Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: a creative tablet that comes at a serious cost

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Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition: two-minute review

The Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte version is simply a tablet aimed astatine creatives, pinch an accent connected illustration, acknowledgment successful nary mini portion to nan Tandem OLED PaperMatte display.

The show is so impressive: it’s vibrant while astatine nan aforesaid clip being easy connected nan eye. Video, photos, drafting and matter are each arsenic displayed vividly and clearly. There’s a flimsy graininess and soft-focus effect to nan picture, but I didn’t find either detracted from nan experience.

The golden decorativeness connected nan PaperMatte Edition is subtle pinch a scratchy shape that mightiness not beryllium to everyone’s taste. However, I recovered it suited nan wide creation well. I was besides impressed by nan build quality, which is up location pinch immoderate of nan best tablets, pinch each sheet and subordinate being adjacent to perfect. The powerfulness and measurement buttons are besides of a likewise precocious standard.

The Glide Keyboard case, however, is much of a mixed bag. While it fits good onto nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition, opening and closing it is difficult, acknowledgment to nan other hinge system that’s basal to location nan M-Pencil 3 charging compartment. It was ever awkward to unfastened and close. And while nan keys and trackpad consciousness premium, nan worldly astir them appears to show signs of peeling, which spells problem for its longevity. The lawsuit besides fails to protect nan camera.

One of nan awesome issues pinch nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition, though, is related to software. Google’s deficiency of support for Huawei devices intends its apps aren’t natively supported, requiring workarounds that are deed and miss successful their success. While I was capable to get Google apps installed via GBox, they didn’t ever execute arsenic expected, and games grounded to activity outright. Huawei’s charismatic storefront is frankly nary substitute for nan Google Play Store, arsenic it’s severely constricted successful scope.

Huawei’s ain apps included present tin beryllium rather useful and execute well. GoPaint and Petal Clip are very good designed imaginative apps, pinch nan erstwhile letting nan M-Pencil 3 shine. However, others person their issues (outrightly failing to activity successful nan lawsuit of nan Music app).

Gestures some connected nan touchscreen and connected nan trackpad are responsive and let for useful functionality. Typing pinch nan Glide Keyboard is fine, though immoderate package issues hamper nan experience. Air Gestures, however, grounded to activity consistently capable to beryllium useful astatine all. The M-Pencil 3 stylus offers nan astir enjoyable measurement to interact pinch nan tablet: it provides smooth, seamless strokes and though there’s a flimsy dragging sensation, it isn’t capable to detract from its earthy feel.

Battery life connected nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition is impressive, lasting respective days from wide and varied use. Super charging is besides available, getting you backmost up and moving comparatively quickly: it took maine astir 2 hours to get from 5% to afloat capacity.

Huawei devices are ever tricky to recommend. Due to nan unsocial restrictions placed upon nan Chinese brand, nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition doesn’t usability for illustration your emblematic Android tablet, pinch various app restrictions being enforced. However, if you tin get past that, aliases you only want to spill your imaginative expressions onto a glorious display, past this mightiness beryllium for you. However, astatine this price, it’s difficult to urge it wholeheartedly fixed its various foibles.

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: value and availability

• £799 (about $1,069 / AU$1,553)
• PaperMatte version is golden only
• Same value arsenic nan latest iPad Air

The MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition costs £799 (about $1,069 / AU$1,553) and only comes successful gold. There’s besides a non-PaperMatte version successful black, pinch a little capacity (256GB alternatively than 512GB), for £699. Both versions see nan Glide Keyboard. Huawei is presently offering UK customers a promotion of £100 off, arsenic good arsenic a free inclusion of nan M-Pencil 3, connected its ain storefront.

Compared to nan best tablets around, nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition sits location successful nan mediate successful position of price. iPad Pro models tin surely beryllium much expensive, but they do battalion successful acold greater power. And nan latest iPad Air 13-inch starts astatine nan aforesaid value arsenic nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition, though that exemplary will only get you 128GB of storage, and each only person 8GB of RAM.

In nan wider realm of Android tablets, again nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition occupies nan halfway ground. Samsung Galaxy tabs tin transcend nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition successful price, but location are besides fund offerings, specified arsenic nan OnePlus Pad Go, though this exemplary isn’t compatible pinch a stylus, nor is location an charismatic keyboard lawsuit for it.

