Huawei's latest marvelous tablet comes with an impossibly thin profile and ridiculously low weight
The 2026 edition of the iPad Pro-rivaling Huawei MatePad Pro 12 looks like one of the best (and prettiest) high-end tablets in the world right now.
The MatePad Pro 12 (2026) is lighter than a Galaxy Tab S11 and 11-inch iPad Pro. | Image by Huawei
Were you surprised to see Huawei post the largest year-on-year growth of the world's top five tablet vendors in Q1 2026 given that the China-based tech giant is not allowed to sell its products in the US or use any of Google's services anywhere around the globe?
You must not be very familiar with the company's MatePad portfolio then, but today is as good a day as any to educate yourself on one of the best iPad Pro alternatives out there. Just a few months after the announcement of the gargantuan 13.2-inch MatePad Pro Max, a slightly smaller but not much humbler MatePad Pro 12 (2026) model is now out in the world's biggest smartphone market, eclipsing all the greatest Android tablets available today in a couple of key areas.
Can you spot the most remarkable numbers in this spec sheet?
- 12-inch OLED screen with 3036 x 1952 pixel resolution and up to 1600 nits of brightness;
- Kirin T93 or Kirin T93A processor;
- 12 and 16GB RAM options;
- 256 and 512GB storage variants;
- 50MP rear-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture;
- 12MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture;
- 10,400mAh battery;
- 66W charging technology;
- 40W reverse charging support;
- Four speakers;
- Wi-Fi 7;
- Bluetooth 6.0;
- USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1;
- HarmonyOS 6.1;
- 264.2 x 172.9 x 4.7mm dimensions;
- 439 grams weight;
- Cherry Blossom Pink Gold, Glowing Blue, Floating White, Moonlight Silver, and Space Gray color options.
Let me make it easy for you
The greatest things about the upgraded MatePad Pro 12 (at least on paper) are without a doubt the 439 grams product weight and 4.7mm profile. How amazing are those figures? Just consider that Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro (2025) measures 5.3mm in thickness and tips the scales at five grams more than this new high-end Huawei giant... while obviously sporting a smaller screen.
Huawei's newest high-end tablet is a stunner in this gorgeous pink shade. | Image by Huawei
The 13-inch iPad Pro (M5) flagship, meanwhile, rocks a 5.1mm waist that I thought was virtually unbeatable until Huawei's latest 12-incher was unveiled, and the 11-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 doesn't sound as impressive as it used to with a 5.5mm profile and 469 grams weight either.
Believe it or not, the MatePad Pro 12 (2026) also manages to squeeze a super-hefty 10,400mAh battery into its ultra-thin and almost ridiculously lightweight body, and the charging speeds are unsurprisingly better than what the Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra support as well.
Will you buy this Huawei tablet if it comes to your country?
Compared to its 2025 predecessor, this 2026 edition is somehow lighter, slimmer, and equipped with a (slightly) larger battery, not to mention powered by a newer and faster processor.
The key strengths don't stop there
Okay, perhaps Huawei's in-house Kirin T93 SoC is not quite as powerful as Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 beast found inside the likes of the OnePlus Pad 4. But you're definitely not dealing with a pushover here either, and in combination with as much as 16GB RAM, the chipset should deliver a more than respectable level of overall performance in day-to-day use.
The gorgeous screen and the built-in stylus are among the tablet's biggest selling points too. | Image by Huawei
The 12-inch OLED screen with 3K resolution is even more impressive (even though its refresh rate capabilities are weirdly not mentioned), and the same goes for a 50MP rear-facing camera that's a pretty rare sight in today's global tablet landscape.
That stunning display is surrounded by incredibly thin bezels, and of course, the mind-blowing product thickness and weight numbers couldn't have been achieved without an ultra-premium aluminum unibody construction. The five beautiful colorways listed above essentially put the finishing touch on one of the most eye-catching tablet designs around right now, and much like the aforementioned Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra, the MatePad Pro 12 (2026) comes with a sophisticated and always handy stylus included in its retail prices.
What are the prices?
I'm not going to lie, they're not as low as one might expect from a China-first product. Specifically, they start at the rough equivalent of $845 (5,699 yuan) for an "Enjoy" Edition with a slightly lower-end Kirin T93A chip, as well as only 256GB internal storage space and 12GB RAM, and they go all the way up to CNY 7,699 ($1,140) for a 512GB variant with 12 gigs of memory also on deck for some reason and a keyboard included in addition to a stylus.
The MatePad Pro 12 (2026) is pretty costly, especially with both a stylus and a keyboard. | Image by Huawei
The MatePad Pro 12 (2026) is all but guaranteed to never be released in the US for obvious reasons, but if the family's history is any indication, European availability might be in the cards... with even higher prices. But the level of quality is also incredibly high, so if you're in the market for a new ultra-high-end tablet on the old continent, you may want to wait a few more weeks and carefully explore all your options before pulling the trigger.
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