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Huawei MatePad 11.5: one-minute review
If you’re looking for a new tablet to take to uni, or just to use in your downtime, the Huawei MatePad 11.5 is a solid affordable option.
It packs plenty of power for everyday use, with 8GB of RAM and a very capable processor, a commendable 2.5K resolution, and even a 120Hz refresh rate, meaning you’ll typically get smooth, hassle-free performance. Yes, for more demanding applications, such as larger online games, you can’t expect peak performance, but for £349 (or £399 with a keyboard), that’s to be expected.
Like a lot of the best cheap tablets, the Huawei MatePad 11.5 has a decently colourful display, albeit not the brightest or most detailed. But the real draw here is the anti-glare tech, which makes it ideal for outdoor use. Pair that with the PaperMatte texture of the screen, which emulates a pen-to-paper feel effortlessly, and you’ll almost certainly enjoy what’s on offer here – especially if you’re big into drawing.
One of the key drawbacks for the MatePad 11.5, however, is the restrictive nature of its AppGallery storefront. Due to some restrictions on Huawei, you won’t be able to install apps from Google, Meta, and a whole host of others – not natively, at least. There’s a lot missing on AppGallery – not just Google stuff, but also some of the most popular mobile games. For many (including me), that’s a big problem.
Design-wise, the MatePad 11.5 is nothing special – it’s a little slimmer than its predecessors at 6.1mm thick, but a tad heavier. That’s perhaps due to an enhanced battery – you get a 10,100mAh capacity battery this time around, which enables multiple days of general use.
You get pretty standard camera quality, a handy foldable case/keyboard (if you choose to bundle it with the tablet), and M-Pen 3rd Gen compatibility, which all help to make the MatePad a capable, well-rounded tablet for students and casual users alike.
Unfortunately, its restrictions in terms of software, as well as its insistence on littering the home screen with bloatware, mean that you can do a little bit better in this price class – check out the ‘Also consider’ section for recommendations. Otherwise, head on over to our list of the best tablets around.
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: price & release date
- £349 without keyboard
- £399 with keyboard
- Launched in August 2025
The Huawei MatePad 11.5 launched in August 2025, and is available either with, or without a keyboard. If you’re fine with the tablet on its own, this model will set you back £349, but you’ll have to throw in an additional £50 to get the keyboard thrown in.
It’s also worth noting that anyone hoping to use the Huawei M-Pencil with this tablet will have to purchase it separately. I used the compatible Huawei M-Pencil 3rd Gen with the MatePad, which is available for £64.99 on Huawei’s digital storefront at the time of writing.
You can purchase the MatePad 11.5 in either Space Grey or Violet, though it’s worth noting that only the Space Grey edition can be bought without a keyboard.
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: specs
|
OS |
HarmonyOS 4.3 |
|
Chipset |
Kirin 8020, octa-core |
|
RAM |
8GB |
|
Storage |
256GB |
|
Display |
11.5-inch TFT LCD (2456 × 1600) |
|
Weight |
515g |
|
Battery |
10,100mAh |
|
Charging |
40W wired |
|
Cameras |
13MP rear, 8MP front |
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: display
- Paper-like TFT LCD screen ideal for drawing
- Decently bright, colourful display…
- …but pricier models offer more detailed, sharper quality
As you may have guessed, this Huawei tablet has an 11.5-inch display, making it compact enough to throw in a smaller-sized bag. It uses a PaperMatte TFT LCD screen, which is fantastic for drawing tools thanks to an almost paper-like feel.
Yep, whether I was writing out words or painting a masterpiece (a doodle of a penguin), the Huawei M-Pen seamlessly glided across the slate, while still feeling controlled and precise.
In terms of picture quality, I’d argue that the MatePad 11.5 is good, rather than great. There are, of course, some obvious limitations for this type of display, especially given it’s priced in the more budget-friendly range. As a result, images don’t always look the most detailed or eye-poppingly bright. Still, you’re getting a commendably colourful, essentially glare-free screen, which offers solid “2.5K” video quality.
That’s right, this model uses a 2456 x 1600 resolution, meaning you can stream shows on Netflix or videos via YouTube to a fairly high standard. Peak luminance is 600 nits, which means the tablet can be used in well-lit outdoor conditions as well as inside, ideal for outside study sessions or meetings.
Oh, and one more thing, the MatePad 11.5 has a 120Hz refresh rate, meaning scrolling, drawing, and menu navigation is nice and smooth – but we’ll speak a little more about that in the performance section.
