Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: this vibrant pill hero is undone by a single tragic flaw

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: two-minute evaluation

The Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 is a mid-range pill with a vibrant, paper-like PaperMatte show, a stable chipset, and a significantly capacious battery. It has all of the makings of an ideal pill, proper up till you come up in opposition to its elementary flaw.

Let’s put a pin in that for now. The show is significantly spectacular, able to exquisitely detailed photos with its 280 ppi pixel density. It’s additionally splendidly vibrant, hitting a peak brightness of 1000 nits, and has spectacular shade copy that rendered the character movies I watched with splendidly punchy hues.

Just about the one criticism I’ve of the display is that it’s a little bit too straightforward to scuff. After a couple of sketching classes with the Huawei M-Pencil Professional (offered individually), the show had a couple of mild scrapes throughout it, one thing I’ve not skilled when utilizing the very best tablets on the market.

The efficiency of the Huawei MatePad 12X 2025’s Kirin T92B Octa-core processor and 12GB RAM can be genuinely spectacular. Whereas taking part in PUBG Cellular at max settings, I didn’t detect a touch of body fee drops or latency, making it straightforward to take out my opponents. In the meantime, irrespective of what number of simultaneous apps I used to be working or tabs I opened, the pill by no means appeared to expertise any slowdown.

If you happen to fancy prolonged gaming classes or wish to work on the go, the MatePad 12X 2025 provides a beneficiant battery capability of 10,100mAh. In observe, that was sufficient to stream 2.5K movies for nearly 9 hours straight, which means it’s best to have loads of battery for a medium-haul flight or a full working day. And topping it up took hardly any time in any respect, because of its 66W charging – it’s best to have the ability to go from 0% to 100% in round 75 minutes, which is implausible.

Maybe much less thrilling is the MatePad 12X 2025’s design. Whereas it’s razor skinny at 5.9mm and really snug to carry, it does not have probably the most adventurous styling, and it may very well be product of barely extra premium-feeling supplies than its matte plastic. Each the included keyboard case and the M-Pencil Professional are properly put collectively, although, with an ergonomic design and strong construct.

Sadly, it’s time to return to that situation we put a pin in earlier. With ongoing restrictions round entry to US-based apps, there’s an actual paucity of apps accessible on Huawei’s gadgets. A lot of the software program you’ll wish to use each day, from Netflix to Google Docs, merely isn’t accessible, actually decreasing the MatePad’s precise utility. In mild of this, it is onerous to advocate the pill, even with some wonderful first-party apps like its GoPaint drawing app.

I’d love to have the ability to give the MatePad 12X 2025 a glowing advice, because it has some actual strengths. However the lack of mainstream apps accessible on Huawei’s pill places it at an actual drawback in comparison with different gadgets. Basically, you’ll be higher off contemplating top-of-the-line Android tablets as an alternative.

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: specs

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: worth and availability

Launched September 19, 2025Costs £499Includes keyboard case however stylus is further £39.99

Launched on September 19, 2025, the Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 is out there now within the UK. Whereas its preliminary checklist worth was £599, it’s already seeing reductions, with Huawei promoting it direct for £499.

Not like the Huawei MatePad 11.5 launched in August 2025, the MatePad 12X 2025 contains Huawei’s keyboard case within the field, which is unquestionably a pleasant further to have. Not included as normal is Huawei’s M-Pencil Professional, however if you happen to purchase it together with the pill, it’ll price you simply £39.99, moderately than its £129.99 checklist worth, making it a little bit of a cut price.

By way of colorways, you get simply two choices: the mint inexperienced that we examined right here and white.

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: show

Crisp, 280 ppi resolutionSeriously brightGets marked simply

I’ve to say that, for a mid-market pill, the Huawei MatePad 12X 2025’s show is fairly spectacular. Its decision can provide the iPad Professional a run for its cash: packing 2800 x 1840 pixels throughout its 12-inch display, it’s able to a 280 ppi pixel density, whereas Apple’s largest high-end pill sits at 2752 x 2064 and 264 ppi. So whereas 4K movies didn’t look fairly as crisp as on my TCL C8K TV, I used to be nonetheless pleasantly shocked by how a lot element the 12X might reveal.

