The MatePad Pro tablet is Huawei’s premium tablet. It is therefore part of the high-end market for Android tablets while displaying a very reasonable price. A very interesting value for money, but without the services of Google. Today, can a tablet appeal without Google? Has Huawei succeeded in bringing an attractive touchscreen tablet capable of shaking an iPad Pro, a Microsoft Surface Pro, or even a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7?
Huawei is one of the manufacturers still very present in the Android tablet market. Despite the absence of Google services, Huawei intends to impose itself with tablets with an attractive value for money and notable performance.
Released in 2020, this MatePad Pro is the first Premium tablet from the manufacturer, which now dares to try on the high end. A very competitive market, since Samsung, Apple and even Microsoft offer professionals touch tablets with very high performance to provide an efficient working tool.
Huawei hence comes, a bit like an outsider, to dust off the segment and provide an alternative to those who want a versatile tablet, for entertainment as well as for work.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| A high-end level of finish | The absence of Google services |
| Tablet performance and power | 20 W charger supplied, remember to bring a 40W to accelerate the charge |
| LCD display | No 4G model available |
| Fast charging | |
| PC mode |
Key Specification
| MatePad Pro | ||
| $ | CHECK PRICE | |
| Chipset | Kirin 990 (7 nm+) | |
| Display | 10.8 inches | |
| Memory | 128 GB | |
| Camera | 13 MP | |
| Fingerprint Sensor | No |
Design
| MatePad Pro | ||
| Dimensions | 246 x 159 x 7.2 mm | |
| Weight | 460 g | |
| Screen Size | 10.8 inches | |
| Color | Gray, White, Green, Orange | |
| Display Type | IPS LCD | |
| Build Material | Aluminum Frame |
Huawei has focused its efforts on the design of the tablet so that it does not stand out in the middle of other competing Premium tablets.
If the finishes remain generally neat, the design of this tablet is quite similar to what Samsung or Huawei can do. You, therefore, have a 10.8-inch tablet, a screen with a 16:10 ratio, more in length than in width. With fairly thin borders, the screen takes up 90% of the space. It is she who also has the finest borders on the market with only 4.9 mm of black edge that frames the screen. The aluminum frame helps to perfect the look of this tablet which, in concrete terms, is quite attractive. A little thick with its 7.2 mm, it is nonetheless light (460 grams), which, for the grip, is quite pleasant. The front sensor of the tablet is indeed present, but super discreet.
The touch screen of the MatePad Pro displays a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. This IPS LCD panel displays a beautiful brightness and an appreciable level of contrast. A very good screen, therefore, displays the same characteristics as an iPad Pro (with the price difference that we know).
This screen is displayed among the best digital tablets. Its only flaw remains its reflectance level: its level outdoors is not optimal. This screen should provide you with a high level of visual comfort while watching movies or your moments of productivity. Blue light is greatly reduced to your eyes.
Performance
| MatePad Pro | ||
| Processor | Octa core (2.86 GHz) | |
| GPU | Mali-G76 MP16 | |
| RAM | 6 GB | |
| Internal storage | 128 GB | |
| Storage expansion | Up To 256 GB | |
| OS | Android 10 |
In terms of design and screen, the MatePad Pro meets all the quality criteria. Now let’s see what it hides in its brushed aluminum frame. Huawei integrates the best chip in its catalog into its tablet: Kirin 990 chip, coupled with 6 GB of RAM. This processor makes the MatePad Pro the most powerful tablet of all Android tablets.
So you can do absolutely anything with it: work, download greedy image editing software, turn it into a laptop, play games, surf the Internet. Fluidity in navigation is at the rendezvous.
Note that the tablet offers you a multitasking mode to navigate your applications more quickly. Huawei places your productivity at the heart of its challenges and wants you to be able to work in comfort, switching from one application to another without losing focus.
