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MagyarHuawei MatePad 10.4 Tablet Review: An all-rounder without Google
Huawei has produced a mid-range 10.4-inch tablet with a decent amount of features. Its 2K display, surround sound from 4 speakers and the optional Huawei M-Pencil position the Android on par with equally capable and similarly priced competitors such as the Apple iPad 7 (2019) or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
The Huawei tablet is powered by the octa-core SoC Huawei Kirin 810 which supplies it with a fair amount of performance. The MatePad 10.4 comes in two configurations with either 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage or 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84.7 % | 10/2020 | Huawei MatePad 10.4 Kirin 810, Mali-G52 MP6 | 460 g | 7.35 mm | 10.40" | 2000x1200 | |
| 83.1 % | 06/2020 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Exynos 9611, Mali-G72 MP3 | 467 g | 7 mm | 10.40" | 2000x1200 | |
| 79.4 % | 01/2020 | Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F SD 439, Adreno 505 | 580 g | 23 mm | 10.10" | 1920x1200 | |
| 85.4 % | 10/2019 | Apple iPad 7 2019 A10 Fusion, A10 Fusion GPU | 483 g | 7.5 mm | 10.20" | 2160x1620 | |
| 78.9 % | 12/2019 | Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 MT8183, Mali-G72 MP3 | 504 g | 9.8 mm | 10.10" | 1920x1200 |
Case - Huawei MatePad 10.4 with slim case
The Huawei MatePad 10.4 is an attractive tablet. Its 7.5 mm case is made of magnesium alloy, which gives it a smart look and feel while also making it very stable. The narrow 7.9-mm bezel further contributes to the elegant exterior of this 10.4-inch tablet. Its four speakers, which are positioned along the short sides, produce a rich sound. Another advantage is its low weight: At 450 g, the MatePad 10.4 feels comfortably light. Some of its competitors weigh quite a bit more than that.
The Huawei tablet comes in a matte "midnight grey" (every configuration). While it is not normally equipped with the digital input pen Huawei M-Pencil, this accessory can be purchased for an extra $100 or so.
Connectivity - up to 4/64 GB storage for the MatePad 10.4
Huawei has made two basic configurations of the MatePad 10.4 available: Our test unit with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage or a version with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. In both cases, the buyer can decide whether or not they would like to complement the Wi-Fi module with LTE capabilities.
Our test unit only had around 17.2 GB of the initial 32 GB of storage available after a factory reset / the initial setup. Fortunately, storage capacity can be expanded by up to 512 GB via a microSD card, which should be enough to last you quite a while for multimedia content. App data cannot be stored on the microSD card, however.
The USB-OTG compatible USB C port runs at USB 2.0 speeds and serves as an audio jack if you connect the included adapter (USB-C to 3.5 mm).
Software - Android 10, EMUI 10, no Google
The MatePad 10.4 uses Android 10 as a base on which Huawei has installed its user interface EMUI 10.1. There are only a few minor differences between EMUI and the standard Android setup, which should make the tablet easy to use even if you don't know the interface. The Android security patches were dated August 1st at the time of testing (mid-September) which is still fairly up-to-date.
As Huawei has been hit by US sanctions, their current smartphones and tablets cannot make use of the Google universe. This means that the MatePad 10.4 cannot use the Google Play Store nor other Google services such as YouTube, Gmail and Maps. Unfortunately, this also means that the MatePad 10.4 does not have a DRM Widevine L1 certification, which is unfortunate for a multimedia tablet as this means that it cannot display streams in HD quality (e.g. from Netflix).
Huawei has provided its own app store, App Gallery, to replace Google Play. However, the store still lacks a lot of apps that are available from the top dog Google. Huawei is doing their best to close these gaps. One way they are trying to make up for the missing Google store is the App Petal Search function, which is accessible from the search bar on the home screen and searches for apps in the App Gallery but also in third-party app stores such as APKPure or APKGK. However, installing apps from these unofficial sources does represent a security risk.
Communication and GPS - precise positioning outdoors
The LTE version of the MatePad 10.4 can also be used for surfing without a Wi-Fi hotspot and covers a fairly wide range of 4G frequencies, which means that reception should be no issue at least within Europe. While the manufacturer does not give any information on LTE speeds, the LTE modem integrated into the Kirin 810 SoC generally supports maximum downloads / uploads of 1400 MBit/s / 200 MBit/s, which is quite good.
