Matebook x pro

[1BadManVan]

its been awhile since I’ve invested into a new laptop. I had a cheap Toshiba one from 6 years ago that bit the dust last year with a hard drive failure, I didn’t bother trying to fix or upgrade since it was a more budget AMD one to begin with and didn’t use it for much. But that itch to get back into a windows laptop is coming back, but this time I’m looking for something nicer and more portable.

After lots of research, I’m zeroing in on the Matebook x pro, the reviews are really good all around. I want to be able to do some light gaming while I’m away from work and it has the MX150, but something small enough to shove in my work bag with all my books as well. It’s hard to find an ultra book with any kind of graphics card in them, 15” models I feel is just that little bit too big to carry around.

Is there anyone with some real world experience with this laptop? It looks really nice and promising, fits the bill for most of my needs. Obviously it would be nice to have a bit more powerful gpu in it but apparently they aren’t quite there yet in these small form factors. The bonus is that it does have thunderbolt 3 so when at home I could later invest into an E-gpu

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[max.ine]

The only downside I’ve heard about it is that the trackpad can be slightly off-centre or something. Everything else seems to be extremely positive.

I actually would’ve bought one myself if I didn’t need the extra screen space...

 

[1BadManVan]

The only downside I’ve heard about it is that the trackpad can be slightly off-centre or something. Everything else seems to be extremely positive.

I actually would’ve bought one myself if I didn’t need the extra screen space...

I did read about the trackpad, not everyone has the issue, so hoping that maybe later built ones had a revision to address it

I am still holding out a bit longer, see if there are any surprises at Ces about cramming some better graphics in these bodies

 

[Apathy Overdose]

After extensive research, this is the laptop (i7 configuration) I went with. The holiday return period is until Jan 31st so it's not a 100% certainty that I'll keep it, but for now I'm leaning towards keeping it. I've been weighing my options of keeping it VS returning it and getting a Macbook Pro 2018 VS returning it and waiting for MBP 2019. As much as I like Mac OS, you can get TWO Matebook X Pros for the price of 1 Macbook Pro with the same specs. Or hell, I can keep this AND get the newest iPad for the price of one MBP. So it's really hard for me to justify returning this in favour of the 2018 MBP.

The trackpad rattling is a real issue. It's not off centre or anything, but it is a little loose, as in it feels like there's a little gap underneath it so when you tap on the trackpad, it feels loose and rattles ever so slightly. There is a fix where you have to open the laptop and put a paper in that gap under the trackpad, I might try doing that once I've fully decided on keeping this laptop as my daily driver. It doesn't really effect usage or functionality, just doesn't feel as "solid" if you're used to the Apple trackpad.

Other than that, everything else is great, the screen specifically is a showstopper (hardly an bezel, up to 450nits brightness, 3K resolution, touch enabled, higher pixel per density than Retina screens), the keyboard is a lot better than the current Apple keyboards, the size and thinness of this thing is basically that of an Air but equipped with Pro specs. A lot of people complain about the placement of the pop up camera (on the keyboard), but to me that's actually a feature and not a bug as I hardly ever use the webcam.

I also under-volted mine using the software ThrottleStop, that helps with heat management and prolonging the battery life. The laptop does run a bit hot (50'C+) when you have it plugged in, but pretty cool (under 40'C) when you don't have it plugged in. It also comes with a free dongle for more USBC, USBA and HDMI ports, I haven't needed to use it yet as the laptop itself already has all of those except for HDMI.

 

[1BadManVan]

Awesome, thanks a lot for the feedback. Really leaning towards this model, holding out a bit longer in case they introduce one with a bit beefier gpu. CES is coming up!

 

[Queen6]

I don't own the MateBook X Pro, I do however own a Matebook X and it has been a superb ultraportable. I recently looked at a MateBook X Pro and I can see where Huawei has improved both build quality & features. Currently for my needs my secondary machine is best served by being a 2in1 with detachable keyboard, if not I'd be responding on a MateBook X Pro.

All in all, well recommended.

