A lot of Engadget readers – and honestly, Engadget editors – are obsessed with e-ink devices. Whether they Horses are productive or digital tarpaulinThis technology has gradually continued to extend beyond the one-handed e-readers of the last decade.
The latest addition is a remarkably sized e-ink tablet from Huawei. The MatePad Paper features a 10.3-inch grayscale display with anti-glare, reflective properties to aid low-light usage. Paper can reproduce 256 shades of gray for displaying text and images – and even video – although I’m not sure why you’d want B&W video.
You may have noticed that it has surprisingly small bezels for an e-ink device. Huawei says it has improved the tablet down to a screen-to-body ratio of 86.3%, with a spine-inspired design that ensures there’s something for you to hold. All that e-paper, along with the size of that thing, sets it apart from most other e-ink devices we’ve seen so far. (The Kindle DX It’s been a long time.)
Along with 32 levels of backlighting, the device is also compatible with Huawei’s M Pencil, which is often released alongside the company’s more typical tablets. This means you can scribble, annotate, and edit your documents and books, which is a very useful tool when it comes to e-ink devices. Notably, Huawei was able to tweak the texture display’s sensitivity to 26ms. It may not be quite as smooth as the S22 Ultra – or even other Huawei tablets, but it’s worth noting on a matte e-ink surface. Is this the perfect digital note-taking device?
Continuing Huawei’s efforts to connect all of its devices as seamlessly as possible, you can connect MatePad Paper to the company’s laptops, PCs, tablets, and phones. Huawei says the tablet will appear like a USB drive, and you can drag and drop notes and annotated PDFs onto your laptop. This is made possible thanks to the company’s proprietary operating system, HarmonyOS.
However, Huawei’s product announcements come with the usual stipulations. The hardware is fun – and appealing to anyone who works with lots of books, documents, and digital paperwork – but you’ll be limited by HarmonyOS.
The company says it is still growing in the ecosystem, but the responsibility remains with app creators and companies as to whether they provide support. For example: Is there some way I can check out my Kindle books on MatePad Paper – maybe I can use a web-based reader? – but it won’t be as seamless as Amazon’s hardware. Once again, the MatePad Paper is much more than a mere Kindle.
Huawei did not announce the availability and pricing of the MatePad Paper ahead of its MWC showcase. We will update this report as we know more.
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