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: specs

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: display

• Vivid and clear
• No glare
• Slightly grainy texture

The 12.2-inch OLED PaperMatte show is very clear, making it easy to publication matter and position colorful imagery. However, location is simply a flimsy graininess to nan finish, which becomes much evident nan person you are. There’s besides a somewhat softer attraction compared to different tablet displays, meaning it isn’t arsenic pinpoint sharp.

Personally, though, I recovered it to beryllium vibrant capable to position HD and 2K contented without issue, acknowledgment successful portion to its 2800 x 1840 resolution. Reading matter is very easy connected nan eye, acknowledgment to nan PaperMatte exertion and its precocious contrast, deficiency of harsh backlighting (despite nan 2,000 nits maximum brightness) and flimsy softness to nan rendering. The matte decorativeness besides intends glare isn’t a problem for nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition; nary matter wherever I tried it, it would ever coming a visible image.

The bezels are besides very thin, pinch nan show making afloat usage of its allotted existent estate. There’s besides a chopped deficiency of smudging, arsenic fingerprints time off adjacent to nary trace, arsenic they tin connected different tablet displays.

The surface is silky soft to nan touch, pinch digit swipes being effortless to perform. The aforesaid is existent erstwhile utilizing Huawei’s M-Pencil 3: scribbling and drafting pinch it is simply a joy, though location is nan slightest hint of scratchiness astatine times but not capable to ruin nan experience. Overall, strokes are fluid and precise – acknowledgment successful portion to nan 144Hz refresh complaint – and registry precisely wherever you want them to.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: design

• Unique golden finish
• Thin but comparatively heavy
• Awkward Glide Keyboard folding mechanism

The MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition sports a minimal design, reasonably emblematic of astir tablets. Its golden decorativeness has a scratch-mark shape that whitethorn disagreement opinion, but I don’t deliberation it’s excessively garish. Overall, nan fresh and decorativeness is excellent, and I spotted nary flaws successful nan construction, while nan buttons consciousness premium and run pinch precision and ease.

In nan hand, you do consciousness nan weight of nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition, but it’s still conscionable astir wrong reasonable bounds; you shouldn’t person a problem carrying it for agelong stretches. However, nan edges are rather sharp, making it uncomfortable to hold, truthful this is simply a tablet amended utilized connected a desktop.

The floor plan of nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition is very thin, which adds to its portability credentials. The aforesaid is existent moreover pinch nan Glide Keyboard attached, which is arsenic as slender. That slenderness, however, comes astatine nan detriment to nan camera, arsenic nan lenses protrude somewhat beyond nan bounds of nan Glide’s case, offering them nary protection against slams aliases drops.

Perhaps nan biggest weakness of nan Glide Keyboard, though, is its folding mechanism. There’s a slot to accommodate and complaint nan M-Pencil 3 that features a double-hinge array, truthful erstwhile folded flat, nan stylus is stowed distant safely. However, that hinge is very stiff and needs to beryllium opened up for nan tablet to beryllium upright erstwhile successful use. This makes for awkward opening and closing and, moreover aft a week pinch it, I still couldn’t run it smoothly.

The Glide Keyboard magnet that holds nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition upright offers 2 viewing angles. While it’s strong, a connection to nan wise: erstwhile laying down, make judge your knees aren’t excessively precocious if you scheme connected resting nan tablet connected them, different nan weight of nan tablet will unit it shut.

Although nan Glide Keyboard is good made for nan astir part, nan worldly astir nan keyboard itself didn’t consciousness premium, and moreover appeared to beryllium losing adhesion, arsenic aerial pockets were visible beneath it successful places, which doesn’t bode good for its durability. The trackpad, though, is soft and durable, and conscionable nan correct size to beryllium applicable without eating into nan keyboard existent estate.

The M-Pencil 3 is besides good designed, taking cues from nan Apple Pencil pinch its all-white decorativeness and indentation connected 1 side. As good arsenic being stored successful its aforementioned slot successful nan Glide Keyboard, it besides clips magnetically to nan apical of nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition, though it won’t complaint successful this position. This is acold from convenient, arsenic retrieving nan M-Pencil 3 from nan charging slot is awkward: you tin either food astir nan backmost of nan tablet while it’s opinionated upright, aliases prise up nan bottommost from its magnetic clasp to retrieve it. These are some little than elegant solutions.

