Huawei MatePad Pro 5G Tablet

The Wi-Fi Huawei MatePad Pro costs 499 British pounds, which is around $610. It comes with a two-year warranty if purchased in the U.K., and can be found through Huawei's own online store and in some retail stores including Currys. The iPad Air is the best tablet you can buy today, and it almost doesn't matter which model you buy.

The MatePad Pro (5G) has a 2.8-inch 2K QHD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 (280ppi) It supports the new M-Pencil 9, making it an absolute joy to write on glass surfaces. It's powered by the latest Kirin 990 flagship chipset with a base clock of up to 2.86GHz.

The HiSilicon Kirin 990 in the MatePad Pro is an ARM-based octa-core SoC consisting of four Cortex-A76 cores and four A55 cores. The processor performance is at a very attractive level, although the ideal performance of the Snapdragon 865 is not achieved. The offered graphics performance ensures smooth gameplay even while playing demanding games like PUBG Mobile.

The MatePad Pro doesn't come with access to Google Mobile Services, the Google Play Store, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, or many other ubiquitous apps you get on other Android-powered devices. Many popular apps, such as Twitter, Spotify, Netflix, and Instagram (owned by Facebook) remain absent. Huawei says that an update to its EMUI 10.1 Android layer will come in the next few weeks and address these problems.

The Huawei MatePad Pro is available to pre-order via the Huawei Store in the UK right now, with delivery from 20 May. The tablet has an attractive £549 RRP, but for a limited time, Huawei is offering the tablet for £499 with a free gift thrown in too. While there are multiple versions of the tablet available worldwide, some with 4G and 5G connectivity, it seems the offering is limited to the slightly less powerful 6GB+128GB Wi-Fi variant in Midnight Grey. The 10.8in display is detailed, bright and crisp, there's enough power under the hood to power even the most demanding apps and games.

Powered by Huawei's top of the line Kirin 990, the MatePad Pro is one of the fastest tablet we've ever used. Switching apps is seamless, animations are smooth and the tablet can handle demanding apps and graphics-intensive games without a hitch. The rear camera is a 13MP lens with support for flash and phase focusing. The punch hole camera is an 8MP fixed focal length lens that performs well for face unlocking and HD video conferencing.

The Huawei MatePad Pro 5G is an Android-powered alternative to the iPad Pro. It uses the same Kirin 990 CPU as the Mate Xs and the Mate 30 Pro, which is what gives it its 5G capabilities along with 22 hidden aerials. Like the MateBook X Pro, the MatePad can display your Huawei smartphone's screen on its display, letting you reply to texts with a keyboard.

Huawei’s MatePad Pro is the best Android tablet I’ve ever used. The iPad-like design is practical and slick; the display gorgeous and the internals supremely capable. Yet, the lack of Google services and the DRM that comes with it leads to a tablet that isn’t for everyone.