H
uawei surprised us last year
with the first MateBook X Pro,
so much so that it became
one of our favourite laptops of- Unfortunately, Huawei did
such a good job last year that its
sequel fails to improve on what was
already near perfection.
The 2019 MateBook X Pro is
undoubtedly more powerful and
just as thin, light, portable and
versatile as before – but the laptop
is faster by such a small margin that
it’s barely worth the asking price.
Price and availability
Huawei hasn’t specifically discussed
the price of the MateBook X Pro in
the UK and US yet, though it should
be available in those regions by the
time you read this. While we don’t
exactly know how much the laptop
will cost, the laptop’s official pricing
in Euros reveals plenty.
The entry level MateBook X Pro
includes an eighth-generation Intel
Core i5-8265U processor with IntelUHD Graphics 620, 8GB of DDR3
RAM and a 512GB SSD for €1,599
(around £1,375/$1,794). If you want
more power than that, then an Intel
Core i7-8565U is available along
with double the RAM and storage
for €1,999 (£1,720/$2,243).Design
This new MateBook X Pro is almost
identical to the 2018 model on the
outside, the only difference being
that this model lacks the previous
version’s chrome lotus flower logo.
The laptop is available in the
same colours as before – Mystic
Silver and Space Grey – using the
very same aluminium unibody
frame, and is just as thin and light
at just 14.6mm and 1.33kg. That’s
thinner than the latest Apple
MacBook Air, and a hair heavier.
Like the MacBook Air, the
MateBook X Pro supports
Thunderbolt 3 via one of its two
USB-C ports, but also offers a
standard USB 3.0 port.Much unlike the MacBook Air are
the MateBook X Pro keyboard and
touchpad, which offer stronger
feedback and a wider tracking
space, respectively. The MateBook
X Pro key travel is surprisingly deep
for a laptop this thin as well. We
also find the touchpad’s tracking
surface to be accurate and smooth,
putting up strong palm rejection.
All in all, we’re happy with
Huawei’s decision to leave the
MateBook X Pro’s chassis design
largely untouched. However, we
wish the company would move on
from the webcam recessed within
the keyboard. Huawei cooked up a
clever trick with privacy in mind,
but it’s a poor place for a webcam.Display and audio
The MateBook X Pro uses the same
super-sharp 13.9-inch screen in 3:2
aspect ratio as before, producing
100 percent sRGB colour with a
1,500:1 contrast ratio and 450cd/m^2
brightness. We’re fine with these£1,720 | $2,243 https://consumer.huawei.com/
Theslightestofimprovements
£1 720 |$2243htt // h i /
80 |^ |^ May 2019