HUAWEI MATEPAD PRO: UNBOXING AND INITIAL IMPRESSONS
The entire world might be on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped Huawei from releasing a bunch of new products to add to its 2020 portfolio.
Shortly after the launch of the well-received P40 series in late March, the Chinese tech giant followed it up with the release of three new devices for the Philippine market—The Huawei MateBook Pro (laptop), the Huawei MatePad Pro (tablet), and the Watch GT2e (smart watch).
For this unboxing feature, we’ll focus on the brand’s first full productivity tablet, the Huawei MatePad Pro.
The MatePad Pro is Huawei’s first major attempt at launching a premium tablet range, separating itself from its more entertainment-focused MediaPad series. Many have been comparing it to the Apple iPad Pro—with its stylish design, premium build, productivity features and the addition of a keyboard folio and a reworked stylus pen.
UNBOXING
The MatePad Pro ships in Huawei’s trademark white box, with the Huawei MatePad Pro branding at the center, and the Huawei Logo on the top right. On the bottom you’ll see a bit more teaser info such as the 10.8 screen; sound by Harman/Kardon; Kirin 990 (processor) and the Explore it On AppGallery tag.
You can find the serial number/IMEI on the side as well as the MatePad Pro Model: MRX-AL09;
Color: Midnight Grey; ROM: 128 and RAM:6GB. on the bottom is the TUV Rheinland Certification for Low Blue Light Content.
Like other Huawei boxes, I don’t throw them away, because I find it very reusable as its built quite sturdy and easily stackable. Its great for storing your cables/chargers, or in my case lego bricks.
Slide up the top cover of the box to reveal the MatePad Pro wrapped in a crispy translucent plastic laid on top of a cardboard divider.
Beneath it are two more smaller boxes. The bigger one has the sim tray ejector tool, USB-C cable, type-C to 3.5mm audio adapter and probably the warranty/quick start guide (our review unit didn’t come with the paperworks), while the other contains the 22.5W wall charger adaptor. I was hoping to get a pair of type-C earphones as the tablet doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack, and it would be a welcome bonus.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
- Huawei MatePad Pro unit
- 22.5W fast charger
- Type-C cable
- Type-C to 3.5mm audio adapter
- SIM tray ejector tool
- User guide
- Warranty card
TIME TO EXPLORE THE TABLET!
The first thing you’ll notice once the tablet powers on is the expansive and gorgeous 10.8-inch 2K QHD display and the super-thin bezels–as in the world’s thinnest tablet bezels measuring only 4.9mm giving it a 90% body ratio. In comparison, the bezel thickness of the Apple iPad Pro is 8.3mm, while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 measures 8.5mm.
I have been using a similar-sized Huawei MediaPad, and I think 10.8-inches is the perfect screen size for watching videos, browsing the internet, reading comics as well as for composing emails and creating documents- you don’t have to keep zooming in and out to read the smaller details.
Punch hole displays have become quite a popular theme the past year—for smartphones—but never on a tablet. The MatePad Pro is the first to implement such a design in a tablet and it houses the 8MP front camera .
This tablet was meant to be used in landscape mode so you’ll find the power button on the left side, with the volume rocker located just on top of the punch-hole cutout making it easy to use the power + volume for screenshots, if you prefer that to the knuckle knock. The charging port is on the right side. There are two LOUD speakers on each side of the tablet, but more on that later.
There’s a sim card tray that can house one SIM card and Huawei NM SD card if you want extra extra storage. The MatePad Pro supports 4G LTE data and there is also a 5G version available in other markets.
Our review unit also came with the Smart Magnetic Keyboard and M-Pencil, which was included in the preorder freebies and is essential to make full use of the MatePad Pro’s capabilities.
We did a feature about the 15 things we liked about the MatePad Pro which you can read below:
INITIAL THOUGHTS / IMPRESSIONS
I’ve tried a lot of tablets and I must say the MatePad Pro is really a thing of beauty. Huawei says it represents the future of tablets and if that’s’ true then the future is looking good.
