Huawei MatePad Mini Unveiled with 8.8-inch OLED Display and Satellite Connectivity

Huawei has just unveiled a new compact tablet for all those who didn't dive into the trend of massive slates. The new Huawei MatePad Mini 8.8-inch is what we can call a premium compact tablet in today's standards. The device brings a gorgeous OLED display and some features that are only seen among premium devices, like satellite connectivity.

The Huawei MatePad Mini features an 8.8-inch OLED screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 2,560 x 1,600 pixels of resolution. The panel also has 120Hz refresh rate. It's very brigth for a tablet with 1.800 nits, and has 10-bit colors with HDR Vivid certification. The tablet is smaller than the Mate XT Ultimate, which unfolds to 10.2-inch. There is also a Soft Light version, which reduces the screen reflectivity, making using it on exteriors a convenient experience. It also offers compatibility with Huawei's M-Pencil Pro stylus.

The Huawei MatePad Mini dimensions are 198.6 x 127.3 x 5.1mm. It's very sleek and compact - there is an emphasis on this in a market soon to be crowded with slim smartphones and tablets. The device has a 6,400mAh battery, which is small for a tablet, especially when some smartphones easily cross this threshold. Despite this, Huawei promises up to 15 and a half hours of video playback. The battery also comes with 66W fast-charging support, which full charge taking about an hour. 

The tablet comes with a 32 MP front-facing camera. There is a 50 MP main camera on the back and an 8 MP ultrawide snapper. The rear camera can record 4K videos, while the front one is capped at 1080p.

The device comes with cellular connectivity and can handle voice calls. Another interesting addition is support for two-way satellite messaging with the BeiDou system. Other wireless connections include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2, and the home-grown alternative to Bluetooth called StarFlash. There is no NFC. The device comes with a USB-C 3.0 port for data and charging.

The tablet comes with HarmonyOS 5.1 and under the hood comes with a chipset of some sort... pun intended, it's hard to say which chipset is inside as Huawei is secretive in this regard. The device does come with 12 GB of RAM and 256/512GB of Storage. The Soft Light version sells only in the 512 GB model. The MateMad Mini comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner underneath the power button. There are also stereo speakers for immersive and loud audio output.

The MatePad Mini sells in Obsidian Black, Snow White, and Spruce Green. The 12GB/256GB variant costs CNY 4,000 ($560). The option with 12GB/512GB costs about CNY 4,500, and you'll need to pay CNY 500 more if you want the Soft Light option. There is a small CNY ($14) discount for early birds. Note that picking the Soft Light option may affect which colors will be available.