HUAWEI’s MateBook series, introduced back in 2019, marks a new age for HUAWEI. Not just HUAWEI though, it marks a new age for smartphone makers that are not Apple. To be fair to other manufacturers though, HUAWEI is not the first smartphone-first manufacturer that makes PCs. Its biggest competitor in the Android smartphone market used to make notebook PCs as well.
Still, while other smartphone manufacturers have either left the smartphone market or abandoning the PC market, HUAWEI gladly embraces the market, shifting focus from making productivity focused Android tablets and upping the game in terms of a complete ecosystem that works seamlessly together for work and play. It does seem like they are learning from the biggest ecosystem outside of the Android world, Apple. Let us be honest though, it is not such a bad thing, this total coverage of the ecosystem thing.
HUAWEI’s most premium notebook for the discerning users is the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro. There is a new one for 2022. On paper at least, it looks quite special.
HUAWEI MateBook X pro
Source: HUAWEI
It shares pretty much the same design from the old MateBook X Pro, or almost every other MateBook bred to existence. It is also the thinnest MateBook device in its range. At 15.5mm though, it is a little thicker than its predecessor. It gained some weight too at 1.38 kg over 1.33 kg of the 2021 variant. The minor heft gain for the MateBook X Pro 2022 comes with some extra power to make the MateBook X Pro the ultimate thin-and-light though.
You get a slightly bigger display now at 14.2-inch. With bigger display too, HUAWEI can squeeze a little bit more display out of it at 3,120 by 2,080 pixels to achieve an impressive 264 pixels per inch, higher than the predecessor. It covers 92.5% of the laptop body, which is even more than before too, leaving us to wonder how they made the bezels even thinner.
It is a stunning display too. The 3.1K LTPS panel produces up to 500nits of light at DisplayHDR 400 standards. It boasts 1,500:1 contrast ratio on its 1.07-billion colours on tap. It also offers an average △E<1 in P3 and sRGB standards. It is not a gaming display, but the 3:2 aspect ratio display still offers up to 90Hz in refresh rate. Did we mention that it is a touch sensitive display too? What we are saying is that you are really going to enjoy this display, no matter what you do.
Source: HUAWEISource: HUAWEISource: HUAWEI
The 2022 HUAWEI MateBook X Pro flagships come with class leading six-speaker set up with HUUAWEI SOUND. There are two tweeters for brilliant and detailed higher-end frequencies from the top firing speaker grilles. The other two are mashed to create a woofer sandwich which, in theory, should produce even more powerful low frequencies for deeper, more immersive bass notes, more boom. The speaker array should also benefit users when it comes to video calls alongside four far-field mics with AI Noise Cancellation algorithm.
Powered by an 11th Generation Intel Core i7-1195G7 CPU, the MateBook X Pro might sound a little old fashioned, but the processor is still quite a powerful one. It also packs Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics to ensure that the display gets enough juice to run on full chat. Of course, we would like to see what the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro could do with 12th Generation Intel processors.
HUAWEI Super Device Ecrosystem
It is not a new device that HUAWEI released here. It is more of introduction of a complete ecosystem for HUAWEI’s many devices. A sort of unifying piece to puts all of HUAWEI’s devices together.
The HUAWEI Super Device centers itself on HUAWEI’s PC experience. It starts from HUAWEI’s MateBook devices with the latest version of the HUAWEI PC Manager. The new ecosystem does not just allow HUAWEI’s devices to share screens and quickly share files across the connected devices. It now allows each device to be individual device modules to form a larger collaboration tool. You can take up a video call from your smartphone for example and later transfer it to a HUAWEI MateBook when you get yourself in front of one.
Super Device also introduces HUAWEI’s Mobile App Engine for their PC devices. Mobile App Engine gives HUAWEI MateBook devices access to the HUAWEI AppGallery. That also means that the Windows 11 device can now work with mobile apps reserved for the smartphone ecosystem that HUAWEI has built over the years, allowing users to be even more productive than ever with their HUAWEI MateBook devices.
Availability
HUAWEI’s Super Device function will be shipped with the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro, MateStation X, MateBook E, MatePad Paper, and MatePad. All of the devices that are launched in their MWC 2022 announcement. While HUAWEI mentions that existing HUAWEI MateBook devices will be able to take advantage of the new Super Device feature, there are no mentions on whether existing smartphone and tablet devices will get the function. At this point, judging by HUAWEI’s update history, older devices might not be getting the new Super Device feature.
There are also no mentions on when the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro will hit the markets. It will be priced at EU 1,899 (MYR 8,923*) when it is available. There are also no colour options for the new flagship MateBook as well, just a plain Grey.
*Approximately based on exchange rate of EU€ 1 = MYR 4.70 as of 01/03/2021 on xe.com
HUAWEI, in the past, was making some of the best smartphones in the world alongside the likes of Samsung. While the idea of comparing a HUAWEI device today to a Samsung device seems a little on the funny side, you cannot deny that HUAWEI still makes some very interesting, very compelling smartphones that, on paper at least, could be one of the best smartphones in the world. The only undoing for HUAWEI is Western politics.
Funnily enough though, the political issues did not hinder HUAWEI’s PC development. They introduced notebook after notebook, and most of them comes with Intel processors, and Microsoft Windows operating system. Weird? Yes. Do we care? Not one bit. In fact, we are happy about that. HUAWEI genuinely makes great notebooks at relatively reasonable prices compared to more established players in the field.
