It most certainly does lock back on empty. It does not have an external slide release. The slide must be withdrawn either on a loaded magazine or without the magazine to let the slide go forward. My wife is VERY fond of her CZ P-10M.
The internals are NOT the same as the regular P-10 series pistols. I don't know why they changed it, but they are not the same. The trigger is good, but not the same as the S, C, or F. Shown next to P-10S.
It is not a big pistol - here it is compared to the CZ P-10S, the subcompact version of the P 10 series.
It is certainly accurate enough for it's intended purpose - the wife can nail a 3/4 IDPA at 15 yards with little effort, and she is not a recreational shooter. She is actually better with this little gun than with the issued Glock 19s she had to use in the past. Size wise it is very similar to the Ruger EC9 pistols. There is a magazine extension that is available - she has one on her carry magazine, extends to 10 rounds.
https://czcustom.com/cz-parts-all/base-pads-extensions/czc-p10m-base-pad.html
She's happy with it, and it has been extremely reliable with everything I have fed it, reload or factory.