Huawei Matebook X Pro Review: Stunning Windows machine with an outstanding screen

At $1899 it had want to be good right?  And it is – this is Huawei’s first laptop for Australia, the Matebook X Pro – a mish mash of names and brands that in some ways tries to confuse you that it’s something else, but also offer up Huawei’s premium side.

Make no bones about it, this thing is aimed at the Macbook.  Perhaps in part the Pro, but most certainly the Air and a mid range between the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro.

But – as a Windows laptop it absolutely crushes it.  The Dell XPS 13 is probably my favourite Windows laptop of the year, its thin form factor coupled with an almost edge to edge screen made it so desirable.

What Huawei have done is make that screen the absolute hero of this product.  Not just edge to edge on the side and top, but all the way down.  There’s no camera on the upper “side” of this Laptop.  Until this year, it was always the case that you had a camera on top of the screen.  Dell put it below the screen, now Huawei have moved it all together.

It’s the party trick that never gets old.  Press the small camera button on the top row of keys and up out of that very key pops the camera – really cool.

Shocking angle for video conferencing, so please, get a stand and tilt the laptop – no one needs to see up your nose like that.

Incorporating smartphone like fingerprint technology makes unlocking a breeze, especially given you are not immediately taking advantage of “Windows Hello” the facial recognition because the camera is hidden.

The keyboard isn’t quite as short throw as Apple’s, but it’s certainly a new style of movement and it feels great to type on.

Touchpad is enormous, and under the hood is a cracking Core i5, or an option for a Core i7.

Price wise, it’s cheaper than a MacBook Air spec for spec, it’s just there is an entry level Air with a Core i3 that comes in slightly below the Matebook X Pro.

You’ve got a good old fashioned USB port on one side and two USB-C on the other, so connectivity is almost ideal.

I loved my time with this device, as I’ve said already – the standout feature is the screen.

It’s a shame you won’t yet see this in JB or Harveys, it should fight well alongside other brands.  But for now, Microsoft Store is your best bet.

[schema type=”review” rev_name=”Huawei Matebook X Pro” rev_body=”Fantastic Windows laptop, amazing screen, nifty features, great performance.” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2018-11-28″ user_review=”4.5″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]