HUAWEI MateBook X Pro long-term review: my MacBook killer with three points of criticism

The MateBook X Pro is HUAWEI’s current flagship laptop. It is the most amazing laptop I have used so far, and at the same time it comes with points that negatively surprised me. One big emotional roller coaster. Let’s start with the wow effect.

Lightweight with lots of power

The MateBook X Pro is the only Windows laptop at 14.2 inches that weighs less than 1 kg and still brings this much power: the Intel Core Ultra 9 and, in my configuration, 2 TB of storage and 32 GB of RAM. It is only 13.5 mm thick and weighs 980 g. When I head out, I sometimes check that I really have it with me.

I’m coming from a 2020 MacBook Pro with M1, which still runs smoothly after four years. On Windows, I haven’t found an adequate replacement so far that keeps up when editing 4K videos. In my tests, that is always the final boss for notebooks. The MateBook X Pro runs incredibly fast, for Microsoft Office, Teams, browsing and writing anyway, but surprisingly also for 4K editing.

With such demanding tasks, the fan kicks in, and you can’t sugarcoat that. In the first three days, it was so loud that I wanted to tie the device to the desk. After the usual Windows updates, everything was fine. Most of the time it runs silently, sometimes it kicks in, especially in summer. Then it is quiet again.

Display, touchpad and features

• Display: 14.2 inches, 3.1K OLED, 120 Hz, a screen-to-body ratio of 93%. No other laptop currently comes close. It is a touch display that works well.
• Touchpad: practically borderless at the bottom. You can use it for more than the mouse pointer. With extra functions, you double-tap with a knuckle for a screenshot or adjust brightness and volume with a swipe gesture at the sides. I find that handy once you have gotten used to it.
• Speakers: six of them, they sound really good and full, for video conferences as well as movies. I don’t feel the need to put on headphones right away.
• Unlocking: a fingerprint scanner in the power button and its own face unlock. It works so accurately that the device is already unlocked when you open it.

Copilot and HUAWEI features

Windows comes with Copilot in the Microsoft Edge browser. At first I saw no added value and used Chrome. Microsoft is persistent about this, and at some point I accidentally clicked “OK” instead of “Decline,” so PDFs and links now open in Edge. I would never want it any other way. I basically don’t google anything anymore, I enter everything into Copilot: gathering information for my script, summarizing or translating long articles. It runs fast and smoothly on the X Pro, even though it is not a dedicated Copilot+ PC.

HUAWEI brings its own features, most of which only work with a HUAWEI smartphone or tablet, for example a cross-device search. The Super Hub is handy and works like Samsung’s Clipboard: you drop texts or files at the top and can transfer them to other devices with a HUAWEI device. Link to Windows, which you use to mirror and control your smartphone on the laptop, works without HUAWEI devices.

Three points of criticism

1. Ports: There is a USB-C to USB-A adapter in the box, so I looked at the ports in a panic. There are three USB-C ports, no USB-A port and no HDMI port. At €2,500 in this configuration, that is an annoyance. On the website, I saw that a triple adapter is included as a bonus with a normal purchase. They could have just put that in the box too.
2. Battery: The 70-watt-hour battery charges at 90 watts in Supercharge mode, and the charger is included. Emails, browsing and watching movies last a long time, and I would certainly get through a normal workday. With an editing program and 4K video, the battery is empty after two hours. That is not a HUAWEI-specific problem, but a general one of Windows laptops. I had hoped for a bit more, and on the go I always have to think about a charging cable and an outlet.
3. No M-Pencil: Few laptops support a stylus. The MateBook 14, which costs less than half as much, does, though, and at this price I would have liked to see it. For signing documents, a stylus is invaluably handy.

Probably, as with the ports, it was a choice between features and low weight along with an ultra-thin body. I admit it: weight and design together with this power make the device a joy every day.

Verdict

I’m thoroughly delighted with the MateBook X Pro, whether I tuck it under my arm, toss it in my handbag or have it sitting stylishly on my desk. You do need to know about the ports, the battery during video editing and the missing stylus support, though.