• Design score: 3 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: software

• Creative autochthonal apps
• Some glitches
• Support for celebrated apps problematic

The action of pre-installed package connected nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition verges connected excessive, but nan deed to capacity and retention capacity is thankfully negligible, and isn’t arsenic bad arsenic nan bloatware coming connected different Android tablets.

Huawei’s ain suite of apps connected nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition is, unsurprisingly, catered to nan artistically minded, geared towards getting nan astir retired of nan M-Pencil 3. GoPaint is 1 of nan standouts, contempt being hidden distant successful a files connected nan 2nd page of nan location screen. Anyone who’s dabbled pinch Procreate will beryllium successful acquainted territory here, arsenic it offers a near-identical interface and feature-set.

There are besides 2 notes-based apps: Notes and Notepad. These let for much drafting and scribbling, and travel pinch immoderate useful templates, including moreover euphony staves. However, if you’re looking to type your notes, past neither of these apps are fresh for purpose, pinch a measly matter container instrumentality being your option. Considering nan abundance of third-party statement taking apps retired there, though, this isn’t overmuch of a problem.

There’s besides Petal Clip, a amazingly in-depth photograph and video editing app. This allows you to create animations from images and from videos, pinch various adjustments, filters and animations to play astir with. There are besides templates for creating short clips, chiefly themed astir romance for immoderate reason, but are effective nevertheless for effortlessly livening up content.

Disappointingly nan browser app is beautiful basic, moreover lacking communal keyboard shortcuts galore will beryllium accustomed to. Still, sites do load promptly and wide velocity isn’t acold down much celebrated variants. Huawei’s different first-party apps fared little good during my clip pinch nan tablet, pinch glitches occurring frequently. The Music app, for instance, refused to play immoderate euphony and kept crashing each clip I tried to do so.

The existent drawback of Huawei devices, though, is nan deficiency of autochthonal compatibility pinch Google and galore different apps, owed to western sanctions connected nan Chinese brand. Huawei does person its ain AppGallery storefront, but nan lineup is sparse, and nan Google apps it offers are not nan existent apps; instead, they tally connected a level that fundamentally loads their mobile tract counterparts.

There are various repositories disposable from which you tin instal Google and different apps absent from Huawei’s ecosystem, but I had constricted occurrence pinch these, arsenic galore refused to instal aliases run, aliases alternatively ran but stopped moving soon afterwards.

GBox proved to beryllium nan champion solution to circumvent these restrictions. This is an situation that claims to get Google apps moving connected Huawei devices. Once I downloaded nan app from nan GBox website, I was capable to instal and usage nan Google Play Store, on pinch each nan Android apps you cognize and love.

However, moreover here, apps downloaded via this method aren’t flawless. In Google Docs, for instance, I was incapable to scroll pages, pinch nan emblematic two-fingered drags resulting successful highlighting matter instead. Spellcheck arsenic you type besides appeared to beryllium missing, and location were times erstwhile azygous taps of nan abstraction barroom grounded to really create a space. These drawbacks really hamper productivity.

More generally, immoderate apps refused to look connected nan location surface erstwhile downloaded from nan Google Play Store. Also, various games I installed from nan Play Store grounded to work, either instructing maine to download them from nan device’s charismatic app shop (where they weren’t available), aliases that a shop cardinal was missing.

Also, Google Chrome isn’t disposable from GBox either. You tin download it via nan Google Play Store, but aft installing, it again requests installing from nan AppGallery – and, again, Chrome isn’t connected there.

Another rumor is that split-screen functionality isn’t disposable betwixt 2 apps downloaded from GBox (or nan Google Play Store via GBox). You tin divided a surface betwixt a GBox app and a non-Gbox app, but it's a superior setback to those who want to attraction connected productivity that 2 GBox apps can’t beryllium stacked side-by-side.

What does activity better, though, is floating windows. I recovered that immoderate app could beryllium turned into a floating window, allowing you to put it successful nan area and support it connected apical while different apps are open, aliases minimize it to a mini tab astatine nan broadside of nan screen, fresh to beryllium expanded again. Floating windows besides connection a workaround for apps that only support image mode, arsenic it allows you to position them nan correct measurement up successful scenery – you won’t beryllium capable to make them fullscreen, but you tin still resize them to a ample degree.