Now there is this new thing. They introduced the HUAWEI MateBook 14S, a sort of thin-and-light notebook based on Intel’s 11th Generation processors. Amid the latest 12th Generation Intel though, is it still relevant? Is it worth the MYR 4,999 asking price? Should you even consider getting one if you do not have a HUAWEI device? We find out.
Design
It comes in two distinct colours, and the unit they passed to us is Green in colour. We have to say that we quite like the light shade of green that HUAWEI shipped this with. It stands out while remaining conspicuous and understated, if that makes sense.
The shell of the HUAWEI MateBook is clean. It only features the enlarged ‘HUAWEI’ wording on the cover. You find no sign of HUAWEI’s usual petal logo anywhere on the notebook. We assume that that the exclusion is to make the HUAWEI MateBook 14S cleaner and more professional.
The entire MateBook 14S is made from aluminium. The extensive use of metal means two things. It is very solid, but also quite hefty. It weighs 1.43kg, which is not exactly heavy, but it is still heavier than most thin-and-light notebooks out there. We appreciate the solid build and premium feel of metal, though.
Hardware
Our test unit is not the most expensive variant available in the market. It packs an Intel Core i5-11300H made for efficiency and long battery life. It also packs less RAM than the more premium Core i7 variant at 8GB. Everything else is the same, so it is not like you are shorthanded with the lesser model.
Specification
HUAWEI MateBook 14S (2021)
As Tested
Processor (clock)
Intel Core i5-11300H
GPU
Intel Iris Xe Integrated Graphics
Display(s)
14.2-inch LTPS (2520 x 1680 2.5K 3:2) 60Hz 400nits 100% sRGB 1500:1 contrast ratio 10-point multi-touch sensitive Narrow Bezel
Memory
512GB NVMe PCIe SSD 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
Networking and Connections (I/O)
2 x USB 3.1 Type-C (Charging, Data, DisplayPort) 1 x USB 3.2 Type-A 1 x 3.5mm AUX 1 x HDMI 2.0 WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.1
Operating System
Windows 10 Home (64-bit) upgradeable to Windows 11
Battery
60Wh
Miscellaneous
1.43kg HUAWEI Share Fingerprint Power Button Windows Hello Facial Recognition Quad Speakers Quad Microphone All-metal body
Features
MYR 4,999 is still a lot of money to ask for a thin-and-light though. That is entry-level gaming laptop money. Then again, you should not compare it to gaming purpose devices.
Form With Function
Usually, a thin-and-light requires sacrifice in terms of port practicality. Because most thin-and-light comes with USB Type-C Ports exclusively, you need to obtain an extra dongle so that it’ll take your USB drives, your external hard drives and whatever peripherals you want to work with.
For the HUAWEI MateBook 14S though, you can leave your dongle at home if you want. HUAWEI managed to fit one full USB 3.0 Type-A port on the right side. On the left side are two USB Type-C ports, both can be used for charging, or data, or display. There is also a full-sized HDMI port at the same side. On top of that, a 3.5mm audio jack will always come in handy.
3:2 Aspect Ratio Goodness
Most notebooks today are moving to the 16:10 aspect ratio. That is because with a taller display you can see more, and that bodes well for productivity. A 3:2 aspect ratio is not that different from the 16:10 option but with more height than usual. We admit that it is a little weird at first, a near square display is strange.
The taller display allows us to fit more information on the display, which also means putting two windows beside one another does not make the display feel cramped. Reading articles off websites also requires a lot less scrolling than before, so web browsing feels a lot less cumbersome.
That is not to say that 3:2 aspect ratio should be the standard in mobile computing though. It works with web browsing, article reading, and even essay writing. It makes less sense for most gaming conditions and movies.
While certain games might benefit the taller aspect ratio, most tend to look a little odd. When you watch movies, you get large amounts of dead space at the top and bottom of the display. It makes the movies look small and takes a little bit away from the immersion.
The Correct Place for a Webcam
We want to say that early MateBooks were odd. Not because they looked like nothing you can find in the market. It was because the MateBooks featured super thin bezels that would not fit a webcam. They chose to relocate the webcam to be tucked within the keyboard itself with a pop-up mechanism which met hilarious results.
Thankfully, at the age where webcam is a big part of our lives, no thanks to the pandemic, HUAWEI’s MateBook 14S has it in the right place. It does mean that HUAWEI have to compromise with bezel thickness a little bit. From the looks of it though, it does not look like HUAWEI had to sacrifice all that much too.
Use Your Finger, or Your Face
Of course, most modern thin-and-light notebooks come with biometric security in the form of a basic fingerprint sensor. This one does too, but it has another thing up its sleeve, or rather, in its bezel. The webcam also comes with a slew of sensors that works with Windows Hello to scan your face.
That also means that you can walk away from the notebook, and it will lock itself to ensure that whatever you are working on is safe. When you come back, it sees your face and unlocks. In the case that it does not unlock, the fingerprint sensor is quick enough also that it unlocks the moment you touch the fingerprint sensor that doubles as the power button. Just do not mistakenly press it down to power down the notebook and you will be fine.
HUAWEI Share
This has been one of the biggest selling features for HUAWEI’s devices, or at least HUAWEI notebooks if you have a HUAWEI device. Of course, most of the current features of the program can only work with HUAWEI’s latest OS on its mobile devices. Unfortunately, we did not have a HUAWEI device that is running on Harmony OS 2 at the time of review, so we could not test the feature.
