Huawei's MatePad Pro 7 takes the Galaxy Tab SXNUMX Plus and iPad Pro XNUMX with its size and specifications. On top of this, with the release of Harmony OS XNUMX, Huawei's answer to its Google-less ecosystem is also introducing a number of interface updates that set it apart from traditional Android tablets. It's no secret that Android tablets have historically been unable to match Apple's iPad line. Its hardware has been great at times, but unfortunately its interfaces haven't been optimized for large screens. For its part, it's a stroke of genius for Huawei, a brand that has fallen behind in app support thanks to Google's ban, to focus on and correct a weakness inherent in Android. The new user interface of the Huawei Harmony OS XNUMX tablet is also combined with incredible hardware, thanks to a large XNUMX-inch OLED screen, the flagship power of the Kirin XNUMX, as in the Mate XNUMX Pro, and storage of batteries. With reverse wireless charging, a triple camera set up, and plenty of other celebratory tricks packed into its slim chassis, has Huawei finally crafted a post-ban Google device that beats the competition?
Price and launch date of the Huawei MatePad Pro one hundred and twenty-six
- Availability to be confirmed
- Price to be confirmed
- No availability expected in the USA
The cost of the MatePad Pro one hundred and twenty-six has not yet been confirmed. It is expected to launch in areas where Huawei has traditionally launched its phones, including the Asian markets, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and the UK. No confirmation as of this writing, please ask again for full cost and availability. As with any and all Huawei products, availability in the US is not expected.
Integrated
(Image credit: TechRadar) Huawei has maintained its MatePad design language since 7, with a sober look in the new range. While Samsung's frozen metal commands attention in its Mystic Bronze colorway, Huawei's quirkier option is more of a reserved olive green, with alternate options of matte gray and silver frost. Ultimately, the eyelash is very utilitarian, practical, and also intentional in design. More practical than the iPad or Galaxy Tab S7 Plus with its smoother angles and curves, it's forgiving in the hand, though it seems less elegant than its leading contender at the time. One design resolution we can get behind is the removal of the hole-punch selfie camera. Instead, the front camera has been moved to the frame at the top center of the screen (in landscape orientation). This not only translates to an uninterrupted display, but also a much better video calling camera that isn't out of angle. In landscape orientation, the MatePad Pro 4 has a power button on the left side and a volume rocker on the top left. This is intuitive positioning, resulting in minimal confusion when choosing one or the other, since they are not right next to each other. The new M Pen attaches magnetically to the top right of the tab, while the USB-C port sits on the right side. In contrast to the stark and flat Galaxy Tab S40 Plus and iPad Pro, the metal frame is rounded, for a super comfortable, supportive feel. The back is also devoid of metal, which is another reason for the MatePad's thin frame and somewhat light weight. As with last year's model, the MatePad Pro XNUMX also supports wireless and reverse wireless charging, so it can be used to power your laptop or smartphone, which is a handy feature given the large tab battery. The MatePad Pro benefits from slimmer bezels than we've seen on a Huawei tablet before, and they're even on all XNUMX sides, making for a clean front. The only notable interruption to the rear of the Tab is the triple camera, developed to mirror Huawei's PXNUMX Pro with its boxy shape. At the end of the day, the MatePad Pro XNUMX offers a quality design, without necessarily offering unusual style. It's a slim, well-built tablet, its hardware serving as the vehicle for this huge wraparound screen of the same name.
Monitor
(Image credit: TechRadar) The MatePad Pro 240 features an OLED FullView display, making it one of the only large-screen tablets with OLED display technology, promising inky deep blacks and compelling colors. With a 265 x 7 resolution display, that translates to a pixel density of around 3 pixels per inch (PPI), similar to the 1.000.000 PPI on the iPad Pro and Tab S1 Plus, but not quite as sharp. With a wide DCI-P0,8 color gamut, a 12.6:60 contrast ratio, and a Delta E of less than XNUMX%, quality on paper is nothing short of flagship. During our short time with the tablet, the screen quality held up in side-by-side comparisons with other top tabs. One thing the MatePad Pro XNUMX doesn't provide is a high refresh rate. Capped at XNUMXHz, while it feels perfectly smooth when watching Netflix, scrolling through streams isn't as smooth as on an iPad Pro.
