Huawei unveils the Mate Xs and MatePad Pro 5G w/ no Play Store access

Damien Wilde | Feb 24 2020 - 5:29 am PT

Huawei has officially unveiled its second-generation Mate Xs foldable and MatePad Pro 5G tablet at a closed-door launch event in Barcelona.

The event went ahead, even though MWC 2020 was cancelled due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, with the duo given top billing during a live-streamed launch event.

Both devices will rely heavily on the Huawei AppGallery, which will be the default app store for everyone globally. This was expected ahead of time, as the US-trade bans remain very much in place for the foreseeable future.

The Huawei Mate Xs is a refresh of the folding Mate X unveiled at MWC last year. It comes with a Kirin 990 5G chipset, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of internal storage, and a 4,500mAh split battery. When unfolded, it retains the same 8-inch display as seen last year, but with some improvements made to the display structure that is said to be 80% stronger than the previous display. When folded, you get a 6.6-inch almost bezel-free front display and 6.38-inch rear display.

Huawei has also enhanced the Falcon Wing back-to-back folding design, which feels smoother and more stable than on the previous model. The upgraded Huawei Mate Xs will retail for €2,499 for the 8GB RAM, 512GB storage variant and will be available for purchase later this year.

The Chinese firm also announced the MatePad Pro 5G, which is one of the world’s first 5G-connected tablets. The 10.8-inch Android-powered tablet will also lack access to the Google Play Store. It too comes with the Kirin 990 5G chipset, either 6 or 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and comes with a large 7,250mAh battery — which can be charged wirelessly.

There is also room for a dual-camera setup on the rear, with an upper left punch hole notch within the AMOLED display for video calls and selfie-taking. Huawei will also offer a number of optional accessories for the Huawei MatePad Pro 5G, including an M-Pencil stylus and detachable keyboard stand cover.

Both the Huawei Mate Xs and MatePad Pro 5G come with EMUI 10 atop Android 10 out of the box. For those wondering, the software is essentially the same as you would expect with a standard Google Play certified device, just without direct or official access to the Google Play Store.

With a very iPad Pro-like design, the MatePad Pro 5G will retail for €749 for the 8GB RAM, 256GB storage model and will be available to purchase from April 2020. A limited Wi-Fi only model will start at €549 for the 6GB RAM, 128GB storage option.