Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2 Review: Premium Tablet Challenging the iPad Pro’s Dominance

Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2 has arrived as a strong contender in the premium tablet market, priced attractively at around $750. The tablet challenges Apple’s iPad Pro dominance by offering a large AMOLED 12.2-inch display bundled with premium accessories in one complete package.

The screen is unique in its size and quality, featuring a 2.8K resolution with a 144Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 2000 nits, ensuring sharp and vivid visuals even outdoors. Its papermate finish reduces glare and fingerprints, providing a pleasant writing and drawing surface with a screen-to-body ratio of 92%, which offers a wider workspace compared to the iPad Pro 11-inch model.

Premium Design and Portability

The MatePad Pro 12.2 impresses with a refined metal finish and subtle camera frame details reminiscent of luxury watches. Weighing less than 1 kg with the keyboard and stylus attached, it is lighter than the iPad Pro 11-inch coupled with its Magic Keyboard, enhancing its portability for mobile users.

Innovative Keyboard with NearLink Technology

Huawei’s magnetic keyboard stands out due to its deep 1.5 mm key travel compared to Apple’s 1 mm. The large trackpad supports multi-gesture inputs similar to laptop experience. Its NearLink wireless technology offers near-zero latency connectivity, making typing seamless and highly responsive without the delays commonly found in Bluetooth keyboards.

Secure and Responsive Stylus

The MatePad Pro includes the Huawei M Pencil 3rd generation featuring sensitive pressure detection and ultra-low latency through the same NearLink wireless standard. It supports an innovative function allowing writing on stacked paper while remaining detected by the tablet. The keyboard also integrates a dedicated stylus slot to secure it when folded, solving common Apple Pencil loss problems.

Powerful Software and Productivity Features

Running on HarmonyOS 4.3, the tablet comes pre-installed with WPS Office at a PC-grade level. This application, exclusive to Huawei tablets, includes a comprehensive feature set similar to Microsoft Office, such as pivot tables in spreadsheets, custom slide animations, and precise document margin controls. Users benefit from a no-subscription-needed productivity suite.

Wide Application Compatibility

Despite initial worries about app ecosystem limitations, popular Google apps like YouTube, Gmail, and Zoom are easily installed via Huawei’s App Gallery. For apps not available in the gallery, the GBox app allows installation of additional software including Netflix, ensuring users can access their favorite applications without hurdles.

Creativity Tools Rivaling Industry Leaders

Huawei also offers GoPen, a digital art app intended to compete with Apple’s Procreate. GoPen includes numerous premium brushes free of charge, supports an 8K canvas for extensive drawing space, and integrates AI handwriting enhancement via Huawei Notes to refine handwritten input.

Long Battery Life and Audio Experience

Equipped with a 10,100 mAh battery, the MatePad Pro outlasts the iPad Pro 11-inch on a single charge. The tablet’s quad-speaker system delivers immersive audio, perfect for multimedia consumption or video calls. HarmonyOS facilitates multitasking with split screens for up to three apps simultaneously, with adjustable window sizes enhancing the laptop-like experience.

Comprehensive and Affordable Package

Priced at approximately $750, the MatePad Pro 12.2 package includes the tablet, keyboard, stylus, Huawei FreeBuds 5, a Bluetooth mouse, and a supercharge charger. This bundle’s total value far exceeds the price if items were bought separately. By contrast, iPad Pro buyers must purchase Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil individually, boosting the total cost significantly.

This all-in-one approach makes the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2 an economical and versatile option for professionals, students, and digital creators needing a mobile yet powerful productivity device. The tablet’s blend of hardware innovation, software capability, and bundled accessories create value that pushes competing devices to rethink their pricing and packaging strategies.

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