Unlike the previous HUAWEI Share functionality too, there is no NFC tag to be found on the notebook, which also means that transferring data through HUAWEI share has to be done manually instead of just touching both devices together like before. While it just feels like you are going back to the conventional data sharing method, transfer speeds over HUAWEI Share are faster than Bluetooth.
Performance
The HUAWEI MateBook 14S is not a gaming notebook. The unit we are reviewing does not even come with Intel’s Core i7 processor. It also only features 8GB of RAM. It also lacks a dedicated GPU to work with.
Multitasking & Productivity
Where the HUAWEI MateBook 14S shines is when you take it out for a day of work. 8GB is ample enough for you to entertain multiple tabs on Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox browsers; both have been our browsers of choice these days. Google Chrome can be a RAM hog, but five tabs on the browser still did not hurt the HUAWEI MateBook 14S.
While you might want to spend a little more for the Intel Core i7 variant, the Intel Core i5 variant never felt sluggish in most cases. If you only need it to complete mundane tasks like filling up Word documents, create Powerpoint slides, or even work with Excel sheets, you will have enough push from the Core i5 to complete all of them with ease.
When it comes to content creation though, you might want to adjust your expectations a little bit. You can technically edit 4K videos thanks to improved optimisation of Intel’s 11th Generation CPUs. It may not be entirely smooth, but it is useable with Adobe Premiere Pro. Rendering videos will take some time still. But that is just about the most it can handle though.
Typing an Essay
The keyboard on the MateBook 14S is not the best you can find out there. It is not the worst thing to come on a laptop though. It works, and well enough at that to ensure that you do not throw it against a wall whenever you need to reply to an email with a long essay, or when you need to type out long documents with it.
The key travel is shallow, which makes it a little odd to type with. Strangely, typing on the keyboard does not wear us out as much as we thought it would though. We could attribute that to the mushiness of the keyboard. The combination of the short travel and mushiness makes the keyboard feels odd to work with. It is not quite unpleasant, just odd.
At the same time though, the keyboard is very much silent. You can bring it to the library, type out an essay and get out without anyone noticing that you have been working on it. You can even sneak in an email reply or two in the meeting room.
Gaming
You can still game on the HUAWEI MateBook 14S. You do have to adjust your expectations, though. You can still play games like Two Point Hospital, Cities: Skylines, or even Counter Strike: Global Offensive on the MateBook 14S. If you really want, you can even play Dota 2 at the screen’s 2.5K resolution. You might want to set your graphics to medium or even low if you want to take full advantage of the 2.5K display.
Battery Life
In our typical use, we usually have a few apps open on the notebook. Our browsers have about 10 tabs open at any given time. We kept our screen brightness to the maximum in most use cases. Our speakers are usually turned down to about 20% or less on the HUAWEI MateBook 14S, it can get quite loud. That said, we usually will play music via Tidal, which also means we have Tidal installed and opened. We also will have a couple of Microsoft Word instances open.
In that use case, we get about 8 hours of use from a full battery before we need to think about plugging the device to our charger. The Charger provided is a little bit of an overkill at 90W, but that means you can use it to charge other devices and other laptops that charges via USB Type-C also, which is always welcome since you just need to carry one charger for all your devices now.
Display & Audio
As mentioned, the HUAWEI MateBook 14S packs an odd 3:2 display. True to its name, it has a 14-inch display too; 14.2-inch specifically. The 14.2-inch display covers up to 90% of the body. This points to a massive display experience from a small notebook.
It is a very beautiful 2.5K (2,520 x 1,680) high-resolution display. It is a higher resolution display than regular notebooks of its class making it really stand out. It covers 100% of the sRGB colour gamut, which should mean that you get highly accurate and vibrant colours on the display. 400nits also means that it should be bright enough to work with in any indoor situation.
Its 1500:1 contrast ratio comes to play when you are watching movies with the HUAWEI MateBook 14S too. Movies look amazing on the 14-incher with vibrant and rich colours. The only issue with it is the two big black bars at the top and bottom of the video itself.
Did we mention that it is also a touch sensitive display? While we do not think that Windows 10 is very much optimised for touch experience, we think Windows 11 will change that once you get it to update. But still, having a touch display when you scroll through the web makes a lot of sense. Even going through long word documents is a much better experience with touch sensitive display.
Then there is the audio, which is not actually half bad. It does not have a subwoofer installed to it, so you cannot expect it to produce the best audio experience from a notebook. But for a notebook its size, the audio experience is respectable enough that you can enjoy good music from the HUAWEI MateBook 145S. The high-frequencies and mid-frequencies are detailed enough that vocals tend to stand out a little bit more in most music. It tends to be quite loud too, which is surprising coming from speakers its size. Then again, there are 4 speakers on this thing.
The HUAWEI MateBook 14S – Green Lit
The HUAWEI MateBook 14S is pretty in its Spruce Green guise. While there is not much in terms of design cues, its green colour helps it stand out. It is also one of the only thin-and-light notebooks you can find in the market that comes with a full-sized USB port and a full-sized HDMI port.
At MYR 4,999, it is more expensive than a lot of thin-and-light notebooks out there. Most of them does not come with a display quite like the one you can find on the HUAWEI MateBook 14S. It is not just a touch display, it is a 2.5K display that is stretched out to 3:2 aspect ratio, which is unique. On top of that you get facial recognition, also a premium feature you do not normally get in a regular thin-and-light notebook. It is a feature you mostly find on enterprise class device, or at much higher price point.
