here either - quite the contrary.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.03 / 0.28 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 3.21 / 5.97 / 6.19 Watt
Load midlight 9.72 / 9.97 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
6100 mAh
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
6300 mAh
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
7000 mAh
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
6600 mAh
Apple iPad (2017)
8.827 mAh
Power Consumption
29%
42%
36%
-6%
Idle Minimum *
3.21
1.55
52%
1.23
62%
1.45
55%
2.06
36%
Idle Average *
5.97
4.17
30%
3.92
34%
4.44
26%
7.42
-24%
Idle Maximum *
6.19
4.25
31%
4.03
35%
4.61
26%
7.47
-21%
Load Average *
9.72
7.13
27%
5
49%
6.21
36%
9.45
3%
Load Maximum *
9.97
9.63
3%
7.09
29%
6.33
37%
12.31
-23%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Due to the poor energy consumption balance, battery life is of course not the best. Here the Iconia falls even further behind the competition. Only the Amazon Fire HD is within striking distance, but can offer a much more affordable price.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
12h 15min
WiFi Websurfing
6h 27min
Load (maximum brightness)
2h 55min
Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50
6100 mAh
Amazon Fire HD 10 2017
6300 mAh
Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus
7000 mAh
Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite
6600 mAh
Apple iPad (2017)
8.827 mAh
Battery Runtime
43%
78%
89%
77%
Reader / Idle
735
960
31%
1625
121%
1345
83%
1496
104%
WiFi v1.3
387
542
40%
647
67%
802
107%
764
97%
Load
175
274
57%
256
46%
312
78%
225
29%
H.264
585
795
833
845

Pros

+ Fast processor
+ Resonable screen
+ 64 GB of memory
+ 4 GB of RAM
+ Good price for technical equipment
+ 4 Speakers
+ HDMI connection with 4K
+ Good GPS

Cons

- Stability
- Materials
- Design style takes getting used to
- High energy consumption
- Strong, sporadic heating
- Moderate brightness
- Advertising software

Verdict

Tested: The Acer Iconia A3-A50 - provided by:
Tested: The Acer Iconia A3-A50 - provided by:

Viewed in isolation, the Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 is a solid tablet, which offers the right performance for the higher price. From this point of view, there is no reason not to buy the tablet. The "inner values" of the CPU and GPU are on the plus side and clearly distance it from the Android competition in some benchmark tests. The display and the sound output can also be regarded as plus points. However, there are many minor flaws that start in the not very trustworthy case and range from the strange arrangement of the buttons and speakers to the wobbly cheap plastic stand. These are problems that make the choice more likely to fall on a similarly equipped competitor's device, such as the Huawei MediaPad with a robust metal back, or the Lenovo Tab 4 with a glass back, which is not really worse in any respect. Apple's iPad with only 32 GB of memory sometimes costs just 30 Euros (~$35) more. However, it beats the Iconia by far in terms of performance and processing.

 The Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 looks cheap, but the inner features are right.

In order to make the Iconia competitive, the price would have to fall to about 250 Euros (~$305), which may happen in the next few days. Then it could outdo the immediate rivals in terms of price. Below that is only the Amazon Fire HD 10, which is a little out of the competition with Amazon adapted software. The Huawei MediaPad was also on offer for less than 250 Euros (~$305).

As far as processing is concerned, the Android competitors are not necessarily any better. Only the iPad is a real competitor here, but it offers only 32 GB of memory and no upgrade options. The HDMI connection is also a unique feature of the Iconia. 4K, on the other hand, seems to be more of an advertising stunt. The device became noticeably slower and the use of the complete screen for a 4K video was not successful in the test.

Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A50 - 01/12/2018 v6(old)
Florian Schaar

Chassis
66%
Keyboard
69 / 80 → 87%
Pointing Device
91%
Connectivity
38 / 65 → 58%
Weight
83 / 40-88 → 89%
Battery
89%
Display
80%
Games Performance
27 / 68 → 40%
Application Performance
51 / 76 → 66%
Temperature
92%
Noise
100%
Audio
74 / 91 → 81%
Camera
30 / 85 → 35%
Average
68%
81%
Tablet - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

Read all 1 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
Florian Schaar, 2018-01-21 (Update: 2020-05-19)