Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: iPad rival that’s missing a trick

Greatest Costs As we speak: Huawei 11.5in MatePad PaperMatte

The Huawei MatePad returns for 2025, aiming to be the go-to choice for college kids and professionals alike as September rolls round. It might probably deal with note-taking, essay-writing, and late-night streaming with out breaking a sweat.

On paper, it’s pitched squarely in opposition to the entry-level Apple iPad and mid-range Android rivals such because the Xiaomi Pad 7. And in some ways, it holds its personal. The matt, paper-like show is a pleasure to make use of, the M-Pencil stylus glides naturally throughout the floor, and battery life is greater than sufficient for a full day’s work. Cameras are first rate for video calls, and the construct high quality feels reassuringly premium.

However as soon as once more, Huawei’s software program ecosystem stays the sticking level. The absence of Google providers and gaps in app availability create a barrier for anybody who isn’t keen to tinker with third-party workarounds, and in the end makes this pill a troublesome promote for potential customers in Europe.

Adam Smith / Foundry

Design & Construct

• No headphone jack
• Two-part sensible keyboard
• No trackpad

Huawei has slimmed the MatePad down to simply 6.1mm, whereas including a contact of weight – now 515g versus final yr’s 499g. The additional heft implies that it feels extra premium in hand, and the matt end, accessible in Violet or Area Grey, resists fingerprints with out feeling low cost. It additionally means the pill has diminished glare when used within the solar, whereas the clear traces hold it wanting sharp, whether or not on a desk or espresso desk.

Port choice is minimal however purposeful: USB-C for charging and information (although the included USB-C to USB-A cable feels outdated), plus the same old energy and quantity controls. Sadly, there’s no headphone jack.

Biometrics are dealt with by quick face unlock solely – there’s no fingerprint scanner until you step as much as the MatePad Professional. It really works reliably in good gentle however could be much less reliable in dim circumstances.

The included Good Keyboard case are available two components: a magnetic kickstand cowl, and a removable keyboard (with no trackpad). It’s snug for lengthy typing periods, although the mounted viewing angle and occasional software program hiccups – such because the on-screen keyboard refusing to look when the bodily keyboard is disconnected – are irritating.

Stylus storage can also be much less elegant than on the Professional mannequin, with solely a magnetic clip that leaves the M-Pencil uncovered and straightforward to lose.

Adam Smith / Foundry

Display screen & Audio system

• Glorious decision and color stability
• 120Hz refresh price
• Spectacular audio

The 11.5-inch LCD panel has seen a refined however welcome bump in decision to 2456×1600, up from 2200×1440 final yr. Textual content appears crisp, pictures have finer element, and the adaptive refresh price nonetheless peaks at 120Hz, maintaining scrolling easy.

The Huawei’s excessive decision and color stability is noticeably higher than different Android tablets. Watching a nature documentary, the MatePad captures the feel of an ibex’s fur with nuance, whereas different Chinese language producers typically err on unnaturally brightening the palette in an try and make their shows appear extra spectacular. The MatePad avoids this pitfall, controlling the whites for a extra reasonable image.

On the different finish of the spectrum, the MatePad captures the rain-soaked leather-based of the caped crusader’s costume in The Batman (2022) with an inky depth that’s tough for opponents to match. As he emerges within the metro to tackle a posse of clown-like criminals, it feels just like the MatePad is holding again till the final second earlier than revealing that the darkish knight has been standing within the shadows all alongside.

Audio, in the meantime, comes from a well-known quad-speaker setup, and remains to be impressively loud and clear, simply filling a small room with out distortion.

Specs & Efficiency

• Storage choices of both 128GB or 256GB
• 8GB RAM
• Responsive and succesful

Huawei has stored issues constant right here, with 8GB of RAM customary and storage choices at 128GB or 256GB. Though the corporate has but to substantiate the chipset, GSMArena has it with an octo-core Kirin 8020 on the within, matched with a Maleoon 920 2cu GPU.

The chipset stays succesful for on a regular basis duties, from shopping and HD streaming to extra demanding multitasking. Huawei has finished an honest job maintaining this pill responsive, ultimate for higher-intensity workloads.

Adam Smith / Foundry

Huawei MatePad benchmarks

Cameras

Cameras on a pill are by no means a precedence, however Huawei’s rear 13MP f/1.8 digicam offers a strong efficiency. The inexperienced graffiti on a London wall pops with out being oversaturated, and its dealing with of shadows throughout a headstone reveals an honest eye for the distinction in shades.

Small particulars, such because the strands in a spider’s internet, are misplaced slightly, however that’s to be anticipated. Equally, when pointed at vibrant lights hitting the facet of a church window, the MatePad is unable to correctly cope with the overbearing whites and loses any differentiation within the colors.

The MatePad’s digicam is able to a 5x zoom at most, however this needs to be averted as pictures are far too blurry to be used.