• Software score: 2.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: performance

• Great for creativity
• So-so productivity credentials
• Gestures are a mixed bag

In position of speed, nan Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition is plentifulness powerful capable to grip ray productivity, intermezo and productivity tasks. The Kirin T91 Octa-core spot and 12GB of RAM make for seamless capacity for nan astir part, pinch only nan occasional slowdown. Google Docs and Sheets were swift erstwhile creating and editing successful these apps, while streaming video connected Twitch, Youtube and Netflix was besides a adjacent to flawless experience.

The sound value was besides a pleasant surprise. As pinch astir tablets, it won’t rustle you away, but audio connected nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition was much impactful than I was expecting, creating an admirable consciousness of space. It besides rendered each frequencies intelligibly while keeping distortion astatine bay.

When I did negociate to instal games that really worked, they performed good too. PUBG Mobile ran smoothly, albeit astatine a debased framework complaint and pinch compromised graphics, but it was still perfectly playable. There was nary discernible lag aliases stuttering, and nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition didn’t power up successful nan process either.

Typing is mostly a pleasant acquisition connected nan Glide Keyboard, acknowledgment to nan wide keys and damped feel. On screen, however, location are fewer issues. The cursor doesn't move guardant erstwhile you property space, though a abstraction is registered erstwhile you proceed typing, which tin beryllium a small disconcerting. There were besides occasions wherever nan predictive dialog container obscured nan screen. And contempt what I did to alteration nan keyboard layout, nan @ awesome was astir ever mapped to nan quote marks key, alternatively than nan 2 key.

The accustomed trackpad gestures are present. You tin swipe pinch 2 and 3 fingers to execute various actions, from navigating menus and pages to switching apps and returning to nan location screen. You tin besides zoom by performing a pinching movement. However, I was disappointed astatine being incapable to resistance items astir by simply tapping nan trackpad; instead, you person to property down nan trackpad first earlier you tin drag, which is acold little applicable erstwhile moving items ample distances crossed nan screen.

Some rodent gestures besides neglect to emulate their touchscreen counterparts pinch nan aforesaid effectiveness. For instance, opening nan multitask position by swiping inwards from nan correct connected nan trackpad did respective times consequence successful maine going backmost connected nan web page I had unfastened astatine nan aforesaid time, which is much than inconvenient.

As for those touchscreen gestures, they activity much seamlessly. They are responsive and smooth, and location are immoderate unsocial gestures disposable too. Along pinch nan accustomed 2 and 3 digit actions, location are besides knuckle taps, a useful summation that let you to return screenshots aliases execute different actions which are configurable successful nan settings. Again, these activity accurately and seamlessly.

The aforesaid can’t beryllium said astir Air Gestures, however, which are meant to admit nan opening and closing of your manus successful beforehand of nan camera to execute definite actions. Most of nan time, though, I grounded to get these to work, nary matter wherever I positioned my hand.

• Performance score: 3.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition review: battery

• Several days of use
• Quick charging
• ePaper tablets person it beat, though

The Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition features a 5,000 mAh battery, which is impressively agelong lasting. During my tests, it went for respective days while performing emblematic personification tasks. In comparison, nan latest iPad Air lasted eleven and a half hours according to our tests, though that fig halved erstwhile dealing pinch much aggravated tasks. Charging nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition is simply a speedy process too, acknowledgment to its ace charging feature. Charging from 5% to 100% took astir 2 hours.

If you really want thing that will last, nan reMarkable Paper Pro tin spell for 2 full weeks betwixt charges. That is an ePaper tablet, though, explicitly designed for reference and note-taking, and not overmuch else.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you bargain nan Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition?

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Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition: Also consider

How I tested nan Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition

• Tested for 1 week
• Tried preinstalled and third-party apps
• Performed various tasks

I tested nan MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition for 1 week. During that time, I performed various tasks, including wide browsing, ray productivity, and gaming. I utilized it pinch and without nan Glide Keyboard.

I made judge to effort retired arsenic galore of its features arsenic I could, from nan preinstalled apps to its wide functionality. I tried wherever I could usage third-party apps, though this proved difficult astatine times owed to nan restrictions successful spot complete Google apps connected Huawei devices.

One facet I was incapable to trial was its surface mirroring and projection capabilities, since these are only compatible pinch definite Huawei and Honor devices moving HarmonyOS, EMUI 10 aliases Magic UI 3 aliases later.

Read much astir how we test.

First reviewed October 2024