If you are a HUAWEI device owner that works with Harmony OS 2, this should be a no brainer to boost your productivity even more. With a HUAWEI MatePad 12.6, you are effectively carrying an extra storage, notepad, drawing pad, and display in your bag. HUAWEI Share is also wireless, which also means you do not need to tangle your bag with cables.
So, is this HUAWEI MateBook 14S worth MYR 4,999? We would say so, in some ways. We are not saying that it is not expensive, because it is. But at the same time this is one of the most practical thin-and-light notebook out there with a unique and beautiful display. It packs features that most thin-and-light notebooks in its price range does not too. Of course, if you have a HUAWEI Harmony OS 2 device, the HUAWEI MateBook 14S makes more sense than any other notebook in its class.
We live in a weird time. We live in a time where buying a laptop from a smartphone manufacturer is normal. If you think about it, it was not so long ago too that HUAWEI decided that they want a slice of the mobile computing market.
Meet the HUAWEI MateBook series, premium notebook PCs made with the HUAWEI ecosystem in mind. They were designed to be the perfect companion for HUAWEI’s range of smartphone and tablet products. They were made to be the best type of laptop to work with if you own a HUAWEI device. They were the only products that did not get the axe from American companies in the dram that was the United States trade ban debacle.
Fast forward to 2021, nothing much has changed. There are some changes in the world around HUAWEI though. There is a brand-new Intel processor, an 11th generation wonder of a mobile chip. It also seems like there is going to be a new Microsoft Windows version just around the corner, and the new hardware is primed to take up the new Operating System (OS). HUAWEI needed to get modern to be in the world of workplace laptops. They did with the new HUAWEI MateBook 14s.
The HUAWEI MateBook 14s follows the philosophy of HUAWEI’s premium line-up of laptops. It is an ultra-thin, and ultra-light notebook PC for the working professionals. It is an ultrabook for the road warrior, or the person who has been working from home for the past two years and is continuing to work from home now.
Source: HUAWEI
The new MateBook 14s is powered by Intel’s latest 11th Generation Core processor. You get to spec it up with up to the Core i7-11370H processor. The latest processors are considered to be Intel’s most efficient one yet.
Intel did not certify the HUAWEI MateBook 14s as an Intel EVO laptop, but it has everything that you could want from an Intel EVO platform, if you are looking for that sort of thing. It has Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics to handle a high-resolution display and any of its requirements. It also has up to 16GB of RAM, ample amount for a work laptop. You even get up to 1TB in SSD storage, if you wish for it. With WiFi 6 in tow, you really wonder with the HUAWEI MateBook 14s does not come packing Intel EVO’s sticker.
You get all sorts of I/O with this Matebook 14s as well to make it the perfect work mate. There are two USB type-C ports that supports charging and Thunderbolt 4 capabilities (only Core i7 version, 2nd USB Type-C port). You also get a full HDMI port alongside a USB 3.2 Gen1 type-A port on the HUAWEI MateBook 14s. It is as versatile as it looks. It even has a fingerprint sensor with Windows Hello for protection. Thankfully as well, the webcam has been shifted up to the top of the display instead of being hidden in one of the keycaps.
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
The 14-inch display is a stunning one too at 90Hz. It is a 2.5K display instead of a Full HD unit though. That also means that you get vibrant and beautiful looking images on the laptop. You can easily enjoy movies and YouTube videos in high-resolution goodness on this thing. Its 60Wh battery is also large enough that it should carry your laptop the entire day. If that is not enough the HUAWEI MateBook 14s comes with 90W charging capabilities and a charger to match for a quick plug and dash.
Price and Availability
The HUAWEI MateBook 14s is available for pre-order from the 28th of October 2021 onward. Before the 6th of November 2021, you can pre-order your unit from HUAWEI Store Online, HUAWEI’s official stores on Shopee, and Lazada, or even on HUAWEI’s official app, My HUAWEI App. As per the title, the HUAWEI MateBook 14s starts at MYR 4,999. More information on the HUAWEI MateBook 14s can be found on their website.
HUAWEI has been on a roll these few years. They may have been restricted in using Google’s ecosystem to its fullest joy, but they did not show any signs of slowing down. In fact, at least outside of China, Malaysia has been one of the strongest market for HUAWEI, at least according to them.
They have started embarking into building a product ecosystem though. They made audio peripherals, they made home appliances too. They made notebook PCs, and recently Smart TVs. Now, they make PC monitors.
Welcome to the world of 4K+ resolution that is the HUAWEI MateView. This is not the gaming monitor, that would be the MateView GT with only half the resolution of this unit. This is the monitor made for the working class. This is a monitor made and built for an executive.
There is a small fact that this will set you back MYR 2,988 in retail though. It is also a little oddly shaped for a PC monitor at 3:2 display ratio. You also cannot detach the built-in tiltable stand.
Is the HUAWEI MateView the world changing monitor that HUAWEI wants it to be? Should you even care about this product? Better yet, should you spend your hard-earned money for this piece of kit?
Design
There are no colour options on this monitor, just silver. Nothing wrong with the colour though once you lift it out from the box to put it on your desk. To be fair, silver might not work all that well if you desk tip is black in colour. We do think that the matte, muted silver will look better when you pair it with brighter colours. That is just our personal opinions on that matter though, we are not professional interior designer, so you might want to take this comment with a pinch of salt.
