I bought the device a few days ago and have been using it for a short time. Let me share my general experience.
The screen is excellent, with very thin bezels. The color accuracy and brightness are impressive. Having a touch panel makes things easier to use. However, in dark environments, there is a slight light leakage at the bottom right corner. It's minimal, but since it’s an IPS panel, this is normal.
The hardware I have includes an i5-1240P processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. I’m very satisfied with these specifications. The keyboard’s touch and feedback are great, and it’s comfortable to type on. However, since it’s a 14-inch laptop, there is no numpad on the keyboard. It features a two-stage, single-color backlight. The only thing I don’t like about the keyboard is that the camera is placed on the keyboard, so it captures your face from a low angle. Additionally, the camera quality is poor (720p), and the image isn’t very clear.
In terms of input and output, it has 1 USB Type-C port, 2 USB Type-A ports, 1 HDMI port, and 1 headphone jack. The Type-A inputs are not great, so when you plug in a USB, you have to plug and unplug it quite forcefully.
The laptop’s case is made of aluminum, which gives it a premium feel. The speakers are located at the bottom of the device, and the sound quality is satisfactory. The microphones, however, are average.
The device comes with Windows 11 and features a fingerprint reader with Windows Hello on the power button. This feature works well, and the fingerprint reader is quick and accurate. There’s definitely no heating issue with the device. It has a dual fan setup, and surprisingly, there’s no fan noise. Sometimes I even wonder if the fans are running at all because it’s so quiet.
Since the product is an ultrabook, battery performance was important to me. That’s one of the reasons I chose an ultrabook. The battery in this device didn’t disappoint me, but it didn’t make me ecstatic either. I got about 8 hours of screen time on a full charge, which isn’t bad, but I expected a bit more.
The device comes with a 65W adapter, which resembles a phone charger. It has a sleek design and is not bulky like older laptop chargers. It’s also versatile, as you can use it to charge phones, tablets, etc. Both ends of the cable are Type-C.
Don’t expect much from this product in terms of gaming, as it doesn’t have an external graphics card. I downloaded Asphalt 9, and it runs fine for games like that. So, you can easily play games that don’t demand high performance, but if gaming is your primary goal, I recommend looking at other devices. The MateBook 14 isn’t marketed as a gaming laptop. That said, according to my research, a laptop with this hardware can provide an ideal gaming experience in GTA 5 at average settings.
The laptop weighs 1.5 kg, which makes it easy to carry around. It also feels solid and secure. If you can stretch your budget a little more, the M1 Apple MacBook Air is a competitor. Huawei has a slight edge in terms of hardware, and the battery performance is better than the M1. I didn’t choose the Apple option because I’m used to the Windows operating system, and Apple offers less storage and RAM at a similar price.
I will share my long-term usage experience in the coming months. This is my short-term experience so far.
Summary
Good aspects:
- Great keyboard
- Excellent screen
- Touchscreen functionality
- Satisfactory performance
- Good touchpad
- Quality build
- Effective cooling system
- Quiet fans
- Stylish and compact charger
Bad aspects:
- USB Type-A ports are a bit basic
- Battery performance could be slightly better
- Webcam is positioned on the keyboard, and the image is blurry
- Only one color option available
Competitors:
- Asus Zenbook 14
- Lenovo Yoga Slim 6
I would recommend this product to anyone looking to buy it. That’s all I have to say for now. It’s a solid choice.
