The MatePad 11 is a very versatile tablet from Huawei, which offers a very good level of performance and supports pen input. Moreover, the Huawei slate can be paired with a keyboard for office work. It can also be used for media consumption because it can play back DRM-protected content. A quad-microphone array is supposed to enable „crystal clear communication“.
The MatePad 11 is powered by last year’s flagship SoC from Qualcomm. The 10.95-inch display supports the 120-Hz refresh rate. The 64 GB version costs 26,999 Pesos. In addition, the Huawei slate supports Wi-Fi 6 and microSD cards. 
 
The midframe and the back of the Huawei MatePad 11 are made of plastic, which is quite susceptible to fingerprints. The plastic is stylised to look like metal though. The screen is protected by some type of glass. Even though the rear camera protrudes 1.8 mm from the device, the MatePad 11 does not wobble when it rests on an even surface. 
 
The slate is well-built. There are no chinks or jagged edges. Applying a lot of pressure to the screen does not cause any ripple effects. The Huawei tablet is neither water- nor dustproof. 
The MatePad 11 comes in the following colour schemes: Matte Grey (the only colour scheme available in Germany), Isle Blue and Olive Green. 
 
The Huawei MatePad 11 runs a proprietary operating system, which is based on the Linux Kernel found in Android 10. All Android applications are compatible with Huawei’s Harmony OS 2.0. Users can download applications from the Huawei AppGallery, including all standard EMUI apps. All in all, Harmony OS and EMUI resemble each other quite a bit. However, Harmony OS offers new features.
 
Some applications can be opened as ‘snippets’ by pressing on them and then swiping up. In snippet mode, applications do not take up the whole screen. An app in snippet mode can also be pinned as a widget.
Because the tablet does not run Google’s Android it does not support Google Mobile Services. Individual applications can be installed, but if they require Google services, they will not work. This can prove quite annoying in day-to-day use.
 
Many applications such as WhatsApp, Netflix and Spotify are not available in the AppGallery. When searching for these apps, the AppGallery offers alternatives or advises users to try to download these applications directly from the site of the app maker. When installing APK’s, users will have to wait for a security scan and then approve the installation manually. All in all, the process is not complicated. To update such apps, you will need to select them manually in the AppGallery.
 
The Huawei tablet can play back DRM-protected content in HD quality. The Netflix app shows that that is, indeed, the case. However, the content does not look particularly good and is not in HDR. It is possible that the Huawei slate cannot stream HD content in full quality.