Huawei MatePad 11 2021 Quick Review Philippines: Mid-range Tab

Huawei MatePad 11 2021 Quick Review Philippines: Mid-range Tab

Initial Verdict: The Huawei MatePad 11 2021 fills the mid-range tablet gap that few manufactures are addressing in the Philippines, and is potentially a good choice for folks who want a good Android slate with a mid-range price point.

Pros:

  • Good-looking LCD panel
  • Already has an existing ecosystem of accessories for it
  • Powerful processor
  • Great sound

Cons:

  • App selection might be a challenge
  • No 3.5mm jack

Huawei MatePad 11 Specs

  • Snapdragon 865 Processor
  • 10.9-inch IPS display, 2560×1600 resolution, 120hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3, HDR10
  • 6GB LPDDR4X RAM
  • 128GB internal storage
  • 13-megapixel f/1.8 main camera with PDAF
  • 8-megapixel f/2.0 selfie camera
  • WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
  • 7250mAh battery
  • M-Pencil, Harman Kardon Quad Speaker System
  • 22.5w wired charging
  • HarmonyOS 2

Tablet hunting is great when you have the budget for top-end slates, but if you’re working with tighter monetary constraints, grabbing a solid tablet to use nowadays is very difficult. Very few manufacturers even bother making tablets anymore and even fewer bother with releasing mid-range models.

Huawei is one of the few companies in the market still making top-notch slates for both high-end and mid-range customers, and the MatePad 11 2021 looks to be a solid option for people looking for a good mid-range machine.

Design

If you’ve seen the MatePad Pro 12.6 in the flesh (or in pictures), you know what to expect from the MatePad 11 2021. The biggest change between the two design-wise is the material that Huawei used for the back, which is plastic instead of metal.

Aside from that, the MatePad 11 2021 feels like your typical, high-end tablet. It’s available in two colorways – Olive Green and Matte Grey. The Matte Grey finish feels great to the touch, didn’t pick up excessive fingerprints, and looked great on our desk.

Like its bigger brother, Huawei is offering the MatePad 11 2021 with a detachable keyboard cover, as well as a folio back cover. It’s also compatible with their M-Pencil stylus which connects to the top of the tablet via a magnet and automatically charges it just like it did with the MatePad Pro 12.6.

There’s a camera and flash module on the rear of the tablet for taking photos/video if you need it, plus a selfie camera on the top of the tablet (when oriented in landscape mode) to use for meetings. The power and volume rocker are located on the left and top sides of the tablet. The right side holds the USB Type-C charging port, while the bottom holds the microSD slot as well as the hidden magnets that connect the keyboard.

Speaking of the keyboard, it looks, feels, and works much like the one on the MatePad Pro 12.6. Keyboard travel is surprisingly good considering how small the keys are.

Display and sound

Unlike its bigger brother, the MatePad 11 2021 uses a 11-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS display which is a slight downgrade over the OLED panel on the more premium device.

Don’t think that the display is bad though – far from it. The IPS LCD display has a 120Hz refresh rate, as well as DCI-P3 gamut color coverage, TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light
(Hardware Solution) certification.

The display has a 1.6:1 aspect ratio that’s common with tablets like these, which gives you more real-estate to work with when you’re writing, editing, or productivity-focused tasks.

The MatePad 11 2021 has four speakers tuned by Harman Kardon. This makes up for the loss of a 3.5mm jack somewhat, since the speakers are incredibly loud, almost as loud as the one on the bigger tablet.

Cameras

The MatePad 11 2021 has a single camera embedded in the camera module, made up of a 13-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture lens. That’s joined by an LED flash. The selfie camera is an 8-megapixel unit, with an f/2.0 aperture lens.

Performance and software

Huawei’s mid-range tablet uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 chipset, which was 2020’s top flagship processor (for a time). It showing up in a mid-range tablet more than guarantees the device’s flagship performance, as it’s still pretty potent more than a year on from its release.

The MatePad 11 (2021) comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and is powered by Huawei’s new OS, HarmonyOS.

We’ve talked about HarmonyOS before with the MatePad 11 2021’s big brother, so we’re not going to go through it again. The tl;dr; here is that HarmonyOS makes the MatePad 11 2021 feel more like a laptop thanks to the software improvements especially when paired with the detachable keyboard attached here.

Unfortunately, the same problems that plague the MatePad Pro 12.6 exist on the MatePad 11 (2021). Your main source of apps is Huawei’s App Gallery plus Petal Search. App coverage between those two methods is good, though again, still pales in comparison to what’s available in Google Play.

Like the MatePad Pro 12.6, the MatePad 11 (2021) has some cool interconnectivity features to other Huawei products like seamless screen sharing between EMUI and HarmonyOS-equipped phones as well as select monitors. Unfortunately, it’s a closed system – if you don’t have Huawei devices that run EMUI or are part of the ecosystem, you won’t be able to enjoy those perks.

Wrap up and early verdict

The Huawei MatePad 11 (2021) certainly fills the need for a mid-range tablet that’s not made by Apple in the Philippines. There’s still the question about app availability of course, though the good news is that there are even more apps available nowadays through Huawei’s AppGallery than ever before.

Huawei MatePad 11 (2021) Price Philippines

The Huawei MatePad 11 (2021) is priced at Php 26,999. Those who will pre-order from August 6 to 26 will get a Smart Magnetic Keyboard, 2nd-gen M-Pencil, MatePad 11 sleeve, and Huawei Cloud services with their purchase.

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