With the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2, the manufacturer is launching an attack on the Apple iPad Pro. The new tablet not only impresses with a bright and grippy OLED display, but also with a unique silky design, impressive features and long battery life. Our test reveals more.
Technical data
| Name: MatePad | MatePad 12.2 |
| Dimensions | 271.0 mm x 172.0 mm x 5.5 mm |
| weight | 508 g |
| SoC | unknown |
| Memory | Memory: 12 GB RAM Flash memory: 512 GB |
| Display | 12.2 inch; tandem OLED display; 2,800 x 1840 pixels; 144 Hz (adaptive); up to 2,000 cd/m² brightness |
| Camera | Rear camera: main camera (13 MP) + ultra wide-angle (8 MP); front camera: unknown |
| Battery | 10,100 mAh, 100 W charging power |
| Audio | 4 speakers + 4 microphones |
| Operating system | HamonyOS 4.2 |
| Special features | NearLink; SuperDevice; ; Wi-Fi 6; Bluetooth 5.2; PaperMatte display |
| Price | € 1,098.00 * |
HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 review: Elegant and flat gold silk design
- Impressive gold silk design
- Excellent workmanship
- convincing scope of delivery
The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 is a real eye-catcher. The reason for this is the tablet’s unique gold silk design, which comes with a silk-like, textured back. This is somewhat reminiscent of paper, but surprisingly does not feel grippy.
The situation is different with the display, which is surrounded by symmetrical, 0.5 mm thick edges at the front. This is because the new MatePad Pro also uses a PaperMatte display, as we have already seen in the MatePad 11.5 “S (our test). With its paper-like structure, this not only ensures a very pleasant feel, but also prevents the majority of reflections.
But back to the design: The slim frame of the MatePad Pro is also gold-colored and is comfortable to hold thanks to its rounded edges. The tablet is just 5.5 mm thin and weighs only 508 grams, making it pleasantly comfortable and mobile. Even Huawei’s MatePad 11.5 “S is heavier, not to mention the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro (our test), which is similar in size but weighs 82 grams more.
Despite the 12.2-inch display, the MatePad Pro is pleasantly handy. It is 271 mm wide and 182 mm high. The two rear cameras are arranged in a circle – the manufacturer has adopted the design from the larger MatePad Pro 13.2″. The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 looks extremely elegant and high-quality, not least thanks to the elegant gold silk finish. The build quality is excellent.
In addition to the tablet itself, the scope of delivery includes a 100-watt SuperCharge power adapter with a USB-A and USB-C port. The manufacturer also includes the necessary cable. The M Pencil 3 stylus and the high-quality Glide Keyboard, which transforms the tablet into a fully-fledged notebook, are also included free of charge, at least to start with.
The Glide Keyboard in detail
- Very good typing feel
- Ergonomic design
- Cannot be folded down completely
With the Glide Keyboard, the manufacturer includes an excellent keyboard cover with the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2, which provides a classy and high-quality contrast to the golden tablet with its white textured design. When closed, the cover increases the thickness of the combination to 13 mm and the weight to 959 grams, which still makes the combo lighter than most notebooks.
The back of the cover features a high-quality metal hinge. The tablet is magnetically attached to the top, but I would have liked the magnets to hold the device a little more firmly. Unfortunately, it is not possible to open it with just one hand.
The tablet can be set up in the case at an angle in two different positions. Once directly above the keyboard and once a little steeper. Both positions are very comfortable to work with. When the tablet is set up, there is a tray underneath for the stylus, which can also be charged directly. Very practical.
The quality of the keys was also completely convincing during my test. The travel of the individual keys and the feedback are excellent and put even some notebooks in the shade. Of course, the keyboard is a little compressed due to the small amount of space available and some of the keys are a little small, but even longer texts can be typed comfortably.
But: It really is just a keyboard cover. It is not possible to fold the cover all the way back to lay the keyboard and tablet flat on the table. Then you have to take the MatePad Pro out of the protective cover again.
Excellent OLED display, great speakers
- Impressive OLED display
- 2,000 nits brightness
- Very good speakers
A special feature of the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 is the display. The tablet uses an innovative tandem OLED panel that works more efficiently than comparable screens. It achieves an impressive peak brightness of 2,000 nits and scores with a high refresh rate of 144 hertz.
At the same time, the display has a 2.8K resolution of 2,800 x 1,840 pixels in 3:2 format, which is particularly useful for writing, drawing or sketching. The screen unfolds its full potential especially with HDR content and impresses with rich colors, excellent contrasts and a color accuracy of Delta E <1.
