06-29-2018, 03:10 PM
.....the Huawei MateBook X Pro is currently sold out.......it looks and even the name sounds like the 'MacBook Pro'......
Huawei MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro – should Apple fans be jealous?
.....recently got my hands on Huawei’s just-launched MateBook X Pro laptop. It’s a Windows-powered machine in an ultrabook form factor with a stunning 13.9-inch 3:2 minimal-bezel display. At first glance, it looks very much inspired by the MacBook, almost like a mix between the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Pro.
How does Huawei’s flagship compare to the MacBook Pro? Watch our hands-on video for the details.
Display
The most notable part of Huawei MateBook X Pro is its glossy 13.9-inch 450 nit 3:2 display (3000 x 2000, 260 PPI), which provides a 91% screen-to-body ratio. This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen thin bezels on a Windows laptop, but the look never fails to impress, especially when you’re used to the MacBook Pro’s substantial bezels.
The MateBook X Pro also enjoys better off-axis viewing angles than the MacBook Pro, and its 450 nits of brightness places it within striking distance of Apple’s machine. Huawei’s colors are a tad more saturated, which some people may prefer.
Let’s just be honest; the MateBook X Pro’s display makes the MacBook Pro seem dated, but the good news is that Apple seemingly realizes that minimal bezels are the future (just look at the iPhone X). I think it would be a mistake for Apple to release a major MacBook Pro redesign without some serious bezel reduction.
Video walkthrough
The MateBook X Pro also features a touch screen, and I know that a lot of Apple fans will disagree with me on this, but I like the idea in general. We’re so used to touch screens by now that not having touch feels somewhat backwards, and for users who are only familiar with touch-enabled devices, kind of broken.
If Apple did end up doing a touch-enabled Mac, I feel like it would pay extra attention to things like screen wobble when touching the display. The MateBook X Pro doesn’t have terrible screen wobble, but it’s noticeable.
Camera
How does Huawei pull off the minimal bezel design while still accommodating a front-facing camera for video calls? They could have gone the route that other PC laptop makers have gone, and placed the camera at the bottom of the bezel, aka “chin cam”, or it could make a splash by doing something different. Huawei chose the latter option, and hid the camera under a retractable key.
I think we’ll eventually get to the point where having a camera pointing at you constantly is going to seem “weird”, but I’m not sure if Huawei’s implementation is very practical. I think the decision to hide the camera is great for privacy, but the placement is less-than-ideal.
Chassis
Going along with the display, the chassis of the MateBook X Pro looks more modern than the MacBook Pro. Huawei even uses polished chamfered edges on its laptop, a design feature that Apple has used for its iPhones and iPads, but never for its Mac lineup. The result is a modern looking MateBook X Pro, that “blings” for the lack of a better word, when the light hits it at certain angles. The downside of the chamfered edge design is that it doesn’t look nearly as clean with the lid closed.
The overall build quality of the MateBook X Pro is impressive. PC manufacturers have indeed come a long way over the past few years, and it’s blatantly obvious. The unibody teardrop tapered design of the MateBook X Pro looks great, and I actually prefer its take on space gray (yes, Huawei shamelessly calls it that) over Apple’s take on the color.
I’m fairly ignorant about the ins and outs of the refining process that goes into producing aluminum products, but it’s clear that Apple is really good at it. Although I’m incapable of intelligently explaining why, the MacBook Pro’s aluminum feels better to the touch and feels more dense and less “hollow” than the material on Huawei’s machine. I also noticed that the MacBook Pro’s anodized aluminum does a much better job of rejecting fingerprints when compared to the MateBook X Pro.
Keyboard
The MateBook X Pro keyboard feels more substantial to type on, with more key travel. When comparing the two laptops, I preferred typing on the MateBook X Pro.
Everyone knows that the MacBook Pro’s keyboard is extremely polarizing, and it would be all too easy to pile on to the growing amount of complaints that we see on a daily basis. Besides, I’ve already lamented about Apple’s keyboard woes on a previous episode of Back to the Mac.
