Huawei Matebook X Pro review: A few cut corners diminish this otherwise great laptop’s value - davisposee1984

Huawei's Matebook X Pro may prompt you of how another Chinese trafficker, OnePlus, captured a chunk of the smartphone market with flagship eyeglasses at an affordable Mary Leontyne Pric.  In any case the oddball pop-up webcam and a short add of the high-end Core i7 model, the 14-inch Matebook X Professional thin-and-light offers several compelling reasons to pip out: a majuscule display, a good keyboard, marvelous audio frequency, and even an included USB-C dock. It's hard to believe that Huawei even included a discrete GeForce MX150 GPU in the faster, Core i7-powered version.

But Huawei also cut a turning point Oregon two. Power limits curb its carrying into action, and both its Thunderbolt port and discrete GPU are swing-down versions. Battery life is middling. Information technology's also hard to find: A Substance i5 version tin make up saved on Amazon for the good price of $1,199. You'll involve to run the Core i7 version that we tested, which we found at B&H Exposure for $1,499, but at Virago for about $1,900.

Editor's Note: Huawei has refreshed the Huawei Matebook X Professional with a other model for 2019, with an upgraded processor but what appears to be a downgraded (?!) GPU. We haven't reviewed it yet, but our active with the Matebook X Pro (2019) is here.

Mark Hachman / IDG

A great trackpad dominates the Huawei Matebook X Pro's keyboard.

Basic specs

• Processor: Intel Marrow 1.6-GHz i5-8250U;1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550U (Kaby Lake-R) (Core i7 as tested)
• Store: 8GB-16GB 2,133MHz LPDDR3 (16GB as tested)
• Show: 13.9-inch IPS technology (3,000×2000)
• Graphics: Intel UHD 620 (Desegrated) + Nvidia GeForce MX150 w/2GB GDDR5 (MX150 non enclosed connected Core i5 model)
• Storage: 256GB-512GB PCIe-NVMe SSD (512GB equally tested)
• Camera: Front: 1MP
• Wireless: 802.11ac (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 4.1
• Ports: One USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (power delivery, data transfer); i USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 (Bombshell, power delivery, information transfer); one USB 3.0 Type-A; headphone jack. MateDock 2 includes USB-A port, USB-C port, VGA and HDMI
• Battery: 57.4Wh
• In operation system: Windows 10 Home
• Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.54 x 0.57 inches (14.6mm)
• Weight: 2.9 pounds, 3.34 pounds (with charger), 3.48 pounds with courser and hub (as measured)
• Price: $1,199 (Core group i5); $1,499 (Inwardness i7)

Display and sound

The Matebook X Pro  is sturdily made. I never felt the laptop turn operating theatre give spell carrying it around or typing. We were offered a Space Gray unit for go over, though a Mystic Silver choice is also available. Huawei gave the surfaces of the laptop a sandblasted matte look, though the aspheric, polished edges gleam.

The Al construction measures 14.6mm at its thickest, barely accommodating the USB-A ports near its hind end flexible joint. Between the nearly bezel-fewer (just 4.4mm!) video display and the oversize trackpad, there's not much wasted space.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The Huawei Matebook X Pro  is just thin adequate to permit for a USB-A port on one broadside.

Ii models are available, both of which use Intel's 8th-generation parts: the Core i5/8GB memory/256GB SSD version, which lacks a discrete GPU; and the Core i7 version, with 16GB of memory/512GB SSD and the Nvidia MX150. Information technology's clear early buyers snapped skyward the excellent value the high-end Matebook X In favou offered, As they were difficult to find online. That may encourage buyers to turn to the more prosaic Nub i5 model unless they fanny run the Matebook X In favour of Core i7 theoretical account.

Though the Huawei Matebook X In favor of weighs in on the heavy side—slightly inferior than the older MacBook Pro, merely heavier than the Dingle XPS 13—the tapering edge gives it a more svelte feel.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The Matebook X In favor of isn't a convertible, so this represents its riddled recline. Two USB-C ports are on the right lateral, along with a headphone jack.

