I tested the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, and I wish this iPad Pro-rivaling tablet had the software to match its excellent hardware

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: One-minute review

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max is the world’s thinnest 13-inch+ tablet, and rivals the 13-inch iPad Pro (2025) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra for portable power. It’s lighter than both of those competitors, and offers a stunning display on which to make use of its impressive performance credentials.

You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking Apple and Samsung might be looking nervously over their shoulders. The MatePad Pro Max is beautifully made, and I prefer its design to that of Apple’s best iPads. Early signs suggest this could be one of the best tablets around. Yet like its smaller sibling, the Huawei MatePad 12X, this slate is almost impossible to recommend in a practical sense. More on that in a moment.

The 13.2-inch display comes with Huawei’s PaperMatte technology. Not only does this make it feel lovely to touch, but it also has fantastic anti-reflective properties. I can sit outside in the sun and still easily use this tablet.

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

It’s great for video streaming and gaming, with enough grunt under the hood to run PUBG Mobile on high graphical settings without signs of slowdown.

There’s a keyboard case included in the box — something you don’t get from Apple or Samsung — which helps to boost the productivity credentials of this slate. And you also get a 100W charging block, allowing you to replenish over 60% of its battery in under 30 minutes.

Battery life is solid, with many hours of use possible — around eight hours of continuous online gaming, for example — and reverse charging means you can use the tablet to top-up your phone. Even the cameras are better than some rivals’.

Huawei’s own Harmony OS software is similar to iPadOS and Android, and it’s intuitive to use for the most part. But it’s in the company’s App Gallery where the real issue with this slate lies. With no access to Google Mobile Services (GMS), the MatePad Pro Max has a severe lack of mainstream apps.

That means no Google apps, no Meta apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads), and no X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Claude, Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Amazon, and more.

This unfortunately means that, even with its excellent design and display, solid battery life, and premium performance, the Huawei MatePad Pro Max is only going to work for a small subset of users with very specific needs that don’t rely on major applications.

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: price and availability

• Release June 30, 2026 in the UK
• Price starts at £999 — cheaper than Apple and Samsung rivals
• Includes keyboard case
• Not available in the US or Australia

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max starts at £999.99 (around $1,300 / AU$1,800) and, unlike rival tablets, it comes with a keyboard case and 100W charging block in the box.

That’s comfortably cheaper than the 13-inch iPad Pro (starting at £1,299) and the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (starting at £1,269), for hardware that’s just as good, if not better. But it’s the lack of mainstream apps that hampers this tablet’s value proposition.

The MatePad Pro Max is available now on the Huawei UK website. As with many Huawei devices, the MatePad Pro Max is not available in the US or Australia.

• Value: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: specs

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: display

Image 1 of 2

• Brilliant, colorful OLED screen
• Works great in bright sunlight
• PaperMatte finish feels premium

I love the 13.2-inch display on the MatePad Pro Max. My model comes with the firm’s PaperMatte technology, providing a slick, smooth feeling under the finger and a screen that’s still brilliantly visible in bright sunlight.

The OLED panel pumps out punchy colors, while the 144Hz refresh rate keeps scrolling and gameplay feeling smooth.

The screen comfortably goes toe-to-toe with those of the iPad Pro 13-inch and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, with the Huawei’s display even boasting a higher resolution (3000 x 2000) and pixel density (273ppi) than those of its two mainstream rivals.

Peak brightness matches the iPad and Galaxy Tab at 1600 nits, and the MatePad Pro Max also has the slimmest bezels of the three, giving it an impressive 91.4% screen-to-body ratio.

All this means you get a superb viewing experience with this tablet. Whether I was watching 4K videos or playing PUBG with the graphics turned way up, it was a visual feast for the eyes.

• Display: 4.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: design

Image 1 of 4

• Sleek premium design
• Thinner and lighter than Apple and Samsung rivals
• Keyboard case included, but design could be better

It’s not just the screen that looks great on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, with this tablet also packing a seriously slim design.

At just 4.7mm thick, you’d be forgiven for thinking it might feel a little fragile — but worry not. The metal unibody chassis is solid and the build quality is top-notch — as it should be for the price — and if the Huawei brand was scrubbed off, I reckon I could convince a few people this was the new iPad design. That’s how good the MatePad Pro Max looks and feels.

There’s still that 13.2-inch screen to squeeze into the chassis, but with super-slim bezels, Huawei has managed to keep the dimensions of this slate to the absolute minimum, at 289.3 x 196.3mm.

