Huawei has officially launched its 10.8-inch MatePad Pro, Huawei’s Kirin 990 SoC, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, a 10.8-inch 2560 x 1600 LCD screen with 540-nit brightness, up to 512GB of internal storage, a 13MP f/1.8 rear camera, and a 7,250 mAh battery with fast charging.
MatePad Pro comes with a 90% screen-to-body ratio and a slim 4.9 mm bezel all around. Despite packing four speakers and a large battery, it only weighs about 460 grams (1.01 lb) and boasts 7.2mm thickness at its thinnest section. Due to that thin bezel, however, Huawei had to place the 8-MP front-facing camera inside a hole punch in the top left corner, just like it does for some of its phones.
Just like the iPad (which MatePad Pro is going to be compared to), Huawei has made an optional keyboard case and a stylus for the MatePad Pro, both of which bear a resemblance to their Apple counterparts. Huawei’s M-Pencil even charges the same way as the Apple Pencil by magnetically attaching to the edge of the tablet.
However, besides being able to charge wirelessly at 15W, it can also perform reverse wireless charging to charge up other devices at 7.5W.
The tablet will run Android 10 with Huawei’s EMUI skin and no Google apps. While Huawei recently got a third 90-day reprieve from the US Commerce Department, Google still cannot certify new devices from the company due to the ongoing trade ban.
The base model will cost 3299 yuan when it goes on sale in China next month with 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage, and Wi-Fi. There is also a model that goes for 5999 yuan with 8GB of RAM, 512GB storage, and LTE.
MatePad Pro buyers will be gifted a free six-month membership to WPS Office, an office suite analogous to Microsoft’s Office software, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group, told reporters at the launch event in Shanghai on Monday.
Yu also expressed confidence that the tablet would perform just as well as Huawei’s Microsoft-driven two-in-one laptops because the former “can be seamlessly connected to smartphones” thanks to its huge Android-based apps base.