From its slim and symmetrical design and aluminum body to what it calls a “micro-arc design” that provides a natural ergonomic hold. It has a more solid build compared to the other tablets I’ve used, which I felt would break if I held it too firmly or accidentally twist/bend.
The panel is engineered to deliver cinematic experiences while showing all the content with crispy details and vibrant colours. It supports up to 540 nits brightness and 1500:1 contrast ratio, so the MatePad Pro reproduces colors with high contrast, deep blacks and stunning accuracy. Watching videos on this tablet is made even more immersive thanks to its Harman Kardon quad speaker setup.
I guess this is why they didn’t include a pair of earphones because everything is meant to be played with its speakers. Its one of the loudest and probably best speakers on an android tablet. It’s like having a mini theater complete with sub-woofer and surround sound in your bag.
The MatePad Pro is powered by Huawei’s latest and fastest Kirin 990 processor and comes with 6GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB UFS 3.0 storage. As expected, everything runs like a breeze and there’s no slowdown when doing multiple tasks or switching between several open apps. We’ll see if it changes as I install more apps from the APP Gallery.
Speaking of the APP Gallery, for the regular readers of this blog, you know that I’ve gone Google-less for the past six months and so far, the experience has been quite good. I’ve found most of the apps I frequently used and besides google photos, I really don’t miss the play store too much (but google photos also has an easy workaround). But more on that in another article.
Now, I don’t blame you for having second thoughts because of the absence of the Play Store, but that will depend on the apps you need and there’s always a workaround for that which will give you almost the same experience.
The Matepad Pro is powered by a 7,250mAh with support for fast charging as well as reverse charging—another first for a tablet.
There’s no fingerprint scanner, but it does have face unlock which I like better.
The best feature of the MatePad Pro for me has to be desktop mode. I am actually typing this post using the MatePad Pro and so far the keyboard experience is quite good. The smart magnetic keyboard is way better than all the previous android bluetooth keyboards I used. It pairs quickly via Bluetooth and charges wirelessly. It also doubles as a case so you could store it safely on your bag and prop it up like a laptop at two different angles.
Now back to desktop mode. This feature is what distinguishes the MatePad Pro from all other tablets because it lets you work on office apps, browse websites, take notes and draw using the M-Pencil, with an interface that’s like your PC. I’m still trying out the NEBO but so far it has been able to accurately transform my handwriting into text documents.
That ability, plus multi-window and app multiplier and Huawei Share, could make the MatePad Pro a viable laptop alternative for who those who do a lot of office document work as well as photo and light video editing tasks.
Well that’s it for our unboxing and initial thoughts on the Huawei MatePad Pro. Its definitely Huawei’s best tablet yet and so far the experience of using it for my blog posting has been very good.
HUAWEI MatePad Pro (4G) SPECS
| Display | 10.8 inches ，2560 × 1600 IPS display280 PPI， DCI-P3 cinematic colour gamut，540 nits Brightness（typical）Contrast: 1500:1 |
| Chipset | Kirin 990 |
| Connectivity | TD-LTE/ LTE FDD/TD-SCDMA/WCDMA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA/CDMA2000/CDMA1X/EDGE/GPRSNote: Actual network standard and frequency bands may vary depending on the local carrier and the user’s location. Wi-Fi：IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac，2.4＆5GHzBluetooth ： Bluetooth 5.1, compatible with Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth 4.0, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR |
| Operating system | EMUI 10.0.1(based on Android 10.0) |
| Memory | ROM：128GB UFS 3.0RAM：6GB LPDDR4x Expansion：NM Card（up to 256GB ） |
| Camera | Front camera: 8MP, autofocusRear camera: 13MP, autofocus |
| Audio | Four speakers and four channelsFive-microphone noise reductionHarman/Kardon tuning |
| Sensors | Gravity sensor、Gyroscope、Ambient light sensor、Hall sensor、Compass、Status indicator |
Stay tuned for our full review, which will come out in our column The Technivore on Business Mirror in the coming weeks.
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