Huawei is attempting to go toe to toe with Apple with this, its first ever laptop the MateBook X. We went hands on at the launch event in Berlin.
PRICE WHEN REVIEWED
- TBC, TBC
HUAWEI MATEBOOK X REVIEW: HANDS-ON WITH HUAWEI’S FIRST LAPTOP
Huawei has had a relatively meteoric rise into mainstream tech consciousness over the past five years. Its P10 is an excellent smartphone, its MediaPad M3 a great tablet. Now, following on from last year’s 2-in-1 MateBook, it has entered the laptop market with the MateBook X.
The device is slick, metallic and well thought out, and Huawei clearly hopes it will be enough to tempt people away from the MacBook – and macOS. We went hands-on with the Windows 10 device to find out if it’s up to the task.
DESIGN AND BUILD
The MateBook X is a real looker, there’s no denying. Available in Prestige Gold, Space Grey and Rose Gold, the machine clearly takes its cues from Apple’s 12in MacBook. Then again, Huawei executives admitted as much to us in an interview at the launch.
Huawei has built a unibody metallic laptop that is, as they proudly point out, smaller than an A4 sheet of paper. In that space they’ve crammed a good looking 13in non-touch display.
We prefer this approach to the fabric covered Microsoft Surface Laptop, but then again we are used to it.
It might irk some that the company has jumped on the USB-C bandwagon, but it is now inevitable. The MateBook X has two ports, which is good – the one on the left is for power while the right is for data transfer and docks. The new MateDock 2 is included in the box, with USB-C, USB-A, HDMI and VGA.
The display is completely flush with no rubber bumper and houses a front facing 1Mp camera – this is a very nice piece of kit. Our Prestige Gold review unit is pretty G but an acquired taste along with the Rose Gold (pink) one. Conservative folk can opt for the Space Grey.
A noticeable addition is the subtle circular power button above the keyboard that acts as a fingerprint sensor, and works very well indeed. It sits to the right of the dual speaker grill.
The keyboard has pleasantly responsive chiclet keys that match the colour of the device exactly. Huawei has no doubt made a well built, well-designed laptop on the first attempt.
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
The MateBook X will come with various specifications. The base model has a Core i5, 256GB SSD and 4GB RAM, while the highest end model goes for a Core i7, 512GB SSD and 8GB RAM.
Intel helps out further with its HD Graphics 620 setup.
All models have a 13in IPS non-touch display with a resolution of 2160×1440 and 200ppi. Take a glance here at all the headline specs:
- Windows 10
- 13in 2160×1440 IPS non-touchscreen, 200ppi
- WT-W09: 7th Generation Intel CoreTM i5-7200U processor
- WT-W19: 7th Generation Intel CoreTM i7-7500U processor
- Intel HD Graphics 620
- 4/8GB LPDDR3 RAM
- 256/512GB SSD
- 1Mp front facing camera
- IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5GHz 2×2 MIMO;
- Bluetooth 4.1
- 5449mAh non-removable battery
- 12.5 mm x 286 mm × 211 mm
- 1.05kg
Huawei quotes 10 hours of battery life which we hope we can surpass when we test it fully. It’s charged via the included USB-C brick, and as mentioned Huawei chucks an adapter in the box for all your USB-A, HDMI and VGA needs to ease the transition to the newer standard.
It’s impressive that Huawei has squeezed such high-end specs into such a small machine, but it is at a cost. The cheapest price Huawei has revealed is for the Core i5 with 8GB RAM at €1399; a Core m3 machine with 4GB RAM version should be cheaper but the price is yet to be announced.
For those willing to splash out on the latest bleeding edge tech it will be attractive, particularly considering it’s running Windows (if those same people don’t like Macs).
We’ll have a full review soon that puts the MateBook X through its paces.
SOFTWARE
The MateBook X runs full Windows 10 out the box. In our short time so far with the device it has performed very fast, but this is early days.
When running a full work day from the machine, as we will do, we’d normally expect such an ultrabook to slow. However our review unit is Core i7 with 8GB RAM, so it’s probably going to break the mould – but it’s also going to break the bank.
SPECS
Huawei MateBook X: Specs
- Windows 10
- 13in 2160×1440 IPS non-touchscreen, 200ppi
- WT-W09: 7th Generation Intel CoreTM i5-7200U processor
- WT-W19: 7th Generation Intel CoreTM i7-7500U processor
- Intel HD Graphics 620
- 4/8GB LPDDR3 RAM
- 256/512GB SSD
- 1Mp front facing camera
- IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5GHz 2×2 MIMO
- Bluetooth 4.1
- 5449mAh non-removable battery
- 12.5 mm x 286 mm × 211 mm
- 1.05kg
OUR VERDICT
It’s hard to give a definitive verdict on a laptop we have only used for a few hours but signals are very positive for the MateBook X. Huawei has definitely nailed the design and build quality, while the keyboard is also impressively tactile for such a thin machine.
A barrier for some consumers might be price, but if you’re in the market for an ultrabook then Huawei has instantly earned the right to be in the running – and that’s impressive.
Sоurсе: pcadvisor.co.uk
Top Brands