Camera
| MatePad Pro | ||
| Rear | 13 MP | |
| Front | 8 MP | |
| Video recording | HDR |
The Huawei MatePad Pro has a 13 Megapixel wide-angle sensor on the back of the tablet and an 8 Megapixel front sensor. Nothing very extraordinary here, Huawei having certainly decided to focus its efforts elsewhere than on the quality of the photos. Huawei smartphones are much better equipped for this! On the video side, you can still make movies in 4K.
Multimedia
| MatePad Pro | ||
| Headphone jack | USB Type-C | |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | |
| FM Radio | No |
The MatePad Pro has four speakers, evenly distributed on each side, two on the right and two on the left. The volume buttons as well as the home button are located on the top of the tablet. On the connectivity side, we find here a USB-C port, a SIM card slot for those who have access to the 4G model. Note that you don’t get a MicroSD port here, but an NM card port (Huawei’s proprietary format). No mini-jack here, but this absence is no longer a surprise. Premium tablets no longer include a headphone jack either.
Four Harman Kardon speakers equip the tablet, for immersive sound. The stereo rendering puts you in a very appreciable sound environment to watch your films or during your games.
Battery Life
| MatePad Pro | ||
| Capacity | 7250 mAh | |
| Type | Non-removable Li-Po | |
| Quick Charging | Fast charging 40W Fast wireless charging 15W | |
| User Replaceable | No |
With its 7,250 mAh battery, Huawei announces an autonomy of 12 hours. Again, it all depends on your use, but know that the battery is used much longer!
On this point, moreover, it multiplies the good points: with its fast charge, its battery is full in less than two hours. The MatePad Pro also offers wireless reverse charging. You just have to put your phone on its shell for it to recharge. Very practical on the go!
Connectivity
| | MatePad Pro | |
| SIM | Nano-SIM | |
| Bluetooth | 5.1 | |
| Wifi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | |
| Sensors | Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope |
Huawei unable to integrate Google services on all of its devices, the manufacturer had to adapt and offer alternatives to its users. On the operating system side, the tablet is available under Android 10, coupled with Huawei EMUI 10.1 software.
If the Google Play Store is not there, you still have the App Gallery to download your applications. The catalog grows regularly to give you access to popular applications, such as Twitter, Amazon, etc. With more and more users, Huawei continues to make regular updates to its service.
Despite everything, the App Gallery also has large absentees. This is the case with Netflix in particular. But Huawei, aware of this lack which could be prejudicial to it, does not hesitate, through its community, to explain to you the procedure to follow to install Netflix on its devices. A little technical manipulation is required, but you do have the possibility of accessing your video service on the MatePad Pro!
The lack of popular apps can be a drag on purchasing Huawei tablets. It is also up to developers to make the effort to make their application compatible. Especially since Huawei is not a manufacturer ready to disappear and the care is taken by the manufacturer to its devices makes it a major player. The App Gallery is not yet as extensive as the Apple App Store or the Play Store, but Huawei is working on it!
Huawei competes with Apple on its iPad Pro right down to accessories to make it a real working tool.
Huawei Pen-Pencil: the official stylus
The MatePad Pro has a magnetic holder on an outer edge to house the stylus and charge it. With it, note-taking is easier and more precise. You can draw, make annotations on documents, in short, the Huawei stylus does not have to be ashamed of its competitors.
Bluetooth keyboard
The MatePad Pro also has its keyboard which also acts as a screen protector. Huawei makes the effort to bring a keyboard with real keys, compared to the Apple keyboard. Note that the Huawei tablet switches to a PC interface to work, then to tablet mode when you no longer need its services in professional mode.
Conclusion!
There is only one brake that can prevent the purchase of this tablet: the absence of Google services. This absence is a constraint for many users. It a frustration when you see all the qualities of this tablet, its level of performance, its finishes. And especially its price!
If you can do without Google services, know how to install apps through APKs, you can’t hesitate for a moment. The MatePad Pro is certainly one of the best Android tablets on the market that offers such good value for money. Huawei goes to great lengths to provide a perfect user experience that meets its habits. An obligation to perform makes this race for performance very interesting and which should shake up the competition a little more soon.