The 28.2-inch 4K+ monitor looks impressive all around. The muted silver finish makes the whole package looks ultra-premium and professional at the same time. Its skinny profiled stand and base looks sleek and elegant.
You notice that there are perforated holes on the bottom of the front-facing place of the stand. That is the 5W dual speakers that is directly connected to the monitor. The base of the monitor is an NFC plate for HUAWEI Share, not a wireless charging pad.
The port placements are rather clean too. Since the stand is an integrated part of the monitor, which means that HUAWEI can easily keep the display portion clean and thin by moving plenty of the components to the stand. All the necessary ports are kept to the back and side of the stand. This also means you cannot mount the monitor on a VESA stand or desk mounts.
The tilting hinge is encased in chrome ball joint looking mechanism which actually looks very pretty. It looks at home at any desks that is meant for productivity and play in any home. While the large HUAWEI logo at the back is also chrome in colour, it is somehow done in good taste.
While we do appreciate the cleanliness in design language of the HUAWEI MateView, we would also like some VESA mount compatibility. The single piece design is clever, because it allows HUAWEI to integrate most of its components on its base stand. Thing is, there are modern 4K monitors that fits everything the HUAWEI MateView has on its base stand to the monitor housing itself without adding too much heft to it, and they are all VESA mount compatible. It could add a little bit in thickness for the HUAWEI MateView, sure, but its compatibility with VESA mount also means that users are given an extra layer of flexibility in their set-up.
Hardware
The large silver slab is not just a looker though. As we mentioned, it is supposed to be a premium item to sit on your desk. At the kind of price it commands, it better be.
TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Flicker Free certification
Miscellaneous
WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.1
Features
From the looks of it, the HUAWEI MateView is feature packed. To say that this is merely another PC monitor for your desk could be a little unfair. It is mainly made to be on a desk top and serve as a monitor for your PC, or tablet, or smartphone though.
Your Friendly USB Hub
You get one HDMI 2.0 port, a MiniDP port, and one USB Type-C power input port capable of taking on 135W. The adapter for the monitor is a 135W unit as well, so you can technically use it to charge your smartphones or tablets or laptops if you want. There are two additional USB Type-A ports on the right side of the device alongside a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm jack above the elliptical power button.
The HUAWEI MateView doubles as a USB hub for your PC. Thanks to its placement too, the ports are a lot easier to access compared to other modern monitors. The USB Type-C port on the side can also charge at up to 65W, which also means your thin and light notebooks and tablets can be kept charged while projecting to the HUAWEI MateView.
Dual 5W speakers with Built-in Dual Mic
The dual 5W speakers is basically just that, regular speakers and sounds pretty much like any generic small form factor wireless speakers. Because there is no subwoofer, low end frequencies tend to be a little weak. There is little space to fit a subwoofer though, so the lack of lower-end frequencies is forgivable.
Where the combination of this speaker and mic shines though is when you use the MateView for the work and social stuff. Audio from the speakers is perfect in video chats or voice chats. At the same the mic performs great too, with users at the other end of the line reporting clear voice quality. The users at the other end of the line did report that my voice gets cut out from time to time though. We suspect internet speed and stability issues, or it could just be HUAWEI’s noise cancelling algorithm messing about.
Navigate with Smart Bar
Instead of physical buttons, the HUAWEI MatePad has a touch sensitive bar to navigate through its settings. The Smart Bar, as they call it, does contribute a little bit to the clean, polished look of the premium HUAWEI MateView. The Smart Bar does allow for some quick and accurate navigation through the OSD unlike physical buttons you can barely see though.
If you leave the HUAWEI MateView unplugged and disconnected from any device at all, the display shows its own interface and home screen. That home screen allows you to go through the monitors settings and also allows you to choose the monitor’s primary input when you need to. You navigate through that with the Smart Bar, or you can plug in a mouse to the USB ports. You either slide it side to side to navigate the interface and tap once to confirm your selection, twice to back out of a settings menu when you need to. This monitor does WiFi and Bluetooth, though we are not fully able to take advantage of the two features at the time of testing because HUAWEI has not made the device available to connect with on the HUAWEI’s AI Life app at the time of testing.
Once plugged in to a display source, the smart bar is still the way to navigate the On-Screen Display (OSD). The smart bar now doubles as a volume control slider though, which is clever. You tap once to get into the regular OSD to change your settings and input. To control the volume of the built-in speakers, you simply slide your finger along the smart bar.
HUAWEI Share
HUAWEI Share is also integrated to the HUAWEI MateView monitor, as we have mentioned. It is placed on the base plate of the monitor. Still, integrating that HUAWEI OneHop Share functionality is clever, except, you need to have a modern HUAWEI device with EMUI 11 or later and NFC capabilities to take advantage of it. We do not have a HUAWEI EMUI 11 or Harmony OS 2 device that supports the OneHop NFC capability.
While we do understand that this is a HUAWEI device, their implementation to exclusively support HUAWEI Share alienates it from other Android smartphone user. It does make a lot of sense if you do have a HUAWEI smartphone to work with. Except, not all HUAWEI smartphones are treated equally here too. All HUAWEI devices that are not updated to EMUI 11 or Harmony OS 2.0 will not get access to the HUAWEI Share feature. In that sense, HUAWEI is not just alienating other Android users, they are alienating their own users who held on to HUAWEI devices that are not even 3 years old.
