HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″

Date

19.09.24

If you’re looking for a premium tablet, only a few brands would come to mind. One of them is HUAWEI, and they recently launched in the Philippines the new HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″, boasting a premium Golden Silk design, a 12.2-inch Tandem OLED PaperMatte Display, dual-rear cameras, quad speakers, and a HUAWEI Glide Keyboard for enhanced productivity.

Upon taking it out of the box, I can immediately tell that this will be the most premium tablet I’ll have for a while, and it’s not because of the color. Gold is already common in tablets. What stands out is the texture. The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ features the Golden Silk design. HUAWEI says it mimics the organic feel of silk fabric, but I think it’s like a combination of metal and Washi paper. The look also matches the texture and shimmers like it’s clad in fabric or paper. In other words, it looks and feels amazing!

Going to the front, we have the 12.2-inch 2800 x 1840 (274ppi) 144Hz screen, which threw me off because it feels smaller. But you can attribute that to the 92% screen-to-body ratio and thin bezels. It’s an immersive and bright screen (2,000 nits). What makes it stand out again is its Tandem OLED PaperMatte Display, which features technologies that eliminate 99% of environmental light and screen reflectivity.

And it works as advertised. I used it under a light bulb, and it effectively diffused the harsh light and significantly reduced reflections. The matte texture repels fingerprints well and feels great when scribbling with the HUAWEI M-Pencil (3rd-gen).

Looking around the tablet, we find a smart sensing camera above the screen. It’s not a high-quality camera, but it’s good enough for video calls. There’s the fingerprint scanner/power-lock button and two speakers on the left.

On the right, we have two speakers and a USB-C port. Above are the volume buttons and microphones.

At the back, we have the 13MP main camera and 8MP wide-angle.

At this point, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ is already a joy to use. Weighing 508g and measuring 5.5mm thin, it’s comfortable to hold and carry around. I enjoy using it to read eBooks, especially with eBook mode on. But if you want to use it as a tool for productivity and creativity, then slap it on the HUAWEI Glide Keyboard.

It’s a folio keyboard, but it’s as premium as the tablet itself, with powerful magnets and strong hinges. It also features skin-soothing materials that are resistant to stains (which is good as it is white) and a magnetic stylus charging and docking slot for the HUAWEI M-Pencil. The Glide Keyboard weighs 420g, so together with the tablet, you will be carrying around almost a kilo, which is still lighter than most laptops.

The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ is powered by the Kirin T91 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. We have HarmonyOS 4.2 running on the software side, which means you can take advantage of its smart multi-tasking features. For those who want to create digital art, the tablet comes with HUAWEI’s exclusive GoPaint App, which was developed in tandem with the China Academy of Art, so you don’t have to download or purchase art apps. But should you need to, AppGallery is here, as well as GBox to install Google services, including the Play Store.

Performance-wise, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ is fun to use. I mostly find myself using it like a laptop, thanks to the Glide Keyboard. There’s no support for LTE connectivity, though, so you’ll have to connect to WiFi. While I don’t do digital art, the responsiveness and pen-on-paper feel of the screen, along with the NearLink-powered M-Pencil, makes taking handwritten notes a breeze.

As an entertainment device, this tablet can easily deliver, thanks to the crisp and vibrant screen and immersive speakers. Streaming our favorite content from YouTube and Netflix was not an issue. Battery life is not a problem as well, thanks to the 10,100mAh battery that can easily get us through a whole day. Charging, on the other hand, takes 55 minutes to get to 100%.

After spending a good time with it, we can say that the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ was able to seamlessly blend premium design, utility, and performance, making it an attractive option for professionals, creatives, and casual users alike. It’s not perfect, but with the help of its accessories and the backing of the HUAWEI ecosystem, it can excel in versatility–a true stand-out in the crowded tablet market.

The price for the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ is yet to be announced. The pre-order period starts on September 26. Meanwhile, those who avail of the early bird promo from September 20 to October 3 on Shopee, Lazada, TikTok, or the online HUAWEI Store can get up to PHP 5,000 off the SRP. See the early bird promo below:

HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ Special Offer