Huawei MatePad Pro 2026: 4.7mm thin, 12" OLED, and still not coming to you
Huawei launched the MatePad Pro (2026) on August 5 in China, a 12-inch OLED tablet that measures just 4.7mm thick and weighs 439g — thinner than most smartphones and lighter than the iPad Pro. Starting at around $889 for the base 256GB model, it undercuts Apple's equivalent by several hundred dollars on paper. The catch, as ever with Huawei: there's no confirmed release date outside China.
The hardware
The display runs at 3036 × 1952 pixels with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 144Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits. A Soft Light Edition variant uses nano-engraving to cut glare — useful if you work outdoors or under harsh lighting. Under the hood sits the new Kirin T93 chip, which Huawei claims delivers a 25% performance boost over its predecessor. A cheaper Enjoy Edition uses the slightly slower Kirin T93A. Both versions ship with 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.
The MatePad Pro (2026) in its all-metal unibody chassis, measuring just 4.7mm at its thinnest point.
Battery life looks solid on paper: a 10,400mAh cell with 66W wired charging (full charge in 53 minutes) and 40W reverse charging so you can top up other devices. The main camera is a 50MP sensor with autofocus and 1080p video; the front camera is 12MP. Connectivity covers Wi-Fi 7+ and Bluetooth 6.0. There's no cellular or satellite option.
HarmonyOS 6.1 runs the show, with a dual-desktop mode that lets you switch between tablet and desktop layouts with a four-finger swipe. Huawei says more than 200 PC apps are supported.
HarmonyOS 6.1's dual-desktop mode lets users switch between tablet and PC-style layouts.
The global problem
This is where the specs stop mattering for most buyers. Huawei's software ecosystem is still cut off from Google Play and the broader Western app catalogue. No Gmail, no Spotify, no Adobe apps — Notebookcheck confirms the hardware leads on thinness, but the software gap remains the hard sell.
As a point of comparison, the MatePad Pro Max launched in May 2026 and didn't reach Germany until late June — a two-month lag, per Digital Trends. The MatePad Pro (2026) has no announced international timeline at all. If that pattern holds, a UK or US buyer hunting one down would be looking at grey-market imports with no local warranty.
The MatePad Pro (2026) is available in five color options, including Cherry Pink Gold and Deep Space Gray.
The iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) OLED in 512GB costs $1,499. The MatePad Pro tops out at around $1,363 with keyboard and Soft Light Edition included — cheaper, but only if you can actually buy one. For now, this is a China-first product, and the global picture is unresolved.