That said, I love the MacBook Pro’s individually backlit keys. Each LED is situated in a way so as to not have the backlight bleed through underneath each key. It’s a small detail, but one that makes the MacBook Pro appear more premium than the MateBook X Pro. I don’t use enough PCs to know if any other manufacturers employ this backlighting technique, but they definitely should.
Trackpad
Every PC laptop trackpad that I’ve tried has always felt inferior to Apple’s trackpads, and the MateBook X Pro does nothing to change this. It’s not that Huawei’s trackpad is bad, but it doesn’t feel as responsive as the MacBook Pro’s. Apple is just really good at making trackpads — after all, this is the same company that makes a huge wireless standalone solid state trackpad with Force Touch.
The migration to the Force Touch trackpads a few years back has further separated PC trackpads from Apple’s offerings in my eyes. For example, there are “dead zones” near the top of the MateBook X Pro trackpad, while you can click anywhere on the MacBook’s trackpad and it responds in uniform.
Fingerprint sensor
Huawei’s MateBook X Pro includes a Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint sensor built into the power button. The fingerprint sensor is fast and responsive, unlocking the Windows lock screen in less than a second.
The base model 13-inch MacBook Pro lacks a fingerprint sensor, which is unfortunate given how useful it is. To get a fingerprint sensor in a MacBook Pro, you have to step up to more expensive Touch Bar-enabled models. I’ve minced no words on how I feel about the Touch Bar, so I won’t regurgitate that all here, but just know that I don’t find it to be all that useful. The fact that you have to look down in order to use it kills the idea for me. Hopefully Face ID will replace the need for a fingerprint sensor in future consumer-grade MacBooks.
Speakers
The MateBook X Pro ships with a quad speaker setup featuring two top-firing tweeters and two bottom-firing woofers. The speakers sound decent, but I feel like the MacBook Pro offers cleaner, crisper sound on the high-end. Obviously in such a diminutive laptop form factor, low-end frequency is basically non-existent.
Specs
Huawei offers different configurations for the MateBook X Pro. The configuration that I’m using is the top of the line $1499.99 version, which includes a Core i7 quad-core processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage, and a discrete GPU. Here is a full rundown of the machine’s specifications:
Aluminum unibody design
Space gray color
Weight: 2.93 lbs
Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.54 x 0.57 in
13.9-inch display with 91% screen to body ratio
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Brightness: 450 nit
Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (260 PPI)
1500:1 contrast ratio
10-point touch screen
8th-gen Intel Core i7-8550U quad-core CPU 1.80 GHz up to 4.00 GHz
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 Graphics with 2GB GDDR5
16GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz RAM
Bluetooth 4.1
802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
512GB SSD
USB-A port
USB-C port
Thunderbolt 3 port
3.5mm headphone port
57.4 Wh battery with up to 12 hours of video playback
Quad speaker split frequency setup
Quad microphones
Chiclet style keyboard with 1.2mm keyboard travel
Recessed 1MP camera in keyboard
Fingerprint sensor in power button
65W power adapter + USB-C cable
USB-C dongle with USB-A, VGA, HDMI, and pass through charging
Price: $1499.99..............
Conclusion
The MateBook X Pro makes the MacBook Pro look very outdated from a design perspective, and its performance to price ratio does likewise. PC makers have come a long way over the last few years, and products like the MateBook X Pro make that an undeniable truth.
There was a time when some people thought the MacBook Pro was the best laptop for Windows (via Boot Camp), but that’s certainly no longer the case; this is compounded by the fact that Apple isn’t putting as much effort into Boot Camp as of late.
Yet, the MateBook X Pro, like any other PC laptop is only as good as your desire to run Windows. If you hate Windows, then even the most beautifully designed forward-thinking laptop is still hindered by its OS of choice.
But not everyone needs or even wants macOS, and for those people, the MateBook X Pro is a seriously compelling laptop. Here’s hoping that Apple is planning on slimming the MacBook Pro’s bezels, fixing its keyboard, making the Touch Bar an option on higher end models, and focusing on creating a top-performing new portable.
doppelganger................?!
