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Reviewing the Huawei MatePad Pro (2021): What You Need to Know
If success were solely judged based on hardware, you'd think it could hit the mark, as this year's MatePad Pro stands as one of the finest in the business. Sporting a razor-sharp 12.6-inch OLED display with 2K resolution (2,560 x 1,600), powered by Huawei's flagship Kirin 9000 chipset, and boasting 8GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage via Huawei's exclusive Nano memory card format. It also comes with 5G connectivity, and you can double the storage to 256GB if you're willing to splash a bit more cash.
This year's MatePad Pro debuts with Harmony 2 operating system, still based on Android but with Huawei's twist. I'll delve deeper into the significance of this later in this review, but in summary, Harmony OS seems like a blend of Android and iPad OS features with a major caveat that you're restricted to using Huawei App Gallery for newer apps and games.
Crucially, this means you can't access Google's core suite of apps, such as Drive, YouTube, Chrome, and Maps, and generally, the full list of available apps isn't anywhere near as comprehensive as what you'd find in the Play Store or Apple App Store.
Reviewing the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6-inch (2021): Design and Key Features
In terms of design, the MatePad Pro boasts an attractive plastic and glass construction, delivering a superb feel in the hand. Just mentioning a plastic design might be enough to disappoint you, but the MatePad's frame looks much better and it also features slim 7mm bezels running around the entire perimeter of the screen as well as slightly rounded corners and edges for one-handed use.
One thing to note is not only has the screen increased in size compared to the previous MatePad Pro (from 10.8 inches to 12.6 inches), the annoying hole-punch camera is also gone. Instead, the 8MP (f/2.0) selfie camera is neatly tucked away inside the bezel of one of the tablet's long edges.
There's a rectangular camera module on the back, somewhat resembling the module on Huawei's P40 smartphones and blending harmoniously with the rest of the tablet with slightly raised edges; It features a main 13MP (f/1.8) camera, an 8MP (f/2.4) ultra-wide, and a depth sensor. The MatePad's plastic frame also has the added benefit of keeping the overall weight down to 609g. Though heavier than last year's 10.8-inch MatePad Pro, this year's model is lighter than the iPad Pro, weighing 682g.
The tablet uses a USB-C port for charging, supporting wired charging speeds of up to 40W, while it also has reverse wireless charging at 27W and wireless charging at 10W. You can unlock the MatePad Pro through facial recognition, in addition to the usual PIN and password methods but it doesn't include a fingerprint sensor.
For audio, the MatePad Pro boasts a total of eight speakers, with four speakers on each side when the tablet is placed horizontally. In testing, the MatePad Pro delivers comprehensive sound with effective sound separation and it seems quite close to the tablet audio experience I'm using for comparison – the iPad Air 4.
This tablet also features four microphones, capable of picking up voices from up to five meters away, and Huawei's AI noise cancellation technology has done a commendable job in eliminating surrounding noise (such as the hum of washing machines and noisy traffic) in test calls.
Reviewing the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6-inch (2021): Display
There's truly nothing amiss with the MatePad Pro's display. With a 12.6-inch diagonal size, this tablet's OLED panel with 2K resolution (2,560 x 1,600) delivers a sharp pixel density of 240ppi with a 16:10 aspect ratio and supports HDR 10+ content. One thing it doesn't support is a higher refresh rate; the MatePad Pro is capped at up to 60Hz refresh rate, whereas the iPad Pro can display content at up to 120Hz.
That being said, there's no doubt about the quality of the MatePad Pro's screen. With two display modes to choose from in the tablet's settings, I found the 'Normal' color profile to be the most accurate, delivering 94.5% coverage of the sRGB color gamut, with a total coverage of 95.1% and an average Delta E of 0.75, which is quite good for a tablet display. The MatePad Pro also achieves a maximum brightness of 382cd/m2.
Reviewing the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6-inch (2021): Performance and Battery Life
This year's MatePad Pro is equipped with Huawei's in-house Kirin 9000 chipset, also found inside Huawei's recent flagship phone, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. This is an octa-core processor built on a 5nm manufacturing process with a maximum clock speed of 3.13GHz. It also has an integrated 5G modem, although LTE connectivity is limited to the more expensive model variant.
Unfortunately, as in the case of most Huawei reviews we've received, the MatePad Pro couldn't run our standard performance benchmarks. Geekbench 4/5, GFXBench, and CPU-Z all failed to install, even after downloading related APKs through Huawei's Aptoide search tool, which suggests APK download sources if the app isn't available in the App Gallery.
However, according to hearsay, the performance of the MatePad Pro is somewhat of a win. It boots up in an instant, switches between multiple apps swiftly, and I've never noticed any performance hiccups during testing. It's a shame when the app lineup is so limited, as there's no other reason why the MatePad Pro couldn't serve as a good laptop replacement, especially when it comes to overall performance.
As for gaming, it's a similar story. There aren't many ways to install top-tier titles – although there are plenty of copyright-infringing Counter Strike and Fall Guys knockoffs as well as a mix of casino gambling apps – but the MatePad Pro's embedded Mali-G78 GPU shouldn't struggle with running any games you're interested in.
It's also good that the increased screen size doesn't significantly diminish overall battery life. In our video playback summary test, the MatePad Pro lasted 11 hours and 31 minutes before the battery level dropped to 0; that's similar to the iPad Pro 12.9-inch M1 and the previous MatePad Pro.
Reviewing the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6-inch (2021): Harmony OS 2
Typically, as I near the conclusion of a review, any tablet receiving similar praise would be on the right track to earning a lucrative recommendation. However, being a Huawei device, there's usually something holding it back, and once again, it comes in the form of software.
If you're hoping that Harmony OS 2 will steer Huawei's reputation back on track, be prepared for a bit of disappointment. As I've mentioned throughout this review, Huawei's App Gallery still lags behind, and while you may find a few popular apps like TikTok and Snapchat, the reality is still lacking. Not to mention that the App Gallery insists on throwing five-second ads at you at every turn.
However, the user interface of Harmony OS 2 is much better than last year's tablet, though it doesn't really offer much in terms of software benefits. Harmony OS 2 still operates very much like Android, which isn't surprising given that Android remains its foundation. However, it has also borrowed some bits and bobs from Apple's iPadOS. This includes an app dock at the bottom of the main screen, displaying recent and frequently used apps, and a control center – accessed by swiping down from the top right corner.
And, much like Apple, there's a big focus on multitasking and seamlessly connecting multiple devices. This year's MatePad Pro has the option to run two tasks simultaneously within one app, such as replying to instant messages on the left side of the screen and composing emails on the right. Using two apps in split-screen mode also works well, and I particularly like the integrated floating app windows.
If you own another Huawei device, such as a smartphone, MateBook laptop, or one of the company's new types of monitors, you can also mirror or extend your screen, working similarly to Apple's Sidecar feature. You can even control your Huawei phone directly from the tablet if you wish.
Reviewing the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6-inch (2021): Conclusion
It's no surprise that my final verdict on the Huawei MatePad Pro (2021) closely resembles that of any other Huawei device I've reviewed over the past few years.
Certainly, the foreign policy of the United States is not Huawei's fault, but the repercussions remain the same. No matter how great the hardware, the absence of Google Play means it's still a tough sell outside of China.
Sure, this price point is very appealing and it could certainly be discounted in other regions but the current software of the MatePad Pro will leave you wanting more than that.