These numbers make the MatePad Pro Max the world’s thinnest 13-inch+ tablet — a niche title, sure, but a win for Huawei nonetheless.

And for a big screen tablet, the MatePad Pro Max is light too, tipping the scales at 499g (or 509g with the PaperMatte display). That’s lighter than the 13-inch iPad Pro (579g) and the (admittedly larger) Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (692g).

That meant I was able to hold the MatePad Pro Max comfortably for multiple rounds of PUBG Mobile without the tablet feeling taxing in my hands.

There’s a fingerprint scanner built into the power key on the top edge of the slate, and it recognized my digit quickly, promptly unlocking the tablet. If anything, this scanner performed better than Touch ID on my iPad Air (2022).

Image 1 of 2

I like the placement of the MatePad Pro Max’s 12MP front-facing camera; it’s in the middle of the top landscape side of the screen, nestled into the super slim bezel, meaning no annoying notch in the display. However, with Teams, Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google Meet all unavailable in Huawei’s App Gallery, the number of video calls you’ll be doing on the MatePad Pro Max might be limited.

The inclusion of a keyboard case in the box is good to see, as it means you don’t have to spend more money on the accessory, and unlike the one that came with the MatePad 12X 2025, this one has a trackpad for easier navigation.

It features a series of useful touchpad controls. Swipe three fingers up to return home, three fingers from side to switch apps, and three fingers up and hold to enter a multi-task view. It makes the tablet far more user-friendly when in this laptop mode.

It’s not as well designed as Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad, though. The movement required to magnetically lock the tablet in place when opening it up isn’t the smoothest, with a slightly confused double-hinge design on the case. Even after weeks of use, I still hadn’t mastered the movement each time I opened it up.

Image 1 of 3

The good news is this keyboard case doubles as a protective case, which is always welcome when you’re spending big bucks on a premium tablet, although the slate’s productivity is severely hampered by the limited app selection.

If you want greater creative control, Huawei sells the M-Pencil Pro stylus separately. It magnetically clings to the top landscape edge of the MatePad Pro Max, with an oval pad that guides its placement. There’s also a dedicated space for it in the keyboard case, keeping it safe if you slide the tablet into a bag.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: software

Image 1 of 2

• Major limitations when it comes to apps
• App Gallery is missing many big names
• Interface is clean and intuitive

As good as the hardware is on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, it’s hampered by a heap of software-related trouble. The Trump administration placed the Chinese brand on the 'entity list' back in 2019, which effectively banned Huawei from using any Google products or services on its devices.

That means the MatePad Pro Max does not have access to Google Play Services, the Play Store, or any Google applications; there’s no Drive, Maps, YouTube, Photos, Gmail, Gemini, and so on.

Instead, we get Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4.3 operating system and the firm’s App Gallery store, where you can download applications. The trouble is, the app selection here is extremely limited.

As I’ve mentioned, there are no Google apps, but other major players are missing too, including Meta’s suite of apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads), X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Claude, Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Amazon, and more.

Some big names you can download and install from Huawei’s App Gallery include Snapchat, TikTok, CapCut, Temu, and Telegram. You can also get Microsoft 365 and Outlook if you’re looking for established productivity tools.

Some of these services are available via the web browser. I was able to watch YouTube videos, access social media, and browse Amazon just fine — but some things are blocked entirely, such as editing Google Drive documents.

It means you’ll need to carefully consider whether the MatePad Pro Max will be able to deliver what you need from a tablet.

Huawei does offer some apps of its own to help ease the lack of established names on the App Gallery. Petal Maps, as the name suggests, is its version of Apple and Google Maps. There isn’t a satellite or street view, although you do get navigation and live traffic data.

It’s serviceable enough, but lacks the features of its established rivals, and that’s the case for many of Huawei’s own apps. The Notes app is a basic word processor, while NotePad is designed more for quicker things — similar to Google Keep. If you’re used to the big-brand apps, though, you’ll find the ones on the MatePar Pro Max aren’t as encompassing.

Huawei’s HarmonyOS interface isn’t all that different from iPadOS and Android, with a familiar look and feel, meaning there’s no real learning curve when it comes to using the tablet. It’s pretty slick under the finger, although it doesn’t have the same level of zip and polish as Apple’s iPad Pro slates.

• Software: 2 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: performance

• Kirin T93 Pro chipset and 12GB of RAM
• Can handle games on high graphics settings
• Impressive speakers offer surround sound

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin T93 Pro chipset and is ably assisted by 12GB of RAM.