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: design
- Thin yet fairly hefty
- Convenient folding case/keyboard
- Classy yet limited colour options
The Huawei MatePad 11.5 is a pretty run of the mill tablet design-wise. It’s decently slim with a thickness of 6.1mm, yet it’s still got a decent amount of weight to it at over 515g. Its volume buttons are nicely sized and positioned on the right side of the tablet, while the power button resides up top.
You can grab this model in either Space Grey or Violet, and both options play to the minimalistic vibe of the slate nicely. Some may hope for a few more options though, especially given that the latest entry level iPad comes in four eye-catching colour variants.
Something I really like about the MatePad 11.5, though, is the keyboard/case combo that it can be purchased with. The tablet easily slots in, protecting the screen when you’re out and about.
Meanwhile, the base of the device can be attached to the case to create a stand, enabling you to use the tablet almost as a laptop. This is quick and easy to set up, and gives the MatePad 11.5 a real air of flexibility.
The keyboard itself is very condensed, and some may find it to be a little cramped. But the keyboard’s compact form factor is useful if you want to use it on a train, for example, and I found that I adjusted to its smaller size fairly quickly.
The actual quality of the keyboard is fairly impressive – it’s responsive, but the keys do admittedly look a little cheap. It’s also worth noting that there’s no trackpad here, something you’ll find on a model like the Huawei MatePad Pro PaperMatte Edition.
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: software
- Quite a bit of bloatware
- Restrictive app store
- OS is simple yet effective
Unfortunately for the Huawei MatePad 11.5, things get a bit sticky when we’re talking about software. I’ll start by saying that setup, though fairly straightforward, felt a little frustrating at times due to the density of pop-ups and permission requests. And after I got through to the tablet’s home menu, I was also met with a healthy portion of bloatware: Honour of Kings, Temu… Baby Panda World?
I’ve mentioned it in some of my other reviews here at TechRadar, but I really dislike this – I want the essentials, sure, but I can download Baby Panda World on my own accord, thank you very much.
Speaking of downloads, you’ll make the bulk of these via Huawei’s AppGallery, which is unfortunately not the best digital storefront I’ve used. It’s fairly simple to use, yes, but there’s a lot missing from here. I’m not going to drill into the political background here, but essentially, a lot of the apps you’d expect to see on an app store in 2025, just aren’t.
Google apps will appear in search, but are only available via a third party site. And still, this won’t download the relevant apps, it simply grants access, meaning you may as well just use Google Maps or YouTube, for example, via the web. Meta apps like Facebook and Instagram are missing too, which some may find frustrating. My go-to game for testing, Genshin Impact, was also missing.
There are some stand-ins available – Petal Maps works well if you need directions, restaurant recommendations, and the like. But if you want easy access to the widest range of software, the MatePad 11.5 might not be for you.
Meanwhile, Huawei’s HarmonyOS is well laid out, responsive, and plenty familiar for Android users. The OS enables a bunch of useful productivity features that students will welcome too, such as split screen and floating window modes. Both of these worked great in my experience, though it’s worth noting that not every app is compatible with split-screen mode.
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: performance
- Up-to-scratch for daily productivity needs
- Computing power not top-tier, but enough for scrolling, streaming, and light gaming
- Compact yet effective keyboard
The Huawei MatePad 11.5 is a pretty steady performer, coming through with 8GB of RAM and a Kirin 8020, octa-core chipset, meaning it’s plenty good enough for daily productivity and entertainment needs.
Whether I was drawing on the impressive GoPaint software, surfing the web, or watching video content, the tablet had more than enough firepower to handle such tasks. The 120Hz display also enables navigation that’s smooth and easy on the eye.
More demanding activities – such as playing larger online games like PUBG Mobile – will show some slight limitations in terms of framerate and graphical quality. But still, you should be able to game, stream, and work without too much of a compromise on performance.
And again, this tablet is marketed more towards those studying or working, and it’s certainly powerful enough for those basic necessities. The MatePad 11.5 is also very pleasant to use for such activities. For tasks like note-taking, I found scribbling on the PaperMatte surface to be incredibly fluid, while typing on the keyboard was accurate and keys were pleasant to press down on.
There’s also a rear and front-facing camera if you need to quickly snap a slide, for example. These aren’t particularly wonderful quality-wise, but get the job done.
