Huawei MatePad SE 11 Review
The Huawei MatePad SE 11 is a budget-friendly drawing tablet with a unique feature in its price range: stylus support. This makes it an attractive option for students and others who value note-taking and drawing capabilities on a budget. The tablet features a modern design, good build quality, and a good IPS display without pulse width modulation (PWM). However, it also has some drawbacks, including a slow processor, limited connectivity, and the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS).
Design
The MatePad SE 11 features a modern design with extremely thin bezels around the display, giving it a screen-to-body ratio of approximately 85%. This is more efficient than some more expensive tablets. The device’s cover is made of aluminum with a matte finish that helps hide fingerprints. It is relatively thin, less than 7 millimeters, and feels high-quality. The device weighs 475 grams and measures 11 inches, making it slightly larger and heavier than its predecessor. The MatePad SE 11 doesn’t have an IP certification for dust and water resistance, but its casing is very stable.
Display
The MatePad SE 11 features an 11-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of approximately 200 pixels per inch. The display is certified by TÜV Rheinland as low blue light and flicker-free. The display has a maximum brightness of 481 cd/m². The display’s contrast is very good at over 1,500:1. The panel’s color accuracy is also good, with DeltaE deviations close to the target range for both colors and tones. The display’s viewing angles are excellent, and typical brightness drops are moderate. However, the MatePad SE 11’s display doesn’t perform well outdoors and has a 60Hz refresh rate, which may result in less smooth animations.
Performance
The MatePad SE 11 is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 710A processor, which isn’t a high-performance chip. It comes with this processor, while other markets use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 685. The Kirin 710A is manufactured using a 14nm FinFET process. This processor ranks at the bottom of the CPU benchmarks. The graphics card is a low-performance ARM Mali-G51 MP4. The tablet’s system performance is acceptable, though lag may occur during everyday use.
Gaming Performance
The MatePad SE 11 is not recommended for gaming. The Kirin 710A processor and Mali-G51 MP4 graphics card aren’t powerful enough to provide a smooth gaming experience. Graphically intensive games like Genshin Impact don’t run smoothly. Less demanding games like PUBG Mobile can only run at around 30 frames per second. Additionally, the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS) means some games may not run on the tablet.
Camera
The MatePad SE 11 has a 5MP fixed-focus front camera and an 8MP rear camera with autofocus. The cameras aren’t particularly impressive; the front camera is only good for video calls and selfies are fairly acceptable. The rear camera’s image clarity is only good for documentary photography, and images lack dynamism and sharpness. The rear camera can record videos at a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30 frames per second, while the selfie camera only supports HD.
Memory and Storage
The MatePad SE 11 comes with 4 or 6GB of RAM, depending on the model. Internal storage is 64 or 128GB, but it’s not expandable with an SD card. UFS storage offers read rates in excess of 500MB/s, but write data transfer rates are slow. The 128GB version has approximately 106GB of usable space after the OS.
Connectivity
The MatePad SE 11 only has a USB 2.0 connection, which means data transfer to storage media is slow. Wired image output is not possible. The tablet also has four speakers, Bluetooth 5.1, and DRM certification for streaming HD videos. It does not have a cellular modem or GNSS module, which means it cannot access mobile internet and cannot be located without a WLAN connection. The integrated Wi-Fi module supports the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac standard and operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.
Battery
The MatePad SE 11 has a 7,700 mAh battery. The tablet has good battery life, providing 15.5 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing or 15 hours and 53 minutes of video playback. The device also has a standard 22.5W power supply.
Conclusion
The Huawei MatePad SE 11 is a budget-friendly tablet with a competitive price and stylus support. The tablet features a modern design, good build quality, and a PWM-free IPS display. It also has good battery life. However, it also has some drawbacks, including a slow processor, limited connectivity, no GMS, and an unclear update policy. Therefore, the tablet is best suited for students and users with low expectations who want a tablet for note-taking and media consumption rather than gaming or CPU-intensive tasks.
Price
Huawei MatePad SE 11 Price
Price in US Dollars: $210
Price in Egypt: 10,347 Egyptian Pounds
Price in Saudi Arabia: 788 Saudi Riyals
Price in the UAE: 771 Dirhams
Price in Kuwait: 63 Dirhams
Prices may vary from one location to another. These prices are approximate and based on currency conversion.
