Family Mobile Home Theater?
Huawei is out to get a head start in the local tablet market with the imminent release of the Huawei MatePad SE 10.4 later this month.
Intended for those who want a device with bigger screen at a more accessible price point the MatePad SE has a 10.4 inch screen with a 2K display, Snapdragon 680 processor, and 5000mAh battery.
Unlike your smartphone or laptops which are too personal, tablets are more “shareable” and is usually used by anyone in the family for either browsing the internet, watching youtube, streaming content or for video calls whether it’s for work or just to catch up with family and friends.
The HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4 is engineered to be the ultimate in-home entertainment solution, offering the perfect entertainment experience for families. This tablet boasts a spacious HUAWEI FullView display, dual speakers, and a High Performance Antenna, delivering an immersive experience for individuals of all ages to enjoy movies, shop online, navigate social media and more.
Compared to the MatePad Pro series which is more of a productivity tool, I think the SE is a family-first device that caters for people of every age. It also has several eye safety features that makes it a good companion for younger kids especially with its Kids Corner App.
UNBOXING:
Included in the box is the HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4 unit, a Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card, sim tray Eject pin, type C cable and wall adaptor. The LTE version will come with a free Folio cover
Starting with the build, the tablet measures 246.94 mm x 156.7 mm x 7.85 mm and weighs only 440 g (including battery) which makes it lighter than most tablets.
BUILD AND DESIGN
The HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4 looks stylish just like its predecessors, featuring a micro-curved corner at the middle frame that gives the device a slimmer appearance and improved grip. Its lightweight construction, combined with its ergonomic design, ensures that the tablet remains comfortable to hold for extended periods, despite its size. The back cover though is an absolute smudge and fingerprint magnet.
Exploring the ports and buttons, and viewing the tablet in landscape mode, the volume rocker buttons are located at the top left side with the power button right next to it. The stereo speakers can be found on both sides of the tablet. While on the right side, is the USB-C charging port and the SIM/MicroSD tray.
There is also a front selfie camera right in the middle of the display. At the back, you’ll find the single 5MP camera with f/2.2 sized aperture. This is just a basic camera that could take decent photos in good lighting. The 2MP front camera is good enough for those video calls when needed.
DISPLAY AND AUDIO
The large display is the main selling point of this device and as the name suggests it has a 10.4-inch LCD IPS 2K display with a 2000 × 1200 resolution. Its not AMOLED but the colors are still quite good with 16.7 million colors saturation (NTSC): 70.8% (typical value) and nice viewing angles.
Equipped with HUAWEI FullView display, this tablet has an 83 percent screen-to-body ratio, ultra-narrow 8.5mm bezels and a symmetrical design on all four sides to help you to focus on the screen and enjoy whatever you are watching.
Since you’ll probably be looking at the screen for long periods of time its nice to know that Huawei has equipped this device with several eye protection features. The Huawei MatePad SE 10.4 has passed TÜ V Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification and Flicker Free Certification, proven to effectively eliminate screen flickers and reduce blue light emissions. You can enable Eye comfort mode and stay free from eye fatigue from the blue light.
The HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4 also comes with four layers of eye-protection including: Posture Alerts As many people like to watch TV or play games when lying flat this position making them prone to having higher pressure in their eyes and eye fatigue. A built-in gravity sensor works in combination with the Huawei algorithms to determine if the user is lying flat and prompt the user to change their positioning to reduce pressure.
Then there’s Huawei’s leading blue light filtering technology changes the color temperature, providing a warner light with a higher wavelength to reduce the strain on the eyes.
Lots of passengers use tablets in the car, especially during long drives or when you are stuck in traffic. However, using a tablet while moving or shaking can put strain on your child’s eyes. With Huawei’s bumpy road alerts, it can to detect if it is being used while in a moving vehicle or walking to ensure the safety of the user and further protect eyesight.
Lastly, this tablet includes technology that can change the screen to resemble that of a physical book. This provides both a quality reading experience, as well as further protecting users’ eyes.
Although this tablet isn’t really meant for kids use it does have a few noteworthy features so you don’t have to worry about letting your child use it.
It is important that this device is safe and easy to use for the whole family. Huawei said this tablet has been designed for kids use as well and is extremely durable and can survive those accidental bumps and drops. The HUAWEI MatePad SE 10.4 has a stable middle frame that can maintain its shape when force is applied, when dropped, or collided with.
Then there’s Huawei Kids Corner that allows parents the ability to control their child’s screen time, app usage and eye protection means that they can let their children learn and grow without worry.
HARDWARE AND APPS
While its primarily an entertainment device, the Huawei MatePad SE 10.4 is also quite capable as a productivity tool. Powered by a Snapdragon 680 SoC it can handle basic work tasks such as document creation, answering emails, making video calls and other office tasks. You might want to get a Bluetooth keyboard though if your planning to type a lot on this device. Switching from one app to another is fairy quick enough and it doesn’t lag despite a few open apps.
Speaking of Apps, the Huawei App Gallery has you covered with the apps you might want to store on this device, whether its social media apps like Facebook, Instagram Twitter, Tiktok etc.
Streaming apps like HBO Go, Netflix, Disney+ and many others are available on the APP Gallery as well. Now if you need to install Google apps, just download the GBOX on the app gallery for easier installation. Its improved quite a lot since we last used it on the Huawei nova Y61.
If you own other Huawei devices, then you have more reasons to get this tablet as it will easily connect with other Huawei products allowing you more extra features. Seamlessly connect with the new and improved Super Device Control Panel that keeps everything on the tablet under control. Consisting of an audio control, switch, and Super Device module, it is now easier than ever to control multiple devices at the same time.
Lastly you get a 5100mAh battery which is enough to last you throughout a day of moderate use which involves web browsing, watching movies, playing some casual games or going through your social media feeds.
FIRST THOUGHTS:
The Huawei MatePad SE 10.4. offers a nice 2K display, loud stereo speakers, slim lightweight design and some decent internals that make it worth checking out if you are in the market for a budget tablet that everyone in the family can use. There are also several RAM and storage options so there’s one that will fit your budget, though I would go for a higher RAM over storage. The timing of Huawei releasing a tablet this early in the year is also quite an interesting move and we’re excited when they finally announce the price in the next few days.
