HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition (2024) hands-on impressions: Bittersweet brilliance

Living in the US, I honestly haven’t given HUAWEI much attention since the US trade ban back in 2019. I also heavily rely on Google services, so with no access to the Google Play Store or all the usual Google apps, it wasn’t really worth me exploring importing one, despite knowing how good HUAWEI’s hardware has always been. Here I am again, though, checking out the 2024 HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition. And right after opening the box, I was instantly reminded why I loved HUAWEI so much and why it’s such a shame these devices aren’t available stateside with all the software support an Android tablet of this caliber deserves.

I didn’t even remember I missed HUAWEI so much until I opened the package and laid hands on the HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition. This thing is gorgeous! The front has a minimalist look with thin bezels. That’s normal. Flip it around, though, and you’ll be fascinated by the “Golden Silk Design.” It is, by far, the most elegant and refined tablet I have ever seen.

HUAWEI also didn’t get the metallic back’s texture wrong. It does feel “silky” and pleasant to the touch. Surprisingly, the manufacturer managed to accomplish this smooth texture without making it too slippery.

Looks aside, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro (2024) PaperMatte Edition feels very well constructed. While not too heavy at 508g, it feels like it has a healthy weight to it, but not in a bad way; the heft gives it a hint of quality. It’s also pretty thin at 5.5mm. The weight is very well balanced, and I never felt fatigued from using it for one to two hours at a time.

I don’t want to sound like I am praising this tablet too much, but it deserves it, at least in terms of hardware. As soon as you turn the HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition on, you’ll notice the stunning display’s superiority compared to most slates in its price tier.

This tablet has an imposing 12.2-inch OLED panel. It features a sharp 2,800 x 1,840 resolution, which equates to a 275ppi pixel density. The best competitors in this department include the 2024 iPad Pros and the Galaxy Tab S10 series, which both sit in the ~260ppi range.

The HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition also beats all tablets with its 144Hz refresh rate. Most of the main competitors top off at a 120Hz refresh rate. The colors are vibrant, the blacks are deep, and the overall viewing experience is fantastic. It’s also a really bright display that peaks at 2,000 nits. It wasn’t quite enough to read comfortably under the Southern California sun, but it was decently legible, which is more than I can say about most other tablets.

The PaperMatte finish to the display also reduces reflections and adds a really lovely paper-like texture to the screen’s surface. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that the matte finish makes it a bit of a fingerprint magnet. The smudges really stand out on it, as you can see in the image above. Not only that, but it is especially hard to clean them! It’s just a bit annoying that you have to clean it all the time if you don’t want to feel like the display is filthy. For those that want to save some money, there is a lower-end non-PaperMatte version available for £699 in the UK.

The sound is also great!

Here’s another thing you will notice as soon as you turn the HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition as it makes a noise on startup. It seems HUAWEI went out of its way to make it a sound that showcases what the tablet speakers are capable of, and I was quite impressed by the volume and sound quality right away.

Of course, one of the first things I tried after hearing the speakers was firing up a video on YouTube (using the browser, not the app, unfortunately). I pushed the volume to the maximum and gave it a second listen, this time with actual music.  Most tablet speakers sound pretty bad, and it’s just something I’ve grown used to, but the HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition takes sound to another level. The bass is actually pretty noticeable, and it has a surround-like depth. I think it sounds nearly as loud as my MacBook Air M2, and the sound quality might beat it.

Again, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition (2024) is a high-end device hefty £799 (~$1,013) price tag in the UK, though that still undercuts the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and the iPad Pro range. You can expect a pretty great experience throughout (except for one area we’ll get to). The Kirin 9000S and 12GB of RAM do an amazing job for everyday performance and no matter how hard I used the tablet I didn’t encounter any hiccups at all.

It also has a massive 10,100mAh battery. In my experience, it would take me through about two to three days of mixed usage before I had to reach for a charger. It can also charge really fast, at 100W, which is impressive for a tablet. I was never able to reach these speeds, though, because I couldn’t use the included charger due to compatibility here in the US.