On top of that, we genuinely think that the base plate would be much better off if HUAWEI decided to use it as a wireless charging plate. It is the most sensible place for a wireless charging station, after all. The HUAWEI Share sensor can be moved to either the side, or top, or even the bottom part of the monitor module, in our humble opinions.
Options
We tested the HUAWEI MateView mostly with a USB Type-C connection. Meaning we took advantage of the Thunderbolt capabilities of the HUAWEI MateView too. We connected our thin and light Lenovo Yoga S730 via USB Type-C and later on an Acer Predator Triton 500, also via USB Type-C. Thankfully, the HUAWEI MateView charges the Lenovo Yoga S703 at 65W too, so that is always a bonus.
We used the HDMI 2.0 port of the HUAWEI MateView too with the Acer Predator Triton 500. The only issue is that the HDMI 2.0 connection only allows for the display to work with 50Hz in refresh rate due to the bandwidth limitation of the HDMI 2.0 itself. We could not get our PlayStation 4 Pro to work with the display though, oddly enough. To get the best experience of the 4K+ at 60Hz, you want to use a MiniDP to DisplayPort (provided) cable or USB Type-C to USB Type-C (provided) cable. Of course, make sure your PC can project via USB Type-C.
We would prefer a standard DisplayPort 1.4 on the monitor though. Finding a MiniDP-to-MiniDP Thunderbolt cable proves to be quite difficult. At the same time, there is space behind the stand to house a standard DisplayPort 1.4, which makes it even stranger for the HUAWEI MateView not to include one.
We did a wireless projection with a HUAWEI MatePad Pro (2020) in both regular and Desktop Mode and got quite odd results. The display was not rationed properly, the image looks a little stretched vertically. While that can be easily rectified by connecting the tablet to the display via USB Type-C, it is kind of annoying and defeats the purpose of having wireless projection on the display.
Performance – Satisfying 4K+, Beautiful Colours
The biggest draw of the HUAWEI MateView is no doubt its 4K+ IPS panel that will be the main point of its interaction with its users. At 28.2-inch, the MateView is not exactly small, but is probably the smallest 4K display of its type. Then again, this is the only 4K display of its type at this time projecting 3,840 x 2,560 (3:2) pixels instead of the usual 3,840 x 2,160 (16:9).
The 4K+ resolution is displayed at ΔE<2, and at DCI-P3 coverage of 98%, or 100% sRGB coverage. These numbers basically mean that the HUAWEI MateView features one of the best colour reproductions on its 28.2-inch panel at this time. It also features HDR 400 with 1,200:1 contrast ratio, if you must know.
Bright, Vibrant Colours
We had to turn down the brightness of the display to 80% from full brightness. At full 500nits, the display is way too bright to be used in a room. If you are using this in a darker situation, you do want to turn it down even further because the HUAWEI MateView can get overly bright. Considering that you might be using the HUAWEI Mateview in a well-lit room or under natural lighting though, 500nits could be useful.
There are also a few presets for the display colour profile that you can choose from. We set ours to DCI-P3 colour profile, just because we think it looks best. Images look vibrant with highly saturated colours on this display. Because it is a 4K display too, pixels on lower resolution images get a little exaggerated when displayed fullscreen. High-resolution photographs look stunning on this though.
In these presets though, you cannot change your other colour and temperature settings. Settings like contrast and gamma is locked off. The only thing you have going for you is the brightness control.
Going to the Movies
Movies and films from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and even Disney+ Hotstar are easy to enjoy on the HUAWEI MateView. Even when you watch Full HD 1080p films on the HUAWEI MateView, while you do notice some graininess a little, it still looks great because colours are vivid. High framerate films like Formula 1: Drive to Survive also highlights the MateView’s brilliant contrasts. The bright colours that are projected on darker backdrops are clear as day and sharp. Even the colourful fast-moving cars look great on the MateView itself.
… Or Edit Your Films
Naturally, a 4K+ resolution display will, inevitably, used for creative work. While it may not be the best or top-of-the-line display in terms of creative work, it has all the right qualities for be one of the better displays for content creators. If you are not into 3D work and high-framerate visuals, this should be good enough. We used the 4K+ monitor as a secondary monitor to basically scrutinise our video work. We record most of our videos in 4K and publish them in 1080p Full HD resolution. The added detail you can see from a 4K resolution display also means that we get to be a little more detailed when it comes to our work too. Of course, colour grading is a breeze with highly accurate colours. But the matte finish of the display, which is not typical for colour accurate displays, helps with video and image editing in a brightly lit room.
… Or Game, Because Why Not?
While not something that the HUAWEI MateView is created for, you can game on it. Yes, the display aspect ratio is a little odd at 3:2. A wider vertical view does mean a little more environmental detail on your display on the top and bottom of the monitor. Thing is, you want more peripheral view instead of more to see from the top and bottom of the display, so it does not make that much of a difference in some sense. Still, you can set games to work on the 4K+ resolution at 60Hz, and that is important.
Games in 4K+ does look impressive with details you have never expected before. Colours still pop in games like GTA V and No Man’s Sky. Shadow of the Tomb Raider looks amazing on 4K+. Here is the thing though, to play your games at 4K+ resolution at 60fps requires you to have substantial power from your gaming rig. Not every game will be able to run at 60Hz or even smoothly on 4K+ resolution and you can see the limitations kicking in when you fire games like GTA V up and set everything to ultra. Strangely enough, No Man’s Sky runs great at Ultra settings with speeds hitting above 50fps at times. Keep in mind that this is on a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super platform.
