The most value-packed flagship laptop to date.
VERDICT
Having clearly watched from the sidelines for years, Huawei latest has exactly the kind of sensibility we’ve wanted from a luxury laptop. The Huawei MateBook 13 does what any flagship laptop can do – and more – for the same price or even less. For that, the Huawei MateBook 13 is our Best in Class laptop in 2019.
FOR
- Full Intel Core processing
- Discrete Nvidia graphics
- Webcam now on top
- Excellent value
AGAINST
- Relatively low memory
- No Thunderbolt 3
Huawei didn’t really have to improve much upon its best-in-class Huawei MateBook X Pro, but it went ahead and did it anyway with the Huawei MateBook 13. The end result is yet another Best in Class laptop from Huawei.
You may have read a similar line in last year’s MateBook X Pro review: the Huawei MateBook 13 offers better performance than most laptops of its class for less cash. Not to mention all within an equally gorgeous form factor that’s almost better looking and feeling than a 2018 MacBook Air – almost.
Sure, you may be missing a few minor niceties here and there to achieve such a competitive price, but on the whole, this is the most value-packed flagship laptop that we’ve ever tested. This is also among the longest lasting laptops we’ve tested, generally able to handle close to an entire work day away from the outlet.
The Huawei MateBook 13 carries on the torch that the MateBook X Pro ran with as the most value-packed flagship laptop around. Simply put, you’re getting more power and versatility from inside a laptop that’s just as attractive as – if not more so than – the competition.
Sure, the lack of Thunderbolt 3 might be felt by some more professional users looking for the fastest possible data transfers, and we could do with more RAM capacity. If those two detractions are deal-breakers for you, then look elsewhere. Otherwise, consider the sheer amount of computer you’re getting over most competing models for the same price.
Huawei has clearly watched the laptop space from the sidelines for years, swooping in with exactly the kind of sensibility we’ve been looking for from a luxury laptop. Simply put, the Huawei MateBook 13 does what every other flagship laptop can do – and more – often for less money than most. For that, the Huawei MateBook 13 is our Best in Class laptop for 2019.
Display and Design
- Gorgeous Space Gray or Mystic Silver aluminum frame
- Just 2.87 pounds and 0.59 inches thin
- Vibrant 1440p touchscreen with 100% sRGB coverage
You wouldn’t be wrong to think of the MateBook 13 as a further refinement of Huawei’s best-in-class MateBook X Pro of 2018, but the company intends to sell both separately. You see, the MateBook 13 looks nearly identical to the X Pro, only slightly smaller.
This laptop is fitted into the same aluminum body as before in your choice of a Space Gray or Mystic Silver color option. Open the laptop, however, and you’ll notice one key difference: the webcam has moved – again.
Performance
- Impressive multi-core numbers reveal a beast at general computing tasks
- Higher power Nvidia MX150 graphics than most
- Stronger thermal designs edge out similarly-equipped competitors
The Huawei MateBook 13 looks like the usual iterative update to its predecessor both on paper and in practice. However, Huawei managed to eke even more graphical power out of the same processor this year with improved thermals and 25% faster fans inside, allowing the graphics chip to use 25 watts of the laptop’s overall power draw – most laptops equipped with the Nvidia MX150 run a 15W, lower-spec version of the chip. These fans also help keep the laptop surprisingly cool under load compared to similarly thin and light models.