Is the Huawei MatePad Pro the iPad Pro contender we’ve all been waiting for?

Right out of the box, Huawei’s MatePad Pro is reminiscent of the iPad Pro. It’s arguably the next big thing among Android tablets right alonside Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S6. Here’s a quick look at what it has to offer:

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At the rear, the MatePad Pro features a glossy, polished metal back outfitted with a single 13MP rear shooter. Up front, Huawei went and put the 8MP front camera in a punch hole, giving you much more screen and making it look like an oversized smartphone.
You can opt for the whole productivity package with the Smart Cover-Keyboard and the M-pencil (that is the spitting image of the Apple Pencil). Both accessories attach magnetically to the tablet and the M-pencil charges wirelessly at rest on the side. While a trackpad included on the keyboard would just seal the deal, the MatePad makes up for it with its killer specs.

On paper, the MatePad Pro is a beast. It runs on the flagship Kirin 990 chipset (4G/5G), the same that powers Huawei’s latest flagship smartphones such as the Mate 30 series and the P40 series. There are several storage combinations possible, with the vanilla MatePad Pro powered by 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM. The display is an ample 10.8 inch 2K IPS LCD screen and it’s built to handle creators, mobile workers who want a portable machine that can perform like a PC without the bulk and of course, let’s not forget the binge-watchers and gamers.

Battery-wise, it’s outfitted with a huge 7,250 mAh cell that supports Huawei’s 40W supercharge (but only offers a 10W quick charger with the box) and 15W wireless charging along with 7.5W of wireless reverse charging so you can charge quickly charge your mobile or accessories on it.

Inside, it runs on EMUI 10.0 based on Android 10 but doesn’t come with Google Services. While this may seem like a dealbreaker to some, it’s actually very workable when it comes down to it. Not convinced? Check out our roundup of apps (the productive and not-so-productive kind, of course) that you can find on the Huawei App Gallery to use on the MatePad Pro.