Huawei MatePad Mini vs Apple iPad mini: Which tablet is a better buy?

Apple iPad mini (2024) gets a new competitor, the Huawei MatePad Mini tablet. Dropped on September 4, 2025, the super small screen is here to give fans a new tab experience with some smarter features and a refreshed design over the iPad mini.

The slim profile is a steal compared to Apple’s product. And it’s time to take a complete check on the comparison between the Huawei MatePad Mini and iPad mini tablet!

Design

iPad mini comes in four colors: Space Gray, Blue, Purple, and Starlight. It has a 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3mm dimension and weighs 293 grams. The device uses a glass front, an aluminum back, and an aluminum frame. While the back looks good, the thick bezels spoil the front face.

MatePad Mini also has four shades: Spruce Green, Obsidian Black, Snow White, and Universe Red. The device measures 198.59 x 127.27 x 5.1mm and weighs 255 grams. That proves Huawei’s product is thinner and lighter than the iPad.

Display

• iPad mini: 8.3-inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD
• MatePad Mini: 8.8-inch Flexible OLED full screen

Apple iPad mini supports 500 nits peak brightness and 1488 x 2266 pixels resolution. On the flip side, the MatePad Mini tablet has 1800 nits peak brightness, 1.07 billion colors, P3 wide color gamut, and 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution.

Camera

The iPad mini supports a 12MP (f/1.8) wide rear single camera with AF (autofocus), HDR, and panorama. It also has a quad-LED dual-tone flash. The front face equips a 12MP (f/2.4 + 122°) camera to enhance video conferencing.

Meanwhile, the MatePad Mini is one step ahead. The tablet has a dual-cam setup on the back, including a 50MP main camera (f/1.8) and an 8MP wide-angle lens (f/2.2) along with an LED flash. Speaking of the front-facing camera, the device uses a 32MP (f/2.4) to let you snap the best selfies and video chats.

Battery and Charging

• iPad mini packs a 5078mAh battery with a limited 20W wired charging.
• MatePad Mini has a 6400mAh battery with 66W wired fast charging. It can power up the tablet up to 60% within 30 minutes.

Software and Chips

Apple iPad Mini runs on iPadOS 18 and equips a 3nm A17 Pro chipset. This is the only segment (chip) where Apple wins over Huawei, as it doesn’t face any tech tensions.

On the other hand, the MatePad Mini pre-installs HarmonyOS 5.1 with some tremendous features. Though it packs a 7nm Kirin 9010 5G processor.

Price

Huawei MatePad Mini and Apple iPad Mini are priced the same: 3999 yuan. Though you still get more benefits in the newly launched tablet compared to the old one.

There you go, folks! Specifications comparison between the Apple iPad mini and the Huawei MatePad Mini tablets.

(Image Credits: Weibo)