Huawei’s ground-breaking tablet display feels like paper and puts a stop to glare

When it comes to tablets, the screen is usually the star attraction – but so often these displays are a let-down, difficult to see in bright sunlight due to their glossy reflectivity and, for stylus users, unnatural to draw on. Slick, shiny screens just can’t reproduce that feeling of sketching on a pad of paper or reading a book outdoors on a glorious day.

That’s why the Huawei MatePad 11.5” S PaperMatte is so exciting. It’s the first tablet to feature a new-generation Huawei PaperMatte display, which sports a textured surface that cuts down ambient light reflections and, when used in tandem with Huawei’s new 3^rd Generation M-Pencil, brilliantly replicates the feel of drawing or writing on paper. With its 3:2 aspect ratio, ultra-sharp 2.8K resolution and fast, fluid refresh rate of 144Hz, the screen is also perfect for productivity.

No more glare

This PaperMatte display is Huawei’s first to organically combine nanoscale anti-glare etching technology with a nanoscale magnetron optical coating. That’s just in the first layer of the screen, though – there’s also multi-layer diffusion technology and other proprietary tech tweaks that, when combined, reduce the screen surface reflectivity down to under 2%. That means 99% of light interference is removed, with the result being a screen that retains its vibrancy and contrast in any environment.

Even outdoors in direct sunshine, you can watch videos, play games or read on the MatePad 11.5” S PaperMatte without glare putting the dampers on your enjoyment or increasing eye strain.

For readers seeking a paper-like experience, Huawei has engineered Colour eBook mode. When engaged on the tablet, this uses a proprietary algorithm to adjust screen brightness, hue and colour temperature. The result is an image that’s ideal for newspapers or comic books, replicating the look of soft colours printed on paper.

Pleasingly paper-like

But the paper-like experience doesn’t begin and end with the image on the MatePad 11.5” S PaperMatte  – it’s also in the very texture of the screen. When you’re drawing or writing using a stylus, the nanostructures etched into the display’s surface create a gentle resistant micro-vibration reminiscent of writing on paper. It’s subtle, but very pleasing.

And in the new M-Pencil (3^rd Generation), Huawei has created the perfect stylus for writing, drawing and note-taking. Ultra-responsive thanks to its low-latency NearLink technology and the world’s first stylus with over 10,000 levels of pressure sensitivity, it can perceive the tiniest changes in force to create lines of differing thickness; you’ll hardly believe you’re holding a stylus and tablet rather than a pencil and paper.

Stylus-friendly software

The tablet comes with some fantastic software to make the most of its stylus functionality, too. Huawei Notes has been upgraded with new capabilities like Note Replay: during a meeting, jotting down the main points will allow you to return to your notes later, then tap a particular note to play back audio from that part of the meeting. Huawei’s GoPaint is a brand-new and free pro-level digital painting app created in conjunction with experts from fine arts academies and comes with a fast compositing, rendering and efficient use of storage – all with the purpose of lowering latency, minimising resource strain and raising the number of layers a file can contain. The result is a feature-rich, responsive painting experience ideal for professional creatives.

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The Huawei MatePad 11.5” S PaperMatte is on sale now for £449.99 (with Inbox keyboard) or £349.99 (tablet only). And there’s a special introductory to take advantage of: order the £449.99 Inbox keyboard edition from the UK Huawei Store before 2 July and you’ll get a free 3^rd Generation M-Pencil included for free; or order the £349.99 tablet-only edition and get a free cover.

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