The M-Pen is also extremely comfortable to hold and never let me down with mis-inputs or glitchy behaviour. This is sold separately, but I’d highly recommend adding it to your arsenal if you’re interested in a Huawei tablet, it really feels excellent to use whether drawing or writing.
While we’re talking performance, a quick word on AI. This isn’t front and centre, nor is it shoehorned into every application on the Huawei MatePad 11.5 – something that’s almost refreshing at this point.
There are however, a few AI tools, such as AI handwriting enhancement on the Notes app, which simply makes your scribbles a little clearer. Other inclusions, like AI Voice and AI Search are pretty commonplace in the market, but I didn’t really feel the need to use these.
Finally, gestures all work smoothly and enable you to cycle through the tablet’s menus without a hitch. You can switch to button controls if you’d prefer, but I was more than happy to stick with swiping up to close apps, back to return to a previous page, and away from a corner for the annotation tool.
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: battery
- Generous 10,100mAh battery capacity
- 40W wired charging
- Most users should get well over a day’s use from one charge
The Huawei MatePad 11.5 boasts a 10,100mAh capacity battery, so as you can imagine, one charge will last a considerable amount of time. Huawei states, in fact, that you can expect 14 hours of uninterrupted local video playback – of course, if you’re streaming at the highest resolution possible, you’re not gonna get quite so much.
I watched a 2.5K video at high brightness for a matter of three to four hours and the battery depleted by around 50%, for instance. Generally, though, I found that there was more than enough battery life to enable multiple days of gaming, drawing, note-taking, and streaming.
And although 40W wired charging may not seem all too impressive, you can still bring the MatePad 11.5 back to life fairly swiftly. Huawei says that the tablet can reach full charge from 0% in 94 minutes thanks to Huawei SuperCharge – but that’s only if you use the official plug and cable included in the box.
When using my UGreen Uno Charger 100W and a longer USB-C cable, it took more than two hours to reach 100%.
Should I buy the Huawei MatePad 11.5?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Display |
Not the brightest or most detailed, but decently bright, pleasing PaperMatte texture. |
4/5 |
|
Design |
Pretty standard looks-wise, decently slim, convenient case. |
3.5/5 |
|
Software |
AppGallery omits a lot of crucial apps, some restrictions, but UI is simple and well presented. |
2.5/5 |
|
Performance |
Mighty enough for general productivity, even though it’s barely a powerhouse. |
4/5 |
|
Battery |
Good battery capacity, need to use an official charger for Huawei SuperCharge. |
4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Huawei MatePad 11.5: also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Huawei MatePad 11.5 |
Apple iPad 11-inch (2025) |
Lenovo Idea Tab Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Starting price |
£349.99 |
£329 |
£379.99 |
|
OS |
HarmonyOS 4.3 |
iPadOS 18 |
Android 14 |
|
Chipset |
Kirin 8020, octa-core |
A16 |
Mediatek Dimensity 8300 |
|
RAM |
8GB |
6GB |
8GB |
|
Storage |
256GB |
128GB / 256GB / 512GB |
128GB / 256GB |
|
Display |
11.5-inch TFT LCD (2456 × 1600) |
11-inch IPS LCD (2360 x 1640) |
12.7-inch IPS LCD (2944 x 1840) |
|
Weight |
515g |
475g (without cellular), 480g (with cellular) |
620g |
|
Battery |
10,100mAh |
28.93Wh |
10,200mAh |
|
Charging |
40W wired |
45W wired |
45W wired |
|
Cameras |
13MP rear, 8MP front |
12MP rear, 12MP front |
13MP rear, 8MP front |
Huawei MatePad 11.5 review: how I tested
- Tested for one week
- Tried out all major features
- Streamed video, played games, made notes, used drawing tools
I used the Huawei MatePad 11.5 as my primary tablet for one week, using it for everything from note taking through to video streaming. During this period, I tested out just about every possible feature, including the tablet’s cameras, drawing tools, gaming capabilities, app store, various settings, and so much more.
On top of that, I measured the time taken for the MatePad 11.5 to hit full charge, assessed the quality of the included keyboard, and experimented with the M-Pen 3rd Gen, which we were sent alongside the tablet itself.
I’ve tested tons of tech here at TechRadar, including drawing tablets, the newest smartphones, audio gear, and TVs. And more generally, TechRadar has reviewed 100s of tablets and has been testing products for more than 15 years.
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harry.padoan@futurenet.com (Harry Padoan)
