Huawei MatePad 10.4 Unboxing and First Impressions

We have the Huawei MatePad 10.4 today and here is our first look and unboxing experience.

Huawei MatePad first impressions

As a recap, the Huawei MatePad 10.4 features a 10.4-inch IPS screen with a 2000 x 1200 resolution. Inside, it features the 12nm 2.0GHz Kirin 710A octa-core processor, Mali-G51 MP4 GOU, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 7,250mAh with 18W USB-C fast charging. 

For cameras, 13MP f/1.8 main camera with AF and LED flash. For selfies, 8MP f/2.0 sensor.

It runs HarmonyOS 2.0 out of the box too.

Without further ado, let's dive in for our first impressions!

Unboxing/Accessories

What's in the box?

The Huawei MatePad 10.4 came in a minimalist white box with the name of the device plastered in the middle and a small Huawei logo at the top right. The box is simple yet feels premium and elegant.

Opening the box, you are greeted by the device itself. Under it, there is a smaller box containing the USB-C cord and the SIM eject tool. On the other compartment is the 18W charging brick.

The Huawei M-Pencil and Smart Keyboard

Our unit also came with the Huawei M-Pencil and Smart Keyboard protective case. The Huawei M-Pencil comes in a smaller box and comes with a magnetic charger. The Smart Keyboard comes in a separate box as well.

Build Quality/Design

The Huawei MatePad maintains a premium build and design

The Huawei MatePad 10.4 features a metal back and sides with glass protecting the screen upfront. The camera hump is also made out of metal and glass as well. It is also pretty light at 450 g and slim at 7.35 mm at its thickest. Overall, the Huawei MatePad feels elegant and premium in the hand.

Back of the Huawei MatePad 10.4

Holding the device with one hand is doable for me but I do have bigger hands. It is obvious that this is meant for two-hand operation or a laptop substitute especially with the Smart Keyboard and the M-Pencil support. The corners of the device are rounded too. It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet at the back with its Matte Grey color.

The screen

The front features a glass slab on top of the device. It has average size bezels. What we mean is that they are not really thick but not as thin as some of the more premium tablets on the market.

Selfie camera

The bezels are far from being distracting though. The bezel on top (when in landscape mode) houses the selfie camera which means that there is no punch-hole or notch to break immersion.

Top of the device

Bottom of the device

On top of the device, you can find the power button and two of the speaker grilles. The bottom houses the USB-C port and two more speaker grilles.

On the right side of the device

The left side of the device

SIM card tray

On the right side are the volume keys while the left side is housing the SIM card tray. The SIM card tray does not have any rubber gasket so there's no water protection here. It can carry one SIM card and a microSD card.

Rear camera

At the back is the camera bump with the single 13MP rear camera with LED flash.

The Huawei MatePad measures 245.2 x 154.96 x 7.35 mm.

Huawei MatePad 10.4 Specs

Display: 10.4-inch IPS screen w/ 2K 2000 x 1200 resolution at 224 ppi

CPU: 2.0GHz 14nm Kirin 710A octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G51 MP4

RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 128GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 512GB

Back Camera: 13MP w/ AF + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8MP ultra-wide-angle

Battery: 7,250mAh w/ 18W fast charging

OS: HarmonyOS 2.0

Connectivity: dual-band WiFi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1, BLE, SBC, AAC, OTG GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: 4x Harman Kardon speakers, 3x microphones, M-Pencil stylus support, Colors: Matte Grey

Dimensions: 245.2 mm x 154.96 mm x 7.35 mm

Weight: 450 g

Price: PHP 18,999

As of the moment

Our thoughts so far

The Huawei MatePad 10.4 still has a premium design and has a lot of flexibility in terms of productivity with support for the M-Pencil and Smart Keyboard. In addition, the MatePad 10.4 is also Super Device ready which allows it to connect to Huawei's collaborative ecosystem.

The phrase Super Device refers to a variety of connectivity features, with a concentration on creating a Smart Office. Super Device also includes simple travel, health and fitness, and entertainment, with the overarching goal of improving user connectivity between devices.

With that said, the Huawei MatePad 10.4 when paired with the Smart Keyboard and M-Pencil aims to provide a PC-like experience especially since HarmonyOS 2.0 features a dedicated desktop mode. Add the Super Device collaborative ecosystem and you get a pretty extensive productivity suite.

However, at PHP 18,999, the disappointing part here is the new MatePad 10.4 features a big downgrade in terms of SoC with a Kirin 710A from the previous model's Kirin 820. We hope it does not feel that outdated in normal usage.

Anyway, as expected, the 2K IPS screen looks amazing so far for multimedia and work. It is bright and vibrant. The camera also saw a bump compared to the past 10.4 model from 8MP to 13MP at the back.

We will be using the MatePad as an extension of our work setup to see how it performs.

Stay tuned for the full review soon!

What do you guys think?