Apart from Bluetooth 5.1, the MatePad 10.4 also uses Wi-Fi 5 for short distance communication, although we are not particularly impressed by its performance. The tablet only managed a meagre 56.5 MBit/s when receiving in our test with the Netgear Nighthawk AX12 reference router. This is not as fast as our other comparison devices. Sending speeds are normal with an average of 264 MBit/s. Only the Amazon Fire HD 10 (2019) offers even faster speeds in this direction.
The MatePad 10.4 uses the satellite navigation systems GPS Glonass, Galileo and BeiDou for positioning. The tablet was not able to identify our position indoors, even after giving it a fair amount of time. While you will need some patience, the tablet was finally able to locate our position within 4 meters after around 15 seconds outdoors.
Once the MatePad 10.4 has identified its position, it tracks subsequent movements precisely, which was confirmed by the result of our short bicycle test. The tablet does a surprisingly good job compared to the professional navigation system Garmin Edge 500 and does not seem to do any worse at guiding us to our destination.
Cameras- surprisingly good 8-MP lens
We usually don't expect tablets to provide as good a camera as smartphones do. The Huawei MatePad 10.4 has not let this pass as an excuse to provide a subpar experience. The manufacturer has actually managed to create a fairly decent camera for tablet standards. The photos taken with the tablet's 8-MP lens can have up to 3264 x 2448 pixels while videos can be recorded at up to 1080p and 30 images per second.
The main camera really comes into its own in natural daylight (Scenes 1 and 2). It can capture vivid pictures with balanced colors in these lighting conditions, albeit details not being very sharp. This becomes particularly visible in scene 3: At 5x zoom, you'll need to do quite a bit of guesswork to realize that those are coffee tables on the castle terrace. But the quality is definitely sufficient for occasional snapshots.
You might want to avoid taking photos with the tablet at night or in bad lighting conditions, as the pictures do not come out nicely but rather look like a muddle of pixels with a lot of image noise.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Tageslicht-Szene 1Tageslicht-Szene 25-facher ZoomLowlight
The MatePad 10.4 provides the same performance under controlled lighting as it does in everyday situations. In bad lighting conditions, which is simulated at 1 Lux in the top test chart, the tablet seemingly cannot display colors at all. The difference to the image taken under ideal lighting conditions is enormous. Here, the MatePad 10.4 doesn't seem to have any issues displaying colors precisely. It also does a good job at displaying the test chart.
Accessories & Warranty - 10-Watt AC adapter included
The MatePad 10.4 comes with a modular 10-Watt AC adapter (5W/2A), a USB cable (Type A to Type C), a Type C audio adapter cable (3.5 mm), a SIM tool, a quick start guide and warranty information. Optional accessories are the digital input pen Huawei M-Pencil and the keyboard dock Huawei Smart Keyboard.
Huawei offers 24 months warranty for its MatePad 10.4.
Input Devices & Handling - 4 microphones for video telephony
The octa-core SoC Kirin 810 gives the MatePad 10.4 plenty of power. During testing we never got the impression that the tablet was overloaded by any application, whether we were browsing the web, playing multimedia content, navigating the EMUI interface or installing and starting apps. The MatePad 10.4 always responded quickly and reliably to inputs.
The tablet does not feature a fingerprint sensor. However, you can use the (not particularly safe) 2D face scan for biometric identification, which works quickly and reliably. Thanks to the function that corrects bad lighting, this feature works surprisingly well even in bad lighting. The tablet can also be unlocked by PIN and pattern or via the smart unlock feature. If you have a Bluetooth device, a fitness watch, for example, connected to your tablet, you can unlock the device from there without further confirmation.
The MatePad 10.4 is well-equipped for video telephony with its 4-speaker and 4-microphone system that includes noise cancelling. If you activate "FollowCam" in the Android accessibility settings, the selfie camera follows movements automatically, so that the user always remains in focus and at the center of the image.
Display - bright 2K display without PWM
The 10.4-inch IPS display of the Huawei MatePad 10.4 offers the 2K resolution that is typical for mid-range tablets (2000 x 1200 pixels). This ensures a sharp image. The display brightness reaches an average of 472 cd/m² and a maximum of 511 cd/m² on white background, which again is similar to what the competition has to offer.