The display also uses the PaperMatte coating, which not only has a paper-like structure, but is also designed to almost completely eliminate reflections. I can really confirm this during the test: even under direct lighting and from an acute angle, virtually nothing is reflected. Outstanding.
With its high frame rate and resolution, the Tandem OLED screen is of course not only suitable for media consumption, but also excellent for gaming. Fortunately, the built-in speakers are in no way inferior to the screen.
A total of 4 speakers tuned with HUAWEI SOUND can be found on the sides, which achieve an excellent maximum volume and a very good, full sound. They deliver a detailed, pleasantly warm sound, especially in the treble and mid-range. The bass reproduction is fine, so that movies and series on the tablet also come across very well.
Features, performance and battery life
- Good storage capacity
- Chip a little weak for games
- Excellent runtime
As always, HUAWEI does not provide any information about the processor installed in its devices. Presumably, a Kirin T91 or 9000WL is used under the hood of the MatePad Pro 12.2, which is roughly on par with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in terms of performance. According to Geekbench 6, 12 computing cores in three clusters with a clock speed of up to 2.19 GHZ are used.
It is supported by 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of system memory. Enough RAM for more demanding multitasking and gaming tasks. At least the everyday performance at system level is also at an excellent level. However, you will have to put up with the odd stutter when playing graphics-intensive games.
The performance of the MatePad Pro 12.2 is slightly above that of the 11.5″ S model. However, modern tablets with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Apple’s chips deliver much better performance.
| Benchmark | Result |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 4,080 pts. |
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 1,289 pts. |
| Geekbench 6 GPU | 2,559 pts. |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 9,380 pts. |
The rest of the features are at a decent level. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 are on board – no longer the latest standards, but still absolutely sufficient. Especially since the realized WLAN speeds are very good.
HUAWEI has equipped the MatePad Pro 12.2 with a 10,100 mAh battery. This is the same size as the 13.2-inch version. Thanks to the included 100-watt power adapter, the battery can be fully charged in just 55 minutes.
Nevertheless, the chip is extremely efficient and achieves an excellent battery life of 14 hours and 17 minutes in our PCMark Work 3.0 battery benchmark.
Decent cameras
We can then quickly tick off the cameras: All three lenses deliver decent image quality, but the photos are not really convincing. The images are noticeably lacking in detail and sharpness. However, the image quality is still good for a tablet.
Practical test, UI and software
The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 uses the latest version of the manufacturer’s Harmony OS. And in combination with the powerful hardware, it cuts a fine figure and scores with convincing everyday performance.
What I don’t like at all, however, is the extent to which the manufacturer has crammed the UI with bloatware. Almost the entire second page of the user interface is filled with app recommendations. These can be deleted, but it takes time with this sheer quantity.
As is typical for HUAWEI, you will of course have to do without Google services, apps and the Play Store. This means: no GMail, no YouTube app and co. Although there are a few applications in its own app store, the AppGallery, most everyday apps are not available. This gives a tablet with a price tag of around 1,000 euros a rather bland aftertaste.
If this really bothers you, you can also use apps that require Google services in a roundabout way. This doesn’t work with every app, but some of the most important programs can be used with it.
Of course, the extensive GoPaint app, which I already mentioned in my review of the MatePad 11.5 “S, deserves great praise once again: Here you have a number of brushes, artistic styles and much more at your disposal with which you can give free rein to your creativity. It is even possible to create your own brushes and customize them down to the smallest detail. If you want to find out more, you can find more information on the Huawei website.
HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 test: Conclusion
With the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2, the manufacturer once again delivers an outstanding tablet. It’s not just the tandem OLED display that impresses with its impressive brightness, great colors, high refresh rate and paper-like texture.
The unique gold-silk design and the excellent finish are also an excellent addition to the MatePad. The tablet combines all this with good-sounding loudspeakers, a convincing battery life and a really strong keyboard cover to use the device as a notebook replacement.
The everyday performance also offers no cause for criticism, although the graphics performance is noticeably inferior. However, the biggest problem for me personally is the lack of Google services, even if this can be circumvented in a roundabout way. You have to ask yourself the question of price and how important the Google apps are to you. After all, a Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro delivers significantly more value for money for half the price of the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2 – but the MatePad offers a significantly better display and a much better keyboard.
HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2
Design & Workmanship
Hardware
Multimedia
Performance
Battery
Value For Money
88/100
Beautiful tablet with an impressive OLED display, great battery life and good performance. However, the lack of Google services and mediocre graphics performance tarnish the impression.