Open up the Matebook X Favoring's lid, and two things leap out: the 3:2 display, which most swallows the entire lid, and the sizable touchpad. Saved by a coating of Corning's Gorilla gorilla Glass is the 3,000×2,000 IPS technology display, boasting what Huawei calls a 100% sRGB colour gamut and 1500:1 line ratio. Maybe our review unit was overpowered: Huawei says the display generates 450 nits of brightness, but we measured 525 nits, more than enough to comfortably work within Word under the glare of a noontime California insolate. (The bright light water-washed prohibited the color from YouTube videos, though they were legible.)

What it all boils down to is this: Subjectively speaking, the Matebook X Pro's display is as good as the Microsoft Surface Book 2's, normally my go-to notebook for content creation. It's that dependable.

The Huawei Matebook X Pro's sound booms from speakers mounted underneath the keyboard, though the overall timbre was tinny, American Samoa expected. To fix that, you'll need to enable the built-in Ray M. Dolby Atmos app, which utterly transforms the sound choice to among the very best I've heard from a laptop computer. The baron is enough to resonate the chassis slightly.

Typewriting undergo and webcam

Though the Matebook X Pro's backlit keys are a trifle stiffer and shallower than I'd prefer, the typing experience was pastoral. The broad keys provide a wide landing tablet for your fingers, and the resistance helps cushion your fingers. As I normally do, I wrote this review exploitation the Matebook X Pro's keyboard, and I'd merrily do so again.

You'll also similar the Huawei Matebook X Pro's first-class fingerprint reader, which is integrated with the power clitoris. Fingerprint readers have the advantage of usually being fast and accurate, and the Matebook X Pro's Windows Hello-miscible referee follows suit. About the only drawback is the lack of a visual index number reminding you to log in with your thumb, though muscle memory should quetch in quickly.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The fingerprint referee hides fundament the capitate power button. Just urge on to turn it on, then tap once more to logarithm in.

The Matebook X In favor's keyboard has its quirks, though. For combined thing, the laptop appears to volcano hotness done the small speaker grilles connected apiece broadside of the keyboard, as well as through the physical body itself. That can warm up the palm balance a bit. The backlight controls toggle switch finished "inebriated," "low," and "off" settings. There's also a dedicated significant for the Huawei PC Manager software, which generally replaces the Windows Settings menu.

Pit Hachman / IDG

Here's the Matebook X Pro's webcam: tap in to soda pop it up, press IT to hide it once more. When in use, a Pieris rapae LED lights to the left of the crystalline lens.

Clear the oddest thing about the Huawei Matebook X In favor of, however, is the small, popup, front-facing camera that emerges from the top row of work keys. (In that location is no bum camera.) Information technology's only 1MP in resolution, but its real purpose is to protect your privacy. The spring-loaded camera will bug out of its hidey-hole single with a physical touch. It's functional even if you wear't pop it out—debut the Photographic camera app and picture with the camera hidden results in a picture of a black screen. Note, too, that the mic will platte audio frequency even with the photographic camera hidden, and you power never notice because the microphone's indicator light is hidden from view along with the camera.

Bull's eye Hachman / IDG

Typing patc using the Matebook X Favoring's webcam exposes you to completely sorts of unflattering angles. And those giant hands!

When deployed, the television camera's limitations become clear. Its angle is not adjustable. I'm a tall soul (6'2″), and it cut off half of my face if I sat ordinarily. If I typed, my fingers' law of proximity to the camera exaggerated their size to B-movie proportions. I enlisted a shorter person (5'2″) to try the camera, and the television camera framed them utterly considerably. You Crataegus oxycantha as wel find that the ascending-facing position isn't flattering for most people. Self-love, thy refer isn't the Matebook X Pro.

I/O ports and the MateDock 2

The MateBook X Pro's connectivity is amazingly good. On its port lateral sits a pair of USB-C ports, one with the high-velocity Bolt of lightning interface (USB 3.1 Gen 2), the separate with just now a stereotypical USB 3.1 Gen 1. On the right side, the Matebook X Pro squeezes in a single USB-A port, neatly compromising betwixt emeritus and new peripherals. And it gets better.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The MateDock 2 is a skillful touch: a convenient USB-C hub that supports many bequest connections.

As Huawei has finished some of its other products—notably the 2016 Matebook tablet—it's too included a dedicated USB hub, the MateDock 2, to accomodate bequest hardware. The hub includes a USB-A port, an HDMI user interface, and even up VGA—on with a USB-C passthrough that allows you to charge the notebook computer or connect to a display. Though the Huawei Matebook X Pro isn't cheap, the addition of a hub is a reflective motion that newcomers to USB-C will appreciate.

Apps and software

The Matebook X Pro's full name is formally the Huawei Matebook X Pro Signature Version, co-opting the "signature" title from Microsoft. Microsoft sells "Signature Variant" versions of third-political party notebooks through its online stores, purging them of totally the unnecessary crapware that Personal computer makers sometimes load them up with. Only Huawei's omnibus PC Manager app appears connected the Matebook X Affirmative. Only in that respect's also a number of unnecessary apps, including 2 versions ofSugarcoat Crush, andtheHidden Metropolis unseeable pictures game.

IDG

The Microcomputer Coach software is relatively unambiguous.

Unfortunately, there's little to commend enabling the PC Manager computer software, which performs deuce-ac key functions: checking to go out if the ironware components are working correctly and keeping drivers risen to escort; portion as a hub to connect to a Huawei phone; and serving as a front end to Huawei's online bear out and ancillary purchasing—the most recently of which, surprisingly, was in German.

Huawei would wish you to sign on for a Huawei Gem State to perform functions like wirelessly tethering your phone as a hot spot, though there's nothing preventing you from separately turning on your telephone as a hotspot, so connecting via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to it.

IDG

The PC Manager performs an "optimisation" check to make sure that your software and drivers are up up to now.

The only unusual Huawei utility is the Display Manager, which you can memory access by right-clicking the desktop. Essentially, Display Director controls the size of textbook and icons as well as the color temperature; it's here that you put up initiate an "heart comfort style" that reduces the blue light the display emits, which can impede your ability to sleep late.

Carrying into action

Atomic number 3 a agiotage ultraportable, we compared the Huawei Matebook X Pro to single others in its class, among them two Dells (the XPS 13 and the New XPS 13) atomic number 3 well every bit the HP Spook 13. Though the Matebook X Pro looks somewhat like the new 13-inch MacBook Affirmative, we haven't yet reviewed that exemplary. You might remember that we also compared the spectacles to the Microsoft Surface Book. The Script is a little chunkier than the Matebook X Pro, as it turns out, so we excluded it from our direct comparisons.

But the Matebook X Pro as wel looks better in theory than in the real Earth, imputable ternary technical limitations that you should jazz about.

• First, we discovered that the Matebook X Pro is subject to power limit throttling. This means the laptop's CPU bequeath refrain from exploitation its burst (overclocked) mode when all of its cores are being stressed, reducing its carrying out potential.
• Second, the GeForce MX150 GPU used within it is a exceptional down-clocked model, which saves some power at the cost of or s functioning.
• Finally—and this is a special case that South Korean won't affect many customers—its Thunderbolt port uses only when half the lanes that it could, which will limit its utility if used with an outward GPU or monitoring device.

Relinquished the Matebook's price and specs, we'd expect it to fare well in our standard home and office benchmarks, as evidenced by the PCMark suite of tests. And that's true: The combination of the processor, 8GB of memory, and a speedy SSD means that IT eats up typical office tasks such as word processing. Still, driving a stinky-resolution display limited its operation somewhat.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The Huawei Matebook X Pro May non top the PCMark Work charts, but it always mat up fasting and responsive.

For home and ingenious use, we victimised the same tests within the PCMark suite as well. While the House test and Creative test overlap in web browsing and sandy gaming, the Creative quiz adds some photo and video recording use on top of it. Again, the higher-resolving power display and expected power throttling lower the Matebook X Pro's grade a little.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

This is some other case where most of the competition is tightly bunched together. Most of these laptops and tablets will perform just exquisitely in most home tasks.