The M-Pencil (3rd gen) and HUAWEI Glide Keyboard cover came included, though typically, the M-Pencil is sold separately unless you can get it on a deal. The accessories seamlessly connect to the tablet, which detects them when within close proximity. I did have a hard time getting the M-Pencil 3 to connect once, which was annoying, but after a few minutes of placing it in the slot, removing it, and trying to use it, it just started working again. The M-Pencil dock in the keyboard is pretty useful as it means you’ll never lose the pencil, and it’s always within reach when you’ve set the tablet up. The trackpad supports gestures, so using it was very intuitive.

Given that we’re talking about a cover case, the keyboard had pretty nice feedback and travel. I also love how it unfolds and sets up the back stand by simply lifting the tablet as you would a laptop screen. It has some resistance, and magnets at different locations, so you can easily adjust it to your preferred angle. My only complaint about this keyboard cover is that it is made of a soft white material. It gets dirty real quick!

The M-Pencil 3 has over a whopping 10,000 pressure levels, supports hover, and you can even double-tap on it to switch between the brush and eraser tools. I don’t consider myself much of an artist, but I played with it, and it worked well with no detectable latency. I enjoyed using it to sign documents, make notes, and navigate through the UI. It was nice using it when I wanted to keep smudges to a minimum, and the subtle vibrations against the OLED PaperMatte display feel almost like you’re writing on real paper.

Sadly, things get much less intuitive once you actually start getting to grips with non-HUAWEI apps and Harmony OS 4.0 generally. This is mainly because we are so used to the Google Play Store, Google apps, and a simplified UI. For starters, you’ll be welcomed by a bunch of unknown apps you likely haven’t heard of. Also, don’t go looking for Photos, Gmail, Drive, or any of the Google apps you already know and love, as they just won’t be there.

HUAWEI thankfully supplies equivalent apps, and these are actually not bad. They kind of started growing on me after a while. Especially ones like GoPaint and M-Pen Zone, which make it easy to take full advantage of the included stylus. Other common apps like Video, Music, and Books follow a very clean design, with tabs on the left and tiled content covering most of the screen.

The AppGallery isn’t half bad for most usual apps, as long as they aren’t Google ones. If the AppGallery doesn’t have the app you’re looking for, it’s easy to sideload apps, and the AppGallery search function will actually include third-party APK sources in its results. Sometimes, HUAWEI does throw some pretty annoying ads at you, though, and they can often take up the whole screen.

All that said, this is still an Android device. As it goes with all things Android, where there is a will, there is a way. It is possible to run most Google apps on this tablet, and I did it. It will take some tinkering and jumping through hoops, but you can use Google apps. It wasn’t perfect, though. Some Google apps still didn’t work, such as Chrome. I also ran into some failed installations with a few games.

We won’t walk you through the steps for running the Play Store on this device because we wouldn’t recommend most casual users do it. It can even be dangerous depending on what you install on your device and where you get it from. Just know it’s possible; only proceed if you know what you’re doing. Google is your friend.

The HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition (2024) is pretty amazing, and it’s the first to really get me excited about Android tablets in a long time. The design and build quality find a perfect balance, offering an unmatched elegant look. Performance is great. The screen and speakers are stunning. The keyboard case and M-Pencil 3 stylus are crafted meticulously, and HUAWEI paid plenty of attention to the experience in spite of the obvious shortcomings it has to deal with.

It would seem like HUAWEI got everything right with this tablet, and I want to say it has everything it needs to compete against the likes of Samsung and Apple. That said, the lack of Google support still plagues it, and this is sadly the straw that can obliterate the camel’s back, at least for most users.

Google services have become integral to the Android experience, and we’re in a weird situation where you get more official Google support and apps from an iPad than a HUAWEI Android tablet. While you can find ways to get the Google Play Store and other apps on HUAWEI devices, the experience isn’t as intuitive and has some quirks. HUAWEI is seemingly planning to move away from Android completely with Harmony OS Next, but right now, its software is stuck between the past and the future.

I find myself in a bit of a hard spot. If it had access to Google Services, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition would be my favorite tablet, hands down., but I find it hard to recommend it unless you’re already using HUAWEI devices and are happy to work around the software problems — in which case, don’t hesitate; this one is worth it. Thanks to the gorgeous display, impressive sound, and great performance, it’s great for media consumption and gaming. It could also be an excellent companion for digital nomads who want a laptop replacement, mostly because of the awesome keyboard case and stylus.