Q-6

 

[1BadManVan]

I also love the XPS 15 with the gtx1050 Ti but it’s quite a bit bigger and heavier of a machine

I tried looking up any rumours for the next matebook and couldn’t find it. There was a brief rumour of announcing a new one in November but nothing came of it

 

[Apathy Overdose]

I also love the XPS 15 with the gtx1050 Ti but it’s quite a bit bigger and heavier of a machine

I tried looking up any rumours for the next matebook and couldn’t find it. There was a brief rumour of announcing a new one in November but nothing came of it

A new one did come out in November. But it was more of a successor to the Matebook X and not the Matebook X Pro. Like Apple, Huawei seems to be trying to have multiple line ups of laptops on the market.

 

[1BadManVan]

A new one did come out in November. But it was more of a successor to the Matebook X and not the Matebook X Pro. Like Apple, Huawei seems to be trying to have multiple line ups of laptops on the market.

Where? Can’t find any release of a new matebook in November?

 

[Apathy Overdose]

Where? Can’t find any release of a new matebook in November?

They released Matebook 13 with the intel whiskey lake CPU last month. It's still more of a budget laptop compared to the MBX Pro.

https://liliputing.com/2018/11/huawei-launches-matebook-13-whiskey-lake-u-laptop-with-nfc.html

 

[1BadManVan]

Thanks for the link, couldn’t find anything for that lol. Even an update to the whiskey lake and a gtx 1050 would be an instant buy!

 

[1BadManVan]

I swear no matter how much research I do, I keep coming back to this laptop, all I wish for is a slightly better gpu on it! They are making some pretty thin and light 15” laptops out there with decent gpus like the XP’s 15; the msi GS65 stealth, the zenbook 15 to name a couple. But they are all thicker and over 1-1.5lb heavier

I work for the railroad, so this will spend a lot of time in my work bag and using at the bunkhouse more than at home so portability is a big thing for me. I recently invested into an iPad to have along with me which is great for browsing and media but I really want something bigger for movies and some gaming

 

[1BadManVan]

Does anyone have experience with the XPS 15? It’s really thin, about 4 lbs, 4K touchscreen, 6-core i7, GTX 1050 ti and a huge battery.

 

[SDColorado]

Does anyone have experience with the XPS 15? It’s really thin, about 4 lbs, 4K touchscreen, 6-core i7, GTX 1050 ti and a huge battery.

I have looked at them a few times. Love the display, hate the camera position. Not a huge fan of the "mixed media" aluminum, plastic, carbon fiber look. If they would move the camera and settle on material I would like it a lot better, but it is a very temping alternative.

 

[1BadManVan]

Camera means zip to me, I’ll most likely tape over it lol. Got my iPhone and iPad for the very rare times I ever use FaceTime. But yea for those who use it, it sucks, but the matebooks is basically identical positioning to it.
[doublepost=1546060900][/doublepost]This will be the most I’ve ever spent on a laptop, I’ve always owned built gaming but pc’s and cheaper laptops. But since I’ve had kids, I haven’t had a desktop pc in years and my cheapo laptop died like the pos it was. So I’m ready to spend the extra cash to find something to check all the boxes. But wow is it hard to find the perfect fit! Lol

 

[idonthatethemac]

Does anyone have experience with the XPS 15? It’s really thin, about 4 lbs, 4K touchscreen, 6-core i7, GTX 1050 ti and a huge battery.

I have one and its great. I really love the 4k screen and the huge battery (although 4k does consume more battery).. I don't use the camera either and have a taped it off as well.

I got the 4k screen with 6 core so I am covered on the CPU and screen for the next 3-5 years easily but I cheaped out on the memory (only 16GB - I run a lot of VMs) and SSD (256 GB - Toshiba -- meh....). One of the major reason, I preferred this over the other alternatives - memory and SSD are easily replaceable. I am planning to replace them with higher capacity memory (32GB) and SSD (Samsung 970 PRO or newer - 1 TB). When I do open it to replace those components, I am planning on doing the repasting. If I do it RIGHT, it will probably give me additional few years. If I don't, all the money down the drain

 

[1BadManVan]

I have one and its great. I really love the 4k screen and the huge battery (although 4k does consume more battery).. I don't use the camera either and have a taped it off as well.

