With the Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025), the manufacturer is launching a new edition of its 12-inch tablet, which comes with an improved PapeMatte display and higher performance and offers a strong overall package at a fair price.
Technical data
| Name: MatePad | MatePad 12 X |
| Dimensions | 270 mm x 183 mm x 5.9 mm |
| weight | 555 g |
| SoC | Kirin T92 |
| Memory | Memory: 12 GB RAM Flash memory: 256 GB |
| Display | 12-inch; PaperMatte LC display; 2,800 x 1840 pixels; 144 Hz (adaptive); up to 1,000 cd/m² brightness |
| Camera | Rear camera: main camera (50 MP); front camera: 8 MP |
| Battery | 10,000 mAh, 66 W charging power |
| Audio | 6 speakers + 2 microphones |
| Operating system | HamonyOS 4.3 |
| Special features | NearLink; SuperDevice; ; Wi-Fi 6; Bluetooth 5.2; PaperMatte display |
| Price (RRP) | RRP: 599.00 euros |
Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) test: Elegant 12-inch tablet
With the new Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025), the manufacturer is once again updating its model. The successor to last year’s 12-inch tablet presents itself as a more affordable model to the Pro models MatePad Pro 12.2 (our review) and MatePad Pro 13.2 (our review). The new, more affordable model also has a slim design and, at 555 grams, is slightly heavier than the MatePad Pro 12.2, but the tablet is pleasantly slim at just 5.9 mm.
It is available in the colors green and white and optionally with the new M-Pencil Pro or as a bundle including Glide Keyboard and M-Pencil Pro. As is typical for Huawei, the workmanship is excellent, but the screen edges are noticeably larger than on the Pro models.
Huawei has equipped the MatePad 12 X (2025) with six speakers that produce an excellent and lively sound. In combination with Huawei’s sound technology, the tablet is therefore ideal for media consumption, while two built-in microphones and an 8 MP front camera (f/2.0) make it a reliable companion for video calls. The rear camera, on the other hand, has a full 50 megapixel resolution with f/1.8 aperture and delivers good quality for snapshots.
Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) with PaperMatte display
The Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) once again relies on a PaperMatte display, Huawei’s technology that creates a paper-like surface. This not only provides a very pleasant feel when touching or writing, but also significantly minimizes reflections. The manufacturer has given the display a new coating (ultra-clear PaperMatte display), which can further reduce reflections compared to previous models.
The 12-inch display has a resolution of 2,800 x 1,840 pixels and a peak brightness of up to 1,000 nits. However, thanks to the virtually reflection-free surface, readability in direct sunlight is also excellent.
The refresh rate of the LCD screen adjusts adaptively between 30 Hz and 144 Hz, depending on the content being displayed. This is of course a downgrade compared to the Pro models, which rely on an OLED panel with PaperMatte technology.
Accordingly, the colors and contrasts of the screen on the Huawei MatePad 12X (2025) are not quite as deep and rich, but I still liked the display very much in the test. Be it for multimedia content, games or surfing the web.
Good performance, long battery life
Once again, the manufacturer naturally does not provide any information on the chip used in the Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025), but it is combined with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of system memory.
Under the hood, however, is the Kirin T92 chip with Meleoon 920 GPU, which combines eight cores in three clusters with up to 2.40 GHz and is therefore clocked slightly lower than its counterpart in the MatePad Pro 13.2. However, you won’t notice any differences in everyday use: the tablet’s everyday performance is excellent.
Whether demanding multitasking, gaming or video streaming: The MatePad 12 X (2025) masters all tasks without any problems, although modern processors in Android or Apple tablets are of course noticeably ahead in terms of performance. The tablet delivers a really convincing performance for most applications, but power users will probably be thirsty for more.
The operating system is once again HarmonyOS 4.3, which we are already familiar with from the manufacturer’s other tablets. It offers a very tidy and appealing interface that is easy to navigate and works very smoothly.
Huawei has equipped the MatePad 12 X (2025) with the same 10,000 mAh battery that is also used in the Pro models. In combination with the slightly slower clocked chip, this results in an excellent battery life that can even surpass that of the Pro models.
With 11 hours and 38 minutes in the battery benchmark, the tablet thus achieves almost an hour more runtime than the MatePad Pro 13.2. Charging takes place with a maximum of 66 watts, whereby the corresponding power supply is included in the scope of delivery. A full charge takes around 85 minutes in total.
The new Huawei M-Pencil Pro is the star of the show
However, the Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) offers an exciting special feature that should please creative minds in particular. After all, it is the first tablet from the manufacturer to use the new M-Pencil Pro stylus.
Whether writing, drawing or painting: The new pen with a pressure-sensitive surface and an additional button on the back works much more accurately than the previous M-Pencil 3.
The context menu, which is opened by pressing the pen together, is extremely practical. Depending on the app that is currently open, this provides access to a practical quick menu that can be used to perform various actions.
In the case of the powerful GoPaint app for drawing, for example, you can select different colors, duplicate or copy layers, cut out content and much more. The physical button on the back, on the other hand, opens the Notziten app, for example, to quickly capture a new note.
The new M-Pencil Pro is magnetically docked to the side of the Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) and automatically supplied with power. In combination with the pleasant PaperMatte surface, this results in an incredibly precise and extremely pleasant writing and drawing experience.
If you want to convert the tablet into a notebook, the Glide Keyboard is the perfect solution. The keyboard cover also uses NearLink technology and attaches magnetically to the back.
With a thickness of just 6.9 mm and an additional weight of 308 grams, the MatePad is a convincing office companion. With a key travel of 1.5 mm, the chiclet keyboard also offers an extremely pleasant typing experience.
Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) Review: Conclusion
Due to its convincing price-performance ratio, the Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) is the most interesting tablet in the manufacturer’s portfolio in my opinion. Even if you have to do without an OLED display and some performance, you get an excellently manufactured tablet with very good everyday performance, a great stylus and strong battery life at a fair price.
- Convincing display
- Strong battery life
- Excellent workmanship
- Keyboard and stylus included
- Very good speakers
- Mediocre graphics performance
- Display only LCD
Huawei MatePad 12X (2025)
Design & Workmanship
Hardware
Multimedia
Performance
Battery
Value For Money
90/100
Elegant tablet with a great PaperMatte display, strong battery life and convincing everyday performance. Although the graphics performance is rather mediocre, most users should still be satisfied.
