Some background my notebook's are employed professionally in an engineering/business roles, rotating them out every 24 months. As my 2015 12" Retina MacBook (rMB) has just hit the 2 year, here's my ramblings and comparisons with my new Huawei MateBook X.
Very clearly Huawei has put a great deal of thought and effort into the MateBook X, even including the unboxing experience. As you open the lid off the box the notebook is raised up for easy access, nice touch. Charger & detachable power cable and MateDock2 ( USB C to USB A, HDMI, VGA & USB C ) included in the box, which makes for a lot of sense with a USB C only notebook, as currently USB C is far from mass adoption.
I opted for the i5, 8Gb, 256SSD as it's enough for my needs. MateBook X being passively cooled, with full 15W i5/i7 CPU's as opposed to the rMB's 5W Core M CPU's. Performance is brisk out the box, equally the base MateBook X does get noticeably hotter than my Retina MacBook under heavy load. No obvious signs of throttling under sustained loads, admittedly not looking to deliberately max the CPU rather more normal to heavy use. i7 has benefit with it's 4Mb of L3 cache versus the i5 with 3Mb, extra few hundred Hz of clock frequent not so much. Also mindful that the MateBook X is passively cooled, as seen before bigger numbers don't always equate to better performance, especially if outside of the thermal envelope.
Build quality is excellent, right up there with the best of them. More impressive is this is one of Huawei's first notebook's. Arguably the best Ultrabook currently on the market, in the hand the MateBook X feels reassuringly sold, literally as if it's a solid block. Similar to Apple's portables the display opens with ease one had. Keyboard, simply magnitudes better in comparison to my 2015 Retina MacBook with reasonable travel for such a thin system, 1.2mm versus the rMB's 0.5mm .
Fingerprint reader works flawlessly with "Windows Hello" OS has zero bloatware installed, with only Huawei's MateBook Manager included. Audio is impressive for such a small notebook, might even just be better than the rMB which is an achievement. The 13" 3:2 Display is fabulous, not technically quite as good the rMB's, equally still excellent in this class, with the extra vertical work space being very welcome for productivity, as is the additional inch of workspace. Huawei also went to the effort of using Gorilla Glass 3, which stands-out as the MateBook X is non Touch.
I did also consider the ZenBook 3, however it came across to me as rather an rMB clone that has more negatives than positives in comparison to the rMB. Huawei have in many respects thrown down the gauntlet with the MateBook X.
Negatives; display is on the glossy side, USB C ports are not equal, with both offering USB data, however only one is capable of charging, the other offers video out. That said still a vast improvement on the notebook/tablet 2 in 1's offering only a single USB C port. rMB has been a great ultraportable, however for my needs now exceeded by Huawei's MateBook X
n.b. My MateBook X was purchased in PR China, with Chinese only Windows 10 Home edition. I subsequently upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, reset the entire OS, now running UK english with all Huawei specific drivers & App in place.
So why not simply replace the 2015 rMP with the new 2017 rMB; I feel that Apple really not progressing sensibly these days. Loosing that killer design & well engineered edge, example; the rMB's KB key's touch the display resulting in after two years of use globally the display now being permanently marked. The MateBook X has a decent amount more travel and the keyboard is designed so that it's physically impossible for the keys to touch the display.
T.B.C.
Very fair review
Q-6
Very clearly Huawei has put a great deal of thought and effort into the MateBook X, even including the unboxing experience. As you open the lid off the box the notebook is raised up for easy access, nice touch. Charger & detachable power cable and MateDock2 ( USB C to USB A, HDMI, VGA & USB C ) included in the box, which makes for a lot of sense with a USB C only notebook, as currently USB C is far from mass adoption.
I opted for the i5, 8Gb, 256SSD as it's enough for my needs. MateBook X being passively cooled, with full 15W i5/i7 CPU's as opposed to the rMB's 5W Core M CPU's. Performance is brisk out the box, equally the base MateBook X does get noticeably hotter than my Retina MacBook under heavy load. No obvious signs of throttling under sustained loads, admittedly not looking to deliberately max the CPU rather more normal to heavy use. i7 has benefit with it's 4Mb of L3 cache versus the i5 with 3Mb, extra few hundred Hz of clock frequent not so much. Also mindful that the MateBook X is passively cooled, as seen before bigger numbers don't always equate to better performance, especially if outside of the thermal envelope.
Build quality is excellent, right up there with the best of them. More impressive is this is one of Huawei's first notebook's. Arguably the best Ultrabook currently on the market, in the hand the MateBook X feels reassuringly sold, literally as if it's a solid block. Similar to Apple's portables the display opens with ease one had. Keyboard, simply magnitudes better in comparison to my 2015 Retina MacBook with reasonable travel for such a thin system, 1.2mm versus the rMB's 0.5mm .
Fingerprint reader works flawlessly with "Windows Hello" OS has zero bloatware installed, with only Huawei's MateBook Manager included. Audio is impressive for such a small notebook, might even just be better than the rMB which is an achievement. The 13" 3:2 Display is fabulous, not technically quite as good the rMB's, equally still excellent in this class, with the extra vertical work space being very welcome for productivity, as is the additional inch of workspace. Huawei also went to the effort of using Gorilla Glass 3, which stands-out as the MateBook X is non Touch.
I did also consider the ZenBook 3, however it came across to me as rather an rMB clone that has more negatives than positives in comparison to the rMB. Huawei have in many respects thrown down the gauntlet with the MateBook X.
Negatives; display is on the glossy side, USB C ports are not equal, with both offering USB data, however only one is capable of charging, the other offers video out. That said still a vast improvement on the notebook/tablet 2 in 1's offering only a single USB C port. rMB has been a great ultraportable, however for my needs now exceeded by Huawei's MateBook X
n.b. My MateBook X was purchased in PR China, with Chinese only Windows 10 Home edition. I subsequently upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, reset the entire OS, now running UK english with all Huawei specific drivers & App in place.
So why not simply replace the 2015 rMP with the new 2017 rMB; I feel that Apple really not progressing sensibly these days. Loosing that killer design & well engineered edge, example; the rMB's KB key's touch the display resulting in after two years of use globally the display now being permanently marked. The MateBook X has a decent amount more travel and the keyboard is designed so that it's physically impossible for the keys to touch the display.
T.B.C.
Q-6
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