Another year, another new tablet. The Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 is a refresh of 2020’s MatePad Pro. But instead of being Android based, this one’s running Harmony OS 2. One of the first devices to be shipped outside of China to do so.

We suspect there aren’t plenty of differences. However, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s unbox it!

The box and plain and simple.

You’ll see the MatePad Pro 12.6 right after lifting the box’s lid.

Set the tablet aside and you’ll see two boxes. One of which has the SIM tray ejector when you flip it.

Inside the boxes, you’ll find the power brick as well as the USB-C cable.

That’s actually it. However, Huawei sent over two more accessories that go with the MatePad Pro.

We have the M-Pencil 2…

… And the Smart Magnetic Keyboard

The M-Pencil 2 has replacement tips and some documentation.

The Smart Magnetic Keyboard has its own corresponding documentation and some instructions.

Here’s a closer look at the M-Pencil’s tip and the surface of the Smart Magnetic Keyboard.

The two accessories connect seamlessly to the tablet.

And the sides of the device is magnetic. You can safely stow the M-Pencil like so.

As far as buttons go, the power button is on the left side when propped-up in this laptop-ish form.

The volume buttons are right on top left side.

The speakers on the MatePad Pro are tuned by Harman Kardon.

It’s also home to three cameras. Something ‘unique’ for a tablet.

That’s a 13MP f/1.8 main camera, 8MP f/2.4 wide angle camera, and a 3D Depth Sensing camera.

First Impressions

On the outside, it doesn’t look too different from last year’s model. But the differences lie in the raw computing power and all the other hardware improvements. Using the device for only a couple of days, it certainly able to handle most tasks thanks to the Kirin 9000E powering this slate. It also has a 10,500mAh battery for extended use and 8GB of RAM along with 256GB of internal storage.

We haven’t used the M-Pencil 2 extensively so we can’t speak to much to it at the moment. Meanwhile, the Smart Magnetic Keyboard works about just as well as you can expect from keyboards like this. It’s certainly feels like it’s a higher-end accessories compared to others like it, but if you have trouble with these kinds of keyboards, you’ll likely have trouble with this as well.

The keys are tiny and those with stubby fingers like yours truly will suffer from typos more than usual. That said, the travel feels okay, and the whole unit is sturdy.

We’re curious about the decision to continuously come out with tablets. At this point, it feels more like a luxury than a need for most people. That said, if you are looking to buy, the sales information are below.

Pricing and availability

The Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6 retails for PhP 55,999 in the Philippines. It will be initially exclusive via the HUAWEI official online store and its flagship stores on Lazada and Shopee from June 25 to 27.

Early bird purchasers get to enjoy freebies worth PhP 17,387 for just an additional PhP 1. The freebies include a Huawei MatePad M-Pencil worth PhP 5,999, a Huawei Smart Keyboard worth Php 7,999, a Bluetooth Speaker worth PhP 1499, and a Huawei Band 4 worth PhP 1,890.

Game-changer. It’s a bold adjective to use, especially when you’re describing a smartphone that’s situated in a competitive midrange segment. But realme has always dared to leap, and they’re doing exactly that with the realme 8 5G.

They’re calling it a 5G game-changer. It will require more extensive testing to determine whether that’s true or not, but for the meantime, here are our first impressions of realme’s newest offering.

But first, a quick rundown of the specifications for this device.

The phone comes in realme’s signature yellow box. No surprises there.

Taking out the lid, you’re greeted by a short note from the brand. Nice touch!

Going through the rest of the box, you’ll find your usual set of manuals, a charging cable, and your charging brick. Realme also included a case for free out of the box. Good stuff!

It makes a good first impression, but can it last?

Out of the box, the first thing you notice is how pretty the device is. Without touching it, you’d think it was made out of glass. But in reality, they used plastic for this device. The radiant light effect is definitely a nice touch.

Outside of the fingerprint smudges you’ll definitely be leaving on the back, you’d want to rock this phone without a case.

The realme 8 5G uses a curved back for added ergonomics. The phone is well-built, and it doesn’t feel cheap even if plastic was realme’s material of choice.

That extra feeling of sturdiness matters, especially in a competitive midrange market. First impressions can make or break whether you get a smartphone or not. In this case, realme passed with flying colors. Early indications suggest that realme has a winner with the 8 5G.

That’s all we have on realme’s newest midrange offering for now. We’ll be testing the device to see whether the realme 8 5G can truly #CaptureInfinitePossibilitiesWith5G.

Huawei has updated its primary tablet the Huawei Matepad. Come and join me as we unbox the new Huawei MatePad 2021.

Unboxing

Starting off, we have the box. A clean and simple look, but definitely pleasing! The front of the box shows us the branding and the name of the device.

A Huawei logo on the upper left corner, the AppGallery on the lower right, and on the lower left, the screen size of the device.

The box also has an interesting texture, only on the top cover though.

Opening the box, we have the device itself wrapped in fine paper and a pull tab to assist you when lifting the device out of the box.

Underneath the device, you are presented with two boxes. One box for the charging brick…

and the second containing the paperwork, USB Type-C cable, a 3.5mm headphone jack adaptor, and a warranty card.

Only the larger box is removable so be careful not to rip out the smaller box. Behind the larger box is the sim ejector tool, be sure to keep it safe!

Huawei MatePad

Removing the paper, we now see the simple but gorgeous Huawei MatePad in the “Midnight Grey” colorway. Be sure to remove the sticker — it’s optional but I suggest that you do.

The device itself is lightweight and easy to carry around, as a slim device it’s very easy to place it in a bag and you will have no problem carrying it around all day.

Starting off at the front, you will see the 10.4-inch screen with the camera at the top. Referring to the format at the back of the device, the front-facing camera is placed at the top.

On the left side of the device, you will be able to find the speakers along with the sleep/wake button. The right side shows you another pair of speakers and a charging port.

The top shows 4 microphones with the volume up and down button at the very left.

Heading over to the back you’ll be able to see the single-shooter camera, the Huawei branding, and an indication of their partnership with Harman/Kardon. The camera is accompanied by a flash and a microphone.

Specs

• Display: 10.4-inch 2000×1200 IPS, 225 PPI
• Processor: Huawei Kirin 820 series
• Memory: RAM – 4GB, ROM – 128GB
• Camera: 8MP front, 8MP rear
• Battery: 7250mAh

Final thoughts

Finally, now we have unboxed the new Huawei MatePad. With this, the device itself feels good to the touch and is a good size for a tablet. Additionally, the “Midnight Grey” colorway of the MatePad is a great choice, it doesn’t collect fingerprints easily and the device is lightweight so you don’t have to worry when taking it with you anywhere.

The initial setup of the new MatePad was fast and easy, there are pre-loaded apps that are ready to use. Although I’m not sure if it’s just me or the apps change from time to time when you open the designated folders of the pre-loaded apps. For media consumption, the experience was good. Although the YouTube app was not the same as the ones we see on our devices, it works well as it should.

The screen looks good so far with the 2000×1200 IPS display, trying a few videos and films, the quality was great. Additionally, the speakers are a huge boost to the volume — loud but good quality. The MatePad also doesn’t have a 3m5mm headphone jack, luckily, they provided an adaptor. The MatePad is looking good so far, stay tuned for the next article as we are going deep and we’ll be having a full review of the Huawei MatePad 2021.