Huawei made a 5G iPad Pro clone with wireless charging
Huawei’s new MatePad Pro 5G is a 5G version of the 10.8-inch tablet it announced last year for the Chinese market. When combined with its keyboard case and M-Pencil, the tablet invites some obvious comparisons to Apple’s iPad Pro, but Huawei’s tablet has a couple of unique features up its sleeve. These include two-way wireless changing, the ability to mirror the screen of a paired smartphone, and the aforementioned 5G connectivity. The tablet will ship with open-source Android, without Google’s apps or services.
Huawei says the MatePad Pro is the first tablet to support wireless charging. When you’re charging the device, it can charge at speeds of up to 27W, and it can then reverse-charge devices at up to 7.5W. It can use this capability to charge its keyboard case wirelessly, but you can also use it to charge headphones or your smartphone if they support it. That said, it’ll only charge one device at a time, much like every other device that offers reverse wireless charging.
Compared to the iPad Pro, the MatePad Pro 5G’s bezels are much smaller, resulting in what Huawei claims is a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. There’s a small hole-punch notch for the tablet’s selfie camera, and the screen itself has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, with an aspect ratio of 16:10. Internally, the tablet is running on Huawei’s Kirin 990 processor.
The MatePad Pro 5G also supports screen mirroring with compatible EMUI devices, a feature that we’ve previously seen on its MateBook laptops. As with its laptops, you can pair the two devices using NFC, this time by tapping your phone on the smart keyboard’s right shift key. This lets you do things like type messages on your phone using your keyboard or transfer files between the two devices.
Like the iPad Pro, Huawei’s tablet can also charge its stylus when you attach it to the side of the tablet. Huawei says you’ll get 10 minutes of use out of a 30-second charge of its M Pen or 10 hours of use from one hour of charging. You’ll also be able to charge the stylus at the same time as reverse wireless charging a device placed on the rear of the tablet.
Huawei says the new tablet will be available from April. The 5G models start at €799 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, up to €949 with 8GB of RAM and 512GB. Alternatively, the company is also selling Wi-Fi only and 4G models. The Wi-Fi-only versions start at €549 for the model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, up to €749 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The 4G versions starts at €599 for 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, up to €699 for 8GB for RAM and 256GB of storage.
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in the tablet’s accessories you can get a sleeve for €39, the M-Pencil for €99, the Smart Keyboard for €129, and the Folio Cover for €39.
Update February 24th, 8:40AM ET: Updated with pricing and availability information.
Photography by Jon Porter / The Verge
Huawei’s new MatePad Pro 5G is a 5G version of the 10.8-inch tablet it announced last year for the Chinese market. When combined with its keyboard case and M-Pencil, the tablet invites some obvious comparisons to Apple’s iPad Pro, but Huawei’s tablet has a couple of unique features up its…
