Huawei seems to have a big day today with its numerous hardware and software announcements. Huawei announced its first set of tablets powered by its own HarmonyOS 2.0. That’s right. They have upgraded their HarmonyOS as well.
The tablets that were launch today, the Huawei MatePad Pro 10.8 (2021), Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 (2021), and Huawei MatePad 11 are extremely powerful. Especially, the MatePad Pro 12.6, which gives a toe-to-toe competition to the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S-series and Apple’s iPad Pro line.
There’s a smaller 10.8-inch model that runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 chipset – the first such Huawei device in a very long time. The MatePad 11 is a more affordable version that focuses more on students with similar software features found on the more expensive models and a year ago’s Snapdragon 865 SoC.
Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 and 10.8
On the hardware front, Both the display have their perks. MatePad Pro 12.6 comes with a 12.6-inch OLED display with a 2560×1600-pixel resolution, at a standard 60Hz refresh rate. The 10.8 has an IPS LCD that refreshes at 120Hz of the same resolution. It offers a 90% screen-to-body ratio, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut coverage. The panel supports HDR 10 content playback. You also get eight speakers tuned by Harman/Kardon and four microphones for voice pick-up at up to 5-meter distances.
The 12.6 model is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin 9000E chipset whereas the smaller 10.8 model is powered by Snapdragon 870. The two models get 8GB of RAM and either 128GB/256GB of storage capacity. There are three cameras on the back with a dedicated 3D depth sensor. The 12.6 variant packs a massive 10,000 mAh battery giving up to 14 hours of mixed usage. The battery can be charged via a 40W fast charger or a 27W wireless charger. Reverse wireless charging is also supported.
Huawei MatePad 11
The MatePad 11, a successor to the last year’s MatePad 10, comes with a 10.95 inch LCD panel with a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and refreshes at 120Hz and 100% coverage of DCI-P3 wide color gamut. It also compromises the Kirin 9000E for Snapdragon 865 SoC. Though the processor is a let down it is still a flagship processor and pretty snappy too. You get 6GB RAM and 128GB storage here. Lastly, it packs a 7,250 mAh battery. Both models support Huawei’s new M-Pencil stylus and smart magnetic keyboard.
The new MatePad Pros comes in gray, green and white colors. The MatePad Pro 12.6 will retail for € 799 in Europe. Availability and pricing for the 10.8-inch model and other regions will follow. MatePad 11 will retail for €399 in Europe. Further availability details will be announced later on.
