Huawei MatePad 11.5in review: value minded

Introduction

Restrict yourself to Apple’s offerings and you’d think there’s very little choice when it comes to affordable tablets. The opposite is true on the Android side of things, with multiple big names offering competitive hardware for relatively little cash. The Huawei MatePad 11.5 is the latest, bringing a productivity focus and bundled keyboard cover for £350 (around $399, although Huawei products remain unavailable to US shoppers). 

I can’t deny you’re getting a lot of hardware for your money, with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 CPU running the show and a 2K resolution display – but Huawei’s familiar software troubles mean that may not be enough to elevate it over the cut price competition from Xiaomi, Lenovo and Honor.

Design & build

There’s not much room for wild design in the tablet world, so the Huawei MatePad 11.5 treads a similar path to its major rivals. That means a slim metal rectangle made from aluminium, skinny screen bezels and a svelte 6.85mm thickness.

You don’t get any kind of waterproofing, which isn’t a big surprise given the modest price, and there’s no 3.5mm headphone port either. USB-C handles charging.

It feels reassuringly well built for the cash, and looks pretty slick in Space Grey colours, with minimal branding on the back. The chunky rear camera module makes a bigger impression; it’s a 13MP unit with an f/1.8 aperture that’s good for document scanning and the odd candid snap, but don’t expect the last word in detail or noise reduction. A decent smartphone remains your best best for on-the-go photography. It’s a similar story for the 8MP selfie cam. Neither is particularly adept at video recording.

At 499g I could hold the MatePad 11.5 comfortably in either orientation, reading or watching videos for a decent stretch without any discomfort. The metal finish picks up fingerprints reasonably easily, but they buff out with little effort. Pogo pins on the bottom of the slate let it connect to the bundled keyboard cover, which keeps its battery charged – the actual connection is handled over Bluetooth. 

It’s a fairly basic ‘board, lacking any real tactile input and with very shallow keys. Input delay could be better, too, and I was frustrated by Huawei’s software going hard on autocorrect. At least the case part keeps the tablet angled in a good position for working or entertainment. It adds quite a bit of bulk to the device, admittedly, but I felt it also added a decent level of protection from knocks and bumps.

Screen & sound

The 11.5in, 2200×1440 resolution screen is the main reason I could see someone wanting a Huawei MatePad 11.5in. It’s brilliantly crisp, colourful and gets plenty bright for indoor use. I struggled to see things clearly on very bright days, but it’s easily on par with anything at this price.

As the panel uses LCD tech you won’t get the epic contrast or vibrant hues of a pricier OLED display, but it does a great job on colour accuracy and balance all the same. YouTube videos really popped, and even offered the option of HDR playback – although Huawei makes no mention of HDR support on its website.

A 120Hz refresh rate meant websites and menus scrolled all but flawlessly under my finger, and viewing angles are pretty decent too.

I thought the quad speaker setup put in a decent performance, with plenty of volume and a somewhat convincing soundstage for the size. I still reached for a pair of Bluetooth ‘buds for any serious listening, though.

Software experience

HarmonyOS, Huawei’s heavily skinned version of Android, is easy to navigate and makes plenty of adjustments for simple multitasking. Split screen or multi-window combos let you set up specific app pairs, and the app toolbar puts frequently used apps in easy reach – but I don’t think it’s quite as slick as either Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra or the Google Pixel Tablet.

The extensive app list is comprised almost entirely of Huawei’s own-brand creations, with a few third-party ones included out of the box. They’re extensive, and very productivity focused, with text editors, note takers and photo editors to experiment with long before you’ll need to download anything on top.

That’s useful, because the Huawei MatePad 11.5in lacks any kind of Play Store access or Google integration, so Gmail, YouTube and the rest all have to be accessed through a web browser. 

App Gallery and Petal Search offer official and semi-workaround ways of adding extra apps. The latter pulls from third-party repositories, so aren’t guaranteed to be virus-free, and you’ve got to refresh each one manually every time there’s an update.

It was a bit of a headache to get some of my most-used apps to work, and others wouldn’t function at all because they relied on Google services. If that sounds like too much work, I can understand why you’d give this (or any Huawei device) a pass.

Performance & battery life

I’m used to seeing last-gen CPUs and MediaTek chips inside affordable tablets, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Huawei go with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor. It’s paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, so isn’t short on grunt in apps and games.

Everything opens quickly enough, multitasking is pretty smooth, and the HarmonyOS home screen was always responsive. Synthetic benchmarks put it firmly in the middle of the pack, which is a great showing for the money.

Gaming is hit or miss, but not because of the hardware: ones that run properly run quite well, with decent frame rates. It’s a shame that many big name titles rely on Google integration to log in, which is a big stumbling block for any modern Huawei device. More on that in the next section.

A 7700mAh battery isn’t colossal, but the Huawei MatePad 11.5in has a high enough capacity to last multiple days away from the mains when I was largely sticking to productivity tasks. Video playback will drain it in about eight hours. That’s not too shabby for a tablet of this size.

Charging is at a modest 18W, which means two and a half hours for a complete refuel.

Huawei MatePad 11.5in verdict

I approach every new Huawei device with an open mind, and am usually impressed by the hardware on show. It’s a shame the software experience just isn’t on the same level, at least for Western audiences that are dependent on Google-based apps. That’s unfortunately the case with the Huawei MatePad 11.5in.

While you can get by with the web browser, Huawei’s own apps and the limited official selection available through App Gallery, you’re tying one arm behind your back compared to any number of rival tablets from other brands. Even though it comes bundled with a keyboard in the box, I think there’s better value to be found elsewhere and adding an accessory or two later when you need it.

Huawei MatePad 11.5in technical specifications

Screen	11.5in, 2200×1440 LCD w/ 120Hz
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
Memory	6GB RAM
Cameras	13MP rear, 8MP front
Storage	128GB on-board
Operating system	Android 12 w. HarmonyOS
Battery	7700mAh w/ 18W wired charging
Dimensions	261x177x6.9mm, 499g