Huawei MatePad 12 X vs iPad Air 11" (6th Gen, 2024)
71
out of 100
VS
80
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship tablets: the 12-inch Huawei MatePad 12 X (with HiSilicon Kirin T90A) that was released on September 19, 2024, against the Apple iPad Air 11" (6th Gen, 2024), which is powered by Apple M2 (iPad) and came out 4 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Huawei MatePad 12 X
- Higher display refresh rate – 144 Hz
- Delivers 108% higher peak brightness (992 against 478 nits)
- Has a 1 inch larger screen size
- Comes with 1200 mAh larger battery capacity: 10100 vs 8900 mAh
- Supports higher wattage charging (66W versus 20W)
- Thinner bezels – 5.3% more screen real estate
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad Air 11" (6th Gen, 2024)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 6400 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Smaller footprint: 11% more compact case (68.5 vs 76.6 square inches)
- 2.1x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2619 and 1229 points
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
- Weighs 94 grams less
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Size | 12 inches | 11 inches |
| Resolution | 2800 x 1840 pixels | 1640 x 2360 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 |
| PPI | 279 ppi | 264 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (30-144 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1000 nits | 500 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.8% | 81.5% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.6% | 99.4% |
| PWM | Not detected | Not detected |
| Response time | 21 ms | 52 ms |
| Contrast | 1122:1 | 1265:1 |
Screen space comparison
MatePad 12 X
12″ (3:2 ratio) = 66.5 in2
iPad Air 11" (6th Gen, 2024)
11″ (3:2 ratio) = 55.8 in2
~19% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 270 mm (10.63 inches) | 247.6 mm (9.75 inches) |
| Width | 183 mm (7.2 inches) | 178.5 mm (7.03 inches) |
| Thickness | 5.9 mm (0.23 inches) | 6.1 mm (0.24 inches) |
| Weight | 555 g (19.58 oz) | 461 g (16.26 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Green | Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | Yes, in-button |
| Area | 494 cm2 (76.5 inches2) | 442 cm2 (68.5 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (58th and 36th place)
Android Tablet Ranking (#42nd place)
iPad Ranking (#11th place)
Performance
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin T90A | Apple M2 (iPad) |
| Max clock | 2490 MHz | 3490 MHz |
| CPU cores | - | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - | - 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Blizzard - 4 cores at 3.49 GHz: Avalanche |
| Manufacturing | - | TSMC |
| Lithography process | - | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | - | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | HiSilicon Maleoon 910 | Apple GPU 10-core |
| GPU shading units | - | 1024 |
| GPU clock | - | 1398 MHz |
| FLOPS | - | ~2863.1 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | - | 43394 |
| Single-core score | 1229 | 2619 |
| Multi-core score | 3987 | 10084 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | - | 841074 |
| GPU | - | 801119 |
| Memory | - | 371059 |
| UX | - | 523068 |
| Total score | - | 2536320 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | Less than 3 |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 74% |
| Graphics test | - | 16 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 2160 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | - | 28 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 38 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 28 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 17 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 7322 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | HarmonyOS 4.2 | iPadOS 17.5 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) |
| OS size | 30 GB | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 10100 mAh | 8900 mAh |
| Max charge power | 66 W | 20 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes (50% in 60 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:35 hr | 2:17 hr |
Main camera
| Matrix | 13 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4160 x 3120 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | - | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 13 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode | - Bokeh mode |
| Image resolution | 13 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Pixel size | - | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | - | GPS, GLONASS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Type of SIM card | No | eSIM |
| eSIM support* | - | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | - | No |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 6.0 | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2024 | May 2024 |
| Release date | October 2024 | May 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $549 | $599 |
| Successor | - Huawei MatePad 12 X (2025) | - Apple iPad Air 11" (7th Gen, 2025) |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Gyroscope - Ambient light sensor |
- Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 66 W | Yes, 20 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPad Air 11" (6th Gen, 2024) is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 29