The sheer brightness of Huawei’s slate additionally made an impression on me. Whereas its 1000-nit peak brightness can’t fairly rival the iPad Professional’s 1600 nits, it leaves the iPad 11-inch (2025) fairly actually within the shade with a brightness of simply 500 nits. Placing the display by means of its paces with some 4K BBC Earth movies on YouTube, I discovered it’s additionally able to fairly punchy distinction and first rate shade copy. It may not be fairly as lush and daring because the OLED shows of some slates today, however it’s a looker nonetheless.

It’s actually helped on this regard by Huawei’s PaperMatte display tech. Throughout most of my testing, I used to be utilizing the MatePad 12X underneath vibrant, synthetic lighting, and this factor simply gulped down direct mild, which means I not often needed to fear about reflections marring my expertise.

On prime of this, the PaperMatte show’s etched glass was a deal with to work together with, giving the display a pleasingly tactile really feel. It doesn’t really feel fairly as life like to jot down and sketch on with Huawei’s M-Pencil stylus as devoted writing tablets just like the Kindle Scribe or ReMarkable – the nib slips greater than I’ve skilled with these rival slates – however I nonetheless discovered it nice sufficient to sketch on. And not less than this smoothness prevented the stylus from catching an excessive amount of.

Actually, my solely criticism of the MatePad 12X’s show is how straightforward it’s to mark. I’ve solely used it for a few sketches up to now, and there’s already a pronounced pen scuff seen on the display when it’s powered down. These sorts of marks might simply construct up over time, so if you happen to had been to purchase the MatePad 12X, a display protector can be a sensible funding.

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: design

Simply 5.9mm thickSolidly builtNot probably the most adventurous design

In terms of its design, the Huawei MatePad 12X is inoffensive, virtually to a fault. There’s nothing improper with its matte plastic physique or its two colorways – White and the mint-colored Greenery – per se, however a metallic construct might need helped it really feel only a contact extra premium.

Luckily, it’s properly put collectively, feeling substantial and durable sufficient in your hand whereas being mild sufficient to carry simply. In truth, whereas it’s a shade heavier than the iPad 11-inch (2025), weighing in at 555g to 481g for Apple’s mobile mannequin, it’s a little bit slimmer on the identical time, measuring 5.9mm in depth moderately than 7mm.

Huawei is reinventing the wheel right here, however the MatePad 12X’s case is properly designed. It follows the widespread mould of mixing case, keyboard and stand multi function, however is versatile sufficient to swimsuit each state of affairs I used to be utilizing it for. And its keys are nice to sort on. Naturally, they don’t have the satisfying thunk of deeper journey keys, however not less than they provide sufficient suggestions that I by no means discovered contact typing on them to be a problem.

One small oversight right here in comparison with rivals just like the iPad 11-inch (2025) or Microsoft Floor Professional 12 (2025) is that the case doesn’t embody a trackpad. Whereas I’d usually class this as a ‘good to have’, you’ll most likely solely miss it once you wish to crank by means of a number of productiveness {and professional} makes use of. And right here the Huawei MatePad 12X has a lot larger points that dwarf the dearth of a mouse enter.

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: software program

Glorious first-party appsToo few acquainted apps availableSome pointless bloatware

Look. All of us knew we would must have ‘the discuss’ in some unspecified time in the future. Most of you’ll be conscious of the massive problem dealing with Huawei tablets by now, given they’ve been ongoing for over three years at this level. Nevertheless it’s virtually inconceivable to evaluation Huawei gadgets objectively with out bringing it up.

On account of the Federal Communications Fee’s ban on Huawei in November 2022, many US-based manufacturers not present entry to their apps on Huawei gadgets. Most notably, that features the Google Play Retailer and full Google Suite, however it additionally impacts the overwhelming majority of apps you’ll be used to utilizing.

Searching the Huawei AppGallery, virtually all of my go-to apps are absent. Spotify? Gone. Netflix? Gone. Fb? Gone. Amazon? Gone. None of them can be found as direct downloads. Though some are accessible as third-party APKs, this exposes you to potential safety dangers that downloading them instantly wouldn’t. Certain, the odd app like Uber will fireplace up a browser model so you possibly can nonetheless ebook a journey, however you’re nonetheless dropping all of the comfort that having an app put in in your desktop provides.

