Android tablets are a dying breed, but some OEMs are trying to keep them alive by spinning innovations of their own. Among these OEMs is Samsung, with its Galaxy Tab line, and Huawei, which is still putting out new flagship devices despite the hardships they're going through. Earlier this year, we saw Huawei launch their MediaPad M6, which was equipped with a flagship-grade Kirin 980 processor as well as other flagship specifications. Now, the company has unveiled that tablet's successor, the MatePad Pro.
With the MatePad Pro, Huawei wants to take on the similarly named iPad Pro from Apple. And this is shown not just in the name, but also in its specifications and physical design features. For starters, the MatePad Pro, as previously leaked, greatly reduces bezels, just like the newer iPad Pro models, and, in turn, greatly improves the screen-to-body ratio. Huawei is touting a 90% screen-to-body ratio figure, in fact. But while the iPad Pro features Face ID hardware in that reduced bezel, Huawei skips on that kind of technology and goes for a cornered punch-hole display similar to the one found in other Huawei/Honor devices, such as the Honor 20 line.
The tablet is powered by Huawei's latest HiSilicon Kirin 990 processor, the same SoC found in the Huawei Mate 30 lineup and also one of the most powerful mobile SoCs out there. If you're wondering, yes, this won't have Google apps and services because of U.S. trade restrictions. It is probably not being launched outside of China anyway, and in China, the lack of Google apps is not a big deal as all Google services are blocked anyway.
It's launching in Huawei's home market of China on December 12th at a starting price of CNY 3,299 (~$470) for the base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. If this were to see a global release with Google services, which isn't likely at least for the time being, it would definitely battle the likes of Apple and Samsung at a much more affordable price.
How do you like Huawei's newest tablet?
Source: Weibo