2019 Huawei MateBook Series – Mobile World Congress

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Last year Huawei launched the MateBook X Pro and it’s still one of my favourite laptops to date; it’s sleek, premium, lightweight and not too pricey for what you get, it can even edit videos and offers a big battery life. This year Huawei have stepped up their game with a new line of MateBook series with subtle changes that may or may not be something for current MateBook X Pro users, but definitely worth looking at if you’re on the market for a new laptop you can just sling in your bag and still get a lot of work done or watch videos on the move.

2019 Huawei MateBook X Pro

First up is the 2019 Huawei MateBook X and with this one, the current 2018 model is already a great laptop and Huawei did well not to take away all the great things we loved about the MateBook X Pro. They have upgraded its port, graphics chip, you get a Thunderbolt 3 processor so you can attach an external graphics card, improved connectivity on WiFi and Bluetooth and some intelligent features that improve workflow and sharing between Huawei devices.

The MateBook X Pro 2018 and 2019 are very identical, in fact, the only difference I could spot is the different logos used on the back side of the devices, and that’s probably the only way you’d be able to tell if you saw them from a distance or up close. It’s got a 91% screen-to-body ratio making it’s Full-View LTPS touchscreen looking near bezel-less. With a 3000 x 2000, 360 PPI display, you have vibrancy, great brightness at 430 nits, and combined with a 1500:1 contrast ratio, you won’t have to worry about using it in bright lighting conditions. Huawei also stuck with the 3:2 aspect ratio, the recessed camera for privacy, and it’s still super light at 1.33KG and 14.6mm thick at its thickest part. As I mentioned, upgrades are subtle, and one of the new addition to its touch screen display is that you can now swipe down using three fingers to take screenshots meaning you won’t need to find your snipping tool when you need to take screenshots.

Huawei’s OneTouch to go is still present, meaning you can power on your laptop and log in within seconds thanks to the fingerprint sensor built into power button and it’s kept secure using an independent security chip. For power, it now rocks an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8565 processor making the 2019 MateBook X Pro 10 times faster, the 8th Gen i7 is also 40 x faster than the 7th gen predecessor. For connectivity, you have a new Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity which is 2 x faster, offers 8 x faster broadcast and 4 x the range of its predecessor. You’ll also get faster Wifi connectivity with peak speeds of up to 1733 Mbps. Even with a thin profile, Huawei still managed to include a USB A port and 2 x USB C Ports. It also supports Thunderbolt 3 connectivity which can deliver up to 40GB/s at full speed, you can also connect a GeForce GTX 2080 external graphics card and hook up your laptop to a 4K display

When it comes to graphics, Huawei isn’t messing around either, they have upgraded the MateBook X’s graphics to an MX250 2GB GDDR5 integrated card which 3.5 x better, Smart cooling system – Huawei’s Shark Fin 2.0 with active and passive modes – and it’s 20 % more efficient. For the battery, Huawei quoted a 13 hours video playback, 14 hours for office work scenario and 12 hours web browsing and if you need to there’s a compact and fast USB C charger in the box to quickly give you any boost needed. The 2019 Huawei MateBook X Pro has 4 speakers with Dolby atmos and if I were to base it on the 2018 model, it sounds amazing. When you need to use audio in conference calling situations, you have a Quad Mic setup which can pick up sound from up to 4 meters away with added support for cortana and microsoft translator.

Where Huawei continues to improve its platform and software is how you can connect your other Huawei devices together and the MateBook X Pro is no exception. With OneHop, you will be able to transfer photos, videos and documents just by tapping your phone on the MateBook X Pro. It uses NFC for the initial connection then the rest is history. There’s also a shake and tap feature that will let you record and transfer files your MateBook X Pro from your Huawei Smartphone or Tablet providing you’re running EMUI 9.1 or higher. Shaking and Tapping your device on the laptop also lets you record anything that’s on your laptop screen as a video file. What I also like is how you can now highlight any text from your MateBook X and it will also be readily available to paste on your other Huawei devices.

2019 MateBook 13 Touchscreen

Huawei announced a new MateBook 13 earlier this year at CES, but that’s not to be confused with the latest MateBook 13, as this version will come with a touchscreen display, no recessed camera and a lot of the design and technology DNA found in the MateBook X Pro. It has an 88% screen to body ratio, same metal body, 2K touch display with a 100% sRGB color gamut, 300 nits screen brightness, 1000:1 contrast, 200 PPI, 3:2 ratio, 14.9mm at its thickest point, weighs 1.28KG – Intel UHD version – and comes in a Space grey and mystic silver variant.

Just like the other MateBooks, you get a One Touch access power button with an independent chip for the fingerprint data and security, a backlit keyboard that’s also spill-proof, large clickpad and an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor. For ports, you get 2 x USB C ports with one power only and an audio jack too. It will come in two configuration options, one with a 512GB PCIe SSD storage and MX 150 Graphics chip and a second version with 256GB PCIe storage and an Intel HD 620 graphics.

Just like the MateBook X Pro, you’ll also get the benefits of Huawei’s Shark Flin Design 2.0, resulting in blowing rate that’s enhanced by 25%, 2 x fans, one for GPU and one for CPU with Intelligent filtering. For the battery, Huawei quoted 10 hours video playback, 9.1 hours work scenario and you’ll also get a 65W Charger that can give you 2 hours of work from 15 mins of charge. It also supports Huawei’s OneHop experience, Eye-comfort mode and a Dual speaker with Dolby Atmos.

2019 Huawei MateBook 14:

If a 13inch MateBook or MateBook X Pro is not for you and you need something slightly larger, then you should probably consider the 14inch MateBook. It has a 90% screen-to-body ratio Full View display. It’s 4.9mm at its thickest point and it has a 2160 x 1440 display with 185 PPI, 300 nits of brightness with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 100% sRGB colour gamut, 1000:1 contrast ratio and a recessed camera for privacy.

With a Touchscreen display, you’ll be able to use the new three-finger swipe down feature for screenshots and it’s tough with a corning gorilla glass display. It looks premium with diamond cut chamfers, metal body sandblasting finishing and available in space grey, pink gold and mystic silver.

Elsewhere, you also get a One Touch power button, 8th gen core i7, MX250 built in (TDP 25W) with 2GB DDR5 RAM, Bluetooth 5, a new Intel 9650 chip for WiFi, one full HDMI port, USB 2.0, USB 3, USB Type C and an audio jack too. It’s kept cool by Huawei’s Shark Fin 2.0 with up to 5700 RPM with passive and active cooling.

With a gig battery present, you can enjoy up to 15 hours video playback, 14 hours work hours and 10.5 hours of web browsing. In the box, you get a 65 w charger to quickly power your laptop back up when it runs out of juice and it’s very compact for travel, weighing just 190g. Just like the other devices, you get Huawei Share 3.0, OneHop, Quad Mic and Dolby atmos for audio.