Table of Contents
amazon Huawei MatePad Pro reviews
Design
Huawei MatePad Pro has a large screen design; the body is made of metal, making it feel like a high-end tablet. It’s 10g lighter than the iPad Pro 2020 (11-inch), and the weight distribution is pretty even. The product is available in four different colors. While the Forest Green and Orange colors come with a leather back, the Midnight Gray and Pearl White models use a fiberglass back combined with an aluminum frame.
The device is equipped with a 10.8-inch screen, adopting a punch-hole design like most smartphones this year. The punch-hole display increases the screen-to-body ratio by up to 90%, easily surpassing the iPad Pro (~82.9%) and Tab S6 (~82.5%). The size of the selfie camera is quite small, which does not interfere with daily use.
The machine uses a QHD (2,560 x 1,600) LCD screen with vibrant colors and high display quality. While it doesn’t have the 120Hz refresh rate on the iPad Pro or the beautiful colors like Samsung’s AMOLED panels, the overall experience is still very good, no matter what.
One minus point is that MatePad Pro does not have a fingerprint sensor; users must use a password or PIN, there is an option to unlock with face, but it is only software-based.
Specifications and Performance
The MatePad Pro is powered by Huawei’s custom Kirin 990 processor, paired with dual NPU and 6GB RAM for the standard version (8GB for 5G models). Huawei’s flagship chipset offers an impressive experience with smooth visuals, good RAM management, and a trouble-free 3D gaming experience.
In terms of storage, the base WiFi version comes with 128GB of storage, on par with the iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S6. There is also a 256GB variant of the MatePad Pro, or memory expansion via the memory card slot. However, you’ll need to normally purchase one of Huawei’s (rather expensive) proprietary Nano memory cards instead of a MicroSD card.
One of the biggest highlights of the MatePad Pro is its battery life. Huawei has packed a huge 7,250mAh battery on its flagship tablet. Power management is tightly optimized thanks to the dual NPU and less power-hungry LCD, delivering amazing battery life.
Experienced the device for two days with heavy tasks, but the MatePad Pro gave an impressive performance. Even when used to play videos at medium brightness, the device lasted up to 14 hours.
In terms of charging speed, the device supports fast-charging up to 40W, although Huawei only equips a 20W charger in the box. MatePad Pro also supports 7.5W wireless reverse charging; this is the first tablet equipped with this technology, making it extremely convenient to charge smartphones or other accessories.
Like Samsung’s high-end iPad and tablet lines, MatePad Pro is not equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack; in addition. This tablet has a four-channel stereo speaker setup that supports Harman Kardon technology; speakers can output extremely loud sound without distortion even at high volume.
Despite being a pioneer in the quality of smartphone photography today, Huawei only equips the MatePad Pro with a 13MP lens. The resulting images tend to be oversaturated with colors and lack detail.
Meanwhile, the selfie camera is considered better quality, but taking photos or video calls is inconvenient because the camera hole is located in the left corner of the screen.
Software and features
MatePad Pro supports control with M-Pencil and Smart Magnetic Keyboard. This Bluetooth stylus has pretty precise control and is comfortable to hold, but you’ll have to purchase the device separately. The M-Pencil can magnetically connect to the tablet’s top edge, where it can be charged.
MatePad Pro runs a custom EMUI 10 operating system based on Android 10. EMUI 10 is considered Huawei’s best version when integrating several useful features “gathered” from smartphones and laptops.
The downside is that it lacks Google apps, the Play Store app store, and Google Mobile Services due to the trade ban from the US. You can use Huawei MatePad Pro like any other tablet to watch movies, edit documents, play games, and more, even without Google support. However, there will be some problems due to the lack of applications.
Instead, users will have to use the Huawei AppGallery, which lacks a large number of the most popular applications that you usually find on the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. There are a few ways to do it: third-party app stores like APKPure or the Amazon App Store.
Another workaround is Huawei’s Phone Clone software, allowing copying apps from other phones. While you can’t get every app this way, most basic and popular apps do. The downside of this method is that the app won’t update automatically.
Conclusion: Is Huawei MatePad Pro strong enough to beat Apple and Samsung?
Huawei MatePad Pro is sold at a starting price of €549, about €150 less than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6, and about €350 for the Apple iPad Pro. Hence speaking of the competitive advantage in terms of price, this device is quite capable.
In terms of quality and experience, although the MatePad Pro has only an average camera, the sound quality is not too outstanding, and the LCD screen is not excellent. Still, the powerful hardware has brought an extremely smooth experience worthy of the price range.
Hardware isn’t everything, though; the MatePad Pro’s biggest downside is software. The lack of Google services and apps will certainly make this device difficult for users to accept in markets outside of China. Perhaps success will come easily if Huawei’s AppGallery application store is optimized shortly.
where can you get a Huawei MatePad Pro online
Huawei MatePad Pro WiFi 10.8-inches 2K Display 128GB 6GB RAM (Gray): Buy it now