He’s not been making laptops for a long time, but Huawei’s MateBook X Pro is already up there with the best ultraportables you can get your hands on. The MateBook X Pro (2020) is the latest model, comes with internal hardware upgraded from last year’s laptop and there is still a good choice, especially since unlike smartphones from The company, the laptop division, avoided being slapped with a ban on using its software core – Windows 10.
As with previous versions, the MateBook X Pro 2020 has a fabulous 14-inch 3: 2 screen, it’s thin and light, and has one of the most beautiful keyboards we’ve ever used on any laptop. It is almost as good as the keyboard of the Google Pixelbook Go.
In fact, physically, the MateBook X Pro hasn’t changed overnight. It’s inside that all the changes have been made, with Huawei introducing new tenth generation Intel processors for improved performance and (in theory) better battery life as well.
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Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020) review: how much does it cost?
The Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020) is not yet fully available for purchase, but we know how much it will cost. Three models will be available, all detailed in the list below:
- 10th generation Core i5, 16 GB, 512 GB SSD, Intel UHD graphics card – € 1,499
- 10th generation Core i5, 16 GB, 512 GB SSD, Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics card – € 1,699
- 10th generation Core i7, 16 GB, 1 TB SSD, Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics card – € 1,999
If you can’t wait until April, here is a list of our favorite alternatives, how much they cost and where you can buy them:
MateBook X Pro (2020) review: design and features
The design of the MateBook X Pro (2020) is nothing new, but it’s worth remembering how good it is from this perspective. First of all, it is very thin and light, measuring 14.6 mm thick when closed and weighing a featherweight of 1.3 kg.
I have been using the original MateBook X Pro for a few years now, and it has always proven to be a reliable companion in my travels. I particularly like the slightly rounded edges, which means it’s easy to slip into laptop pockets in most bags without catching the fabric lining.
On the sides you will also find a larger selection of ports than you would expect from such a slim machine. There is a single full-size USB 3.0 USB-A socket on the right, which is handy for connecting USB sticks and legacy wireless dongles. On the left edge is a pair of USB-C ports, both of which support data, charging, and video output, and there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack next to them.
Fortunately, open the lid – just one operation with one finger – and you’re faced with a spacious, well-laid-out backlit Scrabble keyboard with a large Enter key two rows high and nice Shift and Cursor keys as well. The key action is also wonderfully luxurious, with a nice dig of comments and lots of travel with each keystroke and a soft, almost liquid feel.
The keyboard is charming and the large touchpad is just as good to use. While there’s nothing quite as exotic as Apple’s haptic force feedback technology used here, the perfectly weighted mechanical click and smooth glass top go hand in hand to make a pointing device that matches everyone you find elsewhere.
Aside from that, there are a few other features to note on the MateBook X Pro (2020). The first is the circular power button which is located just above the keyboard on the right side, which incorporates a fingerprint reader, for a quick biometric connection. The second – and the only feature I would like Huawei to change – is that the laptop’s 720p webcam remains integrated into a function key, between F6 and F7 on the top row of the keyboard.
The video quality is good, but the angle is bad and you end up with your knuckles in the shot if you have to type during a video call. It is also not compatible with Windows Hello.
The last feature to highlight is the Huawei Share technology of the MateBook X Pro (2020) based on NFC. It works much like Apple’s AirDrop wireless sharing, except that instead of an iPhone, you need a Huawei handset to make it work. Huawei sent a P30 Pro to test the functionality and it worked well, allowing fast file transfer back and forth without having to move around with pairing or connection cables. Too bad it doesn’t work with other Android phones.
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Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020) review: screen
The Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020) comes with a 14-inch IPS LTPS touch screen with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 (260ppi) and an aspect ratio of 3: 2. It is the ideal shape type for a work machine, which gives you a lot of height so you can see more of a document or web page without scrolling.
The flip side is that when it comes to watching movies or TV shows, the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are a little higher than with a 16: 9 or 4:10, but it can be forgiven for being a professional machine first and a media consuming device second.
That said, it’s a screen that works well for all content in terms of overall quality, as it worked brilliantly during our technical tests. The maximum brightness is excellent at 533 cd / m2, the contrast ratio is also very impressive at 1,579: 1 and the color performance is exceptionally good.
With a colorimeter, I measured 96.2% coverage of the sRGB color gamut and the color accuracy was almost perfect. There’s nothing, except maybe the glossy finish, that I would change on this screen. It’s incredibly good.
Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020) review: performance
When you just bought the MateBook X Pro, there are two different processors to choose from. The cheapest machine is the one that comes with a 1.6 GHz quad-core Core i5-10210U chip; spend 500 euros more (the exact price in the UK is not yet available) and you can get your hands on the model that was sent to me for testing, which comes with a quad-core Intel Core i7-10510U at 1.8 GHz.
All models come with 16 GB of LPDDR3 RAM to back up this and large 512 GB or 1 TB PCIe SSDs. However, not all models are equipped with discrete graphics Nvidia GeForce MX250 – the most affordable model is content only Intel UHD graphics – but each model provides enough power for even the most demanding mobile worker.
Here are some benchmark comparisons with the closest rivals to the Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020):
As you can see, there isn’t much for any of these tests, the new MateBook X Pro (2020) being slightly better than the old ones, just about everywhere – but not much. You’ll notice that the Dell XPS 13 (2019) scores higher in our 4K multimedia benchmarks – it’s almost certainly because it has more efficient cooling. This reference is long and demanding and really sorts men from boys in terms of effective cooling.
The battery life is however slightly worrying. Despite the fact that it uses an Intel low consumption chip, the MateBook X Pro only lasted 7 hours 55 minutes in our video test (with the screen set to a standard brightness of 170 cd / m2 and the mode of flight activated). It’s worse than any of its predecessors and it’s far behind the Lenovo Yoga C940.
I can only assume that this particular generation of Core i7 CPU is not as efficient as the previous models. It certainly doesn’t seem like Huawei is doing anything wrong, as the recent Dell XPS 13 (late 2019) uses the same processor and suffers the same fate.
Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020): Verdict
It’s a solid update but, alas, not very interesting. Make no mistake, the Huawei MateBook X Pro remains one of the best ultraportables you can buy. It has an incredible display, very good overall performance – including minimal playing capacity if you opt for one of the models with discrete graphics – and it is a joy to use in general.
However, the lack of big changes and the fact that the performance has not changed much means that I find it hard to recommend this 2020 model. This is particularly in view of the prices, which start at a relatively high price of 1 € 499 for the basic Core i5 model and go up to € 1,999 for the Core i7 with discrete graphics.
Therefore, although there is very little harm with the Huawei MateBook X Pro, I will have to recommend that you take a look elsewhere. The Dell XPS 13 and, in particular, the Lenovo Yoga C940 (14 inch) present more affordable and generally better choices.