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I’m an iPad bore. As much as I complain about Apple’s tablet, I stand firm by my belief that it is the best device of its kind on the market.
This is due to the combination of hardware, software, and the ecosystem within which those two elements reside. You know – good, old-fashioned Apple tricks of the trade.
So, when Huawei invited me to Dubai to check out their latest iPad Pro competitor, the MatePad Pro 13.2”, I was hardly going to say “no”, was I? And not just because it was Dubai. Honestly.
As it turns out, this Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2” review has taught me more about myself and Apple fanboyism than I ever thought it would.
MatePad Pro 13.2”: specs and pricing
The Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2” is powered by the Kirin 9000S chip with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. You can pre-order it in Europe from the 8th of January for delivery on the 22nd and it’ll set you back €999 for the 256GB version and €1199 for the 512GB edition.
The star of the show is, arguably, the 13.2-inch flexible OLED panel, which is the largest ever for Huawei. It boasts a 2.8K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, P3 colour, and 1,000 nits of peak brightness. There’s an iPad-beating 94% screen-to-body ratio and a neutral light-sensing display for enhancing brightness and contrast.
Colour choices are typically ‘pro muted’ and limited to either green or ‘Golden Black’ (which feels like an oxymoron).
The MatePad Pro 13.2” also heralds the introduction of the third-generation M-Pencil and a new Smart Magnetic Keyboard, priced at €99 and €199, respectively.
Camera duties are taken care of via 13MP and 8MP units on the rear of the device and a 16MP front-facing selfie camera.
The 10,100mAh battery features 88w fast charging (impressive and completely alien to iPad users) and can juice the MatePad Pro to full in just 65 minutes (40 minutes will take it to a rather useful 85%).
MatePad Pro 13.2”: hardware impressions
The MatePad Pro 13.2” is a bloody nice device. Really nice, in fact.
What strikes you at first is how thin and light it is. For a long-term iPad user, those ultra-slim bezels feel suitably space-age. At just 3.4mm you’d be forgiven for assuming they’d result in usability issues, but I had no problems in any orientation.
This is partly due to how beautifully light Huawei’s tablet is. At 5.5mm thin, it makes the 6.4mm 12.9-inch iPad Pro feel rather portly – as does the not-insignificant 102g weight saving.
The display is a triumph, too. It’s super-bright and has a brilliantly needless 144Hz refresh rate to ensure everything zips speedily across the display.
The fact that the MatePad Pro Display is OLED and has those brilliantly thin bezels makes it feel far more immersive and rich than the iPad Pro. Ironically, it also has a notch. Stop laughing at the back – it doesn’t matter at all, and it ensures the selfie camera is in the correct location.
If you’re wondering about battery life, there have been reports from people who run proper benchmark tests that the MatePad Pro 13.2” struggles under certain workloads, but in my experience, it feels very iPad-like.
The audio is super impressive, too. Huawei promises “booming bass for theatre-level audio”. That’s marketing speak and is, as one might suspect, pushing it for a device of this size.
But the MatePad Pro sounds better than the big iPad Pro – and that’s saying something. It’s the weightier bottom end which hits you, and what, I guess, played a role in the tablet’s five-star rating from SGS Switzerland for audio quality.
Hardware-wise, the Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2” is a very lovely thing indeed.
Huawei 3rd gen M-Pencil and Smart Magnetic Keyboard
The hardware quality doesn’t stop with the MatePad Pro 13.2”; Huawei’s accessory duo for its new tablet is equally as impressive.
The third-generation M-Pencil feels great in the hand and is easily as responsive as the second-generation Apple Pencil. This is thanks to the NearLink technology powering the new M-Pencil which boosts the signal from the stylus and reduces latency. The result is the first stylus to boast more than 10,000 pressure-sensing levels.
The M-Pencil also has pressure sensitivity, double tap functionality, and charges magnetically on the MatePad Pro 13.2”. There really is very little to separate it from Apple’s it’s-not-a-stylus-stylus.
I’m a fan of the Smart Magnetic Keyboard, too. The key travel is satisfying, the trackpad is big enough and feels good, and there’s a function key row complete with an escape key.
It’s also lighter and less cumbersome than the Apple Magic Keyboard, although the outer casing is just as susceptible to smudges and grime, unfortunately – it doesn’t take long for it to look rather unsightly.
However, it does offer a couple of benefits over the Apple Magic Keyboard in the form of a detachable keyboard which can still be used when detached, and the inclusion of a kickstand, which I prefer over Apple’s laptop-like hinge.
Moving from iOS to HarmonyOS 4
The MatePad Pro 13.2” is running what is, essentially, an open-source version of Android with Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4 slapped on top for user interface duties.
However, this isn’t a gentle reskinning of Google’s mobile operating system like the one you might find on a Samsung device – it feels completely alien at first. This is both satisfying (it’s nice to get your teeth into something fresh) and daunting, mainly because the apps you rely on may not be immediately available.
I’ll come onto why that is in a moment, but HarmonyOS 4 itself is fun to use. It’s quick, there’s some nice multitasking stuff available, and although there’s a fair amount of bloatware, you can easily remove it and make the MatePad Pro yours quite quickly.
Back to the app situation. Huawei’s version of the app store, AppGallery has a large selection of apps and games, but as noted above, you’ll struggle to find native versions of your favourites. There’s also no Google Mobile Services (GMS) built into HarmonyOS, which adds to the disorientation you’ll feel as a new user.
The good news is that you can effectively side-load apps onto the MatePad Pro by searching for them on the included Petal Search. You simply type in the app you want, install it, and use it. This works perfectly in my experience, and I didn’t encounter any compatibility issues with the apps I tested – they appeared to run just like any other app on the MatePad Pro.
I understand why this might put you off, but you needn’t worry. Regardless, it taught me something valuable about myself.
Conclusion: could I switch to the MatePad Pro from the iPad Pro?
No.
But that’s not a fair reflection on the MatePad Pro 13.2”. As most other reviewers have pointed out, this is a brilliant tablet, and I agree wholeheartedly. I love the design – more so than that of the iPad Pro (it makes Apple’s flagship tablet feel almost old-fashioned). I also like HarmonyOS 4 – it’s well thought out and tuned to aid productivity.
The problem is that I’m entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. I knew this already – I’ve written about it countless times – but my experience with the MatePad Pro has further rammed home this uncomfortable truth.
I rely on apps like Ulysses, Fantastical, and Day One to get stuff done, and they are Apple-only. Add those to the wealth of Apple’s apps I can’t put down, and we – or, rather, I – have a problem
This is my fault. And it’s one I think I need to rectify. Because there’s no way I can use my reliance on Apple to downgrade a device that’s as fantastic as the MatePad Pro 13.2”.
So, who is the MatePad Pro 13.2” for? It’s for anyone who isn’t entrenched in the Apple ecosystem and who wants a high-quality, value-for-money tablet experience. Sure, you’ll need to become comfortable with side-loading a few apps, but it’s super easy and, in my experience, faultless.
The MatePad Pro has been one of the most interesting devices I’ve reviewed this year and I highly recommend it if, basically, you’re not me.
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2 Comments
Excellent review and thank you.
Just for the record from a Samsung mobile
devices fanboy: samsung One UI is the most heavily modded android on the market, even more modded than Harmony OS. It’s just that the apperance and layout seem more android-like, while harmony is more MIUI/EMUI like.
All these things can be found in Huawei description. No need to read this.