The HUAWEI MateView – Impressive, But Maybe Not
Before you get confused with the heading, we do really want to say that we are impressed with the HUAWEI MateView. We like it, even. But there are a few glaring issues we cannot seem to wrap our heads around.
The biggest problem is that it will set you back MYR 2,988. At the time of writing, Samsung’s similar UR55 28-inch 4K monitor technically offers a wider 4K experience (16:9) and an IPS panel as well for MYR 1,399 and it comes with AMD FreeSync. You can even find a 27-inch Dell 4K UHD monitor at MYR 1,589 at this time. A BenQ 27-inch 4K UHD display will also only set you back MYR 2,699, MYR 300 less than the HUAWEI with three built-in speakers and AMD FreeSync technology too. All of them comes with standard DisplayPort as well.
If you are buying for entertainment purposes, what is wrong with a 4K UHD smart TV? While it does have some wireless features, its experience on other devices that does not support its version of HUAWEI Share is not exactly great or seamless. You are still better off with cables in the case of using the display with your smartphone or tablet devices anyway.
We have to admit that we thoroughly enjoyed the HUAWEI MateView. It looks great and as a PC monitor, it works great. Add the mic functionality and speakers that sound better than average speakers from most displays, wireless connectivity capabilities, and its colour accuracy, it is a compelling display to work with. We may not completely understand its incompatibility with systems other than HUAWEI’s own (well, we do, but we think it is a little ridiculous).
In the end, would this be something we would recommend our friends to buy? In short, no. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other far more compelling products at the same price or even less. The HUAWEI MateView, while it isnot a bad product in any way, does not feel and work like a product that commands its price tag.
The HUAWEI MateView is HUAWEI’s first attempt in capturing the premium desktop display market. At MYR 2,988, the HUAWEIMateView is nowhere near cheap. It does come with a few features that would make other displays look a little lacking though.
It comes with two 5W speakers that is embedded within the stand of the display. That also means that HUAWEI can keep the body of the display itself thin and svelte. Multiple I/O makes it simple to work with, and flexible enough that you can work with multiple devices with just a single display.
You are viewing all your contents at 4K+ UHD resolution. While the display factor is a little odd at 3:2, you are technically getting a little more for your buck. The IPS panel also projects colours at 98% DCI-P3 for the best-in-class colour reproduction. The HUAWEI MateView is really something else.
The HUAWEI MateView is now available for pre-order form HUAWEI’s Online Store and their retail partners including Shopee and Lazada. The pre-order period lasts until 21st July 2021. Every pre-order in this period is entitled to a free HUAWEI WIFI AX3 Dual Core router. More information on the HUAWEI MateView can be found on HUAWEI’s website.
The HUAWEI MateBook Series, if we are being honest, is some of the best ways to spend your money if you are looking for a reasonably priced notebook PCs with premium build and functions. If you own a HUAWEI device, the MateBook series are the devices that you want to work with, especially when it comes to transferring and sharing files across your devices. Sadly, that OneHop feature only works across HUAWEI devices for now.
2021 has rolled in full and of course, it is that time to start updating your devices. HUAWEI releases their 2021 line-up of MateBook devices so that you have options to upgrade your devices to. They released the new MateBook D 14, MateBook D 15 (two variants), MateBook 14, and MateBook X Pro.
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11th Generation Intel Power
The HUAWEI MateBook D 14, MateBook D 15, MateBook 14, and MoateBook X Pro will be powered by Intel’s 11th Generation Core processor for maximum power. The 11th Generation Intel processors are an improvement over the older generation chip with Intel’s latest and most advanced 10nm SuperFin process to make it even more powerful and efficient than before. Of course, you can opt up to an Intel Core i7 for the flagship level HUAWEI MateBook X Pro. You also can opt for up to 16GB of RAM to support the powerful processor.
FullView Display
While the design will remain mostly the same from previous generation MateBooks, all the MateBook series for 2021 will retain the immersive and iconinc FullView display with a unique screen ratio ranging from 13-inch (MateBook X Pro) to 15-inch (MateBook D 15). The FullView displays are meant to be immersive and displays with narrow bezels at the top and sides of the notebook. Of course, they are TÜV Rheinland certified in reducing blue light exposure to protect your eyes.
WiFi 6 Capabilities
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What is a 2021 notebook when it cannot support WiFi 6? A Notebook stuck in the 2019s of course. WiFi 6, while not technically a new technology has changed the way we work outside and with our notebooks today. The HUAWEI MateBook series for 2021 will come with WiFi 6 as standard. That also means you get faster networking speeds with more stability to get more things done outside of your office. Of course, your router has to support WiFi 6 as well.
HUAWEI Share
Of course, one of the biggest appeals when it comes to HUAWEI Notebooks is the HUAWEI Share ability. HUAWEI Share allows you to place your smartphone display and even tablet display on top of Windows on the HUAWEI MateBook series. That also means that you do not have to reach out to your smartphones to make a call, text a friend, or even read through messages and notifications. You can do that from the comfort of your desktop display on the HUAWEI MateBook series for 2021.
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Price and Availability
The HUAWEI MateBook 2021 series will be available 24th April 2021 onward. The notebooks are available for pre-order from the 20th to 23rd April 2021 on HUAWEI’s very own Online Store. If you happen to be one of the first 1,500 customers to pre-order any HUAWEI MateBook 2021 series products, you can enjoy some exclusive free gifts worth up to MYR 800.
