Huawei MateBook 14: an interesting laptop for every day

Huawei was the first Chinese tech brand to successfully break into the West. It did good marketing, introduced a wave of great products to end consumers — with more than decent prices — and earned the public’s trust.

But since the stumble that the Trump administration vetoed its devices – and therefore the use of American services like Android or Google Play – Huawei’s mobile phone line has lost ground. The brand as a whole, yes, is still vigorously in force, still being a leading brand in the global industry. For this reason, the announcement last year that Huawei would strengthen its commitment to the PC and desktop market was not so surprising.

Thus, from an interesting new line —which includes different models and sizes of computers—Huawei enters fully into a market dominated by North American giants, such as HP and Dell, although we must not forget that the world’s leading supplier to date is also Chinese: Lenovo.

To find out what level Huawei is at, we tested the Companion Book 14 , successor to the MateBook 13 (2020), which is the mid-range of the models presented in its new range and which, in fact, has a very good balance between performance, portability and price. Let’s get to know it in detail.

• Dimensions : 307.5 x 223.8 x 15.9mm
• lester : 1.49kg
• Filter : IPS Fullview 2K 14″ / 60Hz refresh rate
• Resolution : 2160 x 1440 pixels
• viewing angle : 178 degrees
• Processor : Intel Core i5 (11th Gen)
• GPUs : Intel Iris Xe G7
• Memory : 8 GB (DDR4)
• Storage : 512 GB solid state drive
• Drums : 56 Wh / 7330 mAh (lithium, soldered)
• connectivity : Bluetooth 5.1 / Wi-Fi 6 / 2×2 MIMO
• Charger : 65W (USB-C)
• Operating system : Windows 10 (scalable)

Unsurprisingly, after opening the corrugated box, we find a shiny laptop inside. From having it in your hand to turning it on and entering Windows, less than 30 seconds pass. Weighing three pounds, the MateBook 14 is lightweight; although it is not to go crazy either, since there is notebook similar yet lighter. It’s not its main attribute but it’s fine, since the weight is not at all bothersome. On the contrary, it handles well and easily.

The color is a metallic ash gray (called “gray area”), pleasing to the eye but somewhat neutral in its visual impact, as it is obvious that they are trying to imitate. The chassis is made of aluminum alloy and the texture is polished, with the brand engraved behind the screen. Opening and closing the screen is painless, even with one hand. The hinge is fluid and when opened the screen manages to be a few millimeters behind the base to leave only part of the bezel in view, where we also find the mark in the middle.

In the middle of the upper part of the keyboard, Huawei opts for the risky bet of having the camera hidden under a key – and not at the top of the screen, as usual -, which is accessed by clicking. Interesting idea in the pursuit of privacy, although it doesn’t seem like the optimal solution due to the angle it offers. Worse still, the camera resolution is only 720p and it records at 30 frames per second. There, Huawei could have played it with a Full HD camera.

Then, in the central panel, we find a well-distributed keyboard QWERTY backlit and well laid out, with the power button and biometric reader separated in the right corner, while the trackpad is wide enough to lay down and work comfortably with your hand. Again, at least in terms of looks, it’s impossible not to see similarities to Apple laptops.

Although the touchpad it brings an interesting grace: just by placing the phone on it, it is possible to connect the device to the laptop, in order to share or drag files, photos, receive calls, etc. This also enables “multi-screen collaboration”, a tool with which up to three phone applications can be displayed simultaneously on the portable. Thanks to Huawei Share, it is also possible to answer calls or video calls that arrive on the phone from the MateBook.

Speaking of which, it has two stereo speakers and four distributed microphones, all of which feature Dolby Atmos technology.

Checking the sides, we find the input ports: on the right, two USB 3.2 and on the left, a USB-C port – which is also the charger of the MateBook 14 -, an input Jack 3.5″ for headphones and, of course, an HDMI port.

The Matebook 14 is available in versions with 11th generation Intel i5 processors and AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 series. Therefore, in each of them the laptop has very good performance for multitasking and everyday and professional tasks, where the device shines with its performance. Thanks to this level of processors, its 8 GB of RAM and its SSD disk – technology that is becoming an industry standard -, perform any daily task, whether it is opening a document in the cloud or run edited videos and even game videos (not in high demand), this is done with great speed and fluidity.

What is remarkable is that its heat dissipation platform is very efficient. His name is shark end and it features a quiet dual fan with “s” shaped blades, which gives it 39% more airflow and, according to the brand, improves heat dissipation by 50%. So at no time did I find the laptop overheating or hyperventilating, no matter what task I was performing.

As for the screen -which in this model is not touchscreen- we have a 14-inch wide view and 2K resolution, which has TÜV Rheinland certification: this means that the MateBook 14 emits much less blue light in its image, which reduces damage and visual fatigue.

It also has a 3:2 aspect ratio (instead of the traditional 16:9), providing more vertical space, which is in theory more convenient for productivity. Perhaps out of habit, this gap width wasn’t too noticeable on the desktop or even in text-heavy applications, making little difference to the common image format.

For its part, the laptop comes with a small, handy but fast 56-watt USB-C charger that even fits in your pocket. In an emergency, with just 15 minutes of charging, you can get two and a half hours of use. 100% is reached in just over an hour and a half with the equipment running, a time that is reduced if it is switched off or at rest.

Its battery, yes, is of normal duration: that is, about 10 hours of autonomy -about 11 hours of viewing Full HD videos, as detailed by Huawei-, although the laptop has different performance modes, with which it is possible to get even more wireless usage time.

Huawei’s MateBook 14 is a great mid-range product, considering design, features, performance, durability, and most importantly, price. It’s strong, sturdy, and lightweight for everything it comes in, making it a great value for money alternative, especially since it comes with multiple configuration options.

Versatile, simple, elegant and with some surprises that do not always give the best result (such as the camera), this laptop is a very good alternative for daily work.

Note: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

*Prices for products in this item are current as of June 7, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.