Huawei launches 5G version of its MatePad Pro tablet

Last year, Huawei announced the MatePad Pro tablet that was seen to be a serious competitor to Apple's iPad Pro. Indeed, its design and naming conventions - down to its accessories - felt very Apple-ish.

The MatePad Pro featured a Kirin 990 SoC, its newest and most powerful mobile chipset yet. The new MatePad Pro 5G is basically a variant with the Kirin 990 5G chipset instead.

The Kirin 990 5G has an embedded 5G modem that supports both non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) 5G architectures as well as TDD/FDD full frequency bands.

The MediaPad Pro 5G will feature 8GB RAM with two storage configurations (256GB and 512GB), plus what Huawei is claiming to be the industry's first "ultra-thick 3D graphene cooling system with AI heat management".

Battery capacity stands at 7,250mAh, and supports 40W SuperCharge along with wireless charging and reverse charging support.

The MediaPad Pro 5G will only be offered as a 10.8-inch device with a 2K QHD (2,560 x 1,600 pixels, 280ppi) 16:10 IPS display. It will also have 100 per cent DCI-P3 gamut, 540-nits brightness and a 1,500:1 contrast ratio.

Huawei is claiming the world's highest screen-to-body ratio on a tablet, at 90 per cent, with its 4.9mm bezel FullView display and micro-curved glass design.

As mentioned, the MatePad Pro 5G looks very similar to an iPad Pro, except for its punch hole front camera at the top right corner. The MatePad Pro 5G will support Huawei's Smart Magnetic Keyboard and M-Pencil accessories.

The M-Pencil has 4,096-levels of pressure, and clips magnetically on the top of the tablet to initiate Bluetooth pairing as well as charging.

The Smart Magnetic Keyboard is made from vegan leather, connects via Bluetooth and boasts 1.3mm of key travel.

While the standard MatePad Pro comes with a glass fibre back, the MatePad Pro 5G will feature a vegan leather finish on its back in Forest Green and Orange colours.

The MatePad Pro 5G is expected to be on sale from June 2020 in selected markets including China, Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America. The MatePad Pro will also see a wider global availability from April 2020 in Asia Pacific, EMEA, Russia, Japan and Latin America. Prices have yet to be revealed.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.