If you repeat the luminosity measurement with evenly distributed light and dark image areas (APL50), the brightness increases to a maximum of 502 cd/m². The maximum without brightness sensor is 508 cd/m². The MatePad 10.4 does not use pulse-width modulation to modify display brightness, which sensitive users will be pleased to hear.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 511 cd/m²
Contrast: 964:1 (Black: 0.53 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.6 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1
ΔE Greyscale 6.5 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
96.6% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.19
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 IPS, 2000x1200, 10.40 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite TFT, 2000x1200, 10.40 | Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10 | Apple iPad 7 2019 IPS, 2160x1620, 10.20 | Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 IPS, 1920x1200, 10.10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 15% | 17% | 33% | 8% | |
| Brightness middle | 511 | 503 -2% | 392 -23% | 499 -2% | 449 -12% |
| Brightness | 472 | 477 1% | 359 -24% | 470 0% | 425 -10% |
| Brightness Distribution | 85 | 91 7% | 88 4% | 87 2% | 89 5% |
| Black Level * | 0.53 | 0.29 45% | 0.36 32% | 0.49 8% | 0.6 -13% |
| Contrast | 964 | 1734 80% | 1089 13% | 1018 6% | 748 -22% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.6 | 4.4 4% | 2.7 41% | 0.97 79% | 3.1 33% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 10.3 | 10.4 -1% | 5.4 48% | 1.98 81% | 6.4 38% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.5 | 7.5 -15% | 3.8 42% | 0.9 86% | 3.8 42% |
| Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.19 100% | 2.24 98% | 2.135 103% | 2.09 105% |
| CCT | 7553 86% | 7700 84% | 7276 89% | 6571 99% | 7202 90% |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 54 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18982 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The only image parameter that can be adjusted by the user is color temperature. This is not necessary, however, as the color temperature is already fine in the standard preset, despite being slightly too high at 7553 K, which means that images look slightly cooler and a bit more blue.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 21.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 7.6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 14 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 39 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 38.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 13.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 25.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 50 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (34.5 ms). | ||
Its high luminosity makes the MatePad 10.4 suitable for outdoor use. Due to the reflective display, however, we would recommend finding a shady spot for best readability. That said, you can still read the display fairly well even in direct sunlight.
Viewing angle stability is very good, as we would expect from an IPS panel. Only very wide - and therefore unrealistic - viewing angles might cause colors to fade or content to appear slightly darker than usual.
Performance - Huawei Kirin 810 steams ahead
The MatePad 10.4 is equipped with a mid-range SoC from Huawei itself - the Kirin 810. This CPU uses two fast ARM Cortex A76 cores that clock at up to 2.27 GHz as well as six A55 cores with a maximum clock rate of 1.88 GHz. The graphics department is taken care of by the six-core GPU ARM Mali-G52 MP6.
The Huawei MatePad 10.4 can beat its Android competition in the synthetic benchmarks and positions itself as one of the fastest mid-range tablets available. Only the Apple iPad 7 (2019) shows that there is still room for improvement in the GFXBench.
| Geekbench 5.2 - 5.5 | |
| Single-Core | |
| Average of class Tablet (140 - 1892, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (592 - 604, n=2) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Tablet (312 - 8524, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (1890 - 1949, n=2) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| OpenCL Score 5.1 | |
| Average of class Tablet (1219 - 10879, n=7, last 2 years) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Vulkan Score 5.1 | |
| Average of class Tablet (1237 - 9073, n=8, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| PCMark for Android | |
| Work performance score | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (9189 - 12070, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Work 2.0 performance score | |
| Average of class Tablet (6937 - 11351, n=5, last 2 years) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (7541 - 9164, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen | |
| Average of class Tablet (14 - 120, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (57 - 59, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen | |
| Average of class Tablet (15 - 873, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (85 - 89, n=3) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (49 - 55, n=3) | |
| Average of class Tablet (8.1 - 120, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen | |
| Average of class Tablet (7.3 - 494, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (47 - 53, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| GFXBench 3.1 | |
| on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen | |
| Average of class Tablet (4.8 - 118.3, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (30 - 34, n=3) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| 1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen | |
| Average of class Tablet (5 - 340, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (33 - 35, n=3) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
| AnTuTu v8 - Total Score | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (259370 - 319383, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | |
| Average of class Tablet (171346 - 192320, n=3, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | |
The MatePad 10.4 also manages to beat some of its Android competition with a wide margin in our browser benchmarks. But again, it doesn't stand much of a chance compared to the Apple iPad 7 (2019). This doesn't really impact the Huawei tablet's browsing experience, however, which is fast and satisfactory.
