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- Don’t Buy A Macbook Air! | Huawei Matebook X Pro (2024) Review
Don’t Buy A Macbook Air! | Huawei Matebook X Pro (2024) Review
Ark
November 18, 2024
Why the Huawei Matebook X Pro 2024 is the Best Ultraportable Laptop on the Market
Explore why the Huawei Matebook X Pro 2024, with its Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and lightweight design, outshines the MacBook Air. Find out how this ultraportable laptop excels in performance, gaming, and creative tasks.
In the realm of ultraportable laptops, the MacBook Air has long reigned as the go-to choice for many consumers. However, Huawei’s latest offering, the Matebook X Pro 2024, is here to challenge the status quo. Boasting an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and weighing under 1 kg, this laptop combines power and portability in a way that few others can. In this review, we’ll dive deep into what makes the Huawei Matebook X Pro 2024 one of the best ultraportable notebooks available today, even if its battery life isn’t quite as impressive as some of its rivals.
Weeny Beast in Hand
The moment you pick up the Huawei Matebook X Pro 2024, you’ll be struck by its feather-light weight. At just under 1 kg, this laptop is one of the lightest in its class, making it incredibly easy to carry around. Despite its lightweight nature, it doesn’t compromise on build quality. The chassis feels solid and premium, with a sleek design that is both modern and minimalist. This balance of portability and durability makes it an ideal choice for students, professionals, and frequent travelers.
Design
Huawei has truly outdone itself with the design of the Matebook X Pro 2024. The laptop sports a sleek, minimalist look that is both stylish and functional. The build quality is exceptional, with a sturdy aluminum body that gives it a premium feel. The hinge mechanism is smooth and allows the laptop to open easily with one hand, which is a testament to its thoughtful engineering. The Matebook X Pro 2024 comes in a variety of colors, but the most striking is the emerald green finish, which adds a touch of elegance and uniqueness to the device.
Ports
In terms of connectivity, the Matebook X Pro 2024 is well-equipped. It features dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, which offer high-speed data transfer, charging, and display output capabilities. This is particularly useful for those who need to connect multiple peripherals or external displays. Additionally, the laptop includes a USB-A port and a headphone jack, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of devices. The inclusion of these ports is a significant advantage over the MacBook Air, which has been criticized for its limited port selection.
Windows Hello
Security and convenience are paramount in today’s digital age, and the Matebook X Pro 2024 doesn’t disappoint in this regard. The laptop comes with Windows Hello facial recognition technology, which allows you to log in quickly and securely with just a glance. The infrared camera used for this purpose is fast and accurate, even in low-light conditions. This feature not only enhances security but also adds to the overall user experience by eliminating the need for passwords.
Display
The display is where the Matebook X Pro 2024 truly shines. It features a 14.2-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 3120 x 2080 pixels, providing sharp and vibrant visuals. The colors are rich and accurate, making it an excellent choice for creative professionals who require precise color representation for tasks such as photo and video editing. The screen is also surprisingly bright, reaching up to 600 nits, which means it can be comfortably used outdoors or in brightly lit environments. The anti-reflective coating further enhances visibility, reducing glare and making it easier to work in various lighting conditions.
Touchpad
Huawei has equipped the Matebook X Pro 2024 with a large, responsive touchpad that supports multi-touch gestures. The touchpad is smooth and precise, making navigation a breeze. It is one of the best touchpads I’ve used on a Windows laptop, offering a level of responsiveness and accuracy that rivals even Apple’s MacBook Air.
Speakers
The Matebook X Pro 2024 doesn’t skimp on audio quality either. It features a set of reasonably beefy speakers that deliver clear and rich sound. Whether you’re watching movies, listening to music, or participating in video calls, the audio experience is impressive. The speakers are well-balanced, with good bass and treble response, making it a pleasure to use for multimedia consumption.
Keyboard
Typing on the Matebook X Pro 2024 is a delight, thanks to its well-designed keyboard. The keys are well-spaced and have a good amount of travel, providing a comfortable typing experience. The backlit keyboard is also a nice touch, allowing you to type easily in low-light conditions. The overall typing experience is on par with, if not better than, the MacBook Air, making it a great choice for writers, students, and professionals who spend a lot of time typing.
Camera & Mics
The built-in camera and microphones on the Matebook X Pro 2024 are of high quality, making it an excellent device for video conferencing. The camera offers clear and detailed video, while the microphones provide good clarity and noise cancellation, ensuring that your voice comes through clearly. These features are particularly important in the current era of remote work and online learning, where video communication has become a daily necessity.
Performance & Gaming
When it comes to performance, the Matebook X Pro 2024 doesn’t disappoint. Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, this laptop is capable of handling a wide range of tasks with ease. Whether you’re browsing the web, working on complex spreadsheets, or editing videos, the Matebook X Pro 2024 delivers smooth and efficient performance.
For gamers, this laptop is more than capable of running top titles like Forza Horizon at smooth frame rates on high graphics settings. This level of performance in such a compact device is impressive and makes the Matebook X Pro 2024 a versatile choice for both work and play. It’s worth noting that, while it isn’t a dedicated gaming laptop, it certainly holds its own in casual gaming scenarios.
Cooling
Managing heat is crucial for maintaining performance and longevity in laptops, and the Matebook X Pro 2024 handles this well. The laptop features an advanced cooling system that effectively dissipates heat, even under heavy workloads. The fans are quiet, and the laptop remains relatively cool to the touch, ensuring a comfortable user experience. This efficient cooling system means you can push the laptop to its limits without worrying about thermal throttling or overheating.
Battery Life
Battery life is one area where the Matebook X Pro 2024 doesn’t quite match up to some of its rivals. On balanced performance mode, you can expect around 7 hours of battery life, which is decent but not outstanding. For most users, this will be sufficient for a full day of light to moderate use, but heavy users may need to carry a charger. The good news is that the laptop supports fast charging, allowing you to quickly top up the battery when needed.
Verdict
In conclusion, the Huawei Matebook X Pro 2024 is a fantastic ultraportable laptop that offers a lot of value. Its combination of lightweight design, powerful performance, and a stunning display makes it a strong contender in the ultraportable market. While the battery life could be better, this is a minor drawback compared to the many advantages it offers.
When compared to the MacBook Air 13, the Matebook X Pro 2024 not only boasts a bigger screen but is also lighter, making it a more portable option. Its gaming capabilities and excellent performance in video and photo editing make it a versatile choice for a wide range of users. The flexible OLED display is not only sharp and vibrant but also bright enough for outdoor use, and the anti-reflective coating enhances visibility in various lighting conditions.
The Matebook X Pro 2024 also excels in other areas such as audio quality, keyboard comfort, and build quality. The dual Thunderbolt ports and additional connectivity options give it an edge over the MacBook Air in terms of versatility.
Overall, the Huawei Matebook X Pro 2024 is one of my favorite laptops right now. It offers an excellent balance of performance, portability, and design, making it an ideal choice for anyone in the market for a high-quality ultraportable laptop. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or someone who needs a powerful yet lightweight device, the Matebook X Pro 2024 is worth considering.
However, don’t just take my word for it. Let me know what you think of this laptop in the comments below or reach out to me on social media. If you found this review helpful, please leave a thumbs up, subscribe, and tap that notification bell for more reviews and tech insights. I’ll see you in the next one.