Huawei MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro – should Apple fans be jealous?
.....recently got my hands on Huawei’s just-launched MateBook X Pro laptop. It’s a Windows-powered machine in an ultrabook form factor with a stunning 13.9-inch 3:2 minimal-bezel display. At first glance, it looks very much inspired by the MacBook, almost like a mix between the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Pro.
How does Huawei’s flagship compare to the MacBook Pro? Watch our hands-on video for the details.
Display
The most notable part of Huawei MateBook X Pro is its glossy 13.9-inch 450 nit 3:2 display (3000 x 2000, 260 PPI), which provides a 91% screen-to-body ratio. This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen thin bezels on a Windows laptop, but the look never fails to impress, especially when you’re used to the MacBook Pro’s substantial bezels.
The MateBook X Pro also enjoys better off-axis viewing angles than the MacBook Pro, and its 450 nits of brightness places it within striking distance of Apple’s machine. Huawei’s colors are a tad more saturated, which some people may prefer.
Let’s just be honest; the MateBook X Pro’s display makes the MacBook Pro seem dated, but the good news is that Apple seemingly realizes that minimal bezels are the future (just look at the iPhone X). I think it would be a mistake for Apple to release a major MacBook Pro redesign without some serious bezel reduction.
Video walkthrough
The MateBook X Pro also features a touch screen, and I know that a lot of Apple fans will disagree with me on this, but I like the idea in general. We’re so used to touch screens by now that not having touch feels somewhat backwards, and for users who are only familiar with touch-enabled devices, kind of broken.
If Apple did end up doing a touch-enabled Mac, I feel like it would pay extra attention to things like screen wobble when touching the display. The MateBook X Pro doesn’t have terrible screen wobble, but it’s noticeable.
Camera
How does Huawei pull off the minimal bezel design while still accommodating a front-facing camera for video calls? They could have gone the route that other PC laptop makers have gone, and placed the camera at the bottom of the bezel, aka “chin cam”, or it could make a splash by doing something different. Huawei chose the latter option, and hid the camera under a retractable key.
I think we’ll eventually get to the point where having a camera pointing at you constantly is going to seem “weird”, but I’m not sure if Huawei’s implementation is very practical. I think the decision to hide the camera is great for privacy, but the placement is less-than-ideal.
Chassis
Going along with the display, the chassis of the MateBook X Pro looks more modern than the MacBook Pro. Huawei even uses polished chamfered edges on its laptop, a design feature that Apple has used for its iPhones and iPads, but never for its Mac lineup. The result is a modern looking MateBook X Pro, that “blings” for the lack of a better word, when the light hits it at certain angles. The downside of the chamfered edge design is that it doesn’t look nearly as clean with the lid closed.
The overall build quality of the MateBook X Pro is impressive. PC manufacturers have indeed come a long way over the past few years, and it’s blatantly obvious. The unibody teardrop tapered design of the MateBook X Pro looks great, and I actually prefer its take on space gray (yes, Huawei shamelessly calls it that) over Apple’s take on the color.
I’m fairly ignorant about the ins and outs of the refining process that goes into producing aluminum products, but it’s clear that Apple is really good at it. Although I’m incapable of intelligently explaining why, the MacBook Pro’s aluminum feels better to the touch and feels more dense and less “hollow” than the material on Huawei’s machine. I also noticed that the MacBook Pro’s anodized aluminum does a much better job of rejecting fingerprints when compared to the MateBook X Pro.
Keyboard
The MateBook X Pro keyboard feels more substantial to type on, with more key travel. When comparing the two laptops, I preferred typing on the MateBook X Pro.
Everyone knows that the MacBook Pro’s keyboard is extremely polarizing, and it would be all too easy to pile on to the growing amount of complaints that we see on a daily basis. Besides, I’ve already lamented about Apple’s keyboard woes on a previous episode of Back to the Mac.