In the meantime, the 8MP front-facing digicam is clear and clear. Though it has lots of the identical points because the rear digicam, customers can have no subject when utilizing it for video calls.

Battery Life & Charging

Battery life is the actual leap ahead, with the 2025 MatePad leaping to a hefty 10,100mAh from final yr’s 7,700mAh. The pill will handle a day’s use with ease and, with a appropriate 40W plug and cable, you’ll be able to make the most of its fast-charging capabilities.

However that can value you additional, as Huawei solely offers a lower-end cable and energy brick. Which means, utilizing it with a 12W Philips journey plug, it solely reaches 6% in quarter-hour and 13% after half-hour.

Adam Smith / Foundry

Software program & Apps

HarmonyOS, Huawei’s personal working system, stays the MatePad’s Achilles’ heel. With out Google providers, you lose prompt entry to necessities like Gmail, Maps, Drive, and YouTube, and common apps resembling Netflix and Instagram aren’t natively accessible in Huawei’s AppGallery.

Workarounds can be found, nonetheless. By downloading particular Android recordsdata from the MicroG Challenge, a free and open-source implementation of proprietary Google libraries, together with Android file libraries resembling APKPure, customers are in a position to get copies of almost each main Android app lacking by default on the MatePad. This however stays an inconvenient hurdle, and one which’s not really helpful much less tech-savvy customers or kids.

Furthermore, Huawei has finished little to make its personal AppGallery a compelling expertise. Regardless of years as Huawei units’ essential supply of apps, and a would-be listing for Android recordsdata on the open internet (WhatsApp, for instance, could be downloaded instantly from Meta’s web site), the search operate is unforgivably lacklustre. Even China-based video games resembling Genshin Impression and AFK Journey, or Western video games which have launched in China resembling Hearthstone, stay unavailable within the AppGallery’s search outcomes. Regardless of the premium construct of the pill, its software program reminds customers that, if they’re exterior China, they’re left with a second-rate expertise.

HarmonyOS itself, to its credit score, runs comparatively effectively. It’s primarily based on Android 12, however Huawei has layered additional options excessive that give it character. Dragging from the top-right nook with the M-Pencil, for instance, brings up a menu to instantly annotate what’s on display – it’s particularly helpful for signing paperwork or writing notes on images.

Huawei additionally has its personal app known as GoPaint, which performs the identical portray and illustration feats as Apple’s Procreate iPad app. The app has 150 brushes and textures which might be customisable, can observe how laborious a consumer presses with the M-Pencil, and may edit the form of the brushes, all of which make it a surprisingly good choice for digital artists on Android tablets.

There’s additionally its personal Notes app, with varied paper layouts inbuilt, AI instruments to make any scribbled notes extra legible, and a recording mode that lets customers replay recorded audio in sync with the notes – a boon for college kids in lectures.

In different regards, Huawei gives aggressive help for individuals who even have its laptops and telephones. It might probably mechanically recognise close by units for pairing and file sharing, and its multitasking options work effectively. 

Value & Availability

Huawei’s MatePad 11.5 is offered from Huawei and Amazon, priced at £349 with out the keyboard and £399 with one. The M-Pencil will have to be purchased individually. It’s well-priced if you may get across the lack of Google apps. To see the way it stacks up in opposition to our prime suggestions, take a look at our round-up of the very best tablets we’ve examined.

Must you purchase the Huawei MatePad 11.5?

The MatePad 11.5’s craftsmanship, show, and battery stamina make it a formidable piece of {hardware}. Its tactile display end and accompanying stylus is almost sufficient to make this a daily-use machine.

But for all its bodily strengths, the software program stays an immovable roadblock. The absence of Google integration, coupled with inconsistent app availability, forces customers right into a patchwork of sideloading and third-party fixes that few exterior the fanatic crowd will tolerate. HarmonyOS itself runs easily, and Huawei’s personal instruments have flashes of brilliance, however they will’t absolutely masks the ecosystem’s blind spots.

That leaves the MatePad in a clumsy center floor. It’s a wonderfully engineered pill that can be a good selection for these keen to work round its limitations, however for the typical purchaser in Western markets, the compromises are laborious to disregard. Till Huawei both bridges the software program hole or makes its personal platform much more compelling, this can stay a tool for the decided fairly than the mainstream.

Specs

• HarmonyOS 4.3
• 11.5-inch, 1600 x 2456, 120Hz TFT LCD show, 600 nits peak brightness
• Kirin 8020 processor
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB or 256GB inner storage
• 13MP rear digicam, f/1.8, AF
• 8MP entrance digicam, f/2.0, 105° ultrawide
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.2
• USB-C (USB 2.0, OTG, magnetic accent connector)
• 10100mAh battery
• 40W wired charging, 5W reverse wired
• 262.6 × 177.5 × 6.1mm
• 515g
• Launch colors: Violet, Area Grey