Huawei announced several new IT products during the MWC in Barcelona. The star of the brand this year is the 2022 version of the MateBook X Pro. If it does not revolutionize its formula, it refines it to excess to offer a product that wants to be impeccable.
Each computer manufacturer must have its premium 13-inch ultra-portable which concentrates all its latest innovations. For Huawei, the MateBook X Pro fills this office. The brand unveiled a refreshed version of its baby and we got to take it in hand at MWC 2022.
This new version does not really bring any revolution at the component level. We thus find ourselves with an Intel processor of 11and generationwhile the competition offers ultra-portables with CPUs of 12and generation. Huawei wants above all to bet on its design to seduce, as well as on the user experience.
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A MateBook X Pro that looks like a MacBook Pro
This MateBook X Pro is the PC of paradoxes in terms of its design. Huawei relies on finesse (5.4 and 15mm thick depending on the sides) and lightness (1.38 kilos), but at the same time, the computer also wants to be bigger and more imposing than the previous model. Thus, the screen size increases from 13.9 to 14.2 inches and speakers appear on the sides of the keyboard, like MacBooks. However, in hand, we really have the impression of having a much more compact, more mobile terminal.
For the chassis, Huawei reuses anodized aluminum and refines every detail. Right here, MacBook inspiration is assumed : the MateBook X Pro still takes into account what makes the strength of Apple computers in order to offer the same thing on Windows. Is it wrong to be inspired by the best in the field of design? In any case, the handling of the product is really pleasant. We have a light PC, with a well-distributed weight and which offers a pleasant first approach.
Special mention to the keyboard, which offers good sensations (the resistance is perfect under the fingers) as well as the trackpad. The latter offers interesting manipulations, since it is for example possible to double tap with the phalanx to take a screenshot. Practice.
An impressive screen
Let’s also talk about the screen. Huawei’s obsession this year has been toincrease the screen/facade ratio as much as possible on its products. Here we go up to 92.5%, one of the highest in the market. This results in a very appreciable visual comfort, the edges being almost absent. We would even go so far as to say that there is a little “wow” effect when you see it for the first time.
This reduction of the edges did not prevent the manufacturer from putting a mini 4 megapixel webcam on the top edge. We thus abandon the camera hidden under a key on the keyboard and which gave an unflattering low-angle shot in video.
As for the screen itself, we have an LCD panel with a definition of 3120 x 2080 pixels with a refresh rate of 90 Hz. Such a rate is not really essential on this format, but brings an appreciable visual advantage. It will also be democratized on many PCs this year.
Finally, note that the MateBook X Pro embeds Super Device Interface preinstalled. The user who is a fan of Huawei products will thus be able to easily transfer data from one product to another via a very intuitive interface. We will have to see if it works well and if this functionality is really necessary in everyday life.
In short, Huawei is only slightly changing its formula but offers a pleasant computer at its first approach. Of course, many questions still remain unanswered. What about screen quality? Autonomy? Power and heat management? Questions that we will answer during the test. Huawei has announced the price for the most high-end version of the product: it will take 1899 euros.