Inevitably, this additionally has a major affect on the video games which can be accessible on the MatePad 12X. I most likely spend extra of my life taking part in cell video games than is strictly good for me, and but, apart from PUBG Cellular and Sweet Crush Saga, I barely acknowledged any of the opposite video games on the Huawei AppGallery. The few I had heard of had been these video games you see marketed on-line with advertisements that don’t remotely mirror the gameplay, which didn’t fill me with confidence about digging by means of the charts at random.

What’s irritating about that is that it is solely out of Huawei’s management and, in actual fact, the apps it does management are well-made and supply nice options. For instance, Huawei’s GoPaint app is a fairly nice drawing app for one thing simply bundled in with an working system, feeling rather a lot like if ProCreate got here preinstalled in your iPad. It’s filled with brushes and mixing choices, and I had no finish of enjoyable whipping up watercolor-style photos on it.

Likewise, Huawei’s Notes app is significantly versatile. I might rapidly create notebooks with each template I’d want, from musical staves to SWOT evaluation charts. Its handwriting-to-text characteristic isn’t flawless, however given the chicken-scratch I produce any time I scribble by hand, it did a fairly commendable job.

Not each app that comes put in on the MatePad 12X feels this important, although; there’s nonetheless a number of bloatware on this pill. I’m undoubtedly over manufacturers making an attempt to cram icons onto the homescreen simply to make their gadgets really feel full-featured. Even when, as right here, many are simply steered downloads moderately than information taking over house, it’s fairly annoying to have your display filled with junk you’re not taken with.

Finally, software program continues to be Huawei’s Achilles’ heel. Regardless of some vibrant spots, there’s simply not sufficient big-name apps on the MatePad 12X for me to shake the sensation that I’m lacking out on all of the enjoyable different individuals are having on their tablets.

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: efficiency

First rate chipset and RAMHandles multitasking with none sluggish downGames present no FPS drops or lag

The actual disgrace about this lack of software program is that, beneath the hood, the Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 has some fairly first rate energy. Not solely does it rock a Kirin T92B Octa-core processor, however it additionally packs 12GB RAM, the identical quantity of reminiscence as our choose for the Finest Android pill, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Plus. However what does this all imply in the actual world?

Properly, first, I needed to see the way it fared with a spread of productiveness duties. This wasn’t straightforward with out full entry to Google’s famously memory-hungry internet apps, however I attempted to open as many background duties as attainable. First, I loaded a few video games and a few apps earlier than opening the browser, the place I opened quite a lot of tabs, together with Shein and Asos, a number of Reddit threads, a information web site, and a 4K YouTube video. As soon as I began sketching in a free on-line photo-editing instrument, I used to be happy to see there wasn’t any important slowdown.

Broadly talking, the identical appears to be true of video games. Loading up PUBG Cellular and setting the graphics settings to most, I didn’t discover any important FPS drops; each second remained clean and jitter-free. In the meantime, there was no trace of lag or latency, making it straightforward for me to get the drop on most opponents I got here throughout earlier than they bought me.

Utilizing the Huawei M-Pencil Professional for numerous duties, it turned clear that it’s properly value the additional spend. It was all the time snug and simply manoeuvrable in my hand, and by no means so mild that it felt flimsy or insubstantial. Whereas sketching on apps just like the GoPaint app, it was tremendous responsive – there was no noticeable jitter or lag, and no apparent parallax between the stylus nib and the brushstrokes it created.

Most likely the one space the place the MatePad 12X 2025’s efficiency is a bit more blended is its digicam. It’s crisp and captures loads of element, however not fairly as a lot as I’d count on from its 50MP lens. And whereas it’s not likely truthful evaluating it to the iPhone 16 Professional I’m used to taking pictures on, I did really feel among the images had been missing within the HDR pop I’ve come to count on. Finally, it’s not a foul digicam, however as with every pill, I doubt it’s going to develop into your go-to snapper.

Huawei MatePad 12X 2025 evaluation: battery

Large 10,100mAh battery capacitySeriously quick 66W wired chargingCan stream virtually 9 hours of two.5K video