The result is a powerful tablet that could handle everything I threw at it, from social media, web browsing, and downloading large applications, to high-def gaming, sketching with the M-Pencil Pro, and 4K video playback.

Even with multiple applications running together, and utilizing the multi-tasking side-by-side view, there were no significant signs of slowdown. PUBG Mobile, on high graphical settings, loaded quickly and ran smoothly, ensuring my Winner Winner Chicken Dinner streak remained intact.

And during my long PUBG sessions, another positive was the MatePad Pro Max’s ability to keep itself relatively cool, with the slate boasting excellent heat dissipation.

I didn’t have any noticeable performance issues during my testing time, but the slate doesn’t feel as slick as the iPad Pro 13, which feels better optimized for the Apple-made chip inside.

Another impressive aspect of the tablet is its six-speaker system, which delivers a convincing surround sound experience. The bass is weak, as is expected from a tablet that’s so thin, but audio quality is otherwise very good. The speakers are better than the ones on my iPad Air, for what it’s worth.

The M-Pencil Pro stylus is really comfortable to use on the MatePad Pro Max. It glides nicely across the screen when handwriting notes, and it’s comfortable to hold for extended sketching sessions. The tablet itself isn’t brilliantly designed for note-taking, though. Place it on a flat surface, and the rear camera bump means the tablet rocks annoyingly as you move the M-Pencil around the screen.

Pop it in the keyboard case, and the angle the screen sits at isn’t natural for handwriting or sketching either. You can fold the tablet back on the case and place it on a desk, which provides you with a steady surface, but if you forget it, then you’re back to a wobbly mess.

Now, I’d never recommend someone use their tablet as a camera — they’re big, bulky, and usually no better than the smartphone in your pocket at taking pictures. However, the 50MP rear camera on the MatePad Pro Max is one of the better ones I’ve used on this form factor.

It offers 5x and 10x zoom with only minimal quality degradation, and in good light outdoors, it’s capable of taking some nice shots. It’s the size of this 13.2-inch slate that hampers the experience — it’s cumbersome to hold up and take around with you versus your phone.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: battery

• 9,760mAh high-silicon anode battery
• 100W Turbo Charge plug included in the box
• Replenish over 40% in 20 minutes

Battery life on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max is solid, but not quite category-leading. You get a 9,760mAh high-silicon anode battery, which is actually smaller than the cell found in the iPad Pro 13 (10,290mAh).

That shouldn’t be a worry, though. I played PUBG for two hours on high graphics settings, and the MatePad Pro Max lost 20% of its charge in that time.

If we extrapolate that out, it means you’re looking at at least eight hours of demanding gameplay on a single charge — great news for gamers and those looking to perform intense productivity tasks on the slate.

You’ll get much longer if you’re only using the tablet for occasional web browsing, social scrolling, and the odd video stream, though. I’d feel comfortable taking the MatePad Pro Max on a long-haul flight, for example, as the battery should remain solid.

Huawei has packed in 66W charging too, to help replenish the large battery. And it was great to find a 100W Turbo Charge block included in the box, meaning I didn’t have to dig out my own. Apple and Samsung don’t include this with their tablets, so well done, Huawei.

During my charging tests, I was getting around 10% battery returned after 5 minutes, 20% after 10 minutes, and 45% in just 20 minutes. After 30 minutes, the MatePad Pro Max had replenished 65% of its battery — a useful result if you’re looking for a quick top-up before heading out.

Another handy feature is the tablet’s reverse charging capabilities. If you find your smartphone is running low on juice, you can connect it to the MatePad Pro Max via USB-C cable, and the tablet will provide your handset with a top-up.

• Battery: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Huawei MatePad Pro Max?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Also consider

If you're not sold on what the Huawei MatePad Pro Max has to offer, there are a handful of similarly priced alternatives to consider.

How I tested the Huawei MatePad Pro Max

• Tested over several weeks
• Played games, browsed the web, scrolled social, snapped pictures
• Also tested the keyboard case and M-Penci Pro stylus

I used the Huawei MatePad Pro Max as my main tablet for several weeks, testing out its core features, app availability, and performance.

I played a variety of games, watched 4K HDR videos, snapped photos, ran battery and charging tests, and performed various day-to-day tasks, including web browsing, scrolling social media, and checking emails.

The keyboard case, which is included in the box, was also tested with emails, word processing, and general UI navigation. I was also sent the M-Pencil Pro (and optional extra), and spent time jotting down handwritten notes and sketching cartoons.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2026