Huawei has expanded its MatePad line of tablets with three new models. Top of the line is the MatePad Pro with a 12.6” screen and powered by the Kirin 9000 series; there is also a 10.8” MatePad Pro powered by the Snapdragon 870; and last but not the least is the MatePad 11 that has the Snapdragon 865 inside it. All three run HarmonyOS 2 out of the box.
Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6
The Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 is the leader of the pack. It sports a 12.6-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED display with 5.6mm slim bezels that give it a 90% screen-to-body ratio. The screen has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DCI-P3 color gamut, and a Delta E color accuracy rating of less than 0.5. This is also the first tablet in the world to receive a TÜV Rheinland Full Care Display 2.0 certification.
Huawei has squeezed the camera into one of the side bezels, so you can have your video calls in the landscape position. This design change means that the punch hole of the 2019 model is gone.
Powering the MatePad Pro is the Kirin 9000 series. The Wi-Fi version of the tablet comes with the Kirin 9000E, a variant of the Kirin 9000 with fewer GPU cores and NPU cores. The 5G version of the tablet has a Kirin 9000 chipset. Both versions have 8GB of RAM and users will be able to pick up the Wi-Fi version in 128GB and 256GB storage variants while the 5G version is only available with 256GB of storage. There is support for storage expansion via Huawei’s proprietary NM card slot.
The MatePad Pro 12.6 has an 8MP front-facing camera, a 13MP main rear camera with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP f/2.4 ultrawide angle camera, and a 3D depth-sensing camera. There is also an LED flash on the back.
Huawei has packed a total of eight speakers tuned by Harman Kardon and with Histen 7.0 sound effects into the new flagship tablet. There are also four microphones that are designed to pick up your voice from several meters away and also cancel background noise when having a video call or recording.
The MatePad Pro packs a 10050mAh battery that will provide up to 14 hours of playback. It supports 40W fast wired charging, 27W wireless fast charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. Huawei ships the tablet with a 40W SuperCharge power adapter. Other features are Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band Wi-Fi, USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 port, and OTG reverse wired charging.
Harmony OS
HarmonyOS brings new features such as a bottom dock similar to that of iPadOS that shows frequently used apps and also recently used ones. Another feature is New Service Widgets which display information in real-time and allows users to access certain features without launching the app. Two other features are a new Tablet-PC Multi-Screen Collaboration:
App Multiplier – users will be able to scroll up and down on the empty spaces on either side to navigate app content without releasing their grip on the tablet. They can also launch two instances of the same app and interact with each window separately. Huawei says there are almost 4000 apps that have been adopted for App Multiplier.
Tablet-PC Multi-Screen Collaboration – the new MatePad can double as an extended second screen for your computer. Owners can also use it as a digital pad or use it to sign and annotate documents when in mirror mode. While collaborate mode allows users to easily transfer content between the PC and tablet and vice versa with a simple drag and drop. Of course, these features work with Huawei’s own PCs.
MatePad Pro 12.6 Price and Availability
The MatePad Pro is already available for pre-order starting today and it will go on sale on June 10. The tablet will be available in three colors – Silver Frost, Matte Gray, and Olive Green which has a textured vegan leather back. Below are the prices:
- 8+128GB Wi-Fi = ¥4999 (~$783)
- 8+256GB Wi-Fi = ¥5499 (~$862)
- 8+256GB Wi+Fi (Keyboard case and M-Pencil 2 included) = ¥6699 (~$1050)
- 8+256GB 5G (Keyboard case and M-Pencil 2 included) = ¥7999 (~$1254)
In Europe, the tablet will be available for €799 but we don’t know what the storage capacity is for this version.
MatePad Pro 10 10.8
if the 12.6-inch MatePad Pro is too big, then there is a 10.8-inch model. However, the screen size is not the only difference between them. This version has an LCD screen with the same 2560 x 1600 resolution, 4.9mm thin bezels, DCI-P3 color gamut, a 120hz refresh rate, and a hole punch at the top left corner.
It swaps the Kirin 9000 series for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 and comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of expandable storage. There is a single 13MP camera on the back with an LED flash while an 8MP camera is in front for video calls.
Of course, the battery is smaller at 7250mAh (lasts up to 11 hours) and it supports 22.5W fast wired charging, 27W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. You also get Harman Kardon-tuned quad speakers with Histen 7.0 and five microphones. There is Bluetooth 5.1, dual-band Wi-Fi, and a USB-C port.
The MatePad Pro 10.8 is available in green, gray, and white. It is priced at ¥3799 (~$595) for the 128GB version and ¥4299 (~$674) for the 256GB version. There is also a ¥5299 (~$830) 256GB version that comes with a keyboard case and stylus.
MatePad 11
The MatePad 11 has a 10.95-inch LCD screen with a 2560 x 1600 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by a Snapdragon 865 chipset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There are quad cameras, four microphones, a single rear camera, and a front-facing camera.
There is a 7250mAh battery inside the device with support for 22.5W fast charging via USB-C. Just like the other two models, it also has support for the new M-Pencil 2 and has its own smart keyboard cover.
Huawei will sell this model for €399 in Europe.
M-Pencil 2
Huawei announced a new stylus too. The M-Pencil 2 has a revamped design, lower latency, and is more precise. It also has a platinum-coated transparent nib. The new stylus can be purchased separately for ¥599 (~$94). It works with all of the new tablets.
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