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Huawei MatePad Pro is an iPad Pro rival for China

Huawei may not be allowed to sell its products in the US, but it's still coming out with impressive devices for China.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
Expertise 5G | Mobile networks | Wireless carriers | Phones | Tablets | Streaming devices | Streaming platforms | Mobile | Console gaming
Eli Blumenthal
2 min read
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The Huawei MatePad Pro, with its keyboard case and pencil. 

Huawei

Huawei has a new answer to Apple's iPad Pro . Called the MatePad Pro, Huawei's latest device seems to be going right after Apple's professional tablet, though whether this device makes it out of China is currently unknown. 

Featuring a 10.8-inch AMOLED 2K display with a cutout for the front-facing 8-megapixel camera, the new tablet is loaded with specs. Under the hood is an eight-core Kirin 990 processor, plus there's a 13-megapixel rear camera, four speakers and a 7,250-mAh battery, which can be charged with the company's 40-watt cable.

The tablet can be wirelessly charged as well, and also features reverse wireless charging to allow you to place a phone, headphones or other devices on the back of the tablet to share juice similar to Samsung's Galaxy S10 and Note 10 phones. 

huawei-matepad-pro-keyboard-and-pencil
Huawei

Like the iPad Pro, the MatePad Pro has a pencil that can be wirelessly charged by magnetically connecting it to the tablet. Huawei has also created a keyboard cover for the device to turn it into a more traditional laptop.

The base model of the tablet ships with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, with the top model bumping things up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. 

On the software side, Huawei's Android 10-based EMUI 10.0.1 is running the show. It has a few interesting tweaks, such as the ability to sync your phone onto the tablet allowing you to answer calls on the larger-screened device or more easily transfer files between the two. 

Pricing starts at 3,299 yuan (roughly $470, £365 or AU$690) for the Wi-Fi only model. Versions with LTE are also available. According to GSMArena, it will begin to ship on Dec. 12. 

It is not known if the device will be sold outside of China, in Europe or the US. Huawei is currently banned in the US over concerns about its close connection to the Chinese government.

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