I got the 4k screen with 6 core so I am covered on the CPU and screen for the next 3-5 years easily but I cheaped out on the memory (only 16GB - I run a lot of VMs) and SSD (256 GB - Toshiba -- meh....). One of the major reason, I preferred this over the other alternatives - memory and SSD are easily replaceable. I am planning to replace them with higher capacity memory (32GB) and SSD (Samsung 970 PRO or newer - 1 TB). When I do open it to replace those components, I am planning on doing the repasting. If I do it RIGHT, it will probably give me additional few years. If I don't, all the money down the drain

Thanks a lot for the feedback on this, the model I would be looking at is the 4K, i7 model for the display and the future proofing. How is the real world battery life on this model for basic usage off the charger? If I’m going to be sitting and doing some heavier tasks such as gaming, I’ll do it on the charger, but does it get most of a days usage off it for basic stuff?

Also would you consider it to be fairly portable? I know the charging brick itself is a bit bigger than what you get on a matebook pro.

Luckily I’m not in any rush at the moment, so hoping there is a few good announcements from CES in the next week and a bit. See if there’s anything big enough holding out for or just wait for a deal and pull the trigger

 

[idonthatethemac]

Thanks a lot for the feedback on this, the model I would be looking at is the 4K, i7 model for the display and the future proofing. How is the real world battery life on this model for basic usage off the charger? If I’m going to be sitting and doing some heavier tasks such as gaming, I’ll do it on the charger, but does it get most of a days usage off it for basic stuff?

Also would you consider it to be fairly portable? I know the charging brick itself is a bit bigger than what you get on a matebook pro.

Luckily I’m not in any rush at the moment, so hoping there is a few good announcements from CES in the next week and a bit. See if there’s anything big enough holding out for or just wait for a deal and pull the trigger

Real World Battery is fairly good. For basic browsing and stuff, I do get about 11-12 hours of battery. But when I do run my VMs then I barely get about 7 Hours although that is expected. I used to get similar performance on my 2014 MBP. In the later years, I barely got 3 hours of battery on the MBP.

Laptop is about 4lbs and together with "the brick" it weighs roughly 5.0 lbs.. So it is portable. I also carry about 3 different backup hard drives with me and it is fairly manageable. I don't know why Dell went with the bigger design, its not very heavy but its just bulky.

 

[robertosh]

I also bought one X Pro of this last week, the i7/8G/512 version for 1400 euros. I have to say that I'm really impressed about the quality of the device. It's the first time I feel this on a non mac laptop. I can do a detailed review if anyone is interested. But here I leave some quick highlights:

The great
- As I said, the build quality is superb, feels really solid but is small and thin.
- I had some fear about the screen aspect ratio (3:2) but I have to admit that I love it. For web browsing, for developing and unix terminal usage, it's perfect. You can say that the problem is while watching movies but I don't think so because the black you get in this screen is really black and sometimes you don't know when the bezel start so you don't feel too much difference against other laptops with big bezels.
- The screen is really good, the brightness is insane. Is touch capable but I don't use this feature. Apart from the thin bezels on sides and top, the bottom bezel is also thin so really all what you see is screen which gives you the filling that the screen is bigger.
- It comes with a dedicated geforce 150MX gpu with 2G so you can play some games pretty nicely. Here the aspect ratio is a problem cause some games are not ready for this resolutions and of course, gaming at the native resolution (3000x2000) is very limited.
- The battery is great, you can get 9 hours easily. But more important is that charges very fast (50m for 80%).

The less good:
- The keyboard is average, nothing special but is not the best in the sector.
- It has 4 speakers and dolby atmos support, but they did not impress me.
- The trackpad is nice, is centered and good finish and feel. Anyway the problem here is more the software cause you won't get the same experience in windows or linux than on mac.
- Is a little limited in ports but at least you get one USB-A. Apart from that, it has two USB-C and also includes a convenient dongle USB-C -> (HDMI, VGA, USB-C, USB-A)

The bad:
- Some of the 512G ssd versions come with an Toshiba M2 ssd which seems to be capped to ~500MB/s on writes. No problem on reads (3GB/s). If you are lucky to get one LiteON then you get 2GB/s. I had bad lottery on this.