Huawei’s new MatePad Pro is a premium Android tablet with a 10.8 inch AMOLED display, the kind of specs you’d find in a high-end Android smartphone, and support for optional accessories including a detachable keyboard cover and a pressure-sensitive pen that magnetically clings to the side of the tablet when you’re not using it.

In other words, the MatePad Pro is Huawei’s answer to Apple’s iPad Pro (or maybe Microsoft’s Surface line of tablets). But it does have one option that the competition lacks for now — Huawei will offer WiFi-only and 5G versions of the MatePad Pro.

There’s not a lot of competition in the premium Android tablet space. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S series comes to mind and… that’s about it. Most other companies that are still making Android tablets have focused on the low-end space in recent years.

But folks who see Android as a viable tablet/laptop-replacement platform, will probably find a lot to like about Huawei’s new tablet.

It’s powered by a Kirin 990 processor, has a 2560 x 1600 pixel display, and 40W fast wired charging, 27 watt fast wireless charging support, and reverse-wireless charging, allowing you to charge a phone or a set of wireless earbuds by placing it atop the tablet.

The MatePad Pro has four speakers, a USB-C port (but no headphone jack), and the aforementioned accessories that let you use the tablet for writing, drawing, or typing.

The Huawei MatePad Pro will be available in June in China, Europe, and select other markets — although there’s no word on US availability.

Prices are expected to start at €549 ($600) for a WiFi-only model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or €799 ($865) for a 5G model with 8GB/256GB.

The pen and keyboard are sold separately, so you’ll likely end up spending a lot more if you want a fully decked-out model.

One thing to keep in mind is that this tablet will be shipping without support for the Google Play Store or Google apps and services such as Gmail, Google Maps, or YouTube. You can blame Huawei’s rocky relationship with the US government for that omission. But Huawei has been working to develop its own alternatives to Google’s ecosystem, which means that Huawei’s Android phones and tablets do have an app store and shared APIs for app developers. But apps and media already purchased from Google Play won’t be available unless you sideload Google Play Services.

via @HuaweiMobile, The Verge, and Anandtech

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

8 replies on “Huawei MatePad Pro is a high-end Android tablet with pen, keyboard, and optional 5G”

  1. LINUX
    i need install normal linyux, fedora, arch, manjaro!
    please make it

  2. These expensive android tablets just don’t make sense to me. Especially when I can purchase better Windows 10 tablet devices for a hundred bucks(or so). The Dell latitude 11 I recently purchased cost 99.99 and the HP Elite x2 1012 I bought a few months back was $120 and it was literally brand new with a dead battery. I spent 30. on a battery and I had a tablet with thunderbolt 3, usb-a, usb-c, LTE, 8GB’s of memory and a 256GB NVMe drive. I’m still shocked that I could get so much for so little. The latitude 11 is no slouch either. It’s literally my new desktop, bought a 12 docking station that was brand new. The tablet sits on top of it and you plug your peripherals directly underneath. As long as you’re not a heavy gamer it’s more than adequate for everything I do. Although…admittedly, I still play a little Skyrim and it will do that just fine in 1080p with 60 fps.

    Best, Michael

    1. Like you say, for those prices it’s hard to go with expensive android tablets. Where did you get that promo though!

    2. I dont think most of us have access to those pieces unless we buy in bulk on eBay. But I’ll keep an eye out with my favourite refurbishers.

    3. I’m using a Surface Go LTE. I’d buy it over any Android tablet no matter how much the Android tablet costs.

    4. I imagine the pressure-sensitive pen is part of the appeal. For anyone intending to create digital art or do other design work, using programs like SketchBook, ArtRage, or AutoCAD, there really is no substitute. It’s either a device with a digital stylus, or nothing.

  3. > One thing to keep in mind is that this tablet will be shipping without support for the Google Play Store or Google apps and services such as Gmail, Google Maps, or YouTube.

    Huawei: home of the locked bootloader. Their general and security upgrades are poor to non-existent (source: one-time Huawei owner). Friend picked up a recent Huawei phone and their apps all start off the same way: Allow us to collect all your personal data or press cancel to terminate app.

    Use to really like Huawei but they seem to have embraced their inner evil.

    Google says “hello”.

Comments are closed.