That said, I love the MacBook Pro’s individually backlit keys. Each LED is situated in a way so as to not have the backlight bleed through underneath each key. It’s a small detail, but one that makes the MacBook Pro appear more premium than the MateBook X Pro. I don’t use enough PCs to know if any other manufacturers employ this backlighting technique, but they definitely should.
Trackpad
Every PC laptop trackpad that I’ve tried has always felt inferior to Apple’s trackpads, and the MateBook X Pro does nothing to change this. It’s not that Huawei’s trackpad is bad, but it doesn’t feel as responsive as the MacBook Pro’s. Apple is just really good at making trackpads — after all, this is the same company that makes a huge wireless standalone solid state trackpad with Force Touch.
The migration to the Force Touch trackpads a few years back has further separated PC trackpads from Apple’s offerings in my eyes. For example, there are “dead zones” near the top of the MateBook X Pro trackpad, while you can click anywhere on the MacBook’s trackpad and it responds in uniform.
Fingerprint sensor
Huawei’s MateBook X Pro includes a Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint sensor built into the power button. The fingerprint sensor is fast and responsive, unlocking the Windows lock screen in less than a second.
The base model 13-inch MacBook Pro lacks a fingerprint sensor, which is unfortunate given how useful it is. To get a fingerprint sensor in a MacBook Pro, you have to step up to more expensive Touch Bar-enabled models. I’ve minced no words on how I feel about the Touch Bar, so I won’t regurgitate that all here, but just know that I don’t find it to be all that useful. The fact that you have to look down in order to use it kills the idea for me. Hopefully Face ID will replace the need for a fingerprint sensor in future consumer-grade MacBooks.
Speakers
The MateBook X Pro ships with a quad speaker setup featuring two top-firing tweeters and two bottom-firing woofers. The speakers sound decent, but I feel like the MacBook Pro offers cleaner, crisper sound on the high-end. Obviously in such a diminutive laptop form factor, low-end frequency is basically non-existent.
Specs
Huawei offers different configurations for the MateBook X Pro. The configuration that I’m using is the top of the line $1499.99 version, which includes a Core i7 quad-core processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage, and a discrete GPU. Here is a full rundown of the machine’s specifications:
Aluminum unibody design
Space gray color
Weight: 2.93 lbs
Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.54 x 0.57 in
13.9-inch display with 91% screen to body ratio
Aspect ratio: 3:2
Brightness: 450 nit
Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (260 PPI)
1500:1 contrast ratio
10-point touch screen
8th-gen Intel Core i7-8550U quad-core CPU 1.80 GHz up to 4.00 GHz
NVIDIA GeForce MX150 Graphics with 2GB GDDR5
16GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz RAM
Bluetooth 4.1
802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
512GB SSD
USB-A port
USB-C port
Thunderbolt 3 port
3.5mm headphone port
57.4 Wh battery with up to 12 hours of video playback
Quad speaker split frequency setup
Quad microphones
Chiclet style keyboard with 1.2mm keyboard travel
Recessed 1MP camera in keyboard
Fingerprint sensor in power button
65W power adapter + USB-C cable
USB-C dongle with USB-A, VGA, HDMI, and pass through charging
Price: $1499.99..............
Conclusion
The MateBook X Pro makes the MacBook Pro look very outdated from a design perspective, and its performance to price ratio does likewise. PC makers have come a long way over the last few years, and products like the MateBook X Pro make that an undeniable truth.
There was a time when some people thought the MacBook Pro was the best laptop for Windows (via Boot Camp), but that’s certainly no longer the case; this is compounded by the fact that Apple isn’t putting as much effort into Boot Camp as of late.
Yet, the MateBook X Pro, like any other PC laptop is only as good as your desire to run Windows. If you hate Windows, then even the most beautifully designed forward-thinking laptop is still hindered by its OS of choice.
But not everyone needs or even wants macOS, and for those people, the MateBook X Pro is a seriously compelling laptop. Here’s hoping that Apple is planning on slimming the MacBook Pro’s bezels, fixing its keyboard, making the Touch Bar an option on higher end models, and focusing on creating a top-performing new portable.
doppelganger................?!