Huawei hasn’t had the best 12 months, but the Huawei MateBook X Pro and Huawei MateBook D 14 are two gleaming rays of light for the company, forming a steadfast 2020 laptop lineup.
Ahead of its recent trials and tribulations, Huawei had established itself as a leading contender in the phone space – arguably even surpassing the likes of Apple and Samsung before the US trade ban scuppered its progress.
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Despite these rough times, one area of the business has been plugging away – the laptop division. Huawei’s made laptops for several years now but, in a year of an ultrabook boom and unaffected by sanctions that mar its mobile business, the company has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Huawei’s flagship laptop, the MateBook X Pro, offers quality ultrabook features at a competitive price – and, even, a stunning and unique Emerald Green colour option. The laptop isn’t perfect and doesn’t quite top the nigh-on perfect Dell XPS 13 2020 but we still gave it a 4.5-star Recommended score.
Here’s what our review says:
“The Huawei MateBook X Pro is a great all-round laptop with a lovely ultra-portable design, gorgeous 2K display and a performance decent enough to handle basic productivity tasks.
“A terrible webcam and a reflective display are the main factors holding it back from challenging the Dell XPS, but it’s still a great value option for the likes of students and office workers.”
Related: Best ultrabooks
Then there’s the new Huawei MateBook D mid-range laptop line – an area in which the company is truly leading the way.
The MateBook range has always given off serious MacBook vibes but, with the D laptops, Huawei has brought that look down to a remarkably affordable price – all while many other budget manufacturers still stick to chunkier bezels and plasticky chassis. This extends to the Honor MagicBook 14, an almost identical device to the MateBook D 14 but from Huawei’s subsidiary.
I reviewed both of these budget offerings, awarding them with a 4.5-star score each – with the MagicBook 14 teetering on the edge of a 5-star Highly Recommended rating due to its slightly lower price and becoming our best budget laptop on our best laptops list.
Honor MagicBook 14
The fact that the Huawei MateBook D 14 offers high-end ultrabook looks at a sub-£600 price point is impressive in its own right but don’t think Huawei’s shirked on specs to make this happen. The AMD Ryzen 5 processor combined with 8GB RAM provides a worry-free productivity experience that’s a great buy for students.
For many, the lack of Google Play Services may mean Huawei is off the table when it comes to mobile phones but you’d truly be missing out to sideline the company when seeking out a shiny new laptop.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