Camera
Huawei is known for its killer cameras, and the MatePad Pro improves its imaging suite for the brand's line of tablets, being the group's first triple camera. With a 13 MP main camera, the MatePad lacks a flagship smartphone sensor like the 50 MP Sony module found in the P40 Pro Plus. That said, it still packs the main camera with an 8 MP ultra-wide camera, paired with a 120-degree field of view and time-of-flight sensor.
(Image credit: TechRadar) Loaded with a Kirin 9000E processor, the MatePad Pro 12.6 is the flagship inside and out. Offering smooth daily performance in this day and age with the Tab, even with Huawei's heavily redesigned interface, Harmony OS 8, we experienced no stutters, pauses, or app crashes. The tablet is also loaded with 256 GB of RAM and up to XNUMX GB of storage. While there's no SIM card or microSD card slot, the MatePad Pro does support Nano memory card expansion, so it accepts Huawei's proprietary storage cards in case you run out of money.
(Image credit: TechRadar) The best and worst things about the MatePad Pro 12.6 can be covered by talking about software. The good thing is in Huawei's customizations. The damage is due to the app's limitations compared to other Android-based tablets and iPads. We say Android-based, because while the MatePad Pro runs HarmonyOS 2.0, Huawei's experience is clearly Android-based, with APK support and a familiar Android UI.
Why Harmony? This is Huawei's operating system created in response to the Google ban imposed by US sanctions. UU. While HarmonyOS V1 was a carbon copy of the Android experience, with version 2.0 things are much more unique, at least on tablets.
The most notable point about HarmonyOS 2.0 on the MatePad Pro is how the interface is optimized for tablets. Huawei takes a lot of inspiration from the iPad operating system and Windows 10 and goes even further. The home screen, for example, has a dynamic tray at the bottom similar to an iPad, showing recent apps. Hover over them with the M Pen and you'll get a Windows-style popup preview of the app.
Swipe up on the optimized shortcuts and you can also enable Snippet, Huawei's proprietary version on widgets. They co-exist with widgets and are therefore of questionable value (two solutions that do the same thing are usually bad), but they're pretty. Also, app fragments have more options than their widget counterparts.
Huawei has brought back old favorites like floating windows and split-screen multitasking, so you can run up to four apps on the screen at once. Along with other UI features like picture-in-picture, when connected to a keyboard and mouse dock or M stylus, the large tablet can be used more like a Windows machine than a traditional Android tab. .
Innovation aside, there are real limits to applications. You have to get rid of the idea of supporting Google Play Store or app installations from Gmail or YouTube right now. Downloading Google Mobile Services is too much of an effort in 2021, with methods that work for a few weeks or months, but then require a factory reset to get back up and running. However, apps can be downloaded via Huawei's AppGallery or Petal Search. Google services are accessible through versions of the website. In fact, many apps that require Play Store support like HBO Max work just fine through a browser providing a usable solution. However, the main limitation of using a browser is the lack of offline support.
It's frustrating that one of the main features of the MatePad Pro XNUMX, Wireless Extend mode, wasn't available in the first version of the tablet we tested. What makes it so great is that it turns the MatePad Pro 12.6's excellent screen into an extended screen for your PC or tablet. In the standard second screen style, the MatePad Pro can be used as an extended screen or as a mirror screen. Smarter still, it also works in a cool shared projection mode.
Battery duration
The MatePad Pro 12.6 comes with a 40W charger in the box, which powers the Tab's 10,050mAh battery at about one percent per minute until it hits around 80 percent. Between 80% and 100% things slow down and a full charge of the tab takes a little over two hours. Comfortably lasting a few days with relatively heavy use, it drains around five percent after an hour of streaming Netflix over WiFi at maximum brightness, which is hours of viewing. Also of note, the MatePad Pro 12.6 supports wireless and reverse wireless charging. Perfect for owners of laptops or phones with wireless charging, this is a feature not found on other large battery packs.
Early verdict
(Image credit: TechRadar) There are still a few unknowns about the Huawei MatePad Pro XNUMX, which means we can't make a final verdict on this tablet. That said, HarmonyOS seems to offer a new experience that makes it one of the best Huawei products in recent times.