- Cheryl Tan
Huawei MatePad Pro Review: The Affordable Option For Work Productivity
Huawei has released yet another high-performance product to help improve your working efficiency with the new MatePad Pro.
The Huawei MatePad Pro comes with a 10.8-inch FullView Display with 2560x1600 resolution that boasts a 90% screen-to-body ratio. The tablet itself weighs 460g and here in Singapore, we're only getting one colour, Midnight Grey. It has a 13MP main camera with HDR and panorama features. As for the selfie camera, the position for it is interesting as Huawei designed it to be right at the screen corner, meaning it's not as intrusive when you don't need it. But unlike tablets in general, this one doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor. For even more productivity, the Huawei Smart Magnetic Keyboard and Huawei M-Pencil are able to be purchased separately.
This tablet also comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor that might not be the newest and latest but it’s powerful enough. The Huawei MatePad Pro also comes with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage, which is the bare minimum, especially if you need to download and store plenty of files. That being said, you could always purchase Huawei's proprietary NM card for up to 256GB of additional storage. The tablet also has support for Wi-Fi 6, so if you have a router that supports it, streaming content, video calls and all will definitely be super smooth.
The battery itself can last for half a day when used optimally. At 7,250mAh, the capacity is as much as nearly half of a gaming laptop. Plus, this tablet has a supercharging feature that fully charges the tablet within an hour. But unfortunately, that doesn’t work if you are charging with any other charging head (you need to use the plug that comes with the tablet). What’s unique about the battery is that it can charge other devices without wires, or in other words, reverse wireless charging. It’s very convenient to be able to charge your phone without any plugs or wires needed when you're out and about.
Speaking about performance, this tablet also supports the DCI-P3 wide colour gamut so you can rest assured that photo editing or video editing on the tablet will be pretty accurate. The audio experience out of the speakers is pretty much the same as tablets, although you could always use your preferred earphones. One thing that's a bit of a bummer is that the tablet doesn’t have any audio jack, but Huawei does provide a 3.5mm to type-C adapter if you really want to use wired earphones with the tablet. But other than that, the content viewing experience doesn't disappoint. We love the colour and detail offered by the tablet when watching Netflix. Not only did the tablet’s colour accuracy offer a great movie experience, it was also very sharp, whether we were viewing movies or photos.
The data-processing speed itself is great, plus the multi-screen collaboration lets you use your other gadgets while doing work on your tablet (only works with Huawei phones and laptops). And as mentioned before, this tablet works well with the Huawei Smart Magnetic Keyboard so that you don’t need to rely on the on-screen keyboard. The Huawei M-Pencil is pretty good as well, making it feel like you're really writing or sketching on paper.
As for gaming, we tried playing Genshin Impact with the graphics turned to high and the gaming experience was smooth. But due to the big screen, playing games such as Genshin Impact, Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, Call of Duty Mobile, Mobile Legends etc. won’t be as comfortable as playing them on smaller gadgets.
Now, the price itself ranges from S$790 to S$890, and we think it’s worth it for a tablet that supports work efficiency. You do need some time to get used to the basic controls as there’s no "back", "home" and "tabs" buttons due to the new HarmonyOS from Huawei themselves. The designs for the control panel and notification are unique as well, but it does take a while to remember. But if you were to use this tablet at its full potential, you would need others Huawei gadgets such as their latest smartphones and laptops. Overall, if you don’t have to rely on GMS (Google Mobile Services), this tablet will be a perfect choice for you.
Content by Jeremy Kifli