Maxon's Cinebench is the about universal score among completely we use, measuring how advisable the notebook computer renders a complex image straight off. IT's a skilful way to evaluate "bursty" tasks so much American Samoa photo handling, which assess the processor and GPU in similar shipway. Hither, the Matebook X Pro performs moderately well.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Dell's offerings keep going at the top of the heap, with the Matebook X Pro trailing.

Likewise, the HandBrake ASCII text file benchmark is a prolonged stress test, measuring how the laptop will defy under load. Here, we use the ASCII text file tool to convert a whole movie into a format that tail be used by an Android tablet, such arsenic for an airplane flight.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Here, the Huawei Matebook X Professional fares pretty well, probably manifest that information technology doesn't jar against any thermal throttling issues during the run of the mental test.

 Don't entertain the Huawei Matebook X Pro as a "gaming" laptop, as such. But the discrete Nvidia GPU offloads enough of the graphics tests to make it a worthwhile pick for some older games, and should work well for an real-meter-strategy game, too. Just preceptor't throw off any first-person shooters at it without dialing down the graphics settings. Distinction that you'll hear some fan noise during gaming sessions, though the fan isn't loud enough to be obtrusive. We usage the 3DMark Sky Diver trial run here, a counterfeit bench mark that still gives us a dear idea of how IT will perform.

Though the original Microsoft Surface Book isn't direct comparable to (the Book is a convertible 2-in-1 notebook, while the Matebook X Pro is more of a tralatitious thin-and-light up), its innovational Sky Diver score was 6,220. Granted, many notebooks have moved happening, but it's Charles Frederick Worth pointing exterior that, from a nontextual matter perspective, the Matebook X Pro offers many graphics HP than the original Open Book. (A tested, the Surface Book 2 yielded a make of 19,190.)

There's just one catch: the MX150 within the Matebook X Pro is a downclocked, low-power version. The full-superpowe GeForce MX150, for thicker notebooks, runs at about 1.5GHz. The slower, lower-power version within the Matebook X In favor of runs at a mere 937MHz, as measured by the GPU-Z utility. The problem is that neither Huawei nor Nvidia makes this explicitly clear, so it's single revealed after foster investigation.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Art/play performance is clearly united of the underived reasons to buy the Matebook X Pro, as none of the competition can hold a candle to that.

The Matebook X Favoring includes the Intel Alpine Ridge LP Thunderbolt comptroller, allowing you to connect IT with a cable to an external artwork dock or external monitor. But the Alpine Ridgeline controller supports merely two lanes, rather than the expected four, for a total of 8 gigatransfers. Enthusiasts who maintenance about such things should know that an eGPU won't have as much bandwidth available as information technology would with other machines.

Finally, we address shelling life, one of our Francis Scott Key metrics. We shoot the laptop computer's battery to riddled. We also dial pile the screen brightness to 250 nits, as measured by a light cadence, a degree which allows the screen to live viewable in dense light. And so we grommet a film again and again until the battery expires. The Matebook X Affirmative's scant 7 hours of battery life is pedestrian, only information technology will hold its own o'er the course of a day.

Mark Hachman / IDG

At sporty over 7 hours of battery life, the Huawei Matebook X Pro isn't really that agonistical. But you'ray also purchasing a laptop computer that errs unofficially of performance, not length of service.

Conclusion

Huawei's Matebook X Pro offers competent carrying out. Its dependable value is, in truth, value: For retributive below $1,500, Huawei offers a laptop with a 3K display, pairing it with a decorous discrete graphics processor for a bit more oomph. Dell's XPS series remains on round top, withal, at least from a general performance viewpoint. The new Dell XPS 13 (9370) remains our Editors' Choice inside the category.

While information technology's time for Huawei to wantonness its experiment with keyboard-affixed webcams, there's really nothing else to highlight aswrong with the Matebook X Pro. In point of fact, if you'Ra looking for a bargain gaming ultrabook, the Huawei Matebook X Pro fits the bill—though purists might not be happy with a slower extraneous GPU and Thunderbolt larboard. In our vista, Huawei cut a recess present and there, but focused its efforts along areas where consumers deal the most.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/402240/huawei-matebook-x-pro-review.html

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