In 2021, Huawei released three tablets at once in different price categories: MatePad T10 – a device for children, MatePad 11 – a gadget with a 120 Hz screen matrix, MatePad Pro (10.8 inches) – a device on a chip from Qualcomm for $ 700 and, finally, MatePad Pro with a screen diagonal of 12.6 inches for under $1000.
Today we will talk about the largest tablet from Huawei – MatePad Pro 12.6. It is positioned as a device for comfortable consumption of information, a kind of replacement for laptops: a large OLED matrix by the standards of tablets, a keyboard and a stylus as a gift, the device has as many as eight speakers and four microphones, it is capable of not only charging wirelessly but also feeding others gadgets using reverse wireless charging technology.
The Tablet includes:
- A clip for removing from the SIM card tray
- USB-C cable
- 40 W AC adapter
- USB-C to 3.5mm adapter
- Instructions
- Warranty card
| PROS | CONS |
| Large, colour-accurate screen | Software offering is still lacking |
| Amazing battery life | No Google services |
| Excellent speakers | |
| Premium build quality | |
| 12.6 inches tall OLED screen |
Key Specification
| Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 | |
| Released | June 25, 2021 |
| Processor | HiSilicon Kirin 9000e chipset, 5nm, 8 cores: 1x Cortex-A77@3.13 GHz 3x Cortex-A77@2.54 GHz 4x Cortex-A55@2.05 GHz |
| Display | 12.6 inches |
| Memory | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM |
| Camera | Main 13 MP, f / 1.8, autofocus Wide-angle 8 MP, f / 2.4, no autofocus Front 8 MP, f / 2.0, no autofocus |
Design
| Dimensions | 286 х 184 х 7 mm |
| Weight | 616 grams |
| Screen Size | 12.6 inches |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1600 pixels, 16:10 ratio |
| Colour | Matte Gray, Green |
| Display Type | OLED |
| Build Material |
The tablet is comes in two colours: gray and green. The device looks exactly like any other similar gadget: a thin profile rectangle with narrow screen bezels and rounded edges.
The dimensions of the MatePad are impressive – 286 х 184 х 7 mm, and it weighs just over 600 grams. On the front side, there is glass; the frame is metal, although it looks and feels plastic, the back cover is plastic, matte, slightly slippery.
It is not very convenient to use one hand on the weight: the size and weight affect everything. However, this is already a personal matter for each person. Some individuals even manage to work on the subway with large Windows laptops.
The MatePad build quality is sturdy. It is possible to bend or break in half, but it is necessary to apply a reasonably decent force especially. It does not crunch when squeezed; no parts play.
Fingerprints remain on the back of the device, but they can easily erase. The screen has an oleophobic coating, medium or even below average: prints cover the entire surface, forming a bold translucent layer. It is not so easy to rub off. In addition, due to the mediocre quality of the “oleophobic” finger on the display slides.
Display
The matrix has a PenTile structure with a two-fold reduction of the red and blue subpixels. In simple words: the picture will not be as straightforward as it could be on the IPS matrix. Therefore, if you look closely, then, for example, red stripes are noticeable on the edges.
The maximum brightness of the white point is 550 cd / m2 when manual brightness is selected.
The screen refresh rate is only 60 Hz. It seems to me that this is one of Huawei’s biggest mistakes: a tablet with a large diagonal, best suited for information consumption, very expensive and without 120 Hz or at least 90 Hz.
The ripple coefficient (PWM) is low here and, on average, falls within the range of 5 – 10%. This means that if you do not reduce the brightness to 15%, then the strain on the eyes will be minimal. At low brightness, PWM is present but does not exceed 13%, which is good.
When plotting the CIE diagram, you will notice that the colour gamut is almost 100% DCI-P3. The DeltaE is in the range of 4-8, which is not very good.
Total: good brightness, more or less standard calibration, support for DCI-P3 colour space, almost no PWM, but with a low refresh rate of 60 Hz.
Performance
| GPU | Mali-G78, 22 cores |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Internal | 256 GB |
| Expansion | Up to 1 TB |
| OS | HarmonyOS 2 |
The RAM speed is about 20,000 MB / s, and the speed of the built-in memory is about 1800/650 MB / s; these are very high memory speeds. For comparison, a typical average tablet or smartphone delivers 600/400 MB / s at best.
Huawei released the chip last year. And at the moment, only two devices work on it: the MatePad Pro 12.6 tablet and the Huawei Mate 40 smartphone.
Camera
| Rear | 13 MP (f/1.8 aperture, AF) 8 MP (wide-angle length, f/2.4 aperture, FF) 3D Depth Sensing Camera; |
| Front | 8 MP, f / 2.0, no autofocus |
| Video recording | Up to 3840 x 2160 pixels |
The device can record video in 4K at 30 fps or 1080p at 60 fps. A camera with a wide-angle lens is only capable of delivering 1080p at 30 fps. The image is good, but only during the day, in bright light.
There is also a ToF camera. It is needed to blur the background (and who needs it?).
The selfie camera is ordinary. In all conditions, photographs are tolerable. Suitable for video chats.
Multimedia
| Headphone jack | No |
| Loudspeaker | 8 |
| Microphones | 4 |
| FM Radio | HUAWEI Histen 7.0 Sound Effect |
The manufacturer claims that the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 has eight speakers tuned by Harman Kardon.
The loudspeaker volume is generally very high; the sound is clear and quite rich. On the other hand, with a case thickness of less than 7 mm, it isn’t easy to make significant phase inverter chambers.
The funny thing is that there was no room for a 3.5 mm jack. There is an adapter for connecting headphones.
Battery Life
| Capacity | 10050 mAh |
| Type | Li-Po |
| Wireless | 15W wireless charging |
| Power Supply | 40W adapter |
| User-Replaceable | No |
Together with the OLED-matrix of the screen, we get a pretty decent battery life: when playing YouTube videos at maximum brightness, you get about 12 hours, lowering the brightness to 20-30 per cent, you can squeeze out of the tablet up to 20 hours.
The MatePad Pro lasts approximately 10 hours in mixed mode. No gaming load, just a browser, watching a movie, using applications, Wi-Fi. The manufacturer included a 40 W adapter in the package. Quite good.
The tablet supports wireless charging up to 27W, and it can power any gadget. So, for example, you can charge a Watch 3 or FreeBuds 3 headphones.
Connectivity
| SIM | Nano-SIM |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.2 (BLE, SBC and AAC) |
| Wifi | Wi-Fi a / b / g / n / ac / ax DualBand, 2×2 MIMO, |
| NFC | No |
| GPS | GPS / GLONASS / BD / Galileo / QZSS |
| Connectors | USB 3.1 Gen 1, OTG 5V / 1.5A |
| Sensors | Ambient light sensor Compass Gravity sensor Gyroscope Hall sensor |
On the left side of the case, you will find the power button with a red notch. The volume rocker is located on the top left. There are also three speakers, and the fourth is near the camera block. On the right is USB-C. The NM memory card slot extends from the bottom.
On the backside, on the right, you can see a large block with lenses. It is not very clear why there is such a noticeable block in the tablet. And they put both a flash and a useless ToF module there. Two lenses would fit under the body without any problems. All the same, the quality of the cameras leaves much to be desired. Thus, the tablet would have turned out smooth and even from all sides. On the front panel, there is a camera and sensors.
Conclusion!
Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 perfectly fits the definition of a bedside device. There is a large screen diagonal, an OLED matrix for better-displaying colours and black depth, excellent stereo speakers, a thin body.
By connecting a keyboard, you can expand the functions of this model, turn the tablet into something like an ultrabook. Pen support makes it possible to draw, draw – in general, create any sketches or drawings. And now both the keyboard and the pen are presented as a gift.
The obvious disadvantages are the lack of Google services and the inability to install some APK files.
The leading competitor is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. It has a 12.4-inch screen diagonal, a TFT matrix; it runs Google Android version 11 with all services, a system on a Qualcomm chip, a 10,000 mAh battery. It also supports the pen. There is a higher screen resolution, a more powerful processor, more memory and a keyboard.
Therefore, it seems that Huawei should have reduced the cost of the MatePad Pro 12.6 to at least $1000 because it is almost impossible to compete with Samsung.