| Jetstream 2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Tablet (19.9 - 236, n=51, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 (Safari 13) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (43.2 - 55.4, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Huawei Browser 10.1.4.303) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Chrome 80.0.3987.99) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 (Silk Browser 75.3.60) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F (Chrome 79) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 (Safari 13) | |
| Average of class Tablet (57.3 - 436, n=20, last 2 years) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Huawei Browser 10.1.4.303) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (77.4 - 91.2, n=3) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Chrome 80.0.3987.99) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 (Silk Browser 75.3.60) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F (Chrome 79) | |
| WebXPRT 3 - --- | |
| Average of class Tablet (34 - 342, n=44, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 (Safari 13) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (71 - 97, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Huawei Browser 10.1.4.303) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Chrome 80.0.3987.99) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 (Silk Browser 75.3.60) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F (Chrome 79) | |
| Speedometer 2.0 - Result | |
| Average of class Tablet (14.7 - 376, n=45, last 2 years) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 (Safari 13) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (47.3 - 53.2, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Huawei Browser 10.1.4.303) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Chrome 80.0.3987.99) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 (Silk Browser 75.3.60) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F (Chrome 79) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 (Safari 13) | |
| Average of class Tablet (5004 - 74614, n=56, last 2 years) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (15947 - 17925, n=3) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Huawei Browser 10.1.4.303) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Chrome 80.0.3987.99) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 (Silk Browser 75.3.60) | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F (Chrome 79) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score | |
| Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F (Chrome 79) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 (Silk Browser 75.3.60) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Chrome 80.0.3987.99) | |
| Average HiSilicon Kirin 810 (2472 - 3731, n=3) | |
| Average of class Tablet (451 - 34733, n=52, last 2 years) | |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 (Huawei Browser 10.1.4.303) | |
| Apple iPad 7 2019 (Safari 13) | |
* ... smaller is better
Huawei does not go into detail on what kind of storage device is installed in the MatePad 10.4. The benchmarks show that the device uses an eMMC flash drive, which means that its speeds aren't particularly fast, but not too slow either. The sequential read rate confirms that content loads quickly while the other direction is a little slower but still fast enough.
While the Huawei MatePad 10.4 cannot compete with the read and write rates of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, the performance of its microSD card slot is on par with that of its competitors (reference card: Toshiba Exceria Pro M501).
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 | Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite | Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F | Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 | Average 32 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Tablet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 67% | 11% | -2% | -26% | 145% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 286 | 483.7 69% | 295.6 3% | 266.2 -7% | 242 ? -15% | 897 ? 214% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 97.2 | 219.3 126% | 238.9 146% | 180.1 85% | 100.5 ? 3% | 556 ? 472% |
| Random Read 4KB | 67.8 | 119.8 77% | 64.8 -4% | 75 11% | 43.1 ? -36% | 163.6 ? 141% |
| Random Write 4KB | 81.6 | 195.8 140% | 16.76 -79% | 23.28 -71% | 22.1 ? -73% | 157 ? 92% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 81.4 ? | 78.3 ? -4% | 86.5 ? 6% | 77.2 ? -5% | 71.8 ? -12% | 79.4 ? -2% |
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 70.7 ? | 65.3 ? -8% | 65.4 ? -7% | 52 ? -26% | 52.9 ? -25% | 38.4 ? -46% |
Games - Current games are displayed smoothly on the MatePad 10.4
The MatePad 10.4 does a good job as a gaming tablet. The smooth images are further enhanced by the great performance of the four speakers. Our measurements with Gamebench show that current games such as Asphalt 9:Legends and PUBG Mobile can be played at 30 FPS and high graphic details.
Emissions - Some throttling under load
Temperature
On the surface, the MatePad 10.4 hardly heats up under load and only reaches a maximum surface temperature of 31.4 °C after our one-hour continuous load test. Things look a little different on the inside.
The GFXBench battery test, which renders the same scene 30 times in a row, causes the tablet's performance to drop and then climb back up to maximum regularly after around the 13th round of the demanding Manhattan scenario. This means that the tablet might occasionally not be able to offer its maximum performance due to throttling. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. Performance only fluctuates minimally (i.e. remains high) during the graphically less demanding T-Rex scenario from GFXBench.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 31.4 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 34.1 °C / 93 F, ranging from 21.2 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 28.3 °C / 83 F, compared to the average of 33.5 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.9 °C / 80 F, compared to the device average of 30.2 °C / 86 F.