The HUAWEI MateBook D 14 will be available in Mystic Silver at MYR 3,499 onward. The HUAWEI MateBook D 15 comes in either an 11th Generation Intel Core processor trim or a 10th Generation Intel Core processor trim at MYR 3,299 and MYR MYR 3,899 onward respectively in Mystic Silver. The HUAWEI MateBook 14 will come in Space Grey colour option at MYR 4,899 onward. Lastly, the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro will come in a unique Emerald Green colour option for MYR 6,899 onward. For more information on the 2021 series of HUAWEI MateBook notebooks, you can visit HUAWEI’s website.
The Intel 10th Generation Core platforms have been out for a while now. Plenty of manufacturers have already taken advantage toward updating their line-up with the newer processors. Of course, newer is better and faster. One of the notebook PCs that we wanted to see updated though, was HUAWEI’s MateBook line-up. Until now, that is.
HUAWEI MateBook X Pro
The HUAWEI MateBook X Pro was one of the best value-for-money notebook PCs you can find in the market at its launch. The MateBook X Pro is exactly what it sounds like. It is a modern top class thin and light PC to haul all your work in one place. While thin, it was no slouch too.
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The new 2020 version is a continuation of all those qualities from 2018. It gets the new Intel 10th Generation Core platform in the from of a Core i7-10510U processor (up to). Not top-of-the-line, but still a vastly powerful CPU for a body no thicker than 2 cm. That is thinner than most keyboard you can find the market even. You have up to an NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU if you have the urge to take it gaming. No, you may not run today’s AAA titles that well, but it is designed to be a workhorse, not a gaming PC this HUAWEI MateBook X Pro.
Still, up to 16GB of RAM does not hurt especially if you need to have multiple windows and browsers open at the same time. The MX250 would help you too if you ever need to quickly edit a video. Where it shines though is when you want to just wind down and watch a movie on HUAWEI’s beautiful 3K resolution display. It is also touch optimised just in case you are wondering. It even has four speakers for you to enjoy more than just music.
Of course, being a HUAWEI notebook PC, you still get the benefit of using HUAWEI Share. just tap and share a photo between your HUAWEI smartphone and your PC. We especially love this function when used with a HUAWEI smartphone.
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The HUAWEI MateBook PC will be available in Malaysia 16th May 2020 onward. It is available in Space Grey and Emerald Green colour options when it is available. The new HUAWEI MateBook X Pro will start from MYR 7,999. If you are looking for something more budget friendly, you might want to look at something else. If you go for this though, you are entitled to a free HUAWEI Sound X Bluetooth speaker, a HUAWEI Bluetooth Mouse, a backpack, and HUAWEI’s Band 4 fitness tracker. For more information on the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro, you can visit their website.
HUAWEI MateBook 13
By far one of our favourite Notebook PCs from HUAWEI, the MateBook 13 was an embodiment of what would be a perfect working laptop for us. It is small, light, powerful, and durable. Sure, it had an odd shape thanks to the odd display ratio. But its 13-inch display was beautiful at 2K resolution.
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They kept that 2K resolution on the 13-incher though. There is a new 10th Generation Core processor now. You still get up to 16GB of RAM to work with too, so it is still no slouch. You still get a discrete GPU in the NVIDIA GeForce MX250 for not just your entertainment. It is good enough to work with for light video editing.
One of our favourite things on the MateBook 13 was its very thoughtful fingerprint sensor embedded with the power button. It is not the first time we see this design anywhere, but we appreciate that subtlety and functional form. The other thing was that it was light. The new one, is a mere 1.3kg. It is not as light as some of the thin and light that we see out in the market, but the GPU is worth some cooling, trust me. Plus, it is an all-aluminium body. Of course, HUAWEI Share is that other thing we liked about it.
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The MateBook 13 will be available at the same time as the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro. It is only available in one colour option though. It is only available in Space Grey, which is actually not a bad colour to go with. You can get your hands on one for MYR 4,999. You get all the same free gift as the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro offer excluding the HUAWEI Sound X Bluetooth speaker. For more information on the HUAWEI MateBook 13, you can check out their website, or webstore.
MateBook D 14 & 15
Meant to be the more budget choice and targeted toward the student segment, the MateBook D 14 and 15 are the ones to go for if you are just looking to get work done on the go without much fuss. They are not the smallest or lightest things you can carry around, but they get the job done.
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They are still no slouch too though. You get up to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700U CPU on the 15-incher and up to an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U for the 14-incher. Both get Full HD displays still. Both also gets Radeon Vega GPUs to work with and game with. The 14-inch MateBook D 14 gets Radeon Vega 8 while the MateBook D 15 gets the Radeon RX Vega 10.
You still get up to 16GB of RAM for both devices though. You also get a 512GB SSD to work with, so these MateBook D notebooks are not what you would call slow as well. You also get a fingerprint sensor embedded to the power button, so it is not less premium than the more expensive MateBook 13 or MateBook X Pro. Of course, the HUAWEI MateBook D 14 and D 15 gets HUAWEI Share out-out-of-the box. If you already own a HUAWEI device, that is a bonus that you will want to have.
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The HUAWEI MateBook D 14 and D 15 will be available at the same time with the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro and HUAWEI MateBook 13. It is only available in Mystic Silver. At least you do not get a headache of choosing what colour suits your lifestyle. It will set you back MYR 2,899. You are entitled, while stocks last, for the same free gifts as the HUAWEI MateBook 13 offer. For more information, you can check out their website, or webstore.
