Huawei’s smartphone business might have been hit hard by the US-China trade war, but its laptop business is business as usual.
The Chinese tech giant has just launched its latest mid-range lightweight laptop in the form of the MateBook 14.
It features a 14-inch 2K display with thin bezels that it achieves a 90 per cent screen-to-body ratio. In the inside, the MateBook 14 packs AMD’s Ryzen 4000H processor and integrated AMD Radeon Graphics that offer great performance for most of your productivity needs.
Perhaps, the best part of the MateBook 14 is its pricing that offers great value for money. At only $1,298, it even offers 16GB of RAM and 512GB of flash storage.
SPECS
PRICE: $1,298 (available in Lazada and Shopee)
PROCESSOR: AMD Ryzen 5 4000H
DISPLAY: 14-inch 3:2 (2,160 x 1,400 pixels)
RAM: 16GB
STORAGE: 512GB SSD
WEIGHT: 1.49kg
DESIGN
The MateBook 14 has a sleek minimalist design. Its smooth grey finish is great to touch and look at.
Although its aluminium body is quite lightweight at only 1.49kg, the build is pretty sturdy. It gives you plenty of confidence when you hold it.
Furthermore, this laptop has all the ports you that you ever need. There are two USB-A ports on its right, while a USB-C port (for both charging and data transfer), a 3.5mm headphone jack and HDMI port are on its left.
The power button sited on the top right above the keyboard is also a fingerprint sensor. You can use it to unlock the laptop to ensure not anyone can use it.
Not to mention, its hidden pop-up webcam ensures extra security, so no one can see you unless you want them to.
In addition, I like the large touchpad that makes it a breeze to move the mouse cursor across the screen.
FOR
+ Sleek minimalist design
+ Lightweight and sturdy aluminium build
+ Great performance
+ All the important ports you need
+ Great value for money
AGAINST
– Pop-up webcam might not be too flattering
– Display is not touchscreen
PERFORMANCE
In terms of performance, it scored 4,981 in the benchmark software PCMark 10 Benchmark test. Easily scoring last year’s MateBook X Pro’s score of 4,162.
In real life scenarios, the MateBook 14 does all tasks quickly and responsively. You will have no issues opening multiple tabs on Chrome browser, while you work on your 200-page presentations on PowerPoint.
I also played games, such as the first-person shooter Valorant, on this laptop with no issues.
BATTERY LIFE
In our video-loop battery test whereby we loop a video with the display on full brightness, we found it lasted 7 hours 15 minutes. This is considered to be really good, as the best timing thus far for this battery test is around 9 hours.
On the downside, while secure, the pop-up webcam might give you “double chin” during your web conferences. In addition, the 14-inch display is not touchscreen. But these are just really little quirks.
VERDICT
The Huawei MateBook 14 is a great value-for-money and no-frills lightweight laptop ideal for both school and office. Certainly one to consider for your kids or yourself.
RATING
FEATURES 8/10
DESIGN: 8/10
PERFORMANCE: 8/10
BATTERY LIFE: 8/10
VALUE FOR MONEY: 9/10
OVERALL: 8/10