Speakers
The four speakers that are distributed on the two short sides of the tablet produce a good, strong sound that can reach up to 88.7 dB(A) with balanced mids and highs as well as decent base tones.
Users can connect external speakers or headsets via the included 3.5-mm audio jack adapter or via Bluetooth 5.1. If you connect headphones to the tablet, you can activate the Huawei Histen sound effects in the sound settings to further enhance the sound experience.
Huawei MatePad 10.4 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (88.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 16.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (12.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 16% of all tested devices in this class were better, 3% similar, 81% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 23%, worst was 129%
Compared to all devices tested
» 8% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 90% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 13.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (16.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 27% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 65% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 23%, worst was 129%
Compared to all devices tested
» 20% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 75% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%
Energy Management - XXL battery guarantees very long life
Power Consumption
The MatePad 10.4 has a fairly inconspicuous power consumption pattern. It requires an average of 6 Watt under load and around 4.6 Watt while idling, which is similar to what we measured on the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F and Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
Huawei equips its tablet with a 10-Watt AC adapter (5V/2A). This recharges the 7250 mAh battery to 20 percent in about 30 minutes. The battery is loaded to 50 percent in 1.5 hours and 100 percent in just under 4 hours.
| Off / Standby |   0.01 / 0.26 Watt |
| Idle |  1.29 / 4.57 / 4.64 Watt |
| Load |
6.01 / 8.06 Watt |
    
| |
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 7250 mAh | Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 7040 mAh | Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F 7000 mAh | Apple iPad 7 2019 mAh | Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 6300 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -1% | 4% | -68% | 13% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 1.29 | 1.21 6% | 1.28 1% | 2.2 -71% | 1.14 12% |
| Idle Average * | 4.57 | 4.24 7% | 4.5 2% | 6.7 -47% | 3.71 19% |
| Idle Maximum * | 4.64 | 4.34 6% | 4.59 1% | 8.2 -77% | 3.74 19% |
| Load Average * | 6.01 | 6.99 -16% | 5.71 5% | 11.3 -88% | 5.26 12% |
| Load Maximum * | 8.06 | 8.79 -9% | 6.99 13% | 12.5 -55% | 7.68 5% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery life
The XXL battery guarantees a very long battery life for the MatePad 10.4. Our tablet lasted more than six hours even under full load. Our simulated browsing test, during which display brightness is set to 150 cd/m², lasts almost 20 hours while the video test (playing a H.264 video on repeat) also results in an impressive battery life of 16:43 h.
With the exception of the Apple iPad 7 (2019), all other comparison devices manage to achieve a similarly good battery life, albeit not proving quite as much stamina as the MatePad 10.4.
| Huawei MatePad 10.4 7250 mAh | Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 7040 mAh | Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F 7000 mAh | Apple iPad 7 2019 mAh | Amazon Fire HD 10 2019 6300 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | -12% | -15% | -33% | -7% | |
| Reader / Idle | 2020 | 2120 5% | 2083 3% | 1486 -26% | 1691 -16% |
| H.264 | 1003 | 950 -5% | 919 -8% | 802 -20% | 1480 48% |
| WiFi v1.3 | 1190 | 792 -33% | 795 -33% | 707 -41% | 950 -20% |
| Load | 366 | 309 -16% | 288 -21% | 196 -46% | 228 -38% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - a well rounded tablet with a few compromises
The Huawei MatePad 10.4 is an attractive mid-range tablet with a good set of features that is available at a fair price. Its octa-core SoC Kirin 810 is not just fast enough for all everyday applications including browsing the web and consuming multimedia, it can also display current games smoothly.
Good performance, great features, but no Google services. The smart-looking Huawei MatePad 10.4 does a good job in all but its apps section.
Aside from its good connectivity features including 4 speakers, 4 microphones and a bright IPS display with 2K resolution, the MatePad 10.4 scores a lot of points with its strong battery.
We really should clearly recommend the Huawei MatePad 10.4 - after all, it can easily keep up with its strong competitors such as the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab YT-X705F or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. However, the missing Google services and DRM Widevine L1 certification do take away some of its shine. If you want to avoid Google, then this obviously is a great deal. All other potential buyers might be put off by the limited app availability this entails. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, for example, does not have this issue.
Huawei MatePad 10.4
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09/24/2020 v7
Manuel Masiero
Pricecompare
