Huawei’s new, affordable tablet has an excellent display, but there’s still one big thing which stops me from recommending it.
The MatePad 11.5″S appears to be good value at just £349/€399, with its screen a real highlight. As the name suggests, it’s an 11.5-inch LCD panel, complete with high 2800 x 1840 resolution and a refresh rate that can automatically move between 30- and 144Hz.
However, it’s the coating on the screen that really helps the MatePad stand out from rivals. Huawei calls it ‘PaperMatte’ 2.0, but the significance here is that it’s matt rather than the usual glossy.
The big benefit is the reflections, or lack thereof. According to Huawei, surface reflectivity stands at under 2%, with 99% of light interference eliminated. Alongside 500 nits of peak brightness, it means you can comfortably use the MatePad in any environment – including direct sunlight.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
The sheltered surroundings of a demo room weren’t the best environment for me to fully test this, but visibility, detail and clarity were all excellent. And the bright, vivid colours were just as good as non-matt rivals, without the usual strain on your eyes.
Another benefit of the MatePad is the anti-fingerprint coating. It’s a real novelty to be able to use a tablet for several minutes without there being any noticeable smudges on the display.
It’s worth noting that Huawei isn’t the only company using matt displays on tablets – TCL’s Nxtpaper is just as impressive – but I’m glad to see it come to such an affordable slate.
Huawei hasn’t revealed which processor is powering the MatePad 11.5″S, but it didn’t feel slow as I was swiping around. And the 8800mAh battery is generous for a device of this size and price.
Its aluminium unibody design feels premium, yet at 510g it remains relatively lightweight. However, you can combine it with a dedicated magnetic keyboard accessory, which offers 1.5mm of key travel and a good range of angles.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
It’s also compatible with the third generation of Huawei’s M-Pencil stylus, which can detect more than 10,000 levels of pressure.
The big problem
However, given all this good stuff, why don’t I think you should buy it?
Unfortunately, it has largely the same HarmonyOS 4.0 software as the Pura 70 smartphones, meaning you still don’t get any Google services – including the Play Store.
It means all of Google’s own apps, plus popular third-party options such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Netflix and Disney+, are all unavailable unless you want to figure out a way to sideload them via the web. Even then, they might not work properly.
Huawei’s US trade ban has been in place since 2019, and there are no signs of it being lifted anytime soon. Until then, devices such as the MatePad 11.5″S have very limited appeal in Europe, however good the hardware is.
If you’re still interested in buying it, sign up for the UK Store newsletter by 3 June to get a 10% early bird discount. Pre-orders will then go live on 4 June, before an on-sale date of 18 June.
Prefer a device that we can recommend? See our round-up of the best Android tablets available right now.
