Huawei MateBook Line Continues to Impress with the New MateBook X and MateBook 14

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Huawei has just refreshed its popular MateBook line with the new MateBook X and MateBook 14. One of the things that sets these laptops apart from most of the others is that they have a document-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio, which is fab for reading documents, browsing the web, writing, and general productivity. Whether you need a new travel laptop or a laptop that can do it all, you’re going to want to take a look.

If you’re not familiar with the Matebook laptops we’ve reviewed previously, this is an excellent time to catch up on the Huawei MateBook X Pro and the MateBook 13. Huawei has just updated the MateBook line with new models that promise performance, portability, and longer battery life. Let’s take a look.

Huawei MateBook X

Smaller than a piece of A4 paper, the MateBook X is an ultra-thin and ultra-light 13″ laptop that boasts a near borderless and immersive FullView display. The metal frame on the edges has been removed, so all you see is a gorgeous glass display with a 90% screen to body ratio. The MateBook X’s LTPS touchscreen has a 3000 x 2000 resolution with 100 percent sRGB color at 400 nits. Huawei says it is comfortable on the eyes and perfect for productivity due to its “Eye Comfort mode” which “effectively filters out blue light emissions to provide eye strain relief during long sessions of use, and Brightness adjustment algorithms ensure a consistent viewing experience no matter the device is used indoors or under direct sunlight.”

The MateBook X weighs just 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), and at its thickest point is only 13.6mm (0.53″). The MateBook X has a full-size backlit chiclet keyboard with a 26% larger touchpad that goes all the way to the bottom edge of the laptop; eight piezoelectric plates offer the most stable touch experience with haptic feedback. Huawei’s fingerprint reading power button is, thankfully, still present.

The fanless MateBook X has the world’s first thermally conductive hinge, offering ultra-slim and quiet heat dissipation. The laptop will be available with up to a 10th generation Intel Core i7-10510U processor, but there is also an i5 model if you want to save a little bit of money. The MateBook X is a WiFi 6 laptop, so it will give you the fasted browsing speeds available, depending on your set-up’s capabilities. If you also have a Huawei smartphone, you’ll be able to take advantage of multi-screen collaboration and built-in Huawei Share; this laptop has three times the detection area of previous MateBook models, and it has 1.5 times the range. The MateBook X runs Windows 10 Home, and it can be ordered with up to 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack if you prefer not relying on Bluetooth 5 for your headphones.

The camera is located under the F7 button, so privacy is assured when you don’t want your camera on, but yes, it is a “chin-cam” as seen previously on the Mate X Pro. Quad speakers with 45Hz granularity distortion correction and four sound modes for music, gaming, theater, and voice calls assure that you’ll get the best sound no matter what you’re listening to. There are tweeters below the two shift keys, and dual mics are located on the edge closest to you when the laptop is open. Huawei says that the mics can pick up sound from up to 5 meters (16 feet!) away, and AI assists with reverb and echo removal.

The MateBook X has a 42Wh battery, which Huawei says will give you up to 9 hours of office work, 9 hours of video playback, or up to 7.5 hours of web browsing. There are two USB Type-C ports built-in, and you can use either to charge the laptop when it is plugged in.

The Huawei MateBook X’s magnesium alloy body is available in two new color coatings, Silver Frost and Forest Green. Both offer beautiful yet subtle color transitions with just a hint of glitter, so the laptops are stunning in person without being gaudy. The MateBook X i7 model will sell for 1799€, and the i5 model will sell for 1599€. Look for both in October.

Huawei MateBook 14

With a bigger screen than the Huawei MateBook 13 that I like to use when I travel, the MateBook 14″ will weigh just 1.49 kilograms (3.3 pounds), and it is only 15.9mm (0.63″) at its thickest point. The sand blasted space gray aluminum body is CNC diamond cut and beautiful. The display has a 2160 x 1440 resolution, and it is TUV Rhineland certified for eye comfort. Yes, it’s a touchscreen!

The MateBook 14 comes with up to an AMD 4800H processor, and it is fast! The miniature motherboard is 15% smaller than the 2019 model, and it allows extra room for heat dissipation. Speaking of heat dissipation, the MateBook 14 has 39% more airflow than the previous model. There are two USB Type-A (3.2)  ports, as well as a USB Type-C port and a headphone jack. If you get into a situation where you need more power, you can flip between the “two pre-set power profiles – standard and performance modes – by pressing the keyboard shortcut “Fn + P” to adjust the balance between power and battery life.”

In Huawei’s testing, the MateBook 14’s 56 Wh battery should last for 10 hours playing 1080p video continuously. You’ll be able to get it with up to 16GB RAM and 256GB user memory. The laptop features surround sound for a great media playback experience, and when you are stuck in video conference calls, you’ll be glad for its 720-pixel camera, two speakers, and four microphones. People like me, who end up taking lots of screenshots, will love the three-finger swipe screengrab feature, and yes — the power button fingerprint reader is still here above the full-size backlit chiclet keyboard.

Pricing for the MateBook 14 will start at 849€ for the Ryzen 5 4600H with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and 949€ for the Ryzen 5 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB. The MateBook 14 with a Ryzen 7 4800H processor with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage will be